Shooter Kills 9 at Emanuel AME Church, Sparking Focus on Racism

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Cynthia Hurd, 54. Susie Jackson, 87. Ethel Lance, 70. The Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, 49. The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41. Tywanza Sanders, 26. The Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74. The Rev. Sharonda Singleton, 45. Myra Thompson, 59. These are the victims of the June 17 shooting at a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A 21-year-old man has admitted to committing the crime. His image was also on surveillance camera footage released the day after the attack, and witnesses identified him. He was arrested in North Carolina on June 18.

Rev. Clementa Pinckney was pastor of the church, as well as a state senator. Cynthia Hurd was a 31-year employee of the Charleston Public Library System. Rev. Sharonda Singleton was a speech therapist and track coach at a nearby high school. Indeed, each victim has a story and a family left behind to grieve. It is not clear whether the murderer knew any of the victims prior to entering the church. The motivation for the attack was apparently racial hatred: Witnesses said that before he started firing, the murderer stood up and said he was there to "shoot black people." Other comments the shooter allegedly made during the incident also support racism as his motivation. Law enforcement officials are investigating the murders as hate crimes. The murderer had written about his feelings of hatred toward African-Americans in a "manifesto" discovered online following the shootings. The content is disturbing, to say the least, and shows a pattern of hatred and a desire to go beyond words to express that hatred through actions.

To many, the violence that occurred inside Emanuel AME Church was more shocking because it took place in a house of worship during a time of prayer. For the African-American community, however, this event is seen as yet another in a long history of such attacks. Karen Grigsby-Bates, who writes for National Public Radio's blog Code Switch, said, "Around the nation, people mourning the massacre at Emanuel AME Church are asking why. In many black churches this morning, they're asking a slightly different question -- why again?"

The Civil Rights era of the 1960s was known, in part, for violence at places of worship, including the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama -- an attack that particularly shocked the nation due to the resulting deaths of four girls: Denise McNair, 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14. The violence in Charleston brought to mind the church attack from five decades ago. Although such incidents remain extremely rare, it was a reminder that the hatred that sparked previous violence still exists.

In contrast to the hate expressed by the killer in Charleston, forgiveness and love in action characterized comments made by victims' families soon after the murders. During the suspect's initial court hearing, family members of those who were slain spoke to him, offering forgiveness and expressing concern about his soul. His family issued a statement as well, expressing shock and grief over the event, but also stating, "We have all been touched by the moving words from the victims' families offering God's forgiveness and love in the face of such horrible suffering."

More on this story can be found at these links:

The Long History of Brutality Against Blacks at Worship. National Public Radio
Families of Charleston Victims Offer Forgiveness. Citizen-Times
Emanuel AME Church in Charleston Opens Its Doors. National Public Radio 

The Big Questions

1. How did you think and feel when you first heard about the Charleston shootings? What other responses did you have, if any? Was there anyone in particular you sought to speak with? Who, if anyone, sought you out?

2. Did this attack seem more or less heinous, or neither one, because it occurred in a church? Explain your answer.

3. What did you feel and think upon hearing that the victims’ families had gone to the killer’s first court appearance and offered words of forgiveness? Myrlie Evers, wife of the slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, stated in an interview that she could not respond to the death of her husband with the same kind spirit, and admitted that she still struggles with anger about his death. (Start just before the 10th minute of the interview.) Which stance resonates more with the way you think you may have felt, or indeed have felt if you have lost someone because of another person's violent actions?

4. It's easy to laud the faith and Christian example of one who is quick to forgive, but do different reactions mean someone is less Christian? Why or why not?  

5. How can churches and communities not directly affected by the tragedy in Charleston respond in helpful ways? Who has the "right" to forgive, and for whom is it not their place to do so?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Mark 4:38-39
But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and [the disciples] woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. (For context, read 4:35-41.)

The storm described here must have been quite terrifying as even experienced fishermen were fearful and panicky. They express astonishment that Jesus was able to calm the weather, but they must have thought he'd be able to do something since they woke him up to get his help.

The disciples' cry of "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" might very well resonate with the African-American community in the aftermath of the murders. Jesus' response was to rebuke the wind and the sea; he calmed the disciples' fears by eliminating the causes of those fears.

Questions: If the cry of the disciples mirrors that of the African-American community, how can the church, and Christians individually, respond affirmatively to the question "Do you not care that we are perishing?" In other words, how might the church as an organization, and Christians as individuals, follow Jesus' lead and work to reduce the causes of destruction and fear?

Is your congregation strongly encouraged to speak out on these issues, or effectively prevented from doing so, due to the political stance of some members? Or of your pastor?

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (For context, read 46:1-11.)

Bishop Richard Franklin Norris of the African Methodist Episcopal Church began a statement on the shootings at Emanuel AME with this passage. He challenged believers to be "unshakable" in their faith. The psalmist describes unshakable faith in God even under the most terrifying of circumstances: earthquakes, floods and even human violence. Though these catastrophes occur on earth, the psalmist points out that in heaven, we find God's unshakable kingdom (see also Hebrews 12:26-28).

The psalmist proclaims that God acts on earth too, and will ultimately destroy the weapons of violence -- bows, spears (v. 9) and, we might extrapolate, modern-day murder weapons. Verse 10 -- "Be still, and know that I am God!" -- foreshadows Jesus' command to the sea and wind in Mark 4 (see previous scripture reflection).

By contrast, Job seems to feel he does not have the ear of God and asks how he can get a fair hearing.

Questions: Have you seen God present even in the midst of the terrible tragedy in Charleston? If so, how so? Or does it seem to you as if God has been absent in this atrocity? 

James 2:9
But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (For context, read 2:1-13.) 

The letter of James is a direct challenge to those who would proclaim one subset of human beings as better than another. James calls such partiality what it is -- a sin. The early Christian community was subject to the same biases as the rest of the population, but the witness of scripture is that in Christ, all barriers between people are broken down (see also Galatians 3:28).

Questions: In what ways has the church perpetuated partiality? What disparities are most apparent in your church? In your community? Economic? Cultural? Racial? Other? How can the church be a bridge-builder between different groups of people?

Matthew 7:1-2
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. (For context, read 7:1-5.)

Jesus' command not to judge is difficult to follow, even under normal circumstances. In a case such as the Emanuel AME Church shootings, it is even harder to avoid judging someone who would commit such a horrible crime. Yet, later in this passage Jesus challenges believers to remove the "log" from their own eye before pointing out the "speck" in their neighbor's eye. Surely mass murder does not constitute a "speck," but Jesus reminds us that we have our own faults as well.

Questions: Should we view the Charleston shooter with empathy, judgment, some combination of the two, or something else entirely? Is it important for us to work toward "humanizing" him? Why or why not? If so, how might we do that?

What is the difference between "judging" the murderer and "discerning" whether he can or cannot be trusted to be a member of our society (regardless of the matter of forgiveness)? Should the question of judgment and/or forgiveness be extended to include those who have spoken or written with the type of hate that inspired the killer?

Psalm 20:7 (CEB)
Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord's name. (For context, read 20:1-9.)

In this psalm, David speaks about God's faithfulness in answering his prayers, and God's protection and provision in the face of threats. Those who trust in God are victorious, while those who rely on "chariots and horses" will "collapse and fall" (v. 8).

Some have responded to the tragedy in Charleston with calls for armed guards in places of worship and looser gun laws that would allow parishioners to carry weapons into church. The question of church security when doors are typically wide open during events has become a side discussion in the midst of other issues raised by the shootings.

A TWW consultant shares: "In our medium/small-sized congregation, the pastor and several of the members are likely armed each Sunday (concealed handguns). This would not be uncommon in our area, and larger assemblies have even more formal armed security plans, though not as overt as Martin Luther King Jr.'s armed 'Deacons for Defense and Justice.' This probably does provide a bit of 'herd immunity' for those congregations that don't, and makes [the carrying out of a] mass murder less likely. An armed pastor [might be considered] an example of a shepherd protecting his or her flock."

Questions: Should churches be concerned about keeping people on their premises more physically secure? Can this be done while maintaining hope and trust in God, a la Psalm 20? If so, how might this be done? Considering the actual infrequency of events such as the Charleston church shootings, would monies spent on what might be a false sense of security be better directed toward ministry? Or, considering the final paragraph above, might such security plans be counted as a type of ministry?

For Further Discussion

1. What practices might assist Christians in developing a spirit of forgiveness? In other words, how can we be spiritually prepared to respond to difficult occurrences in our lives? Can one ever truly be prepared for such an event as what happened in Charleston last week?

2. The "In the News" section above describes a feeling in the African-American community that because violence in churches has occurred in the past, the Charleston attack, albeit tragic, is not as unusual as it might seem to others. What do you think the attack reveals, if anything, about the state of race relations in our country today? Do you see it as an example of "business as usual," an extremely unusual situation or something else? What is your observation of the publicity surrounding it?

Responding to the News

The tragic events in Charleston call for a response. Consider reaching out to a church nearby whose members are different than your own. You might plan a joint prayer service for racial healing, for example, and afterwards, discuss ways to continue working together to remove barriers between the congregations and within the community.

Here is just a sampling of resources starting to appear across the Internet:

"They Met to Read the Bible" (A hymn-prayer lamenting Charleston church murders). The Presbyterian Outlook 
Worship Resources: Charleston 2015. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lament for the Charleston Martyrs. Global Christian Worship (many resources -- scroll down)

Closing Prayer

God of grace and glory, we pray for the families of those who lost loved ones so tragically this past week. We name them before you: Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons Sr., Sharonda Singleton and Myra Thompson. May the hatred that took their lives be replaced by the love and forgiveness taught by our Lord Jesus Christ. Heal our nation of racism and bigotry. Heal our own hearts of hidden prejudices and judgment of others. In Jesus' name. Amen.