Today we commemorate and repent the deaths of nine beloved children of God killed by a white supremacist during Bible study at “Mother Emanuel” AME Church in Charleston, SC, five years ago.Â
Pastors Pinckney and Simmons were graduates of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and the shooter was also a member of an ELCA congregation. At the 2019 church-wide assembly, this date was designated for commemoration of these innocent martyrs and repentance for the sin of systemic racism.
You can access the ELCA Prayer Service for Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine starting at noon Eastern Time today on Facebook, YouTube, or this ELCA webpage: https://www.elca.org/EmanuelNine.
Photo by Life Matters.