Charleston's Emanuel AME: A Catalyst for Change?

As we celebrate the independence of our nation this week, I am comforted to believe, to hope and to pray that, in time, we might reflect on this heartbreaking event as a harbinger not of hate and division, but of a new era of unity and peace in our nation for all its people.
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President Barack Obama sings "Amazing Grace" during services honoring the life of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Friday, June 26, 2015, at the College of Charleston TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.. Pinckney was one of the nine people killed in the shooting at Emanuel AME Church last week in Charleston. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
President Barack Obama sings "Amazing Grace" during services honoring the life of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Friday, June 26, 2015, at the College of Charleston TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.. Pinckney was one of the nine people killed in the shooting at Emanuel AME Church last week in Charleston. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Could the tragic events of last week in Charleston, South Carolina mark a turning point in race relations in the United States?

We have reason for hope, given the remarkable demonstration of love and compassion from the victims' families, the Charleston community and leaders and members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a place founded by a former slave whose pulpit hosted the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As our nation grapples with the symbol of the Confederate flag and its meaning, and whether it should be flown in our country today, what we truly need is to build a national consensus on the symbols that can unite us for the future, following the simple faith-based example set by the brave people of Charleston.

Also integral to our future is that we stand boldly against hate and, and more specifically, hate crimes. If we can summon the courage to have the difficult dialogue and follow the example of the people of Charleston, the question as to how and where the Confederate flag can be sold or seen will be resolved from our collective position of strength.

Change, though often painfully slow, can sometimes occur with abrupt haste when tragedies become catalysts to unite people of good will and faith for the common good and the advancement of social justice.

Last month's tragic event, perpetrated by one young person who was clearly influenced by too many others who share his hate, could spur real and lasting change, much like the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama church that killed four school girls, the assassination of Dr. King or even the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus.

While all of us continue to be troubled by too many issues that divide us as a nation, and as we are terribly saddened that nine people lost their lives, perhaps there is solace amid the grief as displayed in Charleston. It is my fundamental belief that the God of boundless mercy and eternal justice is speaking to us through the faith and courage of the people of Charleston.

How remarkable was the reaction by parishioners filling the pews at Emanuel AME during the first Sunday services following the tragedy? How moving were the words of the Rev. Norvel Goff who filled the giant shoes of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor who lost his life?

"The doors of the church are open," he said. "No evildoer, no demon in hell or on Earth can close the doors of God's church. It's by faith that we are standing here and sitting here... through it all God has sustained us."

"We still believe that prayer changes things. Can I get a witness?," Rev. Goff said. The congregated responded with a rousing "Yes," as we all should do.

Too often hate brings more hate, violence more violence and rhetoric that stands to further divide what we should be - one people, one nation.

The good people of Charleston, even as they mourn the loss of their family and friends - along with the church that had been their sanctuary - are showing us the opposite.

Like Dr. King's peaceful protests of the 1960's, they are a model of what it means to be a community of faith. May their calls for peace, their words of understanding, their messages of hope, resilience, justice, mercy and love, be emulated by the rest of us.

As we celebrate the independence of our nation this week, I am comforted to believe, to hope and to pray that, in time, we might reflect on this heartbreaking event as a harbinger not of hate and division, but of a new era of unity and peace in our nation for all its people.

I have faith that Rev. Goff's words will mark the beginning of the end of racial violence and racism in all forms. I hope we will see fewer incidents that divide, and more of those that bring us together.

In the 100 years between the end of the Civil War and the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., there was shamefully little progress. In the 50 years since, we've seen the removal of many barriers, but certainly not as many as divine justice demands. Let us hope 2015 marks the beginning of a new era of love and respect and that more among us make no excuse for racism, whether de facto or symbolic.

I ask you to join me to pray today for the lives of those lost, for the families and communities affected, and that the community of Charleston be a light of hope, peace and mercy to our nation.

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