(See the photo gallery and a timeline of Sunday’s events below.)
By PHILLIP LUCAS
CHARLESTON, S.C. (KRON/AP) – The congregation at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal swayed and sang, prayed and welcomed the world into their sanctuary on Sunday, holding the first worship service since a white gunman was accused of opening fire during a Bible study, killing nine black church members.
Messages of love, recovery and healing were interspersed throughout the service, which no doubt reverberated throughout churches across the country. There was enthusiastic singing and shouting, so much so that many waved small fans in front of their faces. Bottled water was handed out. Uniformed police officers flanked the congregation as a measure of added security, and worshippers’ cried as they prayed at the church known as “Mother Emanuel” because it is one of the oldest black congregations in the South.
“It has been tough, it’s been rough, some of us have been downright angry, but through it all God has sustained us and has encouraged us. Let us not grow weary in well-doing,” said the Rev. Norvel Goff, a presiding elder of the 7th District AME Church in South Carolina.
Goff was appointed to lead the historic Charleston church after Emanuel’s senior pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, was shot and killed. Pinckney was also a state senator and married father of two children.
Goff acknowledged Father’s Day and reminded people that God was “this nine families’ daddy.”
“The blood of the ‘Mother Emmanuel 9’ requires us to work until not only justice in this case, but for those who are still living in the margin of life those who are less fortunate than ourselves, that we stay on the battlefield until there is no more fight to be fought. And for that we say, ‘Thank you,'” he said.
Sunday morning marked the first service at Emanuel since Dylann Roof, 21, sat among a Bible study group and opened fire after saying that he targeted them because they were black, authorities said.
Events to show solidarity were planned throughout the city and beyond. At 10 a.m. EDT, church bells rang throughout downtown in this “Holy City” – which garnered the nickname because of the numerous churches here.
Later Sunday, people were expected to gather on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge to join hands in solidarity. The bridge’s namesake is a former state lawmaker and a vocal Confederate flag supporter.
Roof had been photographed with the flag several times before the shooting.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Mayor Joseph Riley attended the service at Emanuel. With the church packed, people gathered outside in the blistering heat.
Despite grim circumstances the congregation has been faced with, the welcoming spirit Roof exploited before the shooting is still alive, church members said.
Goff said reopening the doors of Emanuel so soon after the shooting “sends a message to every demon in hell and on Earth.”
For the family of Cynthia Hurd, Sunday’s service was especially poignant. Hurd, a longtime librarian, would have been celebrating her 55th birthday and was planning a trip to Virginia with her siblings.
“Sunday will not be a sad day for me; it will be a celebration for me. It will be a celebration for our family because our faith is being tested,” Hurd’s younger brother Malcolm Graham said Friday. “She was in the company of God trying to help somebody out. She was where she needed to be.”
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SUNDAY, June 21, 2015, TIMELINE:
2:30 p.m.
Hundreds of parishioners from Charleston’s churches filled the street outside ‘Mother’ Emanuel AME Church to pray and sing after the church’s Sunday services had ended.
St. Michael’s Episcopal, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and the First Baptist Church organized buses to bring people from their Sunday worship to Emanuel. Members of other churches walked or drove.
St. Michael’s parishioner Lee Michael was one of those in attendance. He remarked that “racism is so anti-Christian it’s unbelievable.”
During services Sunday morning, pastors handed out prayer cards, one side blank for a handwritten prayer and the other stating that the churches “stand with Mother Emanuel.” As the congregations recited Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” by heart, the prayer cards were passed hand-to-hand to the front of the crowd. The cards were stapled, pinned and tapped to a wooden cross that St Michael’s had brought.
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1:45 p.m.
The parents of Trayvon Martin are offering their condolences for the fatal shooting of nine black parishioners in Charleston and urging people in the U.S. to tackle the issue of racism “head-on.”
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin issued a statement saying they were “profoundly saddened” by the news of Wednesday’s shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.
Fulton and Martin are the parents of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen fatally shot three years ago in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
In their statement, they said the country “must tackle the issue of racism head-on by holding individuals accountable for their murderous acts and not excuse their behavior by quickly labeling them as mentally ill in the media.”
They said to do so “does a terrible injustice to those who are truly mentally ill.”
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1: 20 p.m.
A couple of dozen parishioners have gathered in the church basement where nine members of a historic black church were fatally shot last week.
Some hugged and cried, while one man chose to sit in quiet reflection. On one of the basement’s walls hangs a photograph of the late lead pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney.
Pinckney, who was also a state senator, was one of the nine people fatally shot Wednesday night when authorities say a white man opened fire in the church basement during a Bible study. Authorities are investigating the attack as a racially motivated hate crime.
Emanuel’s sanctuary was reopened Sunday for the first worship service since the shooting.
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11:45 a.m.
The acting pastor of the historic black church where nine people were fatally shot says reopening the doors of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church so soon afterward “sends a message to every demon in hell and on Earth.”
The Rev. Norvel Goff told a large crowd attending the first services at the church since Wednesday’s mass shooting that “we are serving notice on every evildoer.”
“Just because you think you got the victory … the only way evil can triumph is for good folks to sit down and do nothing.”
Goff also said that those who may have expected members of the church or the black community to riot or resort to violence following the shootings “just don’t know us.”
Goff said it is time for people of all races to come together to work for peace in the community, even though “some wanted to divide the races: black, white and brown.”
Goff said members of the community “will join hands and begin to work together to forge a new partnership – not them against us – but we are the children of God who will be marching on to victory.”
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11:15 a.m.
The acting pastor of the historic black church where a white man fatally shot nine people is thanking police and community members for helping church members heal – and pledging to ensure that justice in the case is achieved.
The Rev. Norvel Goff told a large crowd attending the first services at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church since the shooting that the death of the church members has “been tough.”
“It’s been rough,” Goff said. “We some of us have been downright angry.””But through it all, God has sustained us and encouraged us. Let us not grow weary.”
Goff is a presiding elder of the 7th District AME Church in South Carolina. He was appointed to lead the historic Charleston church after Senior Pastor Clementa Pinckney was shot and killed. He will remain at the church until a new pastor is named.
Goff vowed that he and others will “pursue justice and we’re going to be vigilant and we are going to hold our elected officials accountable to do the right thing.”
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10:20 a.m.
The first service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church since nine people were killed during a Bible service is continuing with enthusiastic songs, music and clapping.
The service then became more solemn as the victims’ names were read and the music’s tempo slowed.
It’s the first service since authorities say a gunman opened fire Wednesday night in a racially motivated attack.
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10 a.m.
Church bells are ringing throughout Charleston in remembrance of nine people who were slain during a Bible study in what has been called a racially motivated attack.
The ringing bells were part of a loosely organized movement to honor the victims Sunday. To some, Charleston is known as the “Holy City” because of the numerous churches throughout downtown.
As the bells rang, people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church held their first worship service since the massacre.
Authorities say 21-year-old Dylann Roof opened fire during the Bible study on Wednesday night. Slain were Emanuel’s pastor, as well as others involved in the community and church.
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9:30 a.m.
The historic black church Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal has started its first worship service since nine of its members, including its pastor, were gunned down during a Bible study.
The church was filled for the service Sunday morning. Uniformed police officers are posted on both levels of the sanctuary.
The service began with prayer and songs.
Authorities say a young white man, Dylann Roof, opened fired at the church on Wednesday night in a racially motivated attack. He was arrested a day later.
He had a bond hearing on Friday. Some victims’ families spoke to him then, offering him forgiveness and mercy.
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9:25 a.m.
The mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, says people in his town are telling him they can’t stop crying about the church shootings.
Joseph Riley says the grief and mourning is so widespread in his city that he can only compare it to the feeling of loss people had when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
The mayor says “my heart is broken” by the actions of what he calls “an evil man with his bigoted mind.”
Riley says he’s touched by the outpouring of support for the victims’ families – a private citizen handed him a $10,000 check on Sunday morning – and he says the NFL’s Carolina Panthers have contributed $100,000.
Riley was interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union” – one of the several news shows he appeared on before church services.
He also called for action on guns and race relations.
“If we in America can’t use this as a reason to address these issues, then you know, we’re not doing a very good job.”
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8:15 a.m.
Members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church are being let in through a side door, presumably so they can have Sunday school.
The main service will start at 9:30 a.m. Sunday and will be the first time the congregation has worshipped at the historic black church known as the “Mother.” Police say a 21-year-old white man opened fire at the end of a Bible study on Wednesday, killing nine people in a racially motivated church.
The suspect, Dylann Roof, is being held in jail on nine counts of murder and a weapons charge.
Outside the church, people are lining up to attend the service.