In remembrance of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and National Council of Churches President and General Secretary, Bishop Vashti McKenzie, urge us to study, pray and act so that we can make a real difference in our communities and country to end the scourge of racial, economic, and social injustice and violence. For more info, go to: ELCA.org/Emanuel9 and nationalcouncilofchurches.us.
Read MoreThe prolific and prophetic voices of Black people, Indigenous people and people of color in this denomination remind white folks such as myself that being a faithful Lutheran has very little to do with being polite. The Holy Spirit empowers us to tell the truth.
Read MoreThe website for the Emanuel Nine Memorial shares a list of commemoration events throughout 2022, many available via Zoom.
Learn more how the Mother Emanuel AME Church grounds have been reconfigured to build the Emanuel Nine Memorial. This national memorial will be a place of contemplation, communion and conversation.
Read MoreBishop Elizabeth Eaton will join faith and government leaders on June 17, 2022, to mark the seventh anniversary of the racially motivated shootings at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Watch the event here.
The leaders will participate in a commemorative Bible study event that will kick off a yearlong Bible study across the country. The theme for the event, "What Kind of Soil Are We?," is taken from Mark 4:1-20, the Bible passage the Emanuel Nine were studying on the night they were murdered by Dylann Roof (who was raised in an ELCA congregation).
Read MoreAs part of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted a resolution designating June 17 as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9—the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Our relationship to the shooter, as well as two of the slain, reminds us of both our complicity and our calling.
The resources at elca.org/emanuelnine are provided to help synods and congregations mark this commemoration.
Read MoreThis June, inspired by a request from an AME congregation we asked the congregations of the ELCA South Carolina Synod to study the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4, to substitute it as their Gospel reading for Sunday, June 19, and to include the names of the Emanuel Nine in the prayers of intercession.
Read MoreThe ELCA has designated June 17 as a day of commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9. On June 17, 2015, nine people were shot and killed during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Bishop Eaton reminds us to mark this day of penitence with study and prayer.
Read MoreA collection of resources is available at elca.org/emanuelnine to help synods and congregations mark the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine — the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
These resources can be adapted for virtual worship, online conversation or individual reflection and devotion. Synods and congregations are encouraged to mark this commemoration locally.
Read MoreRev. Stephen Herr writes about the Lament and Repent Prayer Vigil sponsored by the Gettysburg Area Ministerium, which corresponded with the commemoration of the 5th anniversary of the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Gettysburg is home to a number of Lutheran institutions, including two congregations.
Read MoreJune 17 marks the fifth anniversary of the shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. The ELCA Prayer Service for Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine is available on the ELCA website or on YouTube. You can also download a version of the commemoration video.
To honor this day, the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a resolution to establish June 17 as "Emanuel 9 Day of Repentance," commemorating the martyrdom of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Myra Thompson by Dylann Roof, who grew up in the ELCA. Pinckney and Simmons were graduates of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
Read MoreBishop Eaton’s weekly video: It is so clear that life is not equal in this country. But we believe in and serve a God who brings about good even out of evil, who brings healing out of pain, and brings life out of death. This is a call to repentance, dear church, and also to action based in the hope of the reconciliation we have already experienced in Jesus Christ.
Remember to reserve June 17, 2020 as a day to commemorate the Emanuel 9.
Read MoreOn June 17, 2015, a white man named Dylann Roof entered a historic Black church in Charleston during a prayer meeting and opened fire, killing 9 people and wounding 3 more. He overtly and explictly espoused white supremacist beliefs and targeted the people of Mother Emanuel Church because of their race and commitment to civil rights. I felt my stomach sink when I found out that Roof was raised in an ELCA church.
Read MoreThe ELCA recognizes June, 17 as day of Commemoration of the Emanuel 9 and a Day of Repentance of Racism. This post by Kelly France is featured as part of a series to call the ELCA to address white supremacy and racism. To find additional worship materials for June 17, please visit elca.org/EmanuelNine.
I love living and serving as a pastor in rural communities on the Great Plains. I have spent most of my life in this environment, and my family has been part of this landscape for generations. My identity is tied to this place, and that comes with complex realities and shameful truths.
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