Prayer vigil remembers victims of Charleston shooting

Published 11:11 pm Tuesday, June 23, 2015

One week ago, a gunman killed nine people during a Bible study and worship service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Charleston, S.C.

The gunman reportedly said he wanted to start a race war.

Instead, his actions brought together people of different races and creeds and ethnicities in Charleston, across the United States and, on Tuesday night, in Dalton.

“I am not surprised,” said Erma Raymond, senior pastor of Bethel AME Church, which hosted a prayer vigil along with the Concerned Clergy of Greater Whitfield County and the Whitfield County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

“Evil tries to divide us, but love unites us,” Raymond said.

Raymond led more than two dozen participants in a litany written by AME Bishop Adam J. Richardson that noted that “The evil one wanted a race war, instead there came an outpouring of love, sympathy and tears from white people and people of every race, and fervent prayers offered for him by black people.”

Several of the prayers cited the fact that when the families of the deceased had a chance to speak to the accused in court, they spoke of forgiveness, prayed for him and urged him to seek Christ.

Raymond said such forgiveness may be difficult but it is necessary.

“Christ told us to love one another,” she said.

Bishop Stephen Thomas, president of the Concerned Clergy, said he was glad to see people come out for the vigil.

“We came together tonight and stood hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder as brothers and sisters,” he said. “My prayer is that this will stimulate our true love for God. If we love God, we will love each other. I hope that this will cause us to continue to reach out towards one another.”

On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the state to remove the Confederate battle flag that flies at the state capitol. Following that, major retailers such as Sears and Amazon said they would no longer carry merchandise that carried the flag.

Whitfield NAACP President Antoine Simmons said he is glad to see such moves being made.

“It was a symbol used by (the accused killer). It’s sad that it took something this extreme to get people to think about what that flag means,” he said. “I know that some people say it’s a symbol of their heritage. I respect the heritage. I respect the valor that the ancestors of many Southerners displayed during that fight. But surely, there must be a way to honor that heritage that does not involve a symbol of hate, and that flag is a symbol of hate. It goes all the way back to owning another individual, to owning another human being. I don’t see how you can say that does not equate to hate.”

Simmons said rather than embrace symbols of hate he hopes people will embrace the love shown by the friends and families of those killed in Charleston.

“The victims of that tragedy were believers and followers in Christ. They believed in his message. And his message was love one another. It wasn’t love one another based on how well they treat you. He says love. He says forgive,” Simmons said. “Christ was innocent, but he still gave his life and said, ‘Forgive them for they know not what they do.’”