Birmingham Reacts to the Attack at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church
Local religious leaders are reacting to the Wednesday shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopalian Church in Charleston, S.C. that killed nine people.
Reverend Arthur Price is the pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He told WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley he has received many calls from church members, expressing “sympathy, shock, sadness and sorrow for the horrific events.”
Rev. Price says he hopes the shooting doesn’t make churches weary of outsiders.
“The church should be open for anyone who comes in,” says Rev. Price. “We had some visitors who came to our Bible study and prayer meeting last night as well. Never did we think that they were going to be a threat. I’m quite sure the same went through the minds of the pastor and that congregation last night.”
Rev. Price says he imagines Emanuel AME congregants were glad that “people wanted to come to study the word of God, to be with the people of God, to offer prayers to God.”
“You would never think that someone would do such a senseless and heinous act as this,” says Rev. Price.
The 16th Street Baptist Church is no stranger to tragedy. On Sunday, September 15, 1963 a bomb exploded at the church, killing four young girls.
Rev. Price says the church’s reconciliation process was difficult, but “with time, God is able to heal hurts.” He thinks Emanuel AME will go through the same process of grief and rebuilding.
“In our situation, the Sunday school lesson that day was “A Love That Forgives” says Rev. Price. “Our congregation never knew that they would have to actually live that out in such a way in response to what happened here.”
Asked about any special plans the church has to mark the Charleston attack, Rev. Price says he’ll speak about it on Sunday. And the church won’t be canceling any of its regular activities.
“We have night ministry events that will continue to take place,” says Price. “We’re not going to allow an act of terror to stop us from doing what God has called us to do.”
Rev. Price does think the shooting in Charleston will cause churches to review their security procedures. But, he adds, “Will churches close, and will churches not be inviting and welcoming to outsiders? I don’t think churches will do that.”
Madagascar’s president flees country in fear for his life after military rebellion
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina called for dialogue "to find a way out of this situation" and said the constitution should be respected.
In Marc Maron’s last ‘WTF’ podcast episode, Obama offers advice on closing chapters
In the final episode, Marc Maron and former President Barack Obama spoke about the legacy of the podcast, politics and moving on.
Ecuador: The Andean reinvention of cumbia
Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.
Tackles, projectiles and gunfire: Many fear ICE tactics are growing more violent
Videos taken by eye witnesses of federal agent encounters with immigrants in Chicago and elsewhere have shown increasingly tense incidents. Immigrant advocates and observers say they're indicative of a larger trend of aggression among federal immigration officers.
As the ceasefire begins, a look at the Gaza war by the numbers
With start of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and release of hostages and prisoners, here are some key figures related to the Gaza war and the Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked it.
Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows
Data from a large, ongoing study of adolescents shows a link between increasing social media use and lower cognition and memory in teens.
