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.”
Denmark summons U.S. envoy over claims of interference in Greenland
Denmark's foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country for talks after the main national broadcaster reported that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.
New Orleans musicians found a home here after Katrina. Now, it’s raising the next generation
In the 9th Ward, New Orleans’ Musicians’ Village has been training the next generation of musical talent while providing affordable housing to many artists.
Pascagoula still shows Hurricane Katrina’s heavy toll in Mississippi 20 years later
While much of the city was rebuilt over the past 20 years, it has never fully recovered. The cost of rebuilding has been prohibitive for many former residents.
70 years after Emmett Till’s murder, Mississippi museum acquires gun used to kill him
It's been 70 years since Emmett Till, a Black teenager visiting relatives in Mississippi, was killed by white men because he whistled at a white woman. Now the gun used in his death is in a museum.
Two children among dead in Russian drone attack on Kyiv, dozens injured
A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital, including a rare strike in the center of the city, early Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded 48.
Denmark summons US envoy over claims of interference in Greenland
Denmark's foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country for talks after the main national broadcaster reported that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.
