Leader: "The doors of the Church are open" is an announcement made at nearly every service. It was regularly spoken at Emanuel Church of Charleston, known to us as the “Mother" of African Methodism in the Deep South. As members of the AME Family, we feel a connection with the Connection, even on Father’s Day, and today our proud connection is more keenly felt.
People: O God, “The doors of the Church are still open.”
This is how the litany started in "The Doors of the Church Are Still Open"
A Litany by Bishop Adam J. Richardson of the Emanuel 9. As each name was spoken there was a reverence that filled my mind.
In 2017, Dylann Roof became the first person in the US sentenced to death for a federal hate crime when he was convicted of killing nine church-goers during Bible study at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He was 21 at the time.
"He was on the roll of our congregation," Rev. Tony Metze of the ELCA's St. Paul's Lutheran Church reported. Metze is also the pastor to Roof's family, and said he has been providing them with "Christian care" since the shooting. The pastor did not respond to questions on how often Roof had attended the church or if had been there recently.
So much need for so much forgiveness.
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