United Methodist churches have responded in various ways to the June 17 shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
First United Methodist Church in Downers Grove, Illinois, and First United Methodist in Eureka, California, have both sung the hymn “They Met to Read the Bible,” written in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy by the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a Presbyterian pastor.
“Very powerful way to address this tragedy,” said the Rev. Kathryn Dunning, pastor at First Eureka.
Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, has raised money to help rebuild nearby Briar Creek Road Baptist Church, which was deliberately set on fire. While authorities are still investigating the motive, this arson of a black church has been one of several in the Carolinas in the general time frame of the Charleston tragedy.
“Our people are feeling a kind of holy rage against the racist hatred and violence out there, so helping a church right here is a small step in what we hope will be a larger journey for all of us toward a more just society,” said the Rev. James Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church.
– Sam Hodges, United Methodist News Service