Fellowship
The Black Church and the Strength to Forgive
WASHINGTON – For many outside the
Black community, they had never seen any-
thing like it. Though suffering and deep in
pain from the loss of loved ones at the hands
of Dylann Roof at Emanuel A.M.E. Church
in Charleston, S.C., they reflected the finest
reflection of Christian values.
A daughter Ethel Lance, 70, one of the
nine killed at Bible study, struggled to find
the right words.
“I will never be able to hold her again. But
I forgive you and have mercy on your soul,”
she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
“It hurts me, it hurts a lot of people, but God
forgives you and I forgive you.”
Speaking for her family, a sister of Rev.
DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, had a sim-
ilar message.
“We have no room for hate,” she said soft-
ly. “We have to forgive. I pray God on your
soul. And I also thank God that I won’t be
around when your judgment day comes with
Jazelle
Hunt
NNPA Washington
Correspondent
Tenn. and a scholar on the Black Christian
church. “And that ultimately, though people
will tragically experience what we saw hap-
pen at Mother Emanuel, ultimately love will
prevail and hope will prevail.”
Rev. Susan K. Smith of Columbus, Ohio
says that Scripture shows that it’s reasonable
to feel and wrestle with difficult emotions,
instead of jumping straight to forgiveness.
“If you don’t deal with your real, strong
feelings, it’s almost impossible to get to a
‘It hurts me, it hurts a lot of people, but God
forgives you and I forgive you’
him.”
One by one, they took turns, sharing their
grief, but not any rancor. How could they be
so forgiving?
In order to understand the answer to that
question, experts on religion say, you have
to understand the role the church plays in
Black America and how the nation’s most
religious group – African Americans – take
the teachings of Jesus literally.
“To understand the Black Christian tradi-
tion and faith that has nurtured Black peo-
ple for centuries is to know that they live
by a deep, resilient faith that God is on the
side of justice, God is on the side of love,”
explained Rev. Forrest Harris, president
of American Baptist College in Nashville,
place where you can forgive,” she said.
Smith points to Psalm 13, saying, “The
Psalmist, who expresses his pain…then at
the end of the Psalm there’s a ‘but, I will
praise you anyway.’ This is vital, because
what we have with God is a relationship,
and in relationships there are always times
when you don’t get it.”
Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third
Baptist Church of San Francisco and
NAACP national board member, said
Blacks should not bear the brunt of suffer-
ing – or forgiveness – in the U.S.
“I do not feel in my spirit that Blacks
should have to be the sacrificial lambs all
the time,” he explained. “The pain is so
great and it’s insulting that America has still
Page 10 July 8, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner
not confessed to its wrong and its evil. And step up security,” he says.
“Our [A.M.E.] tradition starts with the
that evil is racism.”
Relatives of the nine slain in Charleston concept of social justice. The disparate
refused to be overcome by the evil of rac- treatment of people is not to be quietly tol-
erated. That we forgive doesn’t mean we
ism.
“In this particular context, we’re all deep- forget, it just means we release the hold that
ly moved by the family offering up forgive- bitterness and hatred has on us.”
The A.M.E. church is indeed grounded
ness, and I want to honor that supernatural
manifestation of grace,” said Pastor Michael in resistance. Free Blacks in Philadelphia
McBride, leader of The Way Christian Cen- founded the denomination in the late 1700s
ter in Berkeley, Calif., and director of the when White Methodist Episcopalians re-
PICO Network Live Free Campaign, which fused to pray along side them and used force
to interrupt their worship. The Black parish-
uses faith to fight mass-criminalization.
“The process of forgiveness first has to ac- ioners began their own church and success-
knowledge the offense…the gravity of the fully sued for the right to be an independent
offense…the pain that’s been caused. Then congregation.
This is not the first time a White suprema-
it requires an analysis made in very clear
terms the kinds of grievances that have been cist had targeted a Black church.
According to one study, there were more
done, so as to not allow those grievances to
than 300 racially-motivated church bomb-
continue to be perpetrated.”
According to a 2009 Pew Research Cen- ings or burnings in the 1960s, and an addi-
ter report, nearly 80 percent of Black people tional 200 between 1989 and 1996. In 2008,
say religion is very important in their lives, two White men were convicted of burning
with 53 percent attending church every down a COGIC church in Springfield, Mass.
week (compared to 39 percent of the overall in reaction to President Barack Obama’s
election.
population).
Pastor Newton and others maintain that
Church is especially important to Black
women who are unrivaled in their dedica- emulating Christ’s example of love does not
tion to their faith (84 percent say they are) conflict with seeking justice and true recon-
and attend church each week (nearly 60 per- ciliation.
“This sounds trite, but the first thing is
cent do).
Pastor Jonathan Newton, executive min- prayer. We believe that prayer changes
ister at Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in things, but also prayer brings calm, reason-
Washington, D.C., points out that the lesson able, rational thinking.”
“[Then] we deal with it, and not try to
of forgiveness is not only God’s way, but
also served Black Christians well during the suppress…we talk about the anger, the hurt.
Civil Rights Movement by lending moral Our faith is what makes us strong through
using political actions and our educations …
weight to the cause.
On the other hand, Pastor Newton ex- in our strides to social justice.”
plains that forgiveness is not
necessarily passive.
Like Mother Emanuel,
Metropolitan A.M.E. was
Pastoral Anniversary Celebration
founded in the early 1800s
at New Hope Baptist Church
and has a storied legacy
New Hope Baptist
within the course of Black
Church will celebrate the
history. On Friday, hundreds
2nd Pastoral Anniversa-
gathered to pray for its sister
ry of Senior Pastor, J.
church in Charleston – later,
Walter Hills, II. Sunday,
the church received a bomb
July 12th at 3:00 PM.
threat in return. The previ-
The event will include
ous day, a few other A.M.E.
a guest appeance from
churches in South Carolina
Rev. Johnnie Goldsmith
were threatened as well.
of Anderson, SC. New
“[After the shooting] one
Hope is located at 3725
of our A.M.E. bishops sent
N. Gantenbein, Portand.
around to the churches a
For more information, Pastor J. Walter Hills, II
litany to explain that the
contact (503) 281.0163
church doors will remain
or newhopepdx@com-
open; we will continue to do
cast.net.
what God calls us to do. But
while we forgive, we still