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Valley pastor lost friend in S.C. shooting
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St. Andrewes A.M.E. Church in Youngstown held a prayer vigil today for the South Carolina shooting victims.
Youngstown pastor suffered personal loss
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
The killing of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, S.C., has affected the Rev. Brandon A.A.J. Davis, pastor of St. Andrewes AME Church, in a personal way.
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, church pastor, was among those killed. Pastor Davis said he became friends with Pastor Pinckney because, at different times, they both attended Allen University, Columbia, S.C., which is operated by the AME Church, and both served as president of Alpha Phi Alpha, a service fraternity.
“Through those affiliations we became acquainted and became friends,” he said.
Pastor Pinckney wrote a letter of recommendation for Pastor Davis to become pastor at St. Andrewes, 521 W. Earle Ave., the oldest church of African-American heritage in Mahoning County.
Pastor Davis said Pastor Pinckney’s death is a loss for his church and the nation.
“He was an example of service as a Christian leader in the AME and the world,” he said. “I feel like the MLK of my generation was gunned down.”
During a vigil for the victims of Emanuel AME on Thursday evening at St. Andrewes, Pastor Davis said they also would pray for Dylann Storm Roof, the 21-year-old suspect in the shootings.
“Pray for the person responsible for this senseless act of violence and terrorism,” he told approximately 60 people who attended. “And for the state of South Carolina and to bring perspective to what took place. This was a senseless tragedy, and it took place in church.”
People were somber and reverent as Pastor Davis and evangelists lighted candles for victims and families; the city of Charleston; the state of South Carolina; the unity of God’s people; social justice; for peace; and for spiritual understanding and acceptance.
Pastor Davis told parishioners that it is hard to understand how people could be gunned down in a Bible study group in a church, which is supposed to be a safe haven, by someone who had sat there for an hour and listened to “the prayers and testimonials of Christian people.”
‘ACT OF TERRORISM’
He called it an “act of terrorism” against African-Americans.
“There is a force of evil at work in tearing down the kingdom of God,” he continued. “So we light these candles; pray these prayers.”
“AME is the oldest denomination in the world,” he said. “We have existed for over 200 years. We refuse to give up. We refuse to give our people over to the enemy.”
“Pray for those people who, like me tonight, are asking, ‘Where was God at church,’ who are never going to appreciate when God answers,” he said.
“Get mad,” he said. “Get angry. Feel your humanness. I dare you ask the Lord: ‘Where were you when this took place?’ And when you’re done, remember, he’s still God. He will never leave you. God will keep you in his perfect peace.”
“I’m mad,” he added. “I will travel to South Carolina, lay my hand on his casket, and say, ‘Sleep in peace.’”
Earlier, Pastor Davis said he admired his friend as a pastor and legislator. He said state Sen. Pinckney, who was 41, was the youngest person elected to the South Carolina Legislature. He was a state representative from 1995 until 2000, when he became a state senator.
Pastor Davis said the church leader left the state capital Wednesday to return to the church to teach the Bible study.
“He really loved helping people,” he said.
Pastor Davis said Emanuel AME, which seats about 2,000 people, is among the oldest black churches in South Carolina. “It is considered the mother church of the South.”
local bible study
Ironically, the Rev. Kenneth Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, said he heard the news of the shooting after leaving his own Bible study session that had ended on a celebratory note for his birthday. “It’s disheartening ... it’s a hate crime,” he said. “Was he attacking the black people or the historical fixture that the church is?”
The minister said New Bethel has a predominantly black congregation, but there are white members. “A church should have a welcoming atmosphere,” he said.
New Bethel has police officers and sheriff’s department employees in the congregation who are part of the security team with the deacons. He said the church has security at services and other events. “The people in that Bible study were caught off guard. They thought the best of people,” he said.
Pastor Simon said he is concerned that America is becoming “polarized.” He mentioned the rise in incidents across the country between black citizens and law enforcement that have created a nationwide tension. “America has a racial problem,” Pastor Simon said. “Kids aren’t born with such hatred ... it comes from what they’re taught in the home environment and what’s presented to them.”
“There is a hate mentality,” he said. “I’m afraid we’re going back to the ’50s and ’60s when it comes to race relations.”
‘a hate crime’
The Rev. Morris Lee, pastor of Third Baptist Church who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King in the civil-rights movement in the ’60s, said, “The country has a lot to feel sad about. This is a hate crime.”
He questioned whether this tragic incident was “systemic of something moving across the land.” He cited incidents that have pitted law enforcement and the black community against each other. Pastor Lee said black people have been shot by police in incidents and police have been killed. “Are people responding with hatred to these things?” he wondered.
The pastor, who has served for 55 years at Third Baptist, said the church has safety measures in place with a security system and guards at services and events.
Contributor: reporter Jeanne Starmack.