Prayers, services honor Charleston victims

A week after the massacre of nine people during a Bible study session at a historic African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, S.C., many in the region paid tribute to the victims Wednesday.

Parishioners at four Philadelphia churches gathered for a special Bible study in a show of support for Emanuel A.M.E. Church.

And a Baptist church in Montgomery County organized a "Walk for Healing, Peace and Justice" to honor those slain.

The Bible study sessions were hosted by four Catholic parishes with large African American congregations, and were held "in solidarity" with the South Carolina church known as Mother Emanuel.

Parishes including St. Martin de Porres, St. Raymond of Penafort, St. Athanasius, and St. Vincent de Paul, all in Philadelphia, participated in the effort.

At St. Raymond, in East Mount Airy, 22 parishioners discussed the murders in the context of the biblical story of David. Nine candles, one for each of the slain Charleston church members, flickered on tables in front of them.

"I believe love will overtake evil and racism," said Denise Derrick, a longtime parishioner. "Either God is who he says he is or he's not, and I believe he is. He can handle all the isms of life."

In Spring House, James Potts kept to himself as he marched down Dager Road, pondering the decades of changes in race relations he has witnessed.

The 83-year-old deacon at Bethlehem Baptist Church said he remembered being forced to sit in the back of the bus when leaving Air Force training in his 20s.

Since then, Potts has seen changes in schooling and employment legislation, but he still wants to see "change in the hearts of people," he said.

That's why he joined more than 100 others in a one-mile walk along the wooded two-lane road in remembrance of the nine victims.

Sponsored by Bethlehem Baptist, in Spring House, the walk and subsequent service were intended for people of all religions.

At 6:30 p.m., Charles Quann, senior pastor, gathered the walkers in a circle in the parking lot of Wissahickon High School.

"We want to show we love each other across lines of religion, across racial lines, across even party lines," Quann said as participants held hands and bowed heads.

Love, hope, and solidarity are needed to mend the heartache of Americans, said Cecelia Robinson, another deacon at Bethlehem. The turnout for the walk, she said, shows the importance of the cause.

"It's terrible to think that someone could hate that much," Robinson said of the shooting. "But love and forgiveness are expected of us from God."

Friends and family members hugged as they met at the church doors. Loud, joyous live music greeted them as they arrived for an interfaith service led by Quann and Gregory Marx, a rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in Ambler.

"We march together not in anger, but in hope," Quann said. "The greatest disease of all is to respond to hate with despair."

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