Standing with Mother Emanuel A Printable Version of the Sermon on Sunday
Perhaps like you I wake up in the morning first hoping the devastation at Mother Emanuel Church was just a nightmare.  Then as the reality sinks in, this wave of sorrow, anger and dread overtakes my heart and then the tears flow.

In our worship this past Sunday, I gave you the permission to stop, grieve and allow yourselves to feel the pain of what our nine families are feeling who lost their father, mother, husband, wife and grandparent. Jesus stopped and wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. But thank God we don’t have to grieve alone. In the name and in the Hope we find through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, We are better together. With that said, here is what we did this past Sunday to work through in prayer and action our collective grief.

Sunday's Tool Time at 9:15 was led by the Rev. Dr. Peter Moore, Frank Grimball and Dr. Sherif Yacoub, responding to the tragedy.

At 10am, everyone gathered on Meeting Street under the bell tower as St. Michael’s and with their own handbells, rang with our tower ringers and every tower in town as we showed solidarity with Mother Emanuel AME Church

The cash in the offertory at all services will go by the Mayors request to the “Love Emanuel Hope Fund” to help out the families affected.

After the 10:30am and 6pm services, the congregations of St. Michael’s, St. Philip's and First Baptist Church (Church Street) were transported to Mother Emanuel for prayers around their church.

The Rev. Dr. John Gillison (Former Senior Pastor at Mother Emanuel)  has agreed to preach here at St. Michael’s within the next couple of weeks.

Again, thanks be to God we are not alone in our grief, come as we humbly stand together in this tremendous community.

Your Rector and Shepherd,

The Rev. Alfred T. K. Zadig, Jr.