{"id":1189,"date":"2017-02-27T20:21:14","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T20:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=1189"},"modified":"2017-02-28T19:11:51","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T19:11:51","slug":"visit-mother-emanuel-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2017\/02\/27\/visit-mother-emanuel-church\/","title":{"rendered":"A Visit to Mother Emanuel Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>

Emanuel A.M.E. Church, Charleston, SC<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently I was in Charleston, South Carolina for the Pentecostal Leader\u2019s Summit, which met just prior to the annual meeting of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA). This is the third year that the leaders of the IPHC, the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God, the Church of God of Prophecy, and the Open Bible Church have met. Our group is expanding each year as additional Pentecostal denominational leaders join the table for conversation, prayer, and fellowship.<\/p>\n

As the Tuesday afternoon meeting began, it was suggested that our group visit the \u201cMother\u201d Emanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston. The basement of this church was the scene of the horrific, premeditated murders of nine African-American Christians. Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, failed in his effort to start a race war; but didn\u2019t fail in the cold-blooded murders of these men and women who had gathered for a Bible study on the evening of June 17, 2015.<\/p>\n

Bishop Charles Blake, the well-known and well-respected leader of the Church of God in Christ (a primarily African-American Pentecostal denomination), arranged for us to meet Emanuel A.M.E. pastor Rev. Eric S.C. Manning. Pastor Manning and his staff graciously greeted us in the sanctuary. He shared the history of this congregation, the oldest African-American congregation south of Baltimore, Maryland. It was obvious he had heard of Bishop Blake as he greeted him warmly. Our group was thankful for the godly favor and influence of Bishop Blake among Christians of all denominations.<\/p>\n

After this time of sharing, Bishop Blake asked the pastor if we could pray for him. Pastor Manning replied, \u201cOf course.\u201d He added with a smile, \u201cI guess as Pentecostals you\u2019re going to lay hands on me?\u201d We gathered around the pastor and indeed, laid hands upon him. One of our leaders prayed for Pastor Manning and another prayed for the congregation.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, Pastor Manning took us downstairs to the basement where the murders occurred. Arranged with tables and chairs for an upcoming event, he stopped between the tables and the downstairs pulpit. \u201cWe have stopped here because this is where the pastor, Rev. Clementa Carlos Pinckney, was killed,\u201d he solemnly remarked. Pastor Pinckney was also a member of the South Carolina state Senate. While standing at this spot, we joined<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Third from right: Bishop Charles Blake with Rev. Eric S. C. Manning<\/p><\/div>\n

hands and again prayed for the witness of this congregation. We realized we were standing on holy ground, a floor which had been stained with the blood of martyrs.<\/p>\n

While in the church, I knew that IPHC leaders and members in South Carolina, and millions of other Christians, had responded to these murders with genuine horror, compassion, and repentance. That knowledge gives me hope for the future.<\/p>\n

An article by Brian Hicks in the April 9, 2011 Charleston<\/em> Post and Courier<\/em> told how 40% of the transatlantic slave trade came through Charleston harbor. In 1860, of the four million African slaves in the United States (primarily in the south), 10% were in the state of South Carolina, comprising 57% of the South Carolina population.<\/p>\n

On April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery fired on the United States military base in the Charleston harbor, Fort Sumter. That began the violence of a vicious Civil War that still leaves a legacy which we are sorting out as a nation.<\/p>\n

The other aspects of this visit to Mother Emanuel that impacted me was my reading over Christmas of Edward E. Baptist\u2019s book, The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.<\/em><\/a> Originally from Durham, North Carolina, and now a history professor at Cornell University, Baptists\u2019 book is a very important. It\u2019s about 500 pages in paperback and is well documented. It is well-written with the stories of black slaves, white owners, politicians and business people from England to New England to New York to the South across to Texas, Mexico, and Cuba.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I usually carefully skim many of the books I read. But I read every page and every word of this book. I rarely read a book a second time, other than looking for portions I\u2019ve marked. But I\u2019m going to read this book again. I hope some of you will read it. It may be one of the clearest manifestations of Ephesians 1:17-23 I\u2019ve experienced; it will open your eyes.<\/p>\n

I grew up and lived much of my life in the American south. As a white youngster, and even as an adult, I admired Confederate generals and soldiers. I knew that slavery was morally wrong and an abomination to God. What I didn\u2019t know, and what I learned from The Half Has Never Been Told<\/em>, was the depth and magnitude of complicity, money, greed, and national expansion that financially, and spiritually, enslaved whites in this demonically devised scheme. Ultimately, in the period 1810-1860, it led to the destruction of African-American family and personal identities. Sadly, that destruction continues to haunt our nation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve come to realize that I don\u2019t, really understand the half<\/em> of what my African-American brothers and sisters have experienced as part of their historical legacy. I don\u2019t offer excuses; I offer a growing awareness and sensitivity.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m also aware that as Christians, and perhaps most importantly as Pentecostals, we have been called by God to enter into the half<\/em> of understanding that the Holy Spirit will give us as instruments of reconciliation.<\/p>\n

As I write these words, I\u2019m still in Charleston. But I\u2019m keenly aware, as most other American Pentecostal leaders are, that the Holy Spirit movement in 1906 at Azusa Street in Los Angeles was God\u2019s way of bringing the races in America into the half. <\/em>Satan fought it bitterly and in many respects won many of the battles of the 20th<\/sup> Century. While many Christian leaders stood with men like Martin Luther King, Jr., it is with painful regret that sixty years after Azusa Street, most white Pentecostals stand on the sidelines rather than stand in the gap.<\/p>\n

But maybe we\u2019re getting another opportunity as black and white Pentecostals in our divided nation. At this PCCNA meeting a historic Race Relations Commission was formed. Perhaps that will be one of the mechanisms the Spirit of God will use to bring us into the fullness<\/em> promised in Jesus Christ in Paul\u2019s letter to the Ephesians and Colossians (Eph. 1:10, 23; 3:19; 4:13; Col. 1:19; 2:9).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[313,39,443],"class_list":{"0":"post-1189","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"category-general","9":"tag-313","10":"tag-february","11":"tag-mother-emanuel-church","12":"entry"},"title_es":"Una visita a la Madre Iglesia Emanuel","content_es":"Recientemente estuve en Charleston, Carolina del Sur para la Cumbre de L\u00edderes pentecostales, que se reuni\u00f3 inmediatamente antes de la reuni\u00f3n anual de iglesias pentecostales y carism\u00e1ticas de Am\u00e9rica del Norte (PCCNA). Este es el tercer a\u00f1o en que los l\u00edderes de la IISP, las Asambleas de Dios, la Iglesia de Dios en Cristo, la Iglesia de Dios, la Iglesia de Dios de la Profec\u00eda, y la Iglesia Biblia Abierta han cumplido. Nuestro grupo se est\u00e1 expandiendo cada a\u00f1o como l\u00edderes de la denominaci\u00f3n Pentecostal adicionales se unen a la mesa para la conversaci\u00f3n, la oraci\u00f3n y la comuni\u00f3n. Al comenzar la reuni\u00f3n martes por la tarde, se sugiri\u00f3 que nuestro grupo de visitar la iglesia de AME \"madre\" Emanuel en Charleston. El s\u00f3tano de esta iglesia fue el escenario de las terribles asesinatos premeditados, de nueve cristianos afroamericanos. Dylann tejado, un joven de 21 a\u00f1os de edad, de la supremac\u00eda blanca, fracas\u00f3 en su intento de iniciar una guerra racial; pero no fallar en los asesinatos a sangre fr\u00eda de estos hombres y mujeres que se hab\u00edan reunido para un estudio de la Biblia en la tarde del 17 de junio de 2015. El obispo Charles Blake, el l\u00edder bien conocido y muy respetado de la Iglesia de Dios en Cristo (una denominaci\u00f3n principalmente afroamericana pentecostal), nos organizaron para satisfacer Emanuel AME pastor Rev. Eric SC Manning. Pastor Manning y su personal gentilmente nos recibi\u00f3 en el santuario. \u00c9l comparti\u00f3 la historia de esta congregaci\u00f3n, la m\u00e1s antigua congregaci\u00f3n afroamericana sur de Baltimore, Maryland. Despu\u00e9s de este tiempo de compartir, Obispo Blake le pregunt\u00f3 al pastor si nosotros, los ocho l\u00edderes pod\u00edan rezar por \u00e9l. Pastor Manning respondi\u00f3: \"Por supuesto.\" Y a\u00f1adi\u00f3 con una sonrisa, \"supongo que los pentecostales que vas a poner las manos sobre m\u00ed?\" Nos reunimos en torno al pastor y, de hecho, con las manos puestas sobre \u00e9l. Uno de nuestros l\u00edderes oraron por Pastor Manning y otra oraron por la congregaci\u00f3n. Unos minutos m\u00e1s tarde el Pastor Manning nos llev\u00f3 al s\u00f3tano donde ocurrieron los asesinatos. Dispuesto con mesas y sillas para un pr\u00f3ximo evento, se detuvo entre las mesas y el p\u00falpito de la planta baja. \"Nos hemos parado aqu\u00ed porque aqu\u00ed es donde el pastor, Rev. Clementa Carlos Pinckney, muri\u00f3\", ha remarcado solemnemente. Pastor Pinckney era tambi\u00e9n un miembro del Senado del estado de Carolina del Sur. Mientras est\u00e1 de pie en este lugar, que se dieron la mano y otra vez oramos por el testimonio de esta congregaci\u00f3n. Nos dimos cuenta de que est\u00e1bamos de pie en tierra santa, un piso que se hab\u00eda manchado con la sangre de los m\u00e1rtires. Mientras que en la iglesia, sab\u00eda que los l\u00edderes y miembros de la IISP en Carolina del Sur, y en otros lugares, hab\u00edan respondido a estos asesinatos con el horror genuino, compasi\u00f3n y arrepentimiento. Yo estaba agradecido por ese conocimiento. Es dif\u00edcil describir el impacto de esta visita tuvo en nosotros. Est\u00e1bamos muy conscientes, y agradecido, por el favor y la influencia del Obispo Blake. Lo necesit\u00e1bamos para abrir esta puerta para nosotros. Tal vez nos necesitaba para experimentar el dolor que muchos afroamericanos sigue experimentando en nuestra naci\u00f3n. Un art\u00edculo de Brian Hicks publicado el 9 de abril de, 2011 Charleston Post and Courier<\/em> cont\u00f3 que el 40% del comercio transatl\u00e1ntico de esclavos lleg\u00f3 a trav\u00e9s del puerto de Charleston. En 1860, de los cuatro millones de esclavos africanos en los Estados Unidos (principalmente en el sur), el 10% estaba en el estado de Carolina del Sur, que comprende el 57% de la poblaci\u00f3n de Carolina del Sur. El 12 de abril de 1861, la artiller\u00eda confederada dispar\u00f3 en la base militar de Estados Unidos en el puerto de Charleston, Fort Sumter. Eso comenz\u00f3 la violencia de una guerra civil vicioso que a\u00fan deja un legado que estamos clasificando como naci\u00f3n. Los otros aspectos de esta visita a la madre Emanuel que me impact\u00f3 fue mi lectura durante la Navidad del libro de Edward E. Bautista, La mitad nunca se le ha dicho: La esclavitud y la formaci\u00f3n del capitalismo estadounidense.<\/em><\/a> Originalmente de Durham, Carolina del Norte, y ahora profesor de historia en la Universidad de Cornell, libro bautistas 'es un muy importante. Es cerca de 500 p\u00e1ginas en r\u00fastica y est\u00e1 bien documentada. Est\u00e1 bien escrito con las historias de los esclavos negros, blancos propietarios, pol\u00edticos y hombres de negocios de Inglaterra a Nueva Inglaterra a Nueva York a trav\u00e9s del Sur hasta Texas, M\u00e9xico y Cuba. Para ser honesto, por lo general descremada cuidadosamente muchos de los libros que leo. Pero he le\u00eddo cada p\u00e1gina y cada palabra de este libro. Rara vez le\u00ed un libro por segunda vez, aparte de buscar porciones he marcado. Pero voy a leer este libro de nuevo. Espero que algunos de ustedes leerlo. Puede ser una de las manifestaciones m\u00e1s claras de Efesios 1: 17-23 que he experimentado; que le abrir\u00e1 los ojos. Crec\u00ed y viv\u00ed gran parte de mi vida en el sur de Estados Unidos. Como un joven blanco, e incluso en la edad adulta, admir\u00e9 generales confederados y soldados. Yo sab\u00eda que la esclavitud era moralmente incorrecto y una abominaci\u00f3n a Dios. Lo que no s\u00e9, y lo que he aprendido de la mitad nunca se ha dicho,<\/em> era la profundidad y la magnitud de la complicidad, el dinero, la codicia y la expansi\u00f3n nacional que financieramente y espiritualmente, los blancos esclavizado en este esquema ideado por demonios. Que la corrupci\u00f3n condujo a la esclavizaci\u00f3n de cuatro millones de otros. En \u00faltima instancia, en el per\u00edodo 1810-1860, que llev\u00f3 a la destrucci\u00f3n de las identidades personales y familiares afroamericanos. Una destrucci\u00f3n que hasta hoy agobia a nuestra naci\u00f3n. Me he dado cuenta de que no lo hice, y no, realmente entender la mitad<\/em> de lo que mis hermanos y hermanas afroamericanos han experimentado como parte de su legado hist\u00f3rico. No ofrezco excusas; Ofrezco una conciencia y sensibilidad cada vez mayor. Tambi\u00e9n soy consciente de que, como cristianos, y quiz\u00e1s lo m\u00e1s importante, como los pentecostales, hemos sido llamados por Dios para entrar en la mitad<\/em> de la comprensi\u00f3n de que el Esp\u00edritu Santo nos dar\u00e1 como instrumentos de reconciliaci\u00f3n. Mientras escribo estas palabras, estoy todav\u00eda en Charleston. Pero soy muy consciente, como la mayor\u00eda de los otros l\u00edderes de Am\u00e9rica son pentecostales, que el movimiento del Esp\u00edritu Santo en el a\u00f1o 1906 en la Calle Azusa en Los \u00c1ngeles era la manera de llevar las razas en Am\u00e9rica en la mitad<\/em> de Dios.<\/em> Satan\u00e1s luch\u00f3 amargamente y en muchos aspectos gan\u00f3 muchas de las batallas del Siglo 20.<\/sup> Con mucha tristeza y pesar presentes, sesenta a\u00f1os despu\u00e9s de la Calle Azusa pentecostales m\u00e1s blancos m\u00e1s se presenten en el banquillo en lugar de en la brecha. Pero tal vez estamos recibiendo otra oportunidad como pentecostales en blanco y negro en nuestra naci\u00f3n dividida. En esta reuni\u00f3n PCCNA se form\u00f3 una Comisi\u00f3n de Relaciones hist\u00f3rica de carreras. Tal vez ese ser\u00e1 uno de los mecanismos que el Esp\u00edritu de Dios va a usar para llevarnos a la plenitud<\/em> prometida en Jesucristo en la carta de Pablo a los Efesios ya los Colosenses (Ef 1:10, 23;. 3:19; 4:13; Col . 1:19; 2: 9).","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/02\/Mother-Emanuel-Church.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-jb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}