| A blogpost from the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness calls on Brethren “to stand in faith and solidarity with all our brothers and sisters in Christ–especially those who persecuted. In response to the shootings at Emanuel AME Church.” See https://www.brethren.org/blog/2015/ending-the-isolation-a-statement-from-the-office-of-public-witness-on-the-recent-violence-against-black-churches . |
A letter of condolence has been sent to Emanuel AME Church from leadership of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). The letter, sent through the General Secretary’s Office of the Church of the Brethren in the United States, expresses caring on behalf of the entire membership of EYN, following the shooting attack in which nine members including the pastor of Emanuel AME were murdered during a Bible study.
Following is the full text of the letter:
The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
110 Calhoun St.
Charleston, South Carolina 29401-3510
Through
The General Secretary
Church of the Brethren, USA
Dear members of the Christian family,
On behalf of the entire members of the EYN — Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, we send you our hearts feelings over the sad news of attack on your Church which leads to ask WHY? We stand by you in this difficult time as you mourn nine memorable lives of your members. We pray for the family to bear the sudden killing and to have heart of being encouraged by our Lord’s word that those who have been killed for His name’s sake have the everlasting reward.
As members of God’s family, we believe there is no boundary to our unity in faith. Let us continue praying with one voice since Christ is the Prince of Peace who through His love unites all human kind. Indeed your grieve has just awaken our sorrow afresh as we are still going through the trauma of Boko Haram. So, when we heard the news, we quickly want to identify with you and share the grief.
We do not know the grieved families as individual but we trust you will extend our condolence to all.
Remain blessed.
Yours in God’s vineyard,
Rev. Mbode M. Ndirmbita, EYN Vice President
Rev. Jinatu L. Wamdeo, EYN General Secretary