To the editor:

Thanks to the religious leaders of Lawrence for planning an interfaith service of solidarity with Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston and Lawrence’s own St. Luke A.M.E. Church for opening its doors to the community, on June 21. Like many people, I was stunned and heartsick at the violent intrusion into a house of worship that happened in South Carolina June 17. I listened in amazement to the alleged shooter’s bail hearing two days later when, one by one, family members of the victims went to a microphone and told the young man that they forgave him.

I wanted to publicly thank the Emanuel A.M.E. Church community for its message of forgiveness and love in the face of the most unimaginable horror, after having church and family members ripped away so harshly. This message reached many ears, including those of a television reporter who, during a live segment in front of the church, was overcome with emotion at the sound of singing behind him, just as the shooter stood publicly, in a courtroom, for the first time, facing the consequences of his actions. The sister of one of the victims, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, repeated words that her sister had spoken: “We are the family that love built. We have to forgive.” The grace they showed that day should serve as a model for all of us, as we try to understand how we are called to live together in a diverse, sometimes dangerous world.