My Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Faith: 

      

As we gather as a nation to remember our country's 239th Annual Celebration of the Declaration of Independence, we do so in the wake of the events that continue to unfold in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

We still suffer from the shock and horror of the tragic deaths of nine innocent Americans gunned down while praying in their house of prayer: the Emmanuel AME Church. We still hear the voices of forgiveness and mercy for the assailant spoken by the families of the deceased. Their words of compassion have stunned a nation unaccustomed to such profound words of healing and reconciliation. Finally, there has been the on-going call to action not only in South Carolina but across all the southern states to remove from their midst the symbol of oppression, violence and supremacy against a people who have suffered for countless decades the divisive flag of the Old Confederacy.

 

Hopefully, in spite of and because of the terrible tragedy we Americans experienced two weeks ago, our nation will become a more sensitive and united people under the one and only flag that counts this 4th of July, namely the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America. May God bless us as a nation with the determination to recommit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and freedom for all our people.

 

Gratefully, in the Risen Christ,