Members of a historic black church in the US will return to their sanctuary today and worship less than a week after a white gunman killed nine people there, and similar sermons of recovery and healing will reverberate throughout the country.
This morning will mark the first worship service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church since Dylann Roof, 21, sat among a Bible study group and opened fire after saying that he targeted them because they were black, authorities said. The church pastor, the Rev Clementa Pinckney, who was also a state senator, was among the dead.
Events to show solidarity are planned throughout the city and beyond, including the synchronised ringing of church bells at 10 AM EDT (1930 IST). South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley and her family were to attend the service at Emanuel.
Despite grim circumstances the congregation has been faced with, the welcoming spirit Roof exploited before the shooting is still alive, church members said.
Harold Washington, 75, expects the sanctuary to host even more newcomers after one shattered the group's sense of peace and security.
"We're gonna have people come by that we've never seen before and will probably never see again, and that's OK," he said yesterday. "It's a church of the Lord, you don't turn nobody down."
Church leaders will try to address the heavy psychological burdens parishioners bring with them.
"I think just because of what people have gone through emotions are definitely heightened, not just in Charleston but with anyone going to church because it is such a sacred place, it is such a safe place," Shae Edros, 29, said after a multiracial group of women sang "Amazing Grace" outside the church last afternoon.
"To have something like that completely shattered by such evil I think it will be in the back of everyone's heads, really," Erdos said. Erdos was planning on attending today service in nearby Mount Pleasant.
The suburb is connected to Charleston by the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, where people are expected to join hands in solidarity this evening. The bridge's namesake is a former state lawmaker and a vocal Confederate flag supporter.
Roof had been photographed with the flag several times before the shooting.
Unity Church of Charleston the Rev Ed Kosak said delivering this morning's sermon would be emotionally taxing but he felt empowered by the strength and grace Emanuel members have shown a demeanor he said has set the tone for religious leaders everywhere.
