Every year, the ELCA commemorates the Emmanuel Nine on June 17. The Emmanuel Nine are nine people who were shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Our relationship to the shooter, as well as two of the slain, reminds us of both our complicity and our calling. The commemoration calls for us to repent for the sins of racism and white supremacy—sins that too often are present in our lives and that too often harm those who are Black and indigenous—and to rededicate ourselves to the Christ who makes us one and makes us whole. 

The ELCA offers resources for the commemoration here. Several resources are for worship and sharing in community. 

You can sign the ELCA Anti-Racism Pledge here. 

LAMPa is happy to accompany ELCA communities in the pursuit of justice and to connect them with resources for advocacy. Let us know how you are marking the commemoration of the Emmanuel Nine in your congregation or synod and how we can support you by sending us an email at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.