Guns at Church while Praying for Our Family in Charleston
The Rev. Dr. Gayle Hubbard Arnold is a long-time real-life friend and colleague. She wrote the following yesterday and it’s with her permission that I share with you today —
The shooting in Charleston brings back difficult memories. The people there are surely still in shock and disbelief that their sacred place and time has been invaded, even destroyed along with the lives that were lost. A ‘hate crime’ – good versus evil, God versus the enemy.
Just last night I was chatting with a woman who had been part of our Singles Ministry at Northside – Atlanta, about a time we would never forget.
Dec. 7, 1987 A remnant of 23 of our singles were visiting while others had gone on to a gathering at someone’s house.A masked man in a trench coat came in one door flashing his sawed off shotgun. “Hit the floor, face down, throw out your valuables if you want to live to see Christmas.”
Our first thought was that the youth group was playing another joke on us.
Then another man, unmasked, came in the opposite door, flashing his .38.
Thank God for instantly moving me into a pastoral role, so that I was not overcome by my own fear. I calmly told everyone to get down, to do what they said, to be still so that we could be safe from further violence.
For 20 minutes or so they roamed around, picking up jewel, purses, keys, etc. waving their guns in our faces and kicking one person in the head because they thought she was hiding something.
At one time I looked into the eyes of one of our attackers. His eyes were empty – there was no soul to be seen.
They left with their ‘bounty’ and warning that if anyone moved for 15 minutes, there would be a bloodbath.
Then we called for help, all with a part of our personal security wavering as we would always carry with us: it could happen to us, and clearly evil and the Enemy had tarnished our Sacred space.
As gun laws are changing, and questions even in South Carolina; I can still hear the words of the Detective who interviewed me that night: “Thank God that you all remained calm and quiet and did not seek to take action as it would have become a bloodbath.
“And that it did not happen in my church. I’m a cop. I always ‘carry’ (a weapon) and I would have by instinct started shooting, possibly making it a far worse situation.”
We must pray for our family in Charleston, we must ‘stand in the gap’ praying for their consolation that only God can offer. There will never be answers, but God will never leave them. May His grace be poured out upon all those affected.
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