June 19--The Rev. John Cager began to field calls late Wednesday night, hours after a 21-year-old gunman massacred nine people at a historic black church in South Carolina.
His parishioners at Ward AME Church in South L.A. were calling, sounding shocked and shaken. They wanted to know: Will there still be church service on Sunday?
"Of course there will be church," Cager told them. "There will be church now, more than ever."
On Thursday Cager and other African Methodist Episcopal leaders expressed outrage and sorrow over the killings at Emanuel AME Church, one of the most respected black congregations in the south. They questioned wether Dylann Storm Roof's actions were part of a larger scheme to terrorize what many consider the soul of the black community: the churches.
"Everybody is numb, in disbelief," Cager said. "Those horrible experiences that some of our pastors and bishops witnessed back in the 1950s we didn't expect to see again. And yet, here we are, in 2015."
The church leaders had gathered at Ward AME for their regular monthly ministerial meeting, but the agenda was overtaken by the news of the shooting.
They took turns praying for strength for their communities and for the families of the victims in Charleston.
"Oh God, we pray that our commitment will not weaken, but grow stronger," said Bishop C. Garnett Henning, his head bowed and eyes closed. "We pray that our church leaders will lead us through this veil of shadows."
Outside the church, located just a few blocks from USC, two police officers stood by, on guard.
Chief Charlie Beck dropped in to offer condolences and answer pastors' questions. He could not offer details about the intentions behind the shooting, but he said patrols would be on special alert around AME churches across Los Angeles in coming days.
"The LAPD will stand with you to ensure houses of worship are safe," he said. "We will take all necessary measures to make sure this kind of attack does not repeat itself."
His words only mildly eased the trepidation. Over the decades, ministers at Ward and other black churches have dealt with occasional acts of hate and racism from outsiders.
"There's been too many to keep count," Cager said.
Just a few miles away at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black church in Los Angeles, several skinheads were convicted in the 1990s for plotting to blow up the building in order to trigger a race war.
That parish planned to hold an 8 p.m. prayer vigil to honor the victims of the mass shooting. Among the dead was the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the 41-year-old pastor of Emanuel who was also a state senator.
Many AME leaders in Los Angeles had worked with Pinckney and looked up to the progress he had made within the church and in the Legislature. They grieved the loss of their colleague.
"This young, energetic pastor," Bishop T. Larry Kirkland told the group. "One of the finest pastors in the African Methodist Episcopal Church is gone. Two small children, a lovely wife. Gone."
esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com
