Mother Emanuel’s pastor reflects on tragic shooting ahead of 8th anniversary

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – This Saturday will mark eight years since the tragic shooting at Emanuel AME Church that resulted in nine members of the historic church being killed.

Mother Emanuel’s Senior Pastor Eric Manning says June 17, 2015 is a day that changed the Charleston community forever, and eight years later, the pain from that tragedy is still palpable.

Manning says June 17, 2015, started like any other day.

“It started of course, peacefully. It started with jubilancy. It started with people being able to embrace their loved ones and sharing intimate thoughts and details with them,” he said.

But he says the end of June 17, 2015, changed Charleston, and the world, forever.

Mother Emanuel’s senior pastor in 2015, South Carolina Senator Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and eight members of this congregation were shot and killed by a white supremacist during bible study.

“This community was turned upside down,” Manning said. “The AME Church was turned upside down, and June 17^th will now be remembered as a day when a traumatic, tragic, hateful act took place here at Mother Emanuel.”

Manning, who was serving as the senior pastor at Bethel AME in Georgetown, remembers the moment his daughter came into this bedroom and told him what happened.

“I said, ‘No, I would’ve gotten a call by now,’” he said. “Just as soon as she walked out of the room, my phone rang, and it was a colleague saying, ‘We think Reverend Pinckney was murdered.’ And I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

Manning was officially appointed senior pastor of Mother Emanuel one year after the shooting.

In the seven years since, he says he often notices a shift in emotions around the time of this tragic anniversary, which is why he says he’s very careful in his approach when leading his congregation.

“When I came to serve Mother Emanuel in 2016,” Manning said, “I had to learn how to be trauma-informed. And the worst thing that I could ever say to anyone is, ‘I understand your pain.’ I don’t understand it. Like I said, for me, June 17, 2015, started differently.”

Although eight years have passed, Manning says it doesn’t make the unfathomable loss Mother Emanuel’s membership suffered any easier.

“They always say that time has a way of healing all wounds,” he said. “And time does give an aid, but at the same time, it may cause you to feel even more of a void because your loved one was taken abruptly away from you.”

He says his congregation continues to carry the legacy of those nine members who lost their lives eight years ago in their hearts.

“Our duty is to make sure that everyone remembers,” Manning said, “and that we honor their legacies as best as we possibly can.”

Mother Emanuel has a number of events to commemorate the Mother Emanuel 9, and you can count on News 2 for coverage of several of those events throughout the weekend.