A Vow to Serve After Charleston

The night nine members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston were killed in the midst of living their faith, hundreds of miles away Colorado state Senator Mike Johnston penned a note of condolence and left it on the door of Shorter AME Church in Denver. The church pastor, Rev. Timothy Tyler, saved the letter from the lawmaker known for his legislation on education and criminal justice reform. Tyler read between the lines and recognized goodwill.

“One of the changes or outgrowths of the Charleston tragedy was a lasting relationship and fellowship with other churches, other religions,” Rev. Tyler says. Shorter AME Church in Denver is a historically active church much like Emanuel AME. The last 12 months have ushered in a renewal of a long-honored AME mission to minister beyond the church doors.

Rev. Tyler says, “It opened the window for the AME Church to reclaim its social justice roots. In the aftermath of the massacre, the world was looking up the history of the church and discovering Denmark Vesey and Emanuel where Black folk had been somewhat radical.”

It is the blood of Denmark Vesey that flows through the thematic veins of Emanuel AME. Vesey, a carpenter and preacher, founded the church in the 1800s and was hanged for planning a slave revolt reportedly involving 9,000 slaves. The plot was uncovered when several fearful slaves revealed the plan.

Generations later a young white man with a plan sat among the faithful during Bible study. Before he left the church, he killed nine of its members with his hate and several rounds of gunfire. Among those he killed was the church pastor, Rev. Clemente Pinckney who was also a state Senator in South Carolina.

Rev. Tyler attended his colleagues’ funeral. He remembers “the crowds and crowds of people who were outside. It struck me…the masses of people who wanted to be there and in that vicinity to give their condolences to that family and that church.”

President Barack Obama delivered a moving tribute to the slain leader of Emanuel. Rev. Pinckney’s widow and friends established a foundation in his honor. And, the state of South Carolina removed its beloved Confederate banner following a searing debate, urged in part by a nation and a world stunned by the evil unleashed in one of the few places most agree should be sacred.

Since that day one year ago, Timothy Tyler and his members at Shorter have thought about ways to advance the legacy of their AME tradition. Tyler is campaigning for Bishop and wants “our Bishops and our Pastors be intentional about doing the work of getting involved in the community, reaching beyond the doors of the community. A lot of pastors have gone in the church and haven’t come out in a while.” The native of Oakland and son of a retired Bishop hopes to see less “emphasis on denomination and more on community.”

In his corner of the Church, Tyler is walking the talk. He is getting married in a few days to Nita Mosby Henry, a civic-minded executive at Denver’s Children’s Hospital. And, one of his groomsmen shares his commitment to community. After all, state Senator Mike Johnston first reached out to Rev. Tyler on one of the darkest nights in the history of the AME Church and America.