06/17/2026
The ELCA marks June 17 as the feast of the Emanuel Nine, martyrs. They were murdered in cold blood by a Lutheran and self-professed white supremacist after they had welcomed him into their Bible study.
We mourn the loss of these nine souls. We confess our complicity in the systems and ideologies that allowed the killer to commit this act.
This litany of confession is adapted from the work of Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown in the African Descent Lutheran Association report from 2022:https://elcamediaresources.blob.core.windows.net/cdn/wp-content/uploads/African_Descent_Ministries_Annual_Report_2022.pdf