Charleston Church appoints new pastor 7 months after shooting

A new pastor has been appointed to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark is the first female pastor assigned at the historic church, replacing Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a former Democrat state senator and a victim of the mass murder that occured June last year.

According to Yahoo! News, Dr. Clark delivered her first sermon on Sunday, focusing on the hope that the best days are still coming.

She also said that God feels our pain and knows our every move; that although dreams and expectations are slowly withering, the church as a family must not be shaken.

She expressed her grief over the lives lost in the shooting and admitted that there was still a lot of healing to do in the community.

Dr. Clark led the congregation at Mount Pisgah AME Church before becoming appointed as the new minister at Emanuel. She succeeds interim pastor, the Rev. Dr. Norvel Goff functioned as the pastor-in-charge from June to January and became the presiding elder of the AME church and currently running as Bishop. She was also a chairman of the Board of Examiners in South Carolina and the first female president of the Ministerial Alliance for the Charleston Area.

The Emanuel AME Church, also known as "Mother Emanuel", was a historically significant place of worship as it was built to support the African American in their struggle for black freedom and equal civil rights in Charleston.

On June 17, Dylan Roof entered Emanuel AME Church during a prayer meeting, killing nine parishioners including Rev. Clementa Pinckney, as reported by the Associated Press. The police believed that the killing was a crime motivated by extremist views and racism against African American Christians. 

Eight died at the scene, and one was pronounced dead at the hospital. A day later, Roof was arrested after a car chase in Shelby, North Carolina.