Charleston churches respond to shootings with grief, but also resolve

The day after a mass shooting at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., a noon vigil spilled out of a church just blocks away, with hundreds of people sweating in near 100-degree heat, strangers hugging each other or just standing still and listening.

Almost a dozen churches and places of worship are within walking distance of Emanuel at the southern tip of the city, all covering a variety of faiths and denominations. And on Thursday, it was a faith community shaken by the senseless killing of nine people at a Bible study – apparently only because they were black.

But it was also a faith community unified. The Rev. Jeremy Rutledge, pastor for the Circular Congregational Church a few blocks from Emanuel, flew back for the vigil…

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