Grace Will Lead Us Home, by Jennifer Berry Hawes

Most Americans remember all to well the news reports of the young white man who attended a Bible study at an historic black church and, after sitting through the study, opened fire, killing nine of the attendees.  We were all inspired by the response of some of the church members, who, just days after this young man killed their family members, told him they forgave him, and invited him to repent and give his life to Jesus.

Jennifer Berry Hawes's Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Charleston Church Massacre and the Hard, Inspiring Journey to Forgiveness thoroughly describes the massacre itself and the aftermath and impact on the surviving family members, church, and community.  The strongest part of the book is the detailed description of the attack at the Bible study.  It's heart-wrenching, tear-jerking.  And the grace and forgiveness displayed by the survivors is inspiring.

Not so inspiring is the ugliness of church politics and greed that arose in the aftermath.  The senior pastor and several other pastors and lay pastors were in attendance at the Bible study.  The church was left without much pastoral leadership in place.  The church, an important congregation regionally, in the denomination, and in African-American history, is a prime pulpit, so the denomination's bishop took over pastoral duties.  When money came rolling in from well-wishers around the world, this pastor was evasive and secretive about the money, which amounted to millions of dollars, and ended up keeping a good chunk of it for facility improvements at church--and who knows what else.

Berry Hawes personalizes this story and its aftermath with a high degree of detail and depth.  One of the surprising elements, at least to me, is the sympathetic treatment she gives the shooter's family.  Apparently his deep racism came not from family tradition, but from his solitary explorations of the dark reaches of the internet.  (By the way, he says he was concerned about black people murdering and raping white people.  So why target a bunch of church ladies at a Bible study?  This is  evidence of his illogical idiocy.)  His parents and grandparents were rightly devastated by his actions. 

This is not an easy book to read, as it shows such an ugly episode up close and personal.  But the theme of redemption and healing is strong, as is the recognition that the race war this shooter wanted to start did not take root.  When hate could have taken the headlines, grace and forgiveness took center stage.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!