New pastor seeks to bring hope to Charleston church following massacre

(The Christian Science Monitor) Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church church in Charleston, South Carolina, has a new pastor.

Betty Deas Clark became the first female pastor at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Saturday (January 23), local news outlets reported. The next day she delivered her first sermon, which focused on a message of hope.

“God feels our pain, hears our cries and he knows our every move,” Clark said in her sermon, according to the Post and Courier. “While the dreams, expectations, and bodies of many have been laid to rest, we must not allow nor put our hope to rest. We must believe as a family in God that our best days are in front of us. We must believe that better days are coming.”