Give him all praise and honor to God.

On a sweltering summer day in June 2015, then President Barack Obama stood before a crowded

arena in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Bible calls us to hope, to persevere and have faith in things not seen.

He was there to give the eulogy for the Reverend Clemente Pinkney, a state senator and the

senior pastor of the historic Mother Emanuel A&E Church.

He embodied the idea that our Christian faith demands deeds and not just words.

And to put our faith in action is more than just individual salvation.

It's about our collective salvation.

To feed the hunger, and to clothe the naked, and house the homeless is not just a call

for isolated charity, but the imperative of a just society.

Known along the front row, just yards from where Obama stood, eulogyzing Pinkney, the

Reverend's widow sat draped in all black, with a lacy hat framing her head like a beautiful

sad rose.

Their two little girls wore white bows in their hair.

The President called their father a good man and a good model of faith.

And then to lose him at 41.

Sling in his sanctuary with eight wonderful members of his flock, but bound together

by a common commitment to God.

Cynthia Herd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, the pained middle to doctor, Irwanza's Sanders,

Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman Singleton, Myra Thompson.

Good people.

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