The Rev. Cromwell A. Handy listened to the suggestion that he consider canceling Bible study for four to six weeks at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.
Mindful of the church's unique place in history, some members at Dexter — the only church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was senior pastor — believed it could be the target of a hate crime like the one carried out at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston nearly two weeks ago.
Handy bristled at the thought, reminding them that they should not operate in fear and stop ministering to people until “the devil blows over.”
Evildoers will always be among us.
On Sunday, he preached a sermon called “Seeing and responding to our test results,” based on I Peter 1:1-9. The tragedy in Charleston is a test for Christians worldwide, he said.
“We already have security because we have blessed assurance from God.”
Walking in fear is not an option for Christians, he said. The Lord did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind, he said quoting 2 Timothy 1:7.
Black church leaders across the country have expressed concerns for security after the Charleston slayings, which were quickly classified as hate crimes because the shooter targeted a black church that had a long history of fighting for the freedom of African-Americans.
“The church is a central and basic institution of the black community and I mean the total black community,” said longtime civil rights leader C.T. Vivian of Atlanta. “Everything that we have came as a result of the church.”
The black church, Vivian said, “represents what kept us from hating ourselves and kept us from thinking of ourselves as less than.”
If King had bowed down to threats, Handy said, “He may not have been led by his belief in Christ to do the right thing and have a social conscience.”
King had been the pastor of Dexter for less than a year when he was tapped to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December of 1955. The boycott lasted 381 days and involved nearly all of Montgomery’s black residents. In November of 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional.
Montgomery’s black churches and their members were heavily involved in the civil rights movement. Planning meetings and other activities took place at Dexter and other churches throughout the south. Members of Montgomery’s black community and the staff at Alabama State University allowed out-of-town protesters to stay in their homes and prepared meals for them.
None of that is lost on Handy. But the 57-year-old retired special agent for the U.S. Department of Treasury said while churches should take precautions, they can’t but their ministries on hold.
“I’m glad that 60 years Rosa Parks didn’t back down. I’m glad that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — who stood right here — didn’t back down because of fear. We will never stop standing for the Lord, we will never stop fighting for social justice and equal treatment under the law.
“There was a time when we couldn’t read and write and we came up with our own colleges and universities. There was a time when we couldn’t sit in the front of the bus and now we are up on space shuttles. There was a time when all we could do was clean the outhouse but now we’re in the White House.”
John Dolan, 26, joined worshippers from Ohio, Mississippi, Georgia and Indiana at Dexter’s 10:30 a.m. service Sunday. Dolan is studying to be an Army chaplain and lives at nearby Maxwell Air Force Base with his family. After attending service at Dexter three times, the church feels like home. When he first came to Dexter, Lula Thomas saw him standing at the top of the stairs and took him under her wing, introducing him to fellow members.
They welcomed him without judgment, just as the 12 people gathered for Bible study at Emanuel welcomed the shooter into their Wednesday night Bible study.
“I was incredibly saddened, not only for the victims of his shooting but for him. I can’t imagine what pain and what hatred would drive somebody to do that,” Dolan said.
Seeing the families of those killed come out and say they forgave the attacker gave Dolan hope. “It made me look at my own life to say if they can forgive somebody for killing a family member why can’t I forgive someone for doing much less to me?”
Handy, Dexter’s 28th pastor, returned to his hometown in 2010 and has been the pastor at Dexter since 2013. He retired from the IRS in 2007 and now works as director of alumni affairs for his alma mater, Alabama State. His wife, Cynthia Handy, coordinates a dropout prevention program at ASU called ASPIRE (Amazing Students Putting In Resilient Effort.)
As he does every Sunday, Handy asked visitors and members to stand and greet one another in love. It’s something he does in the middle of service so he doesn’t miss greeting anyone when services conclude.
His law enforcement antennas are always up; but he can only recall one time when he suspected a visitor may have been up to something. The young man didn’t make eye contact and seemed shifty and uncomfortable. Handy notified the ushers to keep an eye on him but nothing further happened.
Handy commended the nine people who lost their lives because their last act was to show love to a man intent on destroying them because of the color of their skin.
God chose nine of his best servants to expose a nation’s cancer which has not been cured but was in remission, he said.
As for the Confederate flag, Handy said: “We know it now, after 150 years of hate and debate, it is a symbol of division rather than unity in this nation for some. God brought it down in a matter of one day. It took the bloodshed of nine of God’s good and faithful servants to show that the flag shouldn’t be flying anywhere in a nation that subscribes to the ideal, one Nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
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