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Historic Atlanta church mourns victims of Texas violence while remembering its own

"We pray for our brothers and sisters in Sutherland because there is no distance in prayer."

Atlanta’s most historic church held prayer on Wednesday for a senseless act of deadly violence at another.

At Ebenezer Baptist Church there was a prayer for victims of the shooting victims at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. The Texas shooting hits very close to home here in Atlanta - and particularly at this church.

“We pray for our brothers and sisters in Sutherland because there is no distance in prayer,” Pastor Raphael G. Warnock said.

And while many may feel like church shootings are something new, the violence actually traces back decades.

“Our church is no stranger to the tragedy of armed violence in our sanctuary,” Warnock said. “In 1974, the mother of Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed while playing the Lord’s Prayer one Sunday morning in our church. After that, some of our deacons and others began to arm and one too many times someone literally dropped their gun.”

Her name was Alberta King. The gunman, Marcus Chenault, Jr. also killed a 69-year-old church deacon. He said he acted out of hatred for Christianity. Lawyers said he was insane but he was charged with two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Now, the church has its own trained law enforcement. Despite the Georgia carry law, they do not want private residents carrying guns in their church. There is even a sign on the door of the sanctuary warning against it. Pastor Raphael G. Warnock believes the true change from this kind of violence will only come from our political leaders.

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