My Prayer for Peace for My Brothers & Sisters in Charleston, SC

My Prayer for Peace for Our Brothers and Sisters in Charleston, South Carolina:

I woke up early this morning at the start of a holy month to sit in prayer. I am suffocating with grief and horror thinking of our brothers and sisters in Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church were gunned down doing the same last night.

In 1999, I moved to Charleston, SC for my neurology residency training at the Medical University of South Carolina. I was acutely aware of the racial tensions that plague our entire nation that are unfortunately amplified in the South. Despite the palpable racial tensions, I could never imagine such a horrific act of violence would occur in the form of a hate crime.

A house of worship is sacred and meant to celebrate life, not destroy lives.

Whatever ounce of peace that is left in my heart, I give it to our brothers and sisters in need in Charleston, SC. To lose one’s life because of a hate crime is horrifying. To lose one’s life to a hate crime in a holy place of worship stems from the ultimate act of cowardice and hatred.

In a time where hurt, anger, confusion, and grief can prevail, I am going to work hard to choose love. Connect to the sense of Divine Love that is present in all of us, and send it in a prayer to the entire congregation of Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

To my brothers and sisters in Charleston,
I pray for you to find courage to breathe one moment at a time.
I pray for you connect to a moment of peace in the chaos.
I pray for you to find strength.
I pray for you to find comfort as you mourn the devastating loss of your family members.
I pray for you to know love surrounds you.

I ask anyone reading this to take a moment and pray for peace. Pray that we all learn how to choose love over hate. Choose Love.

With prayers,
Dr. Romie
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