When I accepted my friend and colleague U.S. Sen. Tim Scott's invitation to join him in Charleston, South Carolina, to attend the funeral of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, I had no idea the profound and moving experience it would be.
I expected sorrow, grief and even calls for vengeance, justifiably so. Nine people had been gunned down inside the church by a deranged racist. The church has been a sanctuary since its founding in 1816. One of America's most famous places of worship, for generations, it was a beacon against bigotry and hatred.
When state and city laws limited the hours that African-Americans could congregate, it opened its doors. It provided sanctuary to runaway slaves. It helped educate the black community. Its leaders were lashed and hung, and the building was burned, to be rebuilt from those ashes after the Civil War. Booker T. Washington spoke at the church in 1909. It was the site of a famous rally led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who called for making the "American dream a reality."
Those who perished: Nine worshippers. Young and old. Mothers. Brothers. Sons. Daughters. Friends. All there on a Wednesday evening to hear the word of God.
Calls for vengeance would have been understandable. Many of us -- had they been our family, our neighbors, our friends, killed because of the color of their skin in a church -- would likely be calling for vengeance.
But what I experienced instead was hope, dignity and forgiveness. And I learned a lesson in the amazing power of grace, one that will stay with me always, and which will hopefully help me be a better person and public servant for Alaska, with its tapestry of diversity.
That experience began on my flight to Charleston. I had read in news reports about how, within 24 hours, one of the families incredibly forgave the killer. But the power of grace really began to set in when I read the letters that I was carrying from Alaska's religious leaders and their congregations to present to the African Methodist Episcopal community through Sen. Scott, who was very touched to receive them.
Those letters voiced the concerns, hopes and prayers from Alaska's faith community from all across our state.
"Our Father in Heaven has made it clear that we must without a doubt forgive even the most unforgivable atrocities," wrote Associate Pastor Reginald Bright from Jesus is Lord Church of God in Anchorage.
Father Michael Boyle of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Cathedral in Sitka wrote, "We are overcome with awe at your expression of that Faith in the forgiveness that you have offered to one who has caused you such grief."
"We praise God for your willingness to be loving and forgiving! Keep combatting hate-filled actions with love-filled actions," added Pastor Leon D. May I, River in the Desert Community Church and President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Anchorage.
"Please know you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses throughout this nation, holding and loving you in our hearts," said Pastor Tari Stage-Harvey from Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Juneau.
And this from Drs. Tommy and LaTonyea Leonard from New Season Christian Center in Anchorage: "Collectively with God's grace and through his prayers that are echoing around the world, we know that you will rise from this tragedy as shining lights in the world of darkness."
I read more than a dozen of these letters from so many Alaska religious leaders -- vessels of prayers, as I flew through the clouds, headed to that shining light.
The service at Emanuel AME was remarkable. Thousands of people of all races, cultures, and from every walk of life, all joined hands in prayer and in forgiveness.
As the president said during his eulogy, "Blinded by hatred, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that Bible study group -- the light of love that shone as they opened the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle...."
The killer could not imagine how Charleston and America would respond. How it would open up the place in our hearts where generosity, kindness and empathy rests. How all across our great country -- from Alaska to South Carolina -- people wept as one when they heard the news. People joined hands in prayer, vowing to care for each other more deeply, and to understand and respect each other more fully.
The killer could have never envisioned how his heinous act of hatred would result in prayers from thousands of miles away -- from Anchorage, Sitka, Juneau, Fairbanks, from all across our state, which would rest on all of us, of all colors, races and religions.
At the end of the funeral service, when we all joined in singing "Amazing Grace," we all joined in that long struggle for freedom and for dignity. We sang against the scourge of racism. We sang for a world where liberty is cherished and where men and women are created equal. We sang as one for Charleston, for South Carolina and for Alaska.
Touched by grace, we sang as one for America.
Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, was elected in 2014 to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.