Matthews UMC has invited me to do a talk on the lynching of Willie Earle. This event will be February 16 at 7pm on the Matthews UMC YouTube Channel.
I wrote about the lynching, Hawley Lynn’s sermon afterwards, and what all that has to do with preaching against racism today in my book Who Lynched Willie Earle?
Who Lynched Willie Earle? Preaching to Confront Racism
Effective 21st century preaching demands a more perceptive understanding of both race and Christian faith.
How do pastors of white, mainline Protestant churches preach effectively in situations of racial violence and dis-ease? Even though you long to address contemporary social crises, how do you know where to begin when it’s simply not possible to relate to black pain? Who Lynched Willie Earle? uses the true story of pastor Hawley Lynn’s 1947 sermon, a response to the last lynching in Greenville, South Carolina, to help pastors preach on race and violence in America, inviting and challenging the church to respond.
Peculiar Prophet 