[New Jersey Herald] They have been friends for a decade or more, but, truth be told, really had not talked to each other for the past few years.
"He reached out to me," the Rev. George B. Martinez told the congregation seated before him. "I want to repeat that -- he reached out to me."
Seated behind Martinez was the Rev. Robert Griner, the collared "he" of whom Martinez spoke.
And for the first time in those 10 years, the members of Cavalry Baptist, a traditionally black church in town, sat side-by-side with parishioners from Christ Episcopal Church, a centuries-old branch of Christianity.
"We are gathered here as witness to the world from the little town of Newton," continued Martinez.
"Witness" on this hot, steamy afternoon to the horror of an early June afternoon in a traditionally black church in Charleston, S.C.
