Obama Sings Amazing Grace – President Barack Obama led thousands of highly emotional mourners in singing “Amazing Grace” while giving a Eulogy for the Honourable Reverend Clementa Pinckney. The Honourable Reverend was killed with eight others during a Bible study last week at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
To heartfelt applause Obama said:
“He embodied the idea that our Christian faith demands deeds and not just words; that the “sweet hour of prayer” actually lasts the whole week long, that to put our faith in action is more than individual salvation, it’s about our collective salvation; that to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and house the homeless is not just a call for isolated charity but the imperative of a just society.
“What a good man. Sometimes I think that’s the best thing to hope for when you’re eulogised, after all the words and recitations and resumes are read, to just say someone was a good man.”
Towards the end of the eulogy, Obama began to sing Amazing Grace which was written by a former slave trader after his conversion to Christianity. It was a poignant scene for America’s first black president who has often been reluctant to play up his racial heritage.
Obama is clearly relaxing into his job and being true to himself. This speech will almost certainly go down in history as one of his defining moments.
