08/24/2026
Saturday’s Lynching Remembrance Service at Simpson United Methodist Church was a powerful afternoon of remembrance, truth-telling, worship, and challenge.
Together, we named and remembered victims of racial terror lynching in West Virginia—not simply to look backward, but to ask what their memory requires of us today.
Pastor Paul Dunn challenged us through the story of the Good Samaritan to truly see one another as children of God, have compassion for one another, and then choose to act. As he reminded us:
“Compassion is seeing pain and wanting to help.”
We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped make this service possible and to all who gathered with us. Remembering is important—but, as Jesus tells us, the work continues when we “go and do likewise.”
May our remembrance lead to compassion, and may our compassion lead to action.
