Rev. Sharon Risher - For Such a Time as This

Rev. Sharon Risher will read from and discuss her book from "For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness After The Charleston Massacre." A Q&A and signing will follow the discussion.

At the Co-op

This event is being co-presented by MOMS Demand Action for Gun Sense.

About the Book: Nothing could have prepared Rev. Sharon Risher for the night she learned that her beloved mother, two cousins and six others had been murdered by a white supremacist during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"For Such a Time as This" is Risher's raw and riveting story: a powerful testimony of faith and transformation in the face of unspeakable tragedy, offering inspiring lessons on perseverance, courage, forgiveness, trust, and hope for all who are grieving a broken world.

About the author: Rev. Sharon Washington Risher was born in Charleston, South Carolina where she attended the public schools and graduated from Charles A. Brown High School. She graduated from Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a B.A in Political Science. Sharon heard the call to professional ministry in 2002 and left North Carolina to attend Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas in the spring 2003, and graduated from of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2007 with a Masters of Divinity Degree.

Sharon was a Staff Chaplain, Trauma Specialist, with Parkland Hospital of Dallas, TX, where she has been employed until March 2016. She served on several committees at the hospital. Sharon served Rice Chapel AME Church, Dallas, TX, as Associate Minister for Congregational Care, she preached, and led the Women’s Ministries of the church until April, 2015.

On June 17th, 2015, a horrific tragedy happened; Sharon learned her dear mother, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, was killed in Charleston, SC, at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with 8 other people, which also included two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that time, Sharon has been very outspoken about the nation’s gun laws and is one of the spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy groups, Everytown For Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She has appeared on CNN, Good morning America, Roland Martin's News One, CBS and other national news outlet. Sharon had been interviewed or written articles for Time Magazine, Vouge, Maire-Claire, Essence, Texas Monthly magazine, Guardian, BCC radio, NPR among others.

She has visited President Barak Obama at the White House on several occasions, spoke at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC and she has been a guest speaker for several Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial events. Sharon had traveled across this county speaking at colleges, universities and churches telling about her personal journey. Sharon has testified before several judicial committees and most recently testified at the confirmation hearing for the now standing Attorney General, William Barr before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of a new law called the Charleston Loophole. Most importantly, Sharon is a sought after speaker traveling across the US sharing her story of loss, forgiveness, racism and gun law reforms. Website: www.sharonrisherspeaks.com

Sharon has two grown children, Howard Brandon and Aja Sharnee, who both resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.