Pastor Was an Influential Figure From the Start - New York Times
Clementa Pinckney, the South Carolina state senator who was reportedly killed during an attack at a historic black church Wednesday night, was a pioneering pastor who began preaching at 13 and was elected to the South Carolina House of... After gaining notice for his charisma and his commitment to the church as a young teenager, he became a pastor at 18. Mr. Pinckney became the pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2010, at age 26, and also led... A member of the Democratic Party, Mr. Pinckney showed an early passion for public service. After his election to the South Carolina House of Representatives, he was elected to the State Senate at 27. He served on numerous committees, including on finance, banking and insurance, transportation, medical affairs, and corrections and penology. Just days before he married in 1999, Mr. Pinckney told The Savannah Morning News that his fiancée, Jennifer, whom he met while in college, had been pivotal to his decision to pursue a political career. She “is my main supporter in my political life,” said Mr. Pinckney, who had two daughters, Eliana and Malana. Born on July 30, 1973, to John and Theopia Pinckney, Mr. Pinckney graduated from Allen University in 1995 and obtained a master of public administration degree from the University of South Carolina as well as a master of divinity from the Lutheran... Source: www.nytimes.com
