Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL WITNESS AND MINISTRY SITUATION REPORT – HURRICANE DENNIS
From: Dr. George F. Flowers <gwmame@bellsouth.net>, Executive Director, Department of Global Witness and Ministry
July 12, 2005
SITUATION: Recovery efforts are under way in the aftermath of Hurricane Dennis, the weekend storm that affected Cuba, Haiti, and other portions of the Caribbean and the southeastern United States.
There are no fatality figures in the Caribbean, but preliminary figures indicate that 21 people were killed, 11 in Haiti.
The storm caused extensive damage in Cuba, including the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Sancti Spiritu, Cien Fuegos and Villa Clara. In Haiti, the storm damaged crops and homes primarily in the southern coastal sections of the country, according to reports, though its effects were nowhere as severe as the damage caused by Hurricane Jeanne.
In the United States, the storm drenched US coastal areas – the Florida Panhandle and Alabama in particular – that were affected by hurricanes in 2004; by the time it hit the U.S., it had been downgraded to a Category-Three hurricane. However, the storm continues a path up the Mississippi Valley and threatens a large area with rain and potential flooding.
CWS Response: In the Caribbean, CWS International Response Liaison representative is in contact with Church World Service partners in Cuba and Haiti about their assessments and potential responses. According to GWM partner, representatives from both GWM and CWS may travel to the region to work with other partners and people if necessary.
In the United States, CWS Disaster Response and Recovery Teams are preparing to work with inter-faith groups in the region in their relief and recovery work. CWS expects to issue an appeal shortly for those efforts.
GWM Emergency Response special contact: (843) 852-2645;
gwmame@bellsouth.net
Web site: http://www.ameglobalmissions.com/
2. THE AME CONNECTIONAL LAY ORGANIZATION 29TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION – HOUSTON, TEXAS JULY 25 – 28TH:
Fact Sheet
What: African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) Connectional Lay Organization 29th Annual Biennial Convention.
When: Main Convention: Monday, July 25 – Thursday, July 29, 2005.
Youth Explosion: Saturday, July 23rd and Sunday, July 24th,
Youth Explosion 2005; Preparing for the Harvest
Where: Houston, Texas Hilton Americas of Houston, Texas (1600 Lamar)
Speakers/ Performers: Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean
Republican National Committee Chairperson Ken Mehlman TV Judge Mablean Ephriam
Alpha Phi Alpha President Harry Johnson Award-winning Gospel Recording Artist Vicky Winans.
President: Jesse L. Burns, Jr.
About the Organization: The organization is composed of men and women in every career field from business to medicine working through the A.M.E. church to make life better through their lay ministry for people in every area they touch. The A.M.E. Connectional Lay Organization has a membership that extends across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Africa. Some high-profile A.M.E. lay members include the Honorable Vernon Jordan and former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater.
About the Denomination: The African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest Black denomination in America founded by Richard Allen with a history of service and commitment.
3. HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AME CHURCH AND DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE:
Charleston, SC - On Monday July 11th, the Seventh District African Methodist Episcopal Church under the stewardship of its presiding prelate Bishop Warren Preston Williams, II and the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice under the leadership of Governor Mark Sanford signed an historic Memorandum of Agreement in which these two organizations will partner in a collective effort to provide South Carolina's at-risk youth with support and services designed to maximize their potential as positive and productive members of the larger South Carolinian community.
"One of the direct aims of our AME Church is to reach the people of God who are most in need in our society," states presiding Bishop Preston Warren Williams II. "The Beauty of this agreement is that it extends beyond cultural boundaries and across generational lines to uplift the young people of South Carolina. Furthermore, in connecting divine faith with economic support the Seventh District AME Church and the DJJ will improve the lives of many of our community's families here in South Carolina and ultimately throughout the nation and world."
The following efforts were proposed by today's memorandum of Agreement:
1. The Seventh Episcopal District, which encompasses over 600 hundred churches statewide, will assist the DJJ in creating additional After School Centers for at-risk youth throughout the South Carolina with a particular focus on rural areas.
2. One full-time and one part-time DJJ staff member from the DJJ Division of Community Services will work directly with the AME Bishop's Office to assist in the coordination of all joint ventures as well to chair an advisory council of AME and DJJ officials.
3. The Seventh Episcopal District will assist in the recruiting of between 5 to 7 volunteers from each of the six AME Districts throughout the state who will work with the DJJ staff in the guidance of youth who are on probation or parole.
4. The seventh Episcopal District will assist the DJJ in obtaining funds to create new and augment existing delinquency programs and services.
For more information contact:
Benjamin Harrison
Seventh Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church
(w) 803-935-0500
(c) 818-451-9060
laepiphany@aol.com
4. PRICE INCREASE FOR ALL AME PERIODICALS BEGINNING ON AUGUST 1, 2005:
The Commissions on Publications, chaired by Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram met during the General Board Meeting in Dallas and recommended a price increase for all periodicals. The Commission on Publications through the Publisher and the editors of all of the periodicals did a cost and quality analysis. During the last Quadrennium, The Christian Recorder and the other periodicals experienced a deficit. The price increase is in line with the subscription price of the other, i.e., United Methodist, AMEZ and CME, denominations. The General Board approved the recommendation of the Commission on Publications. The price increase will be effective beginning on August 1, 2005. Listed below are the per annum costs for each publication:
The Christian Recorder - $36.00; Individual copies of The Christian Recorder will cost 1.50
The A.M.E. Church Review - $25.00; individual issues will cost $5.00
The Voice of Missions - $$25.00
The Journal of Religious Education - $25.00
The Secret Chamber - $25.00
5. FUNERAL NOTICE – 1ST EPISCOPAL DISTRICT:
We regret to inform you of the passing of the Reverend John Isaac Kilby. He was the pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Kenilworth, New Jersey (New Jersey Annual Conference).
The following information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements.
Viewing - Friday, July 15, 2005, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
St. Paul A.M.E. Church
369 Monroe Avenue
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
Funeral Service - Saturday, July 16, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.
Israel Memorial A.M.E. Church
54 Lincoln Street
Newark, NJ 07102
The Rev. Dietra Bell, Pastor
Phone: 973-642-6048
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Andrea Jewel
31 Bock Ave. Newark, NJ 07112
Or
Perry Funeral Home
34 Mercer Street
Newark, NJ 07103
Phone: 973-824-9201
Fax: 973-824-62106.
6. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE - 10TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT:
Mrs. Lucille Fields, the mother-in-law of Rev. Alton Paris passed away Sunday afternoon, July 10, 2005.
A Memorial Service for Mrs. Fields will be at 1:00 p.m., Monday, July 18, 2005, in the Chapel of University Christian Church on the Campus of Texas Christian University, Fort Worth Texas.
The Rev. Cindy Twedell, Officiating.
Telephone: 817-926-6631
Please keep the family (Rev. Alton Paris, Sister Sara, Courtenay, and John Paul) in your prayers.
Instead of flowers, please make a donation to support the research to find a cure for diabetes.
Submitted by: The Reverend Alton E. Paris, Senior Pastor
Macedonia AME Church
1504 East First North St.
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-962-35947.
7. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE - 13TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mr. William White of Jackson, Mississippi, the brother of the Rev. Agnes W. Henderson, pastor of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, Paris, Tennessee.
The funeral service for Mr. William White was held on Saturday, July 9, 2005, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Jackson, MS.
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Agnes W. Henderson
5479 Santa Barbara
Memphis, TN 38109
Tel 901-774-0289
Monetary gifts can be sent to Cancer Research of Jackson, Mississippi in Mr. William White’s name.
Submitted by:
Mary P. Daniels, Advisor
West Tenn. Conference Ministers Spouses Alliance
Mrs. Willieann Madison, President
8. ALL BEREAVEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Clergy Family Information Center
Mrs. Ora L. Easley - Administrator
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
(Nashville, Tennessee Contact) Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
(Memphis, Tennessee Contact) (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
Please remember these families in your prayers.
9. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:
The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend Gregory G. M. Ingram; Publisher, the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour and the Editor of The Christian Recorder, the Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III offer our condolences and prayers to all of those who have lost loved ones. We pray that the peace of Christ will be with you during this time of your bereavement.
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
7/13/2005
7/12/2005
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER ONLINE 7/12//05)
Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. PRICE INCREASE FOR ALL AME PERIODICALS BEGINNING ON AUGUST 1, 2005:
The Commissions on Publications, chaired by Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram met during the General Board Meeting in Dallas and recommended a price increase for all periodicals. The Commission on Publications through the Publisher and the editors of all of the periodicals did a cost and quality analysis. During the last Quadrennium, The Christian Recorder and the other periodicals experienced a deficit. The price increase is in line with the subscription price of the other, i.e., United Methodist, AMEZ and CME, denominations. The General Board approved the recommendation of the Commission on Publications. The price increase will be effective beginning on August 1, 2005. Listed below are the per annum costs for each publication:
The Christian Recorder - $36.00; Individual copies of The Christian Recorder will cost 1.50
The A.M.E. Church Review - $25.00; individual issues will cost $5.00
The Voice of Missions - $$25.00
The Journal of Religious Education - $25.00
The Secret Chamber - $25.00
The Commission of Publications also recommended that every person who is an applicant for ministry (itinerant and local orders, licentiate, exhorter, deaconess be encouraged and be expected to subscribe to The Christian Recorder and to all AME publications. The Commission on Publications also recommended at that all stewards, trustees and other officers who serve in leadership positions in the local church be encouraged and be expected to subscribe to The Christian Recorder and that all AME Academic institutions subscribe to, and have copies of all AME periodicals in their libraries.
The Christian Recorder staff and publisher is doing a feasibility study and may be increased 8 to 12 pages.
2. THE EDITOR’S CORNER - TIDBITS FROM THE GENERAL BOARD:
- Bishop Gregory G. M. Gregory and Supervisor Jessica Kendall Ingram gave every person attending the Investiture Banquet gifts.
- Episcopal Districts 14 – 20 should be referred to as, “Districts 14 – 20” rather than “the overseas districts.”
- Edward Waters College reinstated by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The newly appointed President of Edward Waters College is the Reverend Dr. Oswald Perry Brunson, Sr. Dr. Brunson served 29 years as President of Bethune-Cookman College. He also served seven years at the Interdenominational Center (ITC).
- Wilberforce Community College Evaton South Africa is in its fourth year of operation. President G. Joyce Mashabela serves as president of Wilberforce Community College.
- Dr. Samuel D. Jolley, Jr. is the President of Morris Brown College and although MBC does not have full accreditation, it is still open and accepting students for undergraduate study.
Editor’s Note: When I arrived at Wilberforce University in 1960, it was not accredited. We have leading ministers and lay members who attended Wilberforce before it regained its accreditation and who have done well. MBC is still an academic option. MBC has received 750 applications for the fall and hopes to enroll 150 – 250 students this fall.
- Paul Quinn College’s enrollment increased from 800 to 966 students and has an 87% retention rate, up from 65% four years ago. Dr. Dwight Fennell served as President of PQC. It is scheduled for reaffirmation of its accreditation in 2007
- Dr. Cora McHenry is the President of Shorter College. Shorter College is not accredited but they have established major partnerships and articulation agreements with major universities who have agreed to accept academic credits from Shorter because they know the quality of education provided by Shorter.
- The Reverend Dr. Floyd Flake is the President of Wilberforce University. Dr. Flake reported that Wilberforce University is operating in the “black” for the second straight year and has $8 million in endowments. Eleven hundred students are enrolled at Wilberforce and the University has received numerous grants.
- The African Methodist Episcopal University – Monrovia, Liberia has 1736 students. Dr. Levi B. Zangai is the President. AME University is developing internship programs so students will be ready to go into the work force upon graduation. Bishop Daniels shared that he received $1 million to assist in rebuilding Hatcher Hall. The proposed name of the new building: the "Hatcher Henning Norris Human Resource Center."
Editor's note: An earlier post erroneously stated the grant to African Methodist University was $ 8 million. The correct amount of the grant was $1 million (U.S.)
- Payne Theological Seminary has established a wireless campus and is working to establish an online degree program. The Reverend Dr. Leah Gaskin Fitchue is the President of PTS. Payne is working on an articulation agreement with the Board of Higher Education of the United Methodist Church. Retired Bishop, the Rt. Reverend Vinton R. Anderson is the Chair of the Payne Board of Trustees.
- Turner Theological Seminary expects to begin an online program this fall with hook-ups at the First Episcopal District Headquarters in Philadelphia and at St. Paul AME Church in St. Louis, Missouri. The Reverend Dr. Daniel Wesley Jacobs, Sr., is the President of TTS.
- Bishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr., Chair of the Commission on Chaplains, reported that he donated the Palm Sunday offering of $1,006.40, received by his office from the Office of the Chief of Chaplains, to the Eighteenth Episcopal District.
- As the Endorsing Agent for the AME Church, Bishop McCloud is requiring all chaplains to report annually to their annual conferences and make an annual report of their ministry to the annual conference with a courtesy copy provided to his office. When they are deployed, their bishop may excuse them from attending the annual conference. Chaplains are expected to subscribe to all AME periodicals and attend the annual AME Church Growth and Development Seminars. A prayer was given for all AME Chaplains.
- Bishop Samuel Green presented a $25,000 check from General Motors Corporation for sponsorship of the 2005 Lay Biennial to DR. Jesse Burns, who presented it to Mr. Joe L. Ezell, Connectional Lay Treasurer.
The Commission on Global Witness and Ministry, chaired by Bishop Richard Norris recommended that the Department develop and implement a recruitment strategy to recruit volunteer to serve in Districts 14 – 20.
- The Health Commission provided Leadership training and gave out a CD, “Caring for Your Family’s Health.”
Editor’s comment: There was more and I will report more about what happened at the General Board meeting, especially the response to the address by the President of the General Board.
3. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
I received a note from the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram who shared with me some kind words about the Christian Recorder and a copy of her sermon and asked me not to publish her comments. After reading her email message and sermon, I responded, “Now, let me ask you a question? Why do you say, ‘please don't publish this’? Your message is a prophetic word and you want to keep it a secret? Now, let me chastise you - God gave you a word and you want to keep it hidden under a bushel basket! Please let us share your experience in the Holy Land and how you have so wonderfully applied your visit in a scriptural and real-time perspective.
I commend you on developing a great sermon. It was so insightful that you pointed out that the present administration (and many of us- me included) place a different value on the lives of the British and the lives of the Iraqis. Many of us were glued to the TV when we learned of the terrorism in London, but we think little about the huge numbers of Iraqi civilians who die every day. I am inspired to rethink how I look at, not just the American deaths, but also the Iraqi deaths. And the same goes for our thinking about African, Caribbean, and other third-world nations’ deaths. “
The Message Received from the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram
I love the Christian Recorder online, first of all. Thanks for what you do. Sorry I never wrote the article on Jordan that Mrs. Jeannette Johns was encouraging me to do. It just never came together in a way I felt comfortable submitting.
Reading your previous comments reference the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and your question about it struck a chord within me. I have been covering the last two Sundays for a pastor on vacation for the last two weeks, and the only sermon God gave me for yesterday, was really a result of my pain, my study, my search for meaning in all that's going on.... I was terrified about preaching it...but since I was just passing through that pulpit... and since it was the ONLY thing that God gave me...I preached it with, of course, some on the spot unremembered additions and subtractions that are not included in this VERY unedited manuscript. Let me just say that the response of the people in the congregation was so powerful - tears, relief, gratitude ...I don't know what all was going on for the folks... but it was clear that God was doing something.
So that's the long way of saying, I pray this message might be a blessing to you - you bless so many on a daily basis!
The Sermon Written and Preached by the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram
"ONE DAY AT A TIME"
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
I have to confess that in 27 years of preaching, very little of my preaching has come from the book of Deuteronomy - or as a matter of fact from those first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Torah, which culminate in Deuteronomy. The main reason I didn’t preach from them was that I found them (with the exception of a few familiar chapters here and there) pretty hard to understand. They were often repetitive. I got lost in names, places, generations, and events. Reading these books of the Bible straight through, until recently, was all but impossible for me. However, something has changed over the last three years for me and is drawing me to these books and I want to share what I have learned with you because I believe it speaks profoundly to the church and to the world today.
What changed for me was that I have been blessed to visit the country now known as Jordan three times in the last three years - and I have been to visit Egypt once, last year. And I saw quite a bit of the territory where Moses and the people of God wandered in the wilderness. I saw parts of some of the vast deserts. I experienced the unbelievable dry heat of early fall and learned how the shade of a puny shrub can make a dramatic difference in one’s body temperature. I experienced snow on the ground in that same desert on my second trip, in winter. Then this past April, I saw spring green sprouting from crevices in rocks and sand in that same place. I have stood on Mt. Nebo, now three different times, and looked across the Jordan - not very deep, not very wide, any longer, and I have seen Jericho from that position. So I have sampled feeling and seeing and walking in some of the same places where Moses and the people of God walked for 40 years, maybe 500 to 400 years before Christ lived, two and a half millennia ago. I have been there. And it has changed my life and my understanding of this portion of the word of God forever.
Join me as we hear the word of the Lord as it comes from Deuteronomy 8:11-20. Moses is preaching. Deuteronomy is his last sermon to the people before they cross the Jordan River into the land they’ve been headed together toward for the last 40 years. Moses knows he will die before they get there. He will not be going with them, and he feels an urgency to communicate important matters to them, lest they forget, and the rewards for their “follow-ship” short-lived. Deuteronomy 8:11-20 in the NRSV says it this way: READ
So that we might have a focus in the vastness of God’s word, let’s look at the subject “One Day at a Time”, and think on one of the points Moses makes in this portion of his sermon.
He reminds the people God has entrusted him with, of a time when after they’d been on the road just a few weeks, so to speak, though there was no road to travel upon - just miles and miles and miles of sand and rocks to serve as landmarks - Moses reminds them of when they had lost it and were frantic and complaining - wishing they were back in bondage in Egypt - because at least they knew where their next meal was coming from and what it was likely to be. Moses reminded them of how God responded to their concern - promising faithful overnight delivery of their next day’s meals, one day at a time.
One version of that story is in Exodus 16, where we learn that God promised Moses and the people that he would “rain bread from heaven” for them each day, and instructed them that they should on a daily basis gather up an omer, equivalent to about 5 and a half cups, per person of this unfamiliar white flaky honey flavored substance covering the ground each morning and it would provide tasty nourishment for them in the daytime. God gave them instructions to not hoard the bread, called manna; some of the people, of course, didn’t follow the instructions for whatever reason (maybe afraid that there wouldn’t be any more coming in the morning so they held some back) but when they did that, the leftovers would be spoiled by morning. Except that on the sixth day, God’s instructions to them were that they stock up enough for the seventh day, the Sabbath - and miraculously on that day the bread of heaven didn’t spoil.
It did not take long for people to catch on as it related to this food that when they followed God’s instructions, it all worked out, no one was hungry and everyone had good healthy food each day.
Moses, in this final sermon, told them ‘don’t you ever forget the lessons God taught us so long ago - that God will provide for us One Day at a Time - faithfully - and all we have to do is remember God’s instructions and follow God’s instructions.’ ‘God has been,’ said Moses, ‘providing for us all this time when we didn’t know where we were going or how we’d get there. God has provided enough for all of us; there has been no need for us to be greedy; God has kept all his promises to us,’ said Moses.
Moses said to them, ‘and now you are about to enter a land where fruits and vegetables grow well, where you can settle down and build homes, and have animals, and fresh milk and honey, you’ll have money to buy fabric for new clothes, and you won’t be traveling all the time! You will have a permanent place to raise your children and for your children to raise their children. You will have arrived!’
And Moses said, “Please don’t mess it up by forgetting where you’ve come from and what God has done for you! Please don’t forget how God made a way out of no way! Don’t forget it was not by your power and might, but by the power of God that you have even your lives!”
Moses implored them to remember these things, and he warned them that to forget WHOSE they are, meant, like others before them, they’d lose it all.
Church - Friends - what a challenge Moses’ words are to us today. The world we live in has surely forgotten the things Moses called the people of God to remember. God’s love, God’s patience is incomprehensible and God’s grace is amazing, for God has not shut the world down yet and there are still a few of us on the planet, here and in every nation, who believe that God can restore humanity to sanity.
Consider the men of privilege who head the wealthiest eight man- made nations on earth gathered to make decisions for us this past week, men blindly worshipping themselves and their ways. I feel Moses’ tears. I feel Jesus’ tears. Millions of people all over the world desperate, hungry, oppressed, and abused by sinful social structures and economic systems, by power and greed - and these guys in the meeting don’t get it!!! Only God is God! They are not God - and they do not have the final say so.
The president said the other day, “They have such evil on their hearts that they will take the lives of innocent folks.” Of course, he was referring to the persons who set off bus and subway bombs in London - what a dreadful and sad occasion! I believe, however, that Moses would say to George Bush, “Mr. President, why is it that your heart values the life of innocents in London but does not value the lives of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan and of our own US troops there? Why does your heart not value the lives of innocents in Darfur, Sudan, and why does your heart not value the lives of neither the poor nor the middle class in your own country sufficiently to provide adequate health care, and jobs for all, and appropriate rehabilitation rather than incarceration for persons addicted to certain drugs. Why is that, Mr. President?” I think Moses might ask. “What does that say about the content of your heart?”
Jesus speaks, saying, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven.” (MT 7:21)
According to Moses’ last sermon, it is the will of God that people share the resources God has provided, and according to that sermon, the future is not good for those who disobey the will of God.
World leadership has surely forgotten that God pours out blessings one day at a time and that treasure laid up on earth only gets corrupted by moths and rust and becomes of no value to its owner in the end.
Our nation’s leadership has surely forgotten that God has blessed this country, in spite of its horrendous historical sins against its own humanity, and that God has saved it many times from itself. According to Moses’ last sermon, the future is not good for a disobedient nation. Only God’s kingdom is eternal - the famous Roman Empire, I think, only lasted about 400 years and then it was over. The United States may not last that long.
Is the church still in the remembering business? Sometimes, we are. Other times we mimic the world’s powers, calling the world’s ways success. The church, in all places, must check itself out, and ask God to do an inspection and make the necessary corrections. Do we remember all God has done for us? Do our souls still look back and celebrate how we got over one day at a time by the grace of God? Do we still pray ‘give us this day our daily bread’ recognizing that we are not hungry because of God’s gifts to us and only because of God’s gifts one day at a time? Do we remember our AME mission and purpose as a part of the larger body of Christ? Do we still, as a church, speak truth to power, or have we become a part of the perpetuation of earthly structure?
IT IS JUST TOO MUCH TO TRY TO COMPREHEND!!!!
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Or maybe the codependent’s prayer is more suitable ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the person I can, and the wisdom to know that’s ME.'"
Do I - do you - as an individual, remember just how good God has been to us? Do we remember the times when all we had to live on was our faith? Do we remember how God has made a way out of no way - one day at a time? Do we remember how when we were sick, God healed us? Do we remember that God calls us to be witnesses to the truth that ALL things come of God - even our very lives - and we can do no less that present our lives to God that the world might know and see Jesus through our spirits and our actions?
This sermon has no conclusion.....all I know to tell you is that God will provide, one day at a time - we must remember that - we’ll know what we need to know when we need to know it - that’s how God is - etc. and AMEN.
Prayer - Help us to remember...”do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.”
Editor’s note: The Reverend Carole Nelson-a member of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and assists at Primm Tabernacle AME Church in Seattle, Washington where the Reverend Catherine Crosby is the pastor.
4. THE GLOBAL CORNER: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRAVELING TO SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICAN / USA CITIZENSHIP:
Given recent developments around the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act and in response to media enquiries on this matter, the Department of Home Affairs wishes to set out to the public a clear and comprehensive picture of the situation in this regard.
Government recently repealed section 9 of the South African Citizenship Act of 1995, which regulated the use of the citizenship or nationality of another country by a major South African who has dual citizenship.
In essence, the act repealed the provision which allowed the Minister of Home Affairs to deprive a citizen of his or her citizenship for having used the citizenship of a foreign country. Consequently, the previous requirement for exemptions or letters of permission from the Minister to make use of a foreign passport has now been terminated. The issue of deprivation of citizenship was inconsistent with the Constitutional right to citizenship.
In terms of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2004 which came into effect on 15 September 2004, it is now an offence for a major South African citizen to enter the Republic or depart making use of the passport of another country.
Furthermore, it is also now an offence for such a citizen, while in South Africa, to use his or her foreign citizenship or nationality to gain advantage or avoid a responsibility or duty.
Essentially, the Amendment Act provides that a South African citizen, who has dual citizenship or nationality, can freely use his or her foreign passport outside South Africa. However, they must use their South African passport to depart from or enter South Africa.
The Department has received a number of enquiries from our ports of entry on whether or not South Africans who arrive at border posts with foreign passports may be refused to enter or depart from the Republic.
The Department is obliged to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, we acknowledge that many affected South Africans may not yet be aware of the amendments to the Citizenship Act and the implications for themselves.
We have therefore decided that affected South Africans departing or arriving through our ports of entry, attempting to use a foreign passport, will be issued with a warning giving them three months to obtain a South African passport. They will be allowed to depart or enter South Africa.
Accordingly, we would like advise all South Africans who have a dual citizenship and do not have South African passports to apply for their South African passports at their earliest opportunity. Distributed by the Department of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs.
Should you have any questions in this regard, feel free to contact Mrs. Argie Garcia @ (212) 692 2403 or Mr. Johannes Tiba at (212) 692 2401.
More information can be found at http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/homeaffairs/dualcitinfo.htm
5. PASTOR MIKE BARTA SEEKS ASSISTANCE FROM PERSONS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MINISTRY IN CHANGING ETHNIC COMMUNITIES:
I am presenting a workshop at the Fifth District Christian Education Summit in Kansas City next Thursday. I will be dealing with the challenges facing Churches (like Johnson Chapel, Santa Ana) in our Zion that find themselves located in changing communities....communities where a once predominately African American population has moved away, or otherwise dwindled in numbers, only to be replaced by a rapidly growing Hispanic (or other immigrant) population majorities. We will be exploring the question of whether it is possible for an AME congregation in such a position to still be able to establish meaningful and effective models of ministry that allow the church to positively impact it's neighborhood for Christ, despite obvious differences in language and culture. We will further consider whether it is possible to do so without sacrificing the Church of Allen's (at least here in the United States) historic commitment to its core (African-American) constituency.
My purpose in writing you is not to puff up my presentation but to ask for your help. As a part of the presentation, we will of course be sharing details about the community/cross-cultural ministry model that we utilize here at Johnson Chapel. It is my hope to share and be candid about both the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures of our approach while also reviewing the lessons that have been learned from this particular ministry model over the past nine years that it has been utilized here at Johnson Chapel. The model and approach that has been utilized here is however, only one of several approaches that can be implemented in such situations. As a part of this workshop, I would also like to share similar insights regarding other approaches and ministry models that might be in place in other congregations across our great Church. I would love to hear from any Pastor or Congregation who is attempting to make inroads in this critical area and is willing to share information about your efforts.
For those pastors and/or congregational leaders that might be thinking about responding; Please understand that if you are making any kind of effort at all in this area then we can learn from you and I'd love to hear from you...you need not necessarily consider yourself a 'success" to be of help to this presentation.
I would be SO grateful if those interested in assisting me in this effort would contact me via e-mail at pastor_myke@yahoo.com. I have a very brief questionnaire for you to complete, I do apologize for the short amount of remaining time left in which to do this but I promise you that what I need from you will not take an inordinate amount of your time.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration of this request.
Yours in the Joy of Jesus,
Rev. Michael L. Barta
Pastor
Johnson Chapel AME Church
Santa Ana, California
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. PRICE INCREASE FOR ALL AME PERIODICALS BEGINNING ON AUGUST 1, 2005:
The Commissions on Publications, chaired by Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram met during the General Board Meeting in Dallas and recommended a price increase for all periodicals. The Commission on Publications through the Publisher and the editors of all of the periodicals did a cost and quality analysis. During the last Quadrennium, The Christian Recorder and the other periodicals experienced a deficit. The price increase is in line with the subscription price of the other, i.e., United Methodist, AMEZ and CME, denominations. The General Board approved the recommendation of the Commission on Publications. The price increase will be effective beginning on August 1, 2005. Listed below are the per annum costs for each publication:
The Christian Recorder - $36.00; Individual copies of The Christian Recorder will cost 1.50
The A.M.E. Church Review - $25.00; individual issues will cost $5.00
The Voice of Missions - $$25.00
The Journal of Religious Education - $25.00
The Secret Chamber - $25.00
The Commission of Publications also recommended that every person who is an applicant for ministry (itinerant and local orders, licentiate, exhorter, deaconess be encouraged and be expected to subscribe to The Christian Recorder and to all AME publications. The Commission on Publications also recommended at that all stewards, trustees and other officers who serve in leadership positions in the local church be encouraged and be expected to subscribe to The Christian Recorder and that all AME Academic institutions subscribe to, and have copies of all AME periodicals in their libraries.
The Christian Recorder staff and publisher is doing a feasibility study and may be increased 8 to 12 pages.
2. THE EDITOR’S CORNER - TIDBITS FROM THE GENERAL BOARD:
- Bishop Gregory G. M. Gregory and Supervisor Jessica Kendall Ingram gave every person attending the Investiture Banquet gifts.
- Episcopal Districts 14 – 20 should be referred to as, “Districts 14 – 20” rather than “the overseas districts.”
- Edward Waters College reinstated by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The newly appointed President of Edward Waters College is the Reverend Dr. Oswald Perry Brunson, Sr. Dr. Brunson served 29 years as President of Bethune-Cookman College. He also served seven years at the Interdenominational Center (ITC).
- Wilberforce Community College Evaton South Africa is in its fourth year of operation. President G. Joyce Mashabela serves as president of Wilberforce Community College.
- Dr. Samuel D. Jolley, Jr. is the President of Morris Brown College and although MBC does not have full accreditation, it is still open and accepting students for undergraduate study.
Editor’s Note: When I arrived at Wilberforce University in 1960, it was not accredited. We have leading ministers and lay members who attended Wilberforce before it regained its accreditation and who have done well. MBC is still an academic option. MBC has received 750 applications for the fall and hopes to enroll 150 – 250 students this fall.
- Paul Quinn College’s enrollment increased from 800 to 966 students and has an 87% retention rate, up from 65% four years ago. Dr. Dwight Fennell served as President of PQC. It is scheduled for reaffirmation of its accreditation in 2007
- Dr. Cora McHenry is the President of Shorter College. Shorter College is not accredited but they have established major partnerships and articulation agreements with major universities who have agreed to accept academic credits from Shorter because they know the quality of education provided by Shorter.
- The Reverend Dr. Floyd Flake is the President of Wilberforce University. Dr. Flake reported that Wilberforce University is operating in the “black” for the second straight year and has $8 million in endowments. Eleven hundred students are enrolled at Wilberforce and the University has received numerous grants.
- The African Methodist Episcopal University – Monrovia, Liberia has 1736 students. Dr. Levi B. Zangai is the President. AME University is developing internship programs so students will be ready to go into the work force upon graduation. Bishop Daniels shared that he received $1 million to assist in rebuilding Hatcher Hall. The proposed name of the new building: the "Hatcher Henning Norris Human Resource Center."
Editor's note: An earlier post erroneously stated the grant to African Methodist University was $ 8 million. The correct amount of the grant was $1 million (U.S.)
- Payne Theological Seminary has established a wireless campus and is working to establish an online degree program. The Reverend Dr. Leah Gaskin Fitchue is the President of PTS. Payne is working on an articulation agreement with the Board of Higher Education of the United Methodist Church. Retired Bishop, the Rt. Reverend Vinton R. Anderson is the Chair of the Payne Board of Trustees.
- Turner Theological Seminary expects to begin an online program this fall with hook-ups at the First Episcopal District Headquarters in Philadelphia and at St. Paul AME Church in St. Louis, Missouri. The Reverend Dr. Daniel Wesley Jacobs, Sr., is the President of TTS.
- Bishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr., Chair of the Commission on Chaplains, reported that he donated the Palm Sunday offering of $1,006.40, received by his office from the Office of the Chief of Chaplains, to the Eighteenth Episcopal District.
- As the Endorsing Agent for the AME Church, Bishop McCloud is requiring all chaplains to report annually to their annual conferences and make an annual report of their ministry to the annual conference with a courtesy copy provided to his office. When they are deployed, their bishop may excuse them from attending the annual conference. Chaplains are expected to subscribe to all AME periodicals and attend the annual AME Church Growth and Development Seminars. A prayer was given for all AME Chaplains.
- Bishop Samuel Green presented a $25,000 check from General Motors Corporation for sponsorship of the 2005 Lay Biennial to DR. Jesse Burns, who presented it to Mr. Joe L. Ezell, Connectional Lay Treasurer.
The Commission on Global Witness and Ministry, chaired by Bishop Richard Norris recommended that the Department develop and implement a recruitment strategy to recruit volunteer to serve in Districts 14 – 20.
- The Health Commission provided Leadership training and gave out a CD, “Caring for Your Family’s Health.”
Editor’s comment: There was more and I will report more about what happened at the General Board meeting, especially the response to the address by the President of the General Board.
3. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
I received a note from the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram who shared with me some kind words about the Christian Recorder and a copy of her sermon and asked me not to publish her comments. After reading her email message and sermon, I responded, “Now, let me ask you a question? Why do you say, ‘please don't publish this’? Your message is a prophetic word and you want to keep it a secret? Now, let me chastise you - God gave you a word and you want to keep it hidden under a bushel basket! Please let us share your experience in the Holy Land and how you have so wonderfully applied your visit in a scriptural and real-time perspective.
I commend you on developing a great sermon. It was so insightful that you pointed out that the present administration (and many of us- me included) place a different value on the lives of the British and the lives of the Iraqis. Many of us were glued to the TV when we learned of the terrorism in London, but we think little about the huge numbers of Iraqi civilians who die every day. I am inspired to rethink how I look at, not just the American deaths, but also the Iraqi deaths. And the same goes for our thinking about African, Caribbean, and other third-world nations’ deaths. “
The Message Received from the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram
I love the Christian Recorder online, first of all. Thanks for what you do. Sorry I never wrote the article on Jordan that Mrs. Jeannette Johns was encouraging me to do. It just never came together in a way I felt comfortable submitting.
Reading your previous comments reference the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and your question about it struck a chord within me. I have been covering the last two Sundays for a pastor on vacation for the last two weeks, and the only sermon God gave me for yesterday, was really a result of my pain, my study, my search for meaning in all that's going on.... I was terrified about preaching it...but since I was just passing through that pulpit... and since it was the ONLY thing that God gave me...I preached it with, of course, some on the spot unremembered additions and subtractions that are not included in this VERY unedited manuscript. Let me just say that the response of the people in the congregation was so powerful - tears, relief, gratitude ...I don't know what all was going on for the folks... but it was clear that God was doing something.
So that's the long way of saying, I pray this message might be a blessing to you - you bless so many on a daily basis!
The Sermon Written and Preached by the Reverend Carole Nelson-Ingram
"ONE DAY AT A TIME"
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
I have to confess that in 27 years of preaching, very little of my preaching has come from the book of Deuteronomy - or as a matter of fact from those first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Torah, which culminate in Deuteronomy. The main reason I didn’t preach from them was that I found them (with the exception of a few familiar chapters here and there) pretty hard to understand. They were often repetitive. I got lost in names, places, generations, and events. Reading these books of the Bible straight through, until recently, was all but impossible for me. However, something has changed over the last three years for me and is drawing me to these books and I want to share what I have learned with you because I believe it speaks profoundly to the church and to the world today.
What changed for me was that I have been blessed to visit the country now known as Jordan three times in the last three years - and I have been to visit Egypt once, last year. And I saw quite a bit of the territory where Moses and the people of God wandered in the wilderness. I saw parts of some of the vast deserts. I experienced the unbelievable dry heat of early fall and learned how the shade of a puny shrub can make a dramatic difference in one’s body temperature. I experienced snow on the ground in that same desert on my second trip, in winter. Then this past April, I saw spring green sprouting from crevices in rocks and sand in that same place. I have stood on Mt. Nebo, now three different times, and looked across the Jordan - not very deep, not very wide, any longer, and I have seen Jericho from that position. So I have sampled feeling and seeing and walking in some of the same places where Moses and the people of God walked for 40 years, maybe 500 to 400 years before Christ lived, two and a half millennia ago. I have been there. And it has changed my life and my understanding of this portion of the word of God forever.
Join me as we hear the word of the Lord as it comes from Deuteronomy 8:11-20. Moses is preaching. Deuteronomy is his last sermon to the people before they cross the Jordan River into the land they’ve been headed together toward for the last 40 years. Moses knows he will die before they get there. He will not be going with them, and he feels an urgency to communicate important matters to them, lest they forget, and the rewards for their “follow-ship” short-lived. Deuteronomy 8:11-20 in the NRSV says it this way: READ
So that we might have a focus in the vastness of God’s word, let’s look at the subject “One Day at a Time”, and think on one of the points Moses makes in this portion of his sermon.
He reminds the people God has entrusted him with, of a time when after they’d been on the road just a few weeks, so to speak, though there was no road to travel upon - just miles and miles and miles of sand and rocks to serve as landmarks - Moses reminds them of when they had lost it and were frantic and complaining - wishing they were back in bondage in Egypt - because at least they knew where their next meal was coming from and what it was likely to be. Moses reminded them of how God responded to their concern - promising faithful overnight delivery of their next day’s meals, one day at a time.
One version of that story is in Exodus 16, where we learn that God promised Moses and the people that he would “rain bread from heaven” for them each day, and instructed them that they should on a daily basis gather up an omer, equivalent to about 5 and a half cups, per person of this unfamiliar white flaky honey flavored substance covering the ground each morning and it would provide tasty nourishment for them in the daytime. God gave them instructions to not hoard the bread, called manna; some of the people, of course, didn’t follow the instructions for whatever reason (maybe afraid that there wouldn’t be any more coming in the morning so they held some back) but when they did that, the leftovers would be spoiled by morning. Except that on the sixth day, God’s instructions to them were that they stock up enough for the seventh day, the Sabbath - and miraculously on that day the bread of heaven didn’t spoil.
It did not take long for people to catch on as it related to this food that when they followed God’s instructions, it all worked out, no one was hungry and everyone had good healthy food each day.
Moses, in this final sermon, told them ‘don’t you ever forget the lessons God taught us so long ago - that God will provide for us One Day at a Time - faithfully - and all we have to do is remember God’s instructions and follow God’s instructions.’ ‘God has been,’ said Moses, ‘providing for us all this time when we didn’t know where we were going or how we’d get there. God has provided enough for all of us; there has been no need for us to be greedy; God has kept all his promises to us,’ said Moses.
Moses said to them, ‘and now you are about to enter a land where fruits and vegetables grow well, where you can settle down and build homes, and have animals, and fresh milk and honey, you’ll have money to buy fabric for new clothes, and you won’t be traveling all the time! You will have a permanent place to raise your children and for your children to raise their children. You will have arrived!’
And Moses said, “Please don’t mess it up by forgetting where you’ve come from and what God has done for you! Please don’t forget how God made a way out of no way! Don’t forget it was not by your power and might, but by the power of God that you have even your lives!”
Moses implored them to remember these things, and he warned them that to forget WHOSE they are, meant, like others before them, they’d lose it all.
Church - Friends - what a challenge Moses’ words are to us today. The world we live in has surely forgotten the things Moses called the people of God to remember. God’s love, God’s patience is incomprehensible and God’s grace is amazing, for God has not shut the world down yet and there are still a few of us on the planet, here and in every nation, who believe that God can restore humanity to sanity.
Consider the men of privilege who head the wealthiest eight man- made nations on earth gathered to make decisions for us this past week, men blindly worshipping themselves and their ways. I feel Moses’ tears. I feel Jesus’ tears. Millions of people all over the world desperate, hungry, oppressed, and abused by sinful social structures and economic systems, by power and greed - and these guys in the meeting don’t get it!!! Only God is God! They are not God - and they do not have the final say so.
The president said the other day, “They have such evil on their hearts that they will take the lives of innocent folks.” Of course, he was referring to the persons who set off bus and subway bombs in London - what a dreadful and sad occasion! I believe, however, that Moses would say to George Bush, “Mr. President, why is it that your heart values the life of innocents in London but does not value the lives of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan and of our own US troops there? Why does your heart not value the lives of innocents in Darfur, Sudan, and why does your heart not value the lives of neither the poor nor the middle class in your own country sufficiently to provide adequate health care, and jobs for all, and appropriate rehabilitation rather than incarceration for persons addicted to certain drugs. Why is that, Mr. President?” I think Moses might ask. “What does that say about the content of your heart?”
Jesus speaks, saying, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven.” (MT 7:21)
According to Moses’ last sermon, it is the will of God that people share the resources God has provided, and according to that sermon, the future is not good for those who disobey the will of God.
World leadership has surely forgotten that God pours out blessings one day at a time and that treasure laid up on earth only gets corrupted by moths and rust and becomes of no value to its owner in the end.
Our nation’s leadership has surely forgotten that God has blessed this country, in spite of its horrendous historical sins against its own humanity, and that God has saved it many times from itself. According to Moses’ last sermon, the future is not good for a disobedient nation. Only God’s kingdom is eternal - the famous Roman Empire, I think, only lasted about 400 years and then it was over. The United States may not last that long.
Is the church still in the remembering business? Sometimes, we are. Other times we mimic the world’s powers, calling the world’s ways success. The church, in all places, must check itself out, and ask God to do an inspection and make the necessary corrections. Do we remember all God has done for us? Do our souls still look back and celebrate how we got over one day at a time by the grace of God? Do we still pray ‘give us this day our daily bread’ recognizing that we are not hungry because of God’s gifts to us and only because of God’s gifts one day at a time? Do we remember our AME mission and purpose as a part of the larger body of Christ? Do we still, as a church, speak truth to power, or have we become a part of the perpetuation of earthly structure?
IT IS JUST TOO MUCH TO TRY TO COMPREHEND!!!!
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Or maybe the codependent’s prayer is more suitable ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the person I can, and the wisdom to know that’s ME.'"
Do I - do you - as an individual, remember just how good God has been to us? Do we remember the times when all we had to live on was our faith? Do we remember how God has made a way out of no way - one day at a time? Do we remember how when we were sick, God healed us? Do we remember that God calls us to be witnesses to the truth that ALL things come of God - even our very lives - and we can do no less that present our lives to God that the world might know and see Jesus through our spirits and our actions?
This sermon has no conclusion.....all I know to tell you is that God will provide, one day at a time - we must remember that - we’ll know what we need to know when we need to know it - that’s how God is - etc. and AMEN.
Prayer - Help us to remember...”do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.”
Editor’s note: The Reverend Carole Nelson-a member of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and assists at Primm Tabernacle AME Church in Seattle, Washington where the Reverend Catherine Crosby is the pastor.
4. THE GLOBAL CORNER: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRAVELING TO SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICAN / USA CITIZENSHIP:
Given recent developments around the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act and in response to media enquiries on this matter, the Department of Home Affairs wishes to set out to the public a clear and comprehensive picture of the situation in this regard.
Government recently repealed section 9 of the South African Citizenship Act of 1995, which regulated the use of the citizenship or nationality of another country by a major South African who has dual citizenship.
In essence, the act repealed the provision which allowed the Minister of Home Affairs to deprive a citizen of his or her citizenship for having used the citizenship of a foreign country. Consequently, the previous requirement for exemptions or letters of permission from the Minister to make use of a foreign passport has now been terminated. The issue of deprivation of citizenship was inconsistent with the Constitutional right to citizenship.
In terms of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2004 which came into effect on 15 September 2004, it is now an offence for a major South African citizen to enter the Republic or depart making use of the passport of another country.
Furthermore, it is also now an offence for such a citizen, while in South Africa, to use his or her foreign citizenship or nationality to gain advantage or avoid a responsibility or duty.
Essentially, the Amendment Act provides that a South African citizen, who has dual citizenship or nationality, can freely use his or her foreign passport outside South Africa. However, they must use their South African passport to depart from or enter South Africa.
The Department has received a number of enquiries from our ports of entry on whether or not South Africans who arrive at border posts with foreign passports may be refused to enter or depart from the Republic.
The Department is obliged to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, we acknowledge that many affected South Africans may not yet be aware of the amendments to the Citizenship Act and the implications for themselves.
We have therefore decided that affected South Africans departing or arriving through our ports of entry, attempting to use a foreign passport, will be issued with a warning giving them three months to obtain a South African passport. They will be allowed to depart or enter South Africa.
Accordingly, we would like advise all South Africans who have a dual citizenship and do not have South African passports to apply for their South African passports at their earliest opportunity. Distributed by the Department of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs.
Should you have any questions in this regard, feel free to contact Mrs. Argie Garcia @ (212) 692 2403 or Mr. Johannes Tiba at (212) 692 2401.
More information can be found at http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/homeaffairs/dualcitinfo.htm
5. PASTOR MIKE BARTA SEEKS ASSISTANCE FROM PERSONS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MINISTRY IN CHANGING ETHNIC COMMUNITIES:
I am presenting a workshop at the Fifth District Christian Education Summit in Kansas City next Thursday. I will be dealing with the challenges facing Churches (like Johnson Chapel, Santa Ana) in our Zion that find themselves located in changing communities....communities where a once predominately African American population has moved away, or otherwise dwindled in numbers, only to be replaced by a rapidly growing Hispanic (or other immigrant) population majorities. We will be exploring the question of whether it is possible for an AME congregation in such a position to still be able to establish meaningful and effective models of ministry that allow the church to positively impact it's neighborhood for Christ, despite obvious differences in language and culture. We will further consider whether it is possible to do so without sacrificing the Church of Allen's (at least here in the United States) historic commitment to its core (African-American) constituency.
My purpose in writing you is not to puff up my presentation but to ask for your help. As a part of the presentation, we will of course be sharing details about the community/cross-cultural ministry model that we utilize here at Johnson Chapel. It is my hope to share and be candid about both the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures of our approach while also reviewing the lessons that have been learned from this particular ministry model over the past nine years that it has been utilized here at Johnson Chapel. The model and approach that has been utilized here is however, only one of several approaches that can be implemented in such situations. As a part of this workshop, I would also like to share similar insights regarding other approaches and ministry models that might be in place in other congregations across our great Church. I would love to hear from any Pastor or Congregation who is attempting to make inroads in this critical area and is willing to share information about your efforts.
For those pastors and/or congregational leaders that might be thinking about responding; Please understand that if you are making any kind of effort at all in this area then we can learn from you and I'd love to hear from you...you need not necessarily consider yourself a 'success" to be of help to this presentation.
I would be SO grateful if those interested in assisting me in this effort would contact me via e-mail at pastor_myke@yahoo.com. I have a very brief questionnaire for you to complete, I do apologize for the short amount of remaining time left in which to do this but I promise you that what I need from you will not take an inordinate amount of your time.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration of this request.
Yours in the Joy of Jesus,
Rev. Michael L. Barta
Pastor
Johnson Chapel AME Church
Santa Ana, California
7/11/2005
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER ONLINE 7/11//05)
Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
- The toll of Americans that have died in the war in Iraq has now passed 1,750. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died. Thousands of men, women and children in Iraq and American service persons have been wounded. There is no end in sight! Where is this war going? Does anybody know?
- I will be writing more about the General Board / Bishops’ Council.
2. SAINT PHILIP AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH CELEBRATES GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW FAMILY LIFE AND ADMINISTRATION CENTER:
Submitted by: E. JoAnn Bacon
Atlanta, Georgia (Dekalb County) – On June 12, 2005, the congregation of Saint Philip African Methodist Episcopal Church held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Family Life and Administration Center. This was a great day for the members of Saint Philip A. M. E. Church and its senior pastor, the Reverend George Moore, Sr. This facility is a continuation of the building program began in 1998 with the completion of a worship center.
The Sixth Episcopal District Presiding Prelate, Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux and Episcopal Supervisor, Dr. Pam DeVeaux attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The worship service was graced by music from the church’s mass choir directed by Ms. L’Tanya Moore and a special liturgical dance presentation was given by the Holy Dance Ministry. It was especially meaningful as they praised the occasion in their construction attire. The scripture lesson of the 122 Psalm was read by assistant pastor, the Reverend Larry Jones and the Reverend Janice McCray offered the prayer of supplication. Dr. DeVeaux greeted the congregation with an uplifting song; "I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me.”
Bishop DeVeaux, who was the guest speaker for the celebration, spoke of the great missionary from India, William Carey who said, “If you expect great things from God you should attempt great things for God”. Bishop DeVeaux stated that often people do not attempt great things for God because they are short-sighted, limited in expectations, fearful, and forget the goodness of God. He expressed to the congregation that there are three main ideas to remember in attempting greatness for God – remember the goodness of God. He is good to His word and will not send you where He will not go. Second, we should rely on the presence of God in our everyday lives. And, last, we should re-commit to the mission that the Lord has set before us. Bishop DeVeaux stated that we have come here to break ground for this new center, which is to the cause of kingdom building.
Pastor Moore exclaimed, “It is a great day at Saint Philip A. M. E. Church as we celebrate groundbreaking for our new Family Life and Administration Center. We have looked forward to this day for a long time. I am excited about what this facility will mean to my congregation and the surrounding community”.
The Family Life and Administration Center, designed by the architectural firm of Chapman, Griffin, Lanier and Sussenbach will be a multi-use fellowship complex. This 70,000 square feet facility is a two level building located on approximately 1.5 acres. The architectural style will blend with current church campus buildings and will provide sophistication, with formal and traditional roots. All buildings on campus will be connected by enclosed walkways. The Family Life and Administration Center with a state of the art commercial kitchen, will provide sit down dining for 750 persons, and has an auditorium to seat 1500 persons. The center has a theatrical stage, basketball and volleyball courts, fitness center, indoor walking track, men and women showers and lockers. Additionally, the facility will house a federal credit union, bookstore, nursery, meeting space, administrative staff offices and the pastor’s and ministerial offices. There is a large two-story atrium at the entrance flanked by two monumental staircases. The Family Life and Administration Center has an elevator and complies with the Americans with Disability Act.
Saint Philip A. M. E. Church has long recognized the need to better accommodate its youth. One of the major focuses of this facility will be the youth center. This special area will have a café, homework area and activity center. This facility will greatly enhance the church’s ability to better serve the needs of its youth.
Several dignitaries were in attendance to celebrate the occasion, Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor; Secretary of State Cathy Cox; Dekalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown; Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; Commissioner Larry Johnson; and Commissioner Connie Stokes. Guest ministers present for the ceremony included the Reverend Mark Thompson, the Reverend Solomon Giles, and the Reverend David Bishop. Sixth Episcopal District Presiding Elder – Atlanta East, the Reverend Earle Ifill was also in attendance.
Atlanta based New South Construction is the general contractor and financing is provided by Wachovia Bank. Representatives from all of the construction partners participated in the celebration. The project is expected to be completed in 14 months. A minimum 10% minority participation has been requested.
Spring Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church 2005 Homecoming 2005. The theme is, “THINGS TO TAKE HOME” taken from Mark 5:19 - ‘“Go home to you friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you…”
Homecoming 2005 Calendar of Events
Revival – July 13, 14, & 15, 7:30 p.m.
Evangelist
The Reverend Arthur McKinney, Pastor
New Hope MB Church
Hickory Valley, TN
Sunday
July 17, 2004
9:00 am
Visit from Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie
9:30 a.m.
Church School
11:00 am
Morning Worship
3 p.m.
The Reverend Gregory McCollins
Wilson Chapel AME Church
Memphis, TN
Chairman
Brother Early Mason
Co-Chairman
Brother Winbon Mason
Administrative Assistant
Brother Samuel Herring
3. THE GLOBAL CORNER- AN APPEAL LETTER - CARING FOR THE OLD, ORPHANS & VULNERABLE CHILDREN REACHING DOWN TO PULL UP; REACHING OUT TO PULL IN REACHING IN TO PULL OUT; REACHING UP TO PULL TOGETHER - 11 JULY 2005:
The St. James Trust
P O Box 78, Mariental, Namibia, Tel/Fax 063-24 2754
Tel. 061-22 9938 Fax. 061-23 1626 w.hanse@parliament.gov.na
Caring for the Old, Orphans & Vulnerable Children
Reaching down to pull up; Reaching out to pull in
Reaching in to pull out; Reaching up to pull together
Re: St. James Trust Youth Centre
The St. James Trust is a non-profit welfare organization incorporated with the Ministry of Health and Social Services on 1st May 2004, with the Honourable Ms. Marlene Mungunda, MP and Minister of Gender Affairs and Child Welfare serving as Patron.
The St. James Trust has been established to coordinate programs dealing with HIV/Aids, orphans and vulnerable children, and old-age citizens in the Hardap Region, especially in the impoverished communities of Mariental in Aimablaagte and Empelheim.
There is no way that the impact of our programs over the past year cannot be overstated. The need is great in this Region and especially in the two communities of Empelheim and Aimablaagte. A very recent survey by our youth group have shown that 231 households in Mariental alone under way under the breadline, starving and in need of food assistance. During December 2004, with the generous assistance of sponsors of goodwill, we were able to provide Christmas hampers to about 89 senior citizens and about 332 affected children were provided with a decent dinner on Christmas Day. The discussions on the lack of a proper and decent multipurpose youth centre facilities in Mariental started as early as January 2004. Our youth have no recreational and/or education facility in Mariental and a high number of youth are being imprisoned for theft related crimes because there is simply no employment creation taking place.
We are delighted and thankful to the Rev. Willem Simon Hanse and the St. James AME Church, for availing the St. James Church Hall to be used for the youth activities of the St. James Trust.
The Board of Trustees of the St. James Trust, at their normal meeting of Saturday 3 July 2005 have approved the establishment of the St. James Youth Centre and have availed N$10 000-00 as seed capital to start this Youth Centre.
Centre Operations:
The Youth Centre will be staffed by volunteers, and we are thankful that the Mr. Hendrik F Links, a retired school teacher, has volunteered to act as Head of the Centre. The Youth Centre will be operational only during afternoons (15h00 – 19h00) and will provide the following services:
Educational Section:
- Volunteer teachers will provide services to learners who will need some assistance with their homework,
- Elementary computer training will be provided on an ongoing basis and as funds are readily available more computers will be installed for free use by learners,
- Orator Club will be set up to train learners and youth in the art of speaking, and they will have bi-monthly competitions on selected themes of national importance, and
- Drama Club will be set up to teach youth with theatrical skills, since no professional theatre is being operated in and around Mariental.
Recreational Section
- Indoor Games will include Dominos, Table Tennis, Finger Board, Dart Board, Pool Table and Soccer Table,
- Outdoor Games will include Volleyball and Ring-tennis, and
- Other cultural games will be presented, as volunteers would be available.
Café Section:
- In order to pay the only overhead cost, namely the water and electricity municipal account, the Youth Centre will have a Café Section whereby hot and cold drinks (excluding alcoholic beverages) will be sold.
Job Creation:
- For a starter, we want to help unemployed youth to start their Car Wash schemes under the tutelage of the Youth Centre. The Youth Centre will provide the equipment and administer the financial aspect in close cooperation with the schemes, in order to ensure sustainability and self-reliance within 10-12 calendar months.
Launching Information:
If everything goes according to plan, we are intending to officially inaugurate this multipurpose Youth Centre on Saturday, 1st October 2005.
We stand in need of your support and assistance to help the destitute youth of Mariental. The St. James AME Church is supporting this initiative by availing the church hall and the St. James Trust will be responsible for the renovation of the church hall.
We are humbly requesting you to consider assisting with a financial or in-kind donation.
Centre Needs:
- Renovation of the Building (De Klerk Builders CC)
- Plastering (N$ 7 500-00)
- Painting (N$ 3 500-00)
- Ceiling (N$ 8 000-00)
- 105 cm 3 Light Ceiling Fans (N$ 2 000-00)
- Centre Equipment
- Intel Pentium 4 Computer (N$ 7 600-00)
- HP Multi-Functional Printer (N$ 1 700-00)
- 150 litres Chess Freezer (N$ 1 400-00)
- Samsung Plain Paper Fax (N$ 1 310-00)
- Habitat Computer Stand (N$ 761-00)
- Recreational Equipment
- Finger Boards (N$ 480-00)
- Fold Up Table Tennis (N$ 1 160-00)
- 6 Foot Pool Table (N$ 1 770-00)
- Senior Soccer Table (N$ 2 100-00)
- Job Creation Equipment
- 1200 W High Pressure Cleaner (N$ 1 300-00)
- Watex Hosepipe (N$ 480-00)
- 120 L Refuse Bins (N$ 333-00)
- Consumables (N$ 1 500-00)
Finally, your assistance will be publicly acknowledged in a paid newspaper advert and, if you so choose, your logo may be displayed in the hall for at least 12 calendar months.
We trust that our humble request will enjoy your favourable consideration and receive feedback latest by the first week of September 2005. Kindly issue cheque donations in the name of the St. James Trust.
With our warm regards,
The Rev. Willem Simon Hanse Mrs. Cornelia C Witbooi
Chairperson Administrative Secretary
081 122 5048 081 299 7200
Mrs. Launa Isaack Mr. Hendrik F Links
Financial Secretary Head of Centre
081 122 6916 081 232 1823
Mailing Address:
St. James Trust
P O Box 78
MARIENTAL
Republic of Namibia
Tel/Fax +264 63 24 2754
Trustees: Minister Marlene Mungunda, MP (Patron), Rev. Willem S Hanse (Chairperson), Mrs. Anna K Kooper (Vice Chairperson), Mrs. Cornelia A Witbooi (Administrative Secretary), Mrs. Launa Isaack (Financial Secretary), Mr. Mr. Hendrik F Links (Director), Jonas Dreyer, Mr. Gert J Kooper, Mrs. Annalise Isaack
4. A MESSAGE FROM THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE CONNECTIONAL PRESIDING ELDERS COUNCIL:
The newly elected President of the Connectional Presiding Elders Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Reverend Dr. Bartalette Finney, Sr., expresses his thanks, appreciation and humbleness in being elected President of the Connectional Presiding Elders Council. Dr. Finney States:
I am humbled and take great pride in what has been bequeathed me. I seek the prayers of every member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that we may lead the Council to higher levels of middle management expertise through training and procedure.
We want to represent the African Methodist Episcopal Church with the highest possible dignity, as we represent first the Lord Jesus Christ our King, and secondly the Episcopal leadership of our Episcopal Districts, along with the people of our districts and churches. One agenda we plan to accomplish during this tenure is the exposure to and the implementation of the vast technology that is presently available. We want to be able to produce the best results of our labor thorough careful articulation and thoughtful procedures as we endeavor to faithfully lead the Council.
I specifically always want to be a part of your prayers because we realize prayers are strength and today we need an abundance of strength in the Christian world.
Thank you for your faith and belief in my ability to undertake this position, and as always, I extend to each of you,
“Love, Peace and Joy”
The Reverend Dr. W. Bartalette Finney, Sr.
5. THE PASTOR’S CORNER - OPERATING IN AUTHORITY & PURPOSE:
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, 18“…on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 16-19)
Last week we established that authority is one’s legitimate right to exercise power, and power is one’s capacity to act. The source of godly authority is submission to God. The godly authority we exercise in our lives will increase to the extent of our submission to God’s authority over our lives.
In the passage above, Peter makes a statement of recognition of the identity of Christ and submission to the authority of Christ as he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ says, “…on this rock I will build my church.” The “rock” spoken of by Jesus is the recognition of the identity of Christ and submission to the authority of Christ. Christ then goes on to confer authority on the church (the legitimate right to exercise its capacity to get things done) by giving the church the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
It is most important for us to note that the authority was granted by Christ to His church with a purpose – “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is an important principle to live by. Authority is conferred for the fulfillment of a purpose. When a parent hands over the keys to an automobile to his or her child, he or she does so for a particular task or errand to be carried out. A boss on a job confers authority to her employees for the purpose of achieving the mission of the organization. When Christ conferred authority on His church, He did so for the fulfillment of the five-fold purpose of His church (Rick Warren – The Purpose-Driven Church).
1. Magnify God – Mathew 22: 37 –Love the Lord you God with all you heart and with all your mind. We express our love for God through praise, worship, and obedient living.
2. Ministry to Others - Matthew 22: 39 –Love your neighbor as yourself. We meet the needs and heal the hurts of those around us.
3. Mission to the World - Matthew 28: 19a –Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. We share the good new of Jesus Christ in all we say and do.
4. Membership of Believers - Matthew 28: 19b –Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We invite all to be members of Christ’s body, the church, through fellowship with our local congregations.
5. Maturity of the Body - Mathew 28: 20a –Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We study to grow more Christ-like in thought, word, and deed.
Operating under God’s authority fulfilling God’s purpose releases our capacity to get things done. The other day as Corlis and I were out for our walk, we passed a person headed in the opposite direction. When Corlis and I reached our turning point we reversed our direction headed for home. I noticed the person we had passed was now about thirty or so yards ahead of us. I purposed in my mind to outpace and pass the person before we returned home. I found myself effortlessly increasing the pace at which we were walking. Then the target of my efforts was blocked from sight by a stand of trees. After emerging from the cluster of trees, I found that the person had turned a corner and was heading in a direction different than ours. Without thought, my pace slowed considerably. Corlis and I laughed as I explained how walking with a purpose increased my output seemingly without increased effort.
Are things sluggish in your life? Does your church seem to have lost its momentum? Submit again to God’s authority over your life or your church. Realign yourself with His purposes. You'll experience a new pace as you operate in God’s authority and purpose.
Pastor James Moody
Quinn Chapel, Chicago
6. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Regretfully we share news of the passing of Mrs. Carrie Elie Gilbert of Memphis, Tennessee, retired teacher for Manor Lake Elementary School and the sister of Mrs. Hattie E. Jackson, widow of former General Officer Dr. H. Ralph Jackson. Mrs. Gilbert died July 7, 2005, at Methodist University Hospital.
Service ArrangementsVisitation:
Saturday, July 9, 2005
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home
South Parkway, WestMemphis, TN
(901) 948-7755 (Phone)
(901) 948-7103 (Fax)
Funeral:Monday, July 11, 2005
12:00 NOON
St. Andrew AME Church
867 South Parkway East
Memphis, TN 38106
(901) 948-3441 (phone)
(901) 946-9216 (fax)
Dr. Kenneth Robinson, Pastor
Burial will be in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.
Condolence can be sent to Mrs. Hattie Jackson and family to St. Andrew AME Church at the above address or to the address below:
Mrs. Hattie Jackson
1443 South Parkway,
EastMemphis, TN 38106-3741
(901) 774-8633 (phone)
7. DEATH NOTICE:
Mrs. Alma Watson, spouse of the Rev. Nolan Watson, pastor of bethel, Little Rock, Arkansas, died on Thursday, July 7. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 12th, 11 a.m. at Gates Chapel, Crossett, AR.
The family is at 208 North Tennessee, Crossett, R, 71635; Tel, 870-364-4808.
Please keep the Watson family in your thoughts and prayers.
8. ALL BEREAVEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Clergy Family Information Center
Mrs. Ora L. Easley - Administrator
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
(Nashville, TN Contact) Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
(Memphis, TN Contact) (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
- The toll of Americans that have died in the war in Iraq has now passed 1,750. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died. Thousands of men, women and children in Iraq and American service persons have been wounded. There is no end in sight! Where is this war going? Does anybody know?
- I will be writing more about the General Board / Bishops’ Council.
2. SAINT PHILIP AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH CELEBRATES GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW FAMILY LIFE AND ADMINISTRATION CENTER:
Submitted by: E. JoAnn Bacon
Atlanta, Georgia (Dekalb County) – On June 12, 2005, the congregation of Saint Philip African Methodist Episcopal Church held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Family Life and Administration Center. This was a great day for the members of Saint Philip A. M. E. Church and its senior pastor, the Reverend George Moore, Sr. This facility is a continuation of the building program began in 1998 with the completion of a worship center.
The Sixth Episcopal District Presiding Prelate, Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux and Episcopal Supervisor, Dr. Pam DeVeaux attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The worship service was graced by music from the church’s mass choir directed by Ms. L’Tanya Moore and a special liturgical dance presentation was given by the Holy Dance Ministry. It was especially meaningful as they praised the occasion in their construction attire. The scripture lesson of the 122 Psalm was read by assistant pastor, the Reverend Larry Jones and the Reverend Janice McCray offered the prayer of supplication. Dr. DeVeaux greeted the congregation with an uplifting song; "I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me.”
Bishop DeVeaux, who was the guest speaker for the celebration, spoke of the great missionary from India, William Carey who said, “If you expect great things from God you should attempt great things for God”. Bishop DeVeaux stated that often people do not attempt great things for God because they are short-sighted, limited in expectations, fearful, and forget the goodness of God. He expressed to the congregation that there are three main ideas to remember in attempting greatness for God – remember the goodness of God. He is good to His word and will not send you where He will not go. Second, we should rely on the presence of God in our everyday lives. And, last, we should re-commit to the mission that the Lord has set before us. Bishop DeVeaux stated that we have come here to break ground for this new center, which is to the cause of kingdom building.
Pastor Moore exclaimed, “It is a great day at Saint Philip A. M. E. Church as we celebrate groundbreaking for our new Family Life and Administration Center. We have looked forward to this day for a long time. I am excited about what this facility will mean to my congregation and the surrounding community”.
The Family Life and Administration Center, designed by the architectural firm of Chapman, Griffin, Lanier and Sussenbach will be a multi-use fellowship complex. This 70,000 square feet facility is a two level building located on approximately 1.5 acres. The architectural style will blend with current church campus buildings and will provide sophistication, with formal and traditional roots. All buildings on campus will be connected by enclosed walkways. The Family Life and Administration Center with a state of the art commercial kitchen, will provide sit down dining for 750 persons, and has an auditorium to seat 1500 persons. The center has a theatrical stage, basketball and volleyball courts, fitness center, indoor walking track, men and women showers and lockers. Additionally, the facility will house a federal credit union, bookstore, nursery, meeting space, administrative staff offices and the pastor’s and ministerial offices. There is a large two-story atrium at the entrance flanked by two monumental staircases. The Family Life and Administration Center has an elevator and complies with the Americans with Disability Act.
Saint Philip A. M. E. Church has long recognized the need to better accommodate its youth. One of the major focuses of this facility will be the youth center. This special area will have a café, homework area and activity center. This facility will greatly enhance the church’s ability to better serve the needs of its youth.
Several dignitaries were in attendance to celebrate the occasion, Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor; Secretary of State Cathy Cox; Dekalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown; Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; Commissioner Larry Johnson; and Commissioner Connie Stokes. Guest ministers present for the ceremony included the Reverend Mark Thompson, the Reverend Solomon Giles, and the Reverend David Bishop. Sixth Episcopal District Presiding Elder – Atlanta East, the Reverend Earle Ifill was also in attendance.
Atlanta based New South Construction is the general contractor and financing is provided by Wachovia Bank. Representatives from all of the construction partners participated in the celebration. The project is expected to be completed in 14 months. A minimum 10% minority participation has been requested.
Spring Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church 2005 Homecoming 2005. The theme is, “THINGS TO TAKE HOME” taken from Mark 5:19 - ‘“Go home to you friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you…”
Homecoming 2005 Calendar of Events
Revival – July 13, 14, & 15, 7:30 p.m.
Evangelist
The Reverend Arthur McKinney, Pastor
New Hope MB Church
Hickory Valley, TN
Sunday
July 17, 2004
9:00 am
Visit from Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie
9:30 a.m.
Church School
11:00 am
Morning Worship
3 p.m.
The Reverend Gregory McCollins
Wilson Chapel AME Church
Memphis, TN
Chairman
Brother Early Mason
Co-Chairman
Brother Winbon Mason
Administrative Assistant
Brother Samuel Herring
3. THE GLOBAL CORNER- AN APPEAL LETTER - CARING FOR THE OLD, ORPHANS & VULNERABLE CHILDREN REACHING DOWN TO PULL UP; REACHING OUT TO PULL IN REACHING IN TO PULL OUT; REACHING UP TO PULL TOGETHER - 11 JULY 2005:
The St. James Trust
P O Box 78, Mariental, Namibia, Tel/Fax 063-24 2754
Tel. 061-22 9938 Fax. 061-23 1626 w.hanse@parliament.gov.na
Caring for the Old, Orphans & Vulnerable Children
Reaching down to pull up; Reaching out to pull in
Reaching in to pull out; Reaching up to pull together
Re: St. James Trust Youth Centre
The St. James Trust is a non-profit welfare organization incorporated with the Ministry of Health and Social Services on 1st May 2004, with the Honourable Ms. Marlene Mungunda, MP and Minister of Gender Affairs and Child Welfare serving as Patron.
The St. James Trust has been established to coordinate programs dealing with HIV/Aids, orphans and vulnerable children, and old-age citizens in the Hardap Region, especially in the impoverished communities of Mariental in Aimablaagte and Empelheim.
There is no way that the impact of our programs over the past year cannot be overstated. The need is great in this Region and especially in the two communities of Empelheim and Aimablaagte. A very recent survey by our youth group have shown that 231 households in Mariental alone under way under the breadline, starving and in need of food assistance. During December 2004, with the generous assistance of sponsors of goodwill, we were able to provide Christmas hampers to about 89 senior citizens and about 332 affected children were provided with a decent dinner on Christmas Day. The discussions on the lack of a proper and decent multipurpose youth centre facilities in Mariental started as early as January 2004. Our youth have no recreational and/or education facility in Mariental and a high number of youth are being imprisoned for theft related crimes because there is simply no employment creation taking place.
We are delighted and thankful to the Rev. Willem Simon Hanse and the St. James AME Church, for availing the St. James Church Hall to be used for the youth activities of the St. James Trust.
The Board of Trustees of the St. James Trust, at their normal meeting of Saturday 3 July 2005 have approved the establishment of the St. James Youth Centre and have availed N$10 000-00 as seed capital to start this Youth Centre.
Centre Operations:
The Youth Centre will be staffed by volunteers, and we are thankful that the Mr. Hendrik F Links, a retired school teacher, has volunteered to act as Head of the Centre. The Youth Centre will be operational only during afternoons (15h00 – 19h00) and will provide the following services:
Educational Section:
- Volunteer teachers will provide services to learners who will need some assistance with their homework,
- Elementary computer training will be provided on an ongoing basis and as funds are readily available more computers will be installed for free use by learners,
- Orator Club will be set up to train learners and youth in the art of speaking, and they will have bi-monthly competitions on selected themes of national importance, and
- Drama Club will be set up to teach youth with theatrical skills, since no professional theatre is being operated in and around Mariental.
Recreational Section
- Indoor Games will include Dominos, Table Tennis, Finger Board, Dart Board, Pool Table and Soccer Table,
- Outdoor Games will include Volleyball and Ring-tennis, and
- Other cultural games will be presented, as volunteers would be available.
Café Section:
- In order to pay the only overhead cost, namely the water and electricity municipal account, the Youth Centre will have a Café Section whereby hot and cold drinks (excluding alcoholic beverages) will be sold.
Job Creation:
- For a starter, we want to help unemployed youth to start their Car Wash schemes under the tutelage of the Youth Centre. The Youth Centre will provide the equipment and administer the financial aspect in close cooperation with the schemes, in order to ensure sustainability and self-reliance within 10-12 calendar months.
Launching Information:
If everything goes according to plan, we are intending to officially inaugurate this multipurpose Youth Centre on Saturday, 1st October 2005.
We stand in need of your support and assistance to help the destitute youth of Mariental. The St. James AME Church is supporting this initiative by availing the church hall and the St. James Trust will be responsible for the renovation of the church hall.
We are humbly requesting you to consider assisting with a financial or in-kind donation.
Centre Needs:
- Renovation of the Building (De Klerk Builders CC)
- Plastering (N$ 7 500-00)
- Painting (N$ 3 500-00)
- Ceiling (N$ 8 000-00)
- 105 cm 3 Light Ceiling Fans (N$ 2 000-00)
- Centre Equipment
- Intel Pentium 4 Computer (N$ 7 600-00)
- HP Multi-Functional Printer (N$ 1 700-00)
- 150 litres Chess Freezer (N$ 1 400-00)
- Samsung Plain Paper Fax (N$ 1 310-00)
- Habitat Computer Stand (N$ 761-00)
- Recreational Equipment
- Finger Boards (N$ 480-00)
- Fold Up Table Tennis (N$ 1 160-00)
- 6 Foot Pool Table (N$ 1 770-00)
- Senior Soccer Table (N$ 2 100-00)
- Job Creation Equipment
- 1200 W High Pressure Cleaner (N$ 1 300-00)
- Watex Hosepipe (N$ 480-00)
- 120 L Refuse Bins (N$ 333-00)
- Consumables (N$ 1 500-00)
Finally, your assistance will be publicly acknowledged in a paid newspaper advert and, if you so choose, your logo may be displayed in the hall for at least 12 calendar months.
We trust that our humble request will enjoy your favourable consideration and receive feedback latest by the first week of September 2005. Kindly issue cheque donations in the name of the St. James Trust.
With our warm regards,
The Rev. Willem Simon Hanse Mrs. Cornelia C Witbooi
Chairperson Administrative Secretary
081 122 5048 081 299 7200
Mrs. Launa Isaack Mr. Hendrik F Links
Financial Secretary Head of Centre
081 122 6916 081 232 1823
Mailing Address:
St. James Trust
P O Box 78
MARIENTAL
Republic of Namibia
Tel/Fax +264 63 24 2754
Trustees: Minister Marlene Mungunda, MP (Patron), Rev. Willem S Hanse (Chairperson), Mrs. Anna K Kooper (Vice Chairperson), Mrs. Cornelia A Witbooi (Administrative Secretary), Mrs. Launa Isaack (Financial Secretary), Mr. Mr. Hendrik F Links (Director), Jonas Dreyer, Mr. Gert J Kooper, Mrs. Annalise Isaack
4. A MESSAGE FROM THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE CONNECTIONAL PRESIDING ELDERS COUNCIL:
The newly elected President of the Connectional Presiding Elders Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Reverend Dr. Bartalette Finney, Sr., expresses his thanks, appreciation and humbleness in being elected President of the Connectional Presiding Elders Council. Dr. Finney States:
I am humbled and take great pride in what has been bequeathed me. I seek the prayers of every member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that we may lead the Council to higher levels of middle management expertise through training and procedure.
We want to represent the African Methodist Episcopal Church with the highest possible dignity, as we represent first the Lord Jesus Christ our King, and secondly the Episcopal leadership of our Episcopal Districts, along with the people of our districts and churches. One agenda we plan to accomplish during this tenure is the exposure to and the implementation of the vast technology that is presently available. We want to be able to produce the best results of our labor thorough careful articulation and thoughtful procedures as we endeavor to faithfully lead the Council.
I specifically always want to be a part of your prayers because we realize prayers are strength and today we need an abundance of strength in the Christian world.
Thank you for your faith and belief in my ability to undertake this position, and as always, I extend to each of you,
“Love, Peace and Joy”
The Reverend Dr. W. Bartalette Finney, Sr.
5. THE PASTOR’S CORNER - OPERATING IN AUTHORITY & PURPOSE:
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, 18“…on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 16-19)
Last week we established that authority is one’s legitimate right to exercise power, and power is one’s capacity to act. The source of godly authority is submission to God. The godly authority we exercise in our lives will increase to the extent of our submission to God’s authority over our lives.
In the passage above, Peter makes a statement of recognition of the identity of Christ and submission to the authority of Christ as he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ says, “…on this rock I will build my church.” The “rock” spoken of by Jesus is the recognition of the identity of Christ and submission to the authority of Christ. Christ then goes on to confer authority on the church (the legitimate right to exercise its capacity to get things done) by giving the church the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
It is most important for us to note that the authority was granted by Christ to His church with a purpose – “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is an important principle to live by. Authority is conferred for the fulfillment of a purpose. When a parent hands over the keys to an automobile to his or her child, he or she does so for a particular task or errand to be carried out. A boss on a job confers authority to her employees for the purpose of achieving the mission of the organization. When Christ conferred authority on His church, He did so for the fulfillment of the five-fold purpose of His church (Rick Warren – The Purpose-Driven Church).
1. Magnify God – Mathew 22: 37 –Love the Lord you God with all you heart and with all your mind. We express our love for God through praise, worship, and obedient living.
2. Ministry to Others - Matthew 22: 39 –Love your neighbor as yourself. We meet the needs and heal the hurts of those around us.
3. Mission to the World - Matthew 28: 19a –Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. We share the good new of Jesus Christ in all we say and do.
4. Membership of Believers - Matthew 28: 19b –Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We invite all to be members of Christ’s body, the church, through fellowship with our local congregations.
5. Maturity of the Body - Mathew 28: 20a –Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We study to grow more Christ-like in thought, word, and deed.
Operating under God’s authority fulfilling God’s purpose releases our capacity to get things done. The other day as Corlis and I were out for our walk, we passed a person headed in the opposite direction. When Corlis and I reached our turning point we reversed our direction headed for home. I noticed the person we had passed was now about thirty or so yards ahead of us. I purposed in my mind to outpace and pass the person before we returned home. I found myself effortlessly increasing the pace at which we were walking. Then the target of my efforts was blocked from sight by a stand of trees. After emerging from the cluster of trees, I found that the person had turned a corner and was heading in a direction different than ours. Without thought, my pace slowed considerably. Corlis and I laughed as I explained how walking with a purpose increased my output seemingly without increased effort.
Are things sluggish in your life? Does your church seem to have lost its momentum? Submit again to God’s authority over your life or your church. Realign yourself with His purposes. You'll experience a new pace as you operate in God’s authority and purpose.
Pastor James Moody
Quinn Chapel, Chicago
6. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Regretfully we share news of the passing of Mrs. Carrie Elie Gilbert of Memphis, Tennessee, retired teacher for Manor Lake Elementary School and the sister of Mrs. Hattie E. Jackson, widow of former General Officer Dr. H. Ralph Jackson. Mrs. Gilbert died July 7, 2005, at Methodist University Hospital.
Service ArrangementsVisitation:
Saturday, July 9, 2005
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home
South Parkway, WestMemphis, TN
(901) 948-7755 (Phone)
(901) 948-7103 (Fax)
Funeral:Monday, July 11, 2005
12:00 NOON
St. Andrew AME Church
867 South Parkway East
Memphis, TN 38106
(901) 948-3441 (phone)
(901) 946-9216 (fax)
Dr. Kenneth Robinson, Pastor
Burial will be in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.
Condolence can be sent to Mrs. Hattie Jackson and family to St. Andrew AME Church at the above address or to the address below:
Mrs. Hattie Jackson
1443 South Parkway,
EastMemphis, TN 38106-3741
(901) 774-8633 (phone)
7. DEATH NOTICE:
Mrs. Alma Watson, spouse of the Rev. Nolan Watson, pastor of bethel, Little Rock, Arkansas, died on Thursday, July 7. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 12th, 11 a.m. at Gates Chapel, Crossett, AR.
The family is at 208 North Tennessee, Crossett, R, 71635; Tel, 870-364-4808.
Please keep the Watson family in your thoughts and prayers.
8. ALL BEREAVEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Clergy Family Information Center
Mrs. Ora L. Easley - Administrator
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
(Nashville, TN Contact) Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
(Memphis, TN Contact) (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)