Bishop T.
Larry Kirkland - Chair, Commission on Publications
The
Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The
Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
March:
Women’s
History Month
National
Kidney Month (March 14th – National kidney Day)
Mark
and Save Date in your Calendars:
Easter
Sunday – March 31, 2013
AME
Church Connectional Day of Prayer – April 13, 2013
Pentecost
Sunday May 19, 2013
General
Board Meeting - June 22-26, 2013
Bishop
Sarah F. Davis Investiture – June 24, 2013
Assistant
Editor, The Christian Recorder
Celebrating
more than fifty-years of Women In Ministry (WIM) speaks to the “Spirit of
African Methodism” mission to vision, innovate and influence the church and
society and the world. Without debate, the AME Church stands in agreement that
women have contributed immeasurably to the success and survival of our great
Zion.
The
building of churches, colleges and universities (the bricks made with straw and
mortar) demonstrates a faith born in the hearts of men and women; descendants
of slavery who refused to give in or give up.
Jarena Lee
is the model of a woman who had a clear vision. She was born in 1783 and was
the first pioneering woman licensed to preach in the African Methodist
Episcopal Church (1819). She
answered the call to preach during a time when there was no church polity, for
or against, allowing women to preach. The idea of women in ministry was not a
part of the Church's vision.
Jarena Lee lived in a society steeped slavery and racial hatred. Bishop Richard
Allen, founder of the African Methodist Church was also confronted with issues
slavery and racism.
Since
“Women’s Rights” to vote had not become law, Richard Allen authorized the
“opening of the gate for Jarena Lee to preach” after hearing her preach during
a mid-week worship service.
Richard Allen
was a change-agent for Christ and the Church. He stood up at a meeting and said
when Jarena first asked for permission to preach, he had “put her off” and went
on to share that he had come to believe that Lee was as much called to the work
of ministry as any of the preachers who were present.
Jarena Lee
must have been some kind of preacher! For me, her ministry was the beginning of
Women In Ministry in the AME Church.
Jarena Lee represents
both clergy and lay women of faith. We have a legacy that we can celebrate
because it took brave hearts and strong minds to change the course of history
for women preachers in a time when women basically had no civil rights. And it took a deep belief in a God “who
could” stand up for what was right.
She must
have been some kind of preacher! For me, this was the beginning of Women In
Ministry in the AME Church. Jarena Lee represents both clergy and lay women of
faith. We have a legacy and we can celebrate because it took brave hearts and
strong minds to change the course of history for women preachers in a time when
women basically had no civil rights.
This is the
legacy our Church has inherited, “Standing up for the right,” that is the legacy
of visioning for the future for the sake of “all the people.”
Jarena Lee
was a visionary chosen to pioneer for the denomination. Jesus said, “Many are
called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14)
Jarena Lee
was chosen by Richard Allen to lead the way and as a result she was able to
receive the support to travel thousands of miles spreading the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to countless souls in the world. In one year alone she “travelled two
thousand, three hundred and twenty-five miles, and preached one hundred
seventy-eight sermons.”
In 1833,
Lee began working on her autobiography. Three years later with the help of an
editor, she had over 2000 copies of her Religious Experience and Journal
printed. Later she revised, expanded and reprinted her autobiography again in
1849. Her itinerancy covered a period of 50 years. She not only was a woman
“ahead of her times,” but was a woman who was willing to fill the gap knowing
the time had come.
Since that time, countless women have answered the call to preach in the AME Church and in other denominations.
The AME
Church has women pastors, presiding elders breaking “glass ceilings” in every
Episcopal districts throughout the Church.
The AME
Church has elected three women bishops: Bishop Vashti Murphy-McKenzie, prelate
of the 10th Episcopal District, elected in 2000; retired Bishop
Carolyn-Tyler Guidry elected in 2004; and Bishop Sarah Francis Taylor Davis,
Presiding Prelate of the 16th Episcopal District since 2008, elected
in 2004.
The AME
Church has elected three General Officers: Dr. Jayme Coleman Williams, Dr.
Paulette Coleman and the Rev. Dr. Theresa Frye Brown who have contributed
visionary and innovative leadership. Dr. Brown serves as the Historiographer
and Editor of The A.M.E. Church Review.
It is significant
to note that the Judicial Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
exhibits parity for women both clergy and laity.
We, the men
and women of the African Methodist Episcopal Church ought to be proud of our
legacy. As members of the largest African American denomination in America, let
us not stop now. There is so much more to do for the church and the world.
There are still significant changes needed in the areas of fairness and
equality for women in ministry to include a need for more woman General
Conference delegates; more pastoral assignments to larger churches; more
selection of women members on the General Board; and more women bishops and
general officers. Tokenism should be a thing of the past!
I suspect
if Jarena Lee were alive today, I can imagine her saying emphatically to the
AME Church, “Keep the faith and go for it!”
What a joy and great satisfaction we, women of African heritage, experience when we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that influences and shapes spiritual and social change.
While the,
AME WIM began with a few women clergy leaders such as Dr. Jacqueline Grant
Collier and Dr. Sandra Blair, to name a few, women in ministry have been
willing to work hard and pray hard for change in a mainly hierarchical and male-dominated
religious profession in the global AME Church.
We can truly say, “We’re blessed to be in the number.” In spite of our struggles and challenges, AME Women In Ministry have prospered with the supportive help of our modern-day colleagues, who in the spirit of Richard Allen, see the power of the Holy Spirit working for the good of all.
Women
preachers play a major role in keeping our Zion afloat. Sisterhood, like the
brotherhood is strong, reliant, valiant and vigilant. We understand that we are
all in this together. We understand that we can stand, but divided the AME
Church will surely not reach its potential.
The
question today arises regarding the role of church leadership in electing more
women bishops, more women general officers and appointing more women presiding
elders and assigning women pastors to leading churches; and someone might ask,
“Why?” The answer is that women have
been faithful!
The answer
for the 21st Century can be found in the Numbers 27:5-7, when the
daughters of Zelophehad went to Moses to request their inheritance of the
Promise Land. They were bold daughters of the Lord because they stood before
the whole assembly of the priests and the leaders. They proclaimed, “Give us
property among our father’s relatives. They spoke and Moses listened. Moses
prayed to God and the answer from the Lord was, “They are right! Give them
their father’s inheritance.”
I am
grateful to serve in a Church that believes we are inheritors of the faith.
I believe
we have a right to our inheritance. We are living in the “now times” of Joel’s
prophecy, “And your daughters shall prophecy.” It is a “now time” where we must
“Tell the story and live out The Story.” God has given us more than enough
time. It is a “now time” where “we must “speak up or shut up.”
This is our
season, and time is running out. It is a “now time” when we must believe God.
Our “Day of Deliverance” has come, where women and men must stand side-by-side,
shoulder-to-shoulder, face-to-face and knows that our God is pleased with the
Church when we work and pray together.
Visioning
for the AME Church, innovating for creative change and influencing for a
faith-based future is what the AME Church does best.
Through the
foolishness of preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who made the difference,
we can make a difference.
The case
has been settled in the highest court of the universe, the Lord’s Court of
Justice and in the Annals of history. And the Spirit of the Lord says, “It’s
time now to seize the Season!”
*The Rev.
Dr. Charlotte Ann Blake Sydnor is the pastor
Woodfork
Chapel AME Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee and serves as the Assistant Editor
and office manager of The Christian
Recorder
Read Jarena Lee story by clicking or
pasting in your browser:
Editor’s Note: Much appreciation to the Rev. Dr.
Charlotte B. Sydnor for this week TCR
Editorial in honor of Women’s History Month. The Sydnors will be traveling to South
Carolina and Virginia and are scheduled to return to Nashville next week.
2. READER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL AND OTHER ISSUES:
-- To the Editor:
RE:
One Church Two Locations (From TCR Editorial, Getting Ready to Deal with Some
“Sacred Cows”
In
the discussion of one church in two locations, St. Jude AME Church was used as
an example. I want to call to the attention of all readers that as common as
that name may sound, in 1998, when I founded St. Jude AME Church, I was
informed by our Connectional Treasurer that we were the only St. Jude in the
Connection.
St.
Jude is still in need of nurturing and has been blessed by support across the
Connection. As the only St. Jude AME Church I don't want anyone to think St
Jude was the church with three locations. I am sure the current Pastor would be
delighted if your readers would send a seed offering to that ministry as they
are attempting to build their first sanctuary.
St.
Jude is in the Capitol District of the Washington Conference, 2nd Episcopal
District. The current Pastor is the Reverend Dederick Rivers; the Reverend
Goodwin Douglas, Presiding Elder.
The
Rev. Dr. Byron J. Grayson, Sr.
Pastor
St.
Paul AME Church
Lenoir,
NC
3. 10% DISCOUNT OFF MCE
REGISTRATION:
The AME Christian Education Department offers for limited time a
10% discount on its regular registration rate for its Annual Ministries in
Christian Education Training/Planning Meeting in Nashville TN on April 18-20,
2013. Register now by March 15, 2013 and you get a 10% discount on the regular
registration rate of $150. You can register for $135 at www.ameced.com or
contact us at 615.242.1420. Register today for great preaching and great
teaching at the MCE featuring Dr. Frank M. Reid, III, Dr. Joy J. Moore, Dr.
Reginald Blount, and Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath.
4. DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME RETURNS THIS
WEEKEND - MOVE CLOCKS FORWARD:
Spring
forward this coming
Sunday
morning, March 10th at 2 a.m.
5. AME WIM ESTABLISHES MARCH AS WOMEN'S "HERSTORY" MONTH:
March
is Women's "Herstory" Month
and the AME WIM focus for March is “Write your Story."
AME
women ministers have been writing their stories for at least 177 years. The
world wouldn't have known about the 2800 miles that Jarena Lee walked to preach
the Gospel if it she had not written herstory:
http://www.umilta.net/jarena.html.
The
world wouldn't have known that Amanda Smith Berry used proceeds from herstory of evangelism in four
continents to support the children's home she founded in Illinois if she had
not written herstory: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/smitham/smith.html.
The
AME WIM registration link on our website is a herstory project. We would like to collect your information, not
only for statistical records, but to build a biographical site that will allow
you to tell your story in perpetuity.
Register
your story by going to or website, enter your email address and create a
password (http://www.amewim.com/login.aspx?registration).
Our
goal is to register an additional 500 AME Women In Ministry this month (March).
Will
you help? Will you register for yourself and someone else? Simply click on the
highlighted registration link above, sign up and create a separate password for
yourself and any additional woman in ministry that you would like to
register.
Thank
you for telling your story because your story is our story!
The
Rev. Lola S. Russell
AMEC
Connectional Herstoriographer
6. WOMAN OF THE
GOSPEL: THE REV. ROSALYNN BROOKINS:
Written
by Cora Jackson-Fossett (The LA Sentinel
Religion Editor)
Two
years ago, Bishop T. Larry Kirkland, Sr., made history by appointing the Rev. Rosalynn
Kyle Brookins as the pastor of Walker Temple A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles.
The
Rev. Brookins, who was married 21 years to the late Bishop H. Hartford
Brookins, was the first Bishop’s wife and first retired Episcopal Supervisor to
receive such an assignment in the A.M.E. Church and she has embraced the
appointment with love and enthusiasm.
“Pastoring
is not an easy task by any means because as ministers of the gospel, we must be
mindful that people have different personalities, needs, and life issues,” said
Pastor Brookins.
“However,
remembering the words of my late husband ("You must meet the people where
they are, and guide them to where they need to be,") helps me to stay
focused on the mission for which I have been called. This allows God to do only
what He can do.”
As
a woman in ministry, Pastor Brookins is part of a small, but growing,
group. More and more, women are
answering the call to preach, graduating from seminaries, and holding
significant positions in religious organizations.
“My
advice to women coming into the ministry is that it is imperative to know your
own strength and your gifts. This helps to eliminate the need to compete with
others. For the Bible declares that we are all a part of one body.
“The
purpose of this body is to bring the Kingdom of God here on earth. In doing so,
it forces us to place God as the center and the core of all things. With this
understanding of who we are, we then can celebrate and lift up each other.”
In
addition to being a pastor, the Rev. Brookins is the mother of 14-year-old Sir
Wellington H. Brookins. Thanks to her
supportive network and congregation, she’s able to devote quality time to both
roles.
“As
a pastor and a mother, I must be intentional about spending time with my son as
well as the church. It is necessary for me, as well as others, to learn to
balance their life. When I take days off, it is to spend time with my son.
“I
cannot stress enough the need to take vacations. Let me say that a vacation is
not spending a week in a hotel at a church function. Vacation is just that.
“As
pastors, we must plan quality time with our family. This prevents burnout and
allows the church an opportunity to witness the value of family.”
Also,
the Rev. Brookins recommends that pastors recruit others to assist with
congregational duties.
“When
pastors begin to relinquish some of their responsibilities and delegate to
others that you know have the heart of God, then your work is not so
overwhelming,” she said.
Fortunately,
Pastor Brookins is blessed with a loving congregation that readily helps out
when needed and keeps focus on the ultimate mission of the church.
“I
genuinely love my members and I am concerned about them individually. I believe
that when we foster a community of love, we will be able to work through the
most adverse situations.”
Armed
with that philosophy, Pastor Brookins is going forth with energy and
confidence. Empowering her is the
knowledge that Christ is praying for her.
“Jesus
said, ‘I give unto you what’s been given unto me, a kingdom. I’m praying for you that your faith will not
fail you.’
“With
Jesus praying for me, I can go through the fire, the rain, the waters won’t
overtake me, and I can leap over mountains.
He’s given me the power, sitting at the right hand of God mediating for
me. I’m on a winning team!”
Read more:
Reprint
permission from The Los Angeles Sentinel.
Originally published on Thursday, 07 March 2013 06:20
7. LUNCH WITH A LEGEND
AT ST. MATTHEW – SHREVEPORT:
So
often during the month of February when we celebrate Black History, we look
outside of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to lift up persons who have
paved the way for the accomplishments most of us enjoy today. If we tend to look inward, we seldom lift up
persons who are worshiping with us in the sanctuary. That was not the case this year at St. Matthew
AME Church in Shreveport, Louisiana.
In
November 2012, Bishop Julius H. McAllister, Sr. appointed the Rev. Dr. Glenell
M. Lee-Pruitt to pastoral ministry at St. Matthew AME Church. Dr. Tucker is not only well-known in the AME
Church as a former Presiding Elder and Trustee of Payne Theological Seminary,
he is known in the African American Community in Mississippi as a Civil Rights
legend and icon.
While
working at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the
Rev. Dr. Pruitt first heard of the pastor of Turner Chapel AME Church in
Greenwood, Mississippi in the 60’s who put his life on the line for the right
to vote and the rights of blacks to enjoy “freedom,” That pastor was the Rev. Donald L.
Tucker.
Dr.
Tucker shared a riveting account of his experiences. As a cross-section of the listeners was kept
captivated by the details; he shared how he was attacked by dogs. In exquisite
detail, he shared his experience in Greenwood, Mississippi where he passed the
literacy test to earn the right to vote.
He talked to the group about the threats on his life and those who were
close to him. He recalled the events of the Emmett Till murder that sparked the
modern Civil Rights Movement.
The
details of the day that NAACP leader Medgar Evers was murdered by Byron De La
Beckwith, a native of Greenwood, Mississippi was the most captivating. With a
tremble in his voice and a slowed cadence, Dr. Tucker recalled the last day he
spoke with Medgar Evers, his friend and fellow warrior for Civil Rights in
Mississippi.
Dr.
Tucker shared the intimate details of a conversation with Medgar Evers. They talked of fear, but they spoke of
reality. Dr. Tucker intimated that Medgar told him that he felt “they are going
to kill me.” He shared how Mrs. Merlie
Evers telephoned him expressing her concern because her husband was acting
strange. Before the night was over, in
his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi, Medgar Evers would be fallen by an
assassin’s bullet. Dr. Tucker received
threats that he would be next. In order to save his life, he was sent out of
Mississippi and even out of the Continental United States and could not return
until the threats on his life had ended.
At
this first “Lunch with a Legend,” young people asked questions and adults
shared their memories of a time in our collective history that was dark and dreary,
but has led to the day of hope that we now find ourselves.
St.
Matthew AME Church salutes the Rev. Dr. Donald L. Tucker. We thank him for his
fight for freedom. We are proud to have a “living legend” amongst us.
8. AME CHURCH ENTERS
HISTORIC AGREEMENT WITH CLAREMONT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY:
There
will be a special Chapel Service and Signing Reception Tuesday, March 12, 2013,
at 4 p.m. All are invited.
Claremont
School of Theology and the 5th Episcopal District of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church are pleased to announce a new relationship.
“This
historic agreement with AME’s 5th Episcopal District will integrate existing
AME educational programs that prepare men and women to become ordained elders
with Claremont’s M.Div. program,” said Claremont School of Theology President,
the Rev. Dr. Jerry Campbell.
“Graduates
will meet all AME ordination requirements, as well as receiving an accredited
degree, and an AME representative will join CST’s Dean's Council,” added
Faculty Dean, Dr. Philip Clayton. “It is the next step in CST's move to better
serve the entire church, educating men and women for ministry, leadership, and
service across the whole range of Christian denominations."
4:00
– 5:00 p.m., KRESGE CHAPEL
Bishop
T. Larry Kirkland (pictured), preacher, with worship leadership provided by CST
faculty, students, alumni/ae, and AME representatives. Musical offerings by
Jason Taylor and Charles Dorsey.
5:00
– 6:00 p.m. HADDON CENTER
Signing
Ceremony and Reception, sponsored by the CST Office of Alumni/ae Relations,
with special guest comments by leading AME clergy from the 5th
Episcopal District.
9. MEMO UPDATES FROM
CLO PRESIDENT AND REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE OF THE AMEC CLO:
The AMEC CLO Spring
Executive Board
•
The Spring Executive Board will be held Friday and Saturday, April 26th
and 27th at the Atlanta
Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center, Atlanta, Georgia. On Sunday the April 28th, Dr.
Willie C. Glover is scheduled to deliver the message at Big Bethel AME
Church.
The 33rd
Biennial Connectional Lay Organization Meeting
•
The 33rd Biennial Connectional Lay Organization Meeting will convene July 29 -
August 1, 2013. Pre-activities including some convention committees will start
on Saturday, July 27, 2013. Registration
will begin on Saturday, July 27 as well.
The Opening worship service will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 7
p.m.
•
Darwin Eldridge is chair of the registration process and all Episcopal
Districts' registrations will be coordinated by the District Presidents and one
designee. Information and process will
be shared soon. Committee assignments will be processed by my office. More information will be sent to the
Presidents in March. Pre-registration is
$250 and includes a year's subscription to "We Speak." The deadline for pre-registration is March
31, 2013. Hotel accommodations are $125 per night based on single and double
occupancy. All parking is valet and cost
$15.00 per night. Other parking facilities are close to hotel at a lower price.
Elections of officers
•
Elections of officers will be held on Monday, July 29, 2013.
Other events
•
The "Jesse L. Burns' Black Tie Soirée" will be held on Tuesday, July
30, 2013. Proceeds of the event will
benefit Wilberforce University. Donation
is $100.00.
•
Teaching/Training and all other programming will be coordinated by the Director
of Lay Activities and the Young Adult Representative.
•
Please remember that Episcopal District Constitutions and Bylaws are to be
turned in for review.
The
candidates listed below are seeking office in the AMEC Connectional Lay
Organization. The election will be held
at the 33rd Biennial Session in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2013.
They
are as follows:
Name / Episcopal
District / Annual Conference
President
(3)
1.
Mrs. Valerie Gary Bell / Second / Washington
2.
Dr. Paulette Coleman, Ph.D / Thirteenth / Tennessee
3.
Dr. Willie C. Glover, Ph.D / Third / Ohio
First
Vice President (2)
1.
Ms. Gloria Byrd / Sixth / Atlanta North Georgia
2.
Mr. Thomas Sutton / Fifth / Desert/Mountain
Second
Vice President (1)
1.
Mr. Matikane Abednego Makiti / Nineteenth / West
Third
Vice President (3)
1.
Mrs. Starr L. Battle / Second / Western North Carolina
2.
Mr. Alphonso Times / Seventh / Northeast
3.
Mrs. Eileen Warner / Eleventh / Florida
Recording
Secretary (2)
1. Mrs. Gloria DeVeaux-Cobb / Seventh / Columbia
2. Mrs. Maria A. Wallace / Second / Washington
Assistant
Recording Secretary (1)
1.
Mrs. Doris Bell / Thirteenth / Tennessee
Corresponding
Secretary
1.
Ms. Ada Groff / Fifth
Financial
Secretary (1)
1.
Mr. Richard L. Bowden, Sr. / Ninth / ARR
Treasurer
(1)
1.
Mr. Darwin K. Eldridge / Thirteenth / Tennessee
Chaplain
(1)
1.
Ms. Alice Belden / Fourth / Michigan
Parliamentarian
(1)
1.
Ms. Virginia Henderson Harris, RP / Sixth / Atlanta-North Georgia
Director
of Lay Activities (1)
1.
Mrs. Edith Bartley Cartledge / First / New York
Director
of Public Relations (4)
1.
Ms. Vickie E. Houston / Tenth / Southwest- Texas
2.
Mr. Walters C. Jeffers / First / Philadelphia
3.
Ms. Amanda Johnson / Thirteenth / Tennessee
4.
Mr. Robert T. Matthews III / Sixth / Georgia
Historiographer
(1)
1.
Mrs. Pamela F. Tilley / Tenth / Texas
Young
Adult Representative (1)
1.
Ms. Felecia E. Commodore / Second / Washington
AMEC
Connectional Lay Organization:
Bishop
William P. DeVeaux, Sr., Chair of the AMEC Connectional Lay Organization
Commission; Dr. Willie C. Glover, Connectional Lay Organization President; Mrs.
Beverley Nutall, Connectional Lay Organization Chair Nominating Committee; Mrs.
Betty J. Tuggle, Connectional Lay Organization Secretary, Nominating Committee
*Information
received from thee Connectional Lay Organization Online, Mrs. Eileen S. Warner,
CLO Online Administrator
10. DR. RICHARD LEWIS
WILL DELIVER LAITY SUNDAY MESSAGE IN PULASKI, TENNESSEE:
Dr.
Richard Allen Lewis, Sr. is scheduled to be the featured speaker on Sunday,
March 10, 2013 at St Paul-Agnew AME Church, Pulaski, Tennessee at 2 p.m. He will be speaking for “Laity Sunday.”
Sister
Bobbye Cross, local Lay President, requested her pastor to contact Dr. Richard
Lewis whom she met some two years ago. Dr. Lewis is the Funeral Director for
the Lewis & Wright Funeral Home in Nashville. Sister Cross remarked to
Pastor William Howard Smith that Dr. Lewis “could really sing.”
Pastor
William Howard Smith and his wife, First Lady Willa Howard are excited about
the Laity Sunday celebration.
The
morning worship service begins at 11:00 a.m. followed by a fellowship meal then
the “spiritual meal” led by the laity and “topped” by Dr. Lewis that will begin
at 2 p.m.
11. MOTHER BETHEL AME
CHURCH FEATURED ON NBC - PHILADELPHIA'S BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL:
Leslie
Patterson-Tyler
Mother
Bethel AME Church is featured on NBC Philadelphia's Black History Month Special
"Voices of Inspiration." The TV cameras were there on the Sunday we
celebrated Bishop Richard Allen's Birthday - Founder's Day 2013. Our own Bishop
Gregory Ingram was the preacher. Here's the story that aired at 7 p.m. on Feb
28, 2013.
Click below or paste
the link in your browser:
12. CIVIL RIGHTS ICON,
THE REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN, TO SPEAK AT FLIPPER TEMPLE AME CHURCH:
The
Rev. C. T. Vivian, a living legend of the Civil Rights Movement will speak at
the first annual “Unity Celebration Day” at the historic Flipper Temple African
Methodist Episcopal Church, 580 Student Movement Blvd. (formerly Fair Street),
Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at the 11:00 am Worship Service.
The
Rev. Vivian continues his activism today, tirelessly working for the progress
of African Americans and the civil and political rights of all peoples. An
uplifting speaker, he has addressed audiences in 42 states, 10 countries, and
on countless campuses nationwide on the issues of civil rights, non-violence,
racism and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with whom he worked for many years.
A
Baptist minister, his first use of non-violent direct action was in 1947, to
end Peoria’s segregated lunch counters. Later he founded the Nashville
Christian Leadership Conference, organizing the first sit-ins there in 1960 and
the first civil rights march in 1961. The Rev. Vivian was a rider on the first
“Freedom Bus” into Jackson, Mississippi, and went on to work along-side Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. on his Executive Staff in Birmingham, Selma, Chicago,
Nashville, the March on Washington, Danville, Virginia; and St. Augustine,
Florida. During the summer following the Selma Movement, the Rev. Vivian
conceived and directed an educational program, Vision; and granted 702 Alabama
college students with scholarships. The program later became Upward Bound.
The
Rev. Vivian has been featured as an activist and an analyst in the civil rights
documentary, “Eyes on the Prize,” and has been featured in a PBS special, “The
Healing Ministry of Dr. C. T. Vivian.” He has made numerous appearances on
“Oprah” as well as the “Montel Williams Show” and “Donahue.” The Rev. Vivian is
the focus of the biography, Challenge and Change by Lydia Walker and he is
author of Black Power and the American Myth, which was an Ebony Book Club
Selection.
His
leadership positions have included: Chairman of the Southern Organizing
Committee Education Fund, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
the Black Action Strategies and Information Center (BASIC), and the Center for
Democratic Renewal.
An
eloquent and inspiring speaker, the Rev. Vivian continues to speak out for
racial justice and democracy.
Flipper
Temple under the leadership of the Rev. Augusta H. Hall, Jr., Senior Pastor; is
located in the heart of the Atlanta University Center on the corner of Student
Movement Blvd. and Northside Drive.
Find
complete information on the Unity Celebration Day at www.flippertempleame.com or contact
Flipper Temple at (404) 522-5020.
13. AN ADDENDUM TO
“THE PERSISTENCE OF ERROR IN THE WILBERFORCE STORY”:
Following
our reading of the “History of Central State University” as recoded on the
University’s website (April, 2012), we were compelled to correct its many
significant errors. We did so by
authoring an article entitled “The Persistence of Error in the Wilberforce
Story.” This article was circulated to
the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University, to alumni, and published in
the July 9, 2012, edition of The Christian Recorder of the AME Church. Three serious misrepresentations were that:
-
The Ohio General Assembly…established Central State University on March 19,
1887
-
In 1947, the College began independent operations…under the name Wilberforce
State College
-
It has a 125-year legacy of academic achievement
These
untruths—if not corrected—would allow the relatively recently-established
Central State University to appropriate the history, heritage, prestige of
Wilberforce University.
We
are, indeed, pleased that Central State University, on its current website, has
corrected most of these misrepresentations.
We do, however, include the reminder of the previous unsuccessful
attempts between 1947-1951 of the College of Education to appropriate the
Wilberforce name. All students who were
graduated from Wilberforce University from its founding in 1856 until 1947 have
degrees that were granted by Wilberforce University. Accreditation by the North Central
Association was for Wilberforce University, not the unit known as the College
of Education and Industrial Arts.
We
trust also that in the future Central State University will claim as its own
only those graduates from 1948 to the present.
Ebony magazine, in its issue for September, 2012, names the late
Hastings Banda, President of Malawi, as a graduate of Central State University.
In reality, he was a 1928 graduate of the Wilberforce Academy.
We
are, therefore, pleased that these misrepresentations have been exposed and
that the truth has prevailed.
Wilberforce University wishes its offspring well, now and in the years
to come.
Jamye
Coleman Williams, Ph.D.
Class
of 1938, WU Faculty Member 1942-1956
McDonald
Williams, Ph.D.
Faculty
Member 1942-1956
March
3, 2013
14. NEW FILM OFFERS
INSIDER’S VIEW OF CRISIS IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS:
180
Days: A Year Inside An American High School airs on Monday and Tuesday, March
25 and 26, at 9:00 p.m.
Film
is part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ‘American Graduate: Let’s
Make It Happen’ initiative addressing high school dropout crisis
NEW
YORK (March 5, 2013)—An important film on the nation’s educational crisis
premieres on PBS this month. The documentary, 180 Days: A Year Inside An
American High School takes an unprecedented look at a learning institution at
the epicenter of the nation’s school reform movement and the lives that hang in
the balance. The four-hour film airs from 9:00 to 11 p.m. ET on Monday, March
25, and Tuesday, March 26, on PBS.
Washington,
D.C., became the school reform movement’s ground zero in 2007 when Michelle Rhee
became schools chancellor. Test scores rose and fell and now the nation’s
capital tops the list of major U.S. cities for its glaring achievement gap:
white students best black students by a margin of as much as four to one. The
United States ranks near the bottom of all indexes for education among
industrialized nations, and most African-American children now attend schools
in which graduation is not the norm.
School
reform has brought numerous changes and has emphasized standardized testing,
partially promoted by the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” initiative,
in which school funding and personnel decisions are based largely on the
results of high-stakes standardized tests. Tests, however, don’t take into
account the troubled population of the school at the center of the documentary,
Washington Metropolitan High School—or DC Met, as it is called—a school for
children at risk of dropping out. It doesn’t measure the effect that a parent
dying or a baby coming or a displacement by Hurricane Katrina or drug-addicted
parents or the foster care system have on a student’s ability to succeed—or
even to show up for school. And it doesn’t measure the desperate efforts of the
school faculty working to reach these children.
The
film follows five students—Raven Coston, 17; Raven Quattlebaum, 18; Rufus
McDowney, 16; Tiara Parker, 18; and Delaunte Bennett, 18—facing these and other
crises. It captures the dramatic battle of Principal Tanishia Williams Minor
and the faculty at DC Met, where only 7 percent of students are deemed
“proficient” in math and only 19 percent in reading, as they race to reform
truants, raise test scores and save their school, jobs—and the lives of their
children. 180 Days shows the real faces of those affected by the policies and
legislation being implemented nationally.
“We
have policy on education and we have reality,” said Jacquie Jones, executive
producer of the film, “and 180 Days provides a snapshot into the reality of the
on-the-ground troops in the fight to claim the lives and destinies of our
children, many of whom are facing seemingly insurmountable challenges in their
quest for an education.”
180
Days is produced by the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), which
brings programming about the Black experience to public television. The program
is part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a public media initiative
supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), that helps
communities nationwide understand and implement solutions to address the high school
dropout crisis.
About American
Graduate
American
Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen is helping local communities identify and
implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. American Graduate
demonstrates public media's commitment to education and its deep roots in every
community it serves. Beyond providing programming that educates, informs and
inspires public radio and television stations—locally owned and operated—are
important resources in helping to address critical issues, such as the dropout
rate.
In
addition to national programming, more than 75 public radio and television
stations have launched on-the-ground efforts working with community and at-risk
youth to keep students on track to high school graduation. More than 800
partnerships have been formed locally through American Graduate, and CPB is
working with Alma and Colin Powell’s America's Promise Alliance and the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation.
About
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
The
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created
by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in
public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,300
locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide,
and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and
program development for public radio, television and related online services.
About
the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC)
The
National Black Programming Consortium develops, produces and funds content
about the Black experience for public media outlets, including PBS and PBS.org,
BlackPublicMedia.org and other public media outlets. NBPC produces AfroPoP: The
Ultimate Cultural Exchange documentary series and manages the community
engagement project Public Media Corps (PMC).
15. THE ELEVENTH
EPISCOPAL DISTRICT 2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND VENUES:
Bishop
Adam J. Richardson, Presiding Prelate
Mrs.
Connie S. Richardson, Episcopal Supervisor
Florida Annual
Conference
September 10 – 13,
2013
148th
Session
Host
Church: Bethel AME Church, Pensacola
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Charles A. Morris
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend James Hardy Davis
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Mary W. Robinson
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Dr. Carlton V. Taylor
Central Annual
Conference
September 24 – 27,
2013
114th
Session
Host
Church: New Bethel AME Church, Orlando
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Kirk Bogen
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Hartford Lee
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend James O. Williams
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Henry L. Postell
South Annual
Conference
October 8 – 11, 2013
123rd
Session
Host
Church: Mt. Hermon AME Church, Miami Gardens
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Michael K. Bouie
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend John L. Bodison
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Vincent Floyd Mitchell
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Henry Elmore Green, Jr.
West Coast Annual
Conference
October 15 – 18, 2013
73rd
Session
Host
Church: New Bethel AME Church, Lakeland
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Jessie Harvin
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend F. Bernard Lemon
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Jerome L. Denmark
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Jimmy J. Thompson
East Annual Conference
October 29 – November
1, 2013
138th
Session
Host
Church: Greater Bethel AME Church, Gainesville
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Dr. Karl V. Smith
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Elizabeth E. Yates
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Jimmie B. Keel
Associate
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Tony D. Hansberry
Bahamas Annual
Conference
November 5 –8, 2013
74th
Session
Host
Church: Cousin-McPhee AME Church, Nassau
Host
Pastor: The Reverend Dr. Ranford A. Patterson
Host
Presiding Elder: The Reverend Howard F. Williamson
Eleventh District
Planning Meeting
November 14 – 15, 2013
Rosen
Plaza Hotel, Orlando
16. GETTING TO ZERO
AND HALF THE SKY:
*Dr.
Oveta Fuller
March
is Women’s Awareness or Women’s History Month. On March 8, the International
Women’s Day is celebrated all around the world. Here in Lusaka, I marvel at the
women and girls encountered daily, and the vast range of their lives. I only
see a small glimpse of what occurs here.
Women
grow and bring to the markets offerings of fresh vegetables, beautiful vine
ripened red tomatoes displayed in symmetrical stacks, fresh-cut okra, cassava
roots, bundles of pumpkin leaves and other leafy greens, potatoes and onions
piled neatly or clustered in drawstring net bags, and brown eggs by the dozens.
In this season, there are rows of large ripe mangos and lush dark green
avocados. All this produce is found at roadside stands around Lusaka and in
most of the country. A member of my host family has commented, “in Zambia there
is so much food, no one should be hungry.”
In
working on logistics of the Copperbelt study to begin soon with clergy and
spouses, I visited with two community schools in Lusaka. One is an African
Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) run school for orphans and vulnerable
children (OVC). The other is a private Christian school started by the spouse
of an AMEC clergyperson. The clergyperson went through the 2006-07
science-based Trusted Messenger Intervention (TMI) HIV/AIDS workshops in
Lusaka.
Both
schools are staffed mostly with females who teach and care for the children.
Both schools take children from pre-school through 4th grade (church owned
school) or 7th grade (private school). One requires a parent or guardian to pay
the school fee for attendance. The other
relies on church member support. Both schools have children who sing, laugh,
play, run, think and count on their fingers to solve a math problem.
I
am struck by how similar children are wherever I have been. The at-play scenes
at these schools, remind me of scenes from earlier years of play time for
friends of my now young adult offspring.
Both
of these schools in Lusaka have classrooms made of the painted cement block
commonly used for buildings. The church
owned school was initially housed inside the church building. A now realized vision of the late pastor
Presiding Elder, the Rev. Masunda, was to build a community school on the
church property. During our 2007 time in Zambia, the classroom walls were going
up. In 2010 some of the classrooms already were open as the building process
continued. In 2012, we saw the completed painted building and its required
toilet facilities nearby. The church school now enrolls 85 young children,
almost four times that of the early days.
Each
year in November, the Church School Coordinator (also the Church Secretary) and
some teachers visit homes in the surrounding compounds. They want to “see where
the students come from.” With help of church members, “the really vulnerable
children” are identified for possible attendance at the church-run school.
Families of children selected are called in December for student enrollment in
January. These are children from homes where a parent or guardian has been
affected by HIV/AIDS.
The
church provides school uniforms, a hefty mid-morning snack, books and supplies
(paper, pencils), the classrooms and teachers. There are five teachers for the
85 students. Parents or guardians are asked to provide lunch, and for the very
young, also transport to and from school. The older children walk by twos or in
groups to school from where they live in nearby neighborhoods.
The
church school is open from 7:30 a.m. to 15:30hrs (3:30 p.m.) for the children
who can bring their lunch. The school day ends at 13:00hrs (1:00 p.m.) for
those who cannot. Which children this applies to “depends on the day. It varies
for each child in a given week.”
Although
the morning snack is really a meal (porridge and maybe a vegetable), the
teacher explained “it is hard for a child to learn with no food in their
stomach. Through 15:30hrs is a long day. So, we allow those without lunch to go
home at 13:00hrs with the hope that maybe they will get a meal before bedtime
and their return to school the next day.”
The
cement block school has six units (5 classrooms and a storeroom for books,
supplies, etc). It is painted in soft yellow and earth tone colors. Each
classroom has a blackboard, a teacher’s desk and connected student desks and
benches each occupied by three children. Charts of multiplication tables and a
map showing the now ten provinces of Zambia line the walls. Run by the second
largest AMEC congregation in Lusaka, this is one of the better equipped church
or community run schools that we have seen.
At
government schools in Zambia, primary school level teachers are paid about
K1,700 / month ($340). Secondary level teachers (grades 8-12) might reach
K2,000/month ($500). At the church run school, the salary for teachers is about
K600/month ($120-150). Teachers must complete high school and attain either a
college teaching certificate (~1.6 yrs class-work) or a diploma (~3.0 years of
further study).
The
4th grade children warmly welcome me. They stand tall and straight and speak with
one voice in English with perfect diction, “Good morning, madam. How are you
today?” I respond. “Good morning to you. I am well. How are you?” There are
about an equal number of girls and boys in the 4th grade classroom.
In
Zambia, there is no fee for attendance at government schools for grades 1-7.
The costs are uniforms, supplies and lunch ($300/annually). A school fee, in addition to uniforms,
supplies and lunch, is paid for grades 8-12.
Church-run
community schools in Zambia try to meet some of the education needs of OVCs.
These children have lost one or both parents to illness or death to
HIV/AIDS. There are over 1,000,000 such
children in Zambia, a country of about 13,000,000 people. The children at this
school are blessed to be selected to go to school. There are many others in
less fortunate circumstances. There is no school, church or relative to guide
the lives of many whose family structure is affected by HIV/AIDS.
I
asked the 2nd grade class teacher about her top three wishes for
this AMEC school. She thinks for a
moment and responds. (1) “To add grades 5-7 here, so more of our
students could complete the full primary level. The church supports maybe 1-2
of our smartest students to go to the government school where they continue
through grade 7 exams. But, there are so many more that must stop at grade 4
level.” (2) “To provide lunch daily for every student here. Kids go home early
with no food in their stomach. We do not know what they will find ‘at home’.”
(3) “To improve teachers’ salaries here. Our teaching is not for money; one
must have a passion for education. It is a calling to teach. All of us also
have families.”
Except
for one male, all the teachers and personnel are women. He opens the gate as I
leave the church grounds in a vehicle borrowed this week from a Zambian friend
who is out of the country on business.
The
award winning book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women
Worldwide” by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas D. Kristof (Knopf Publishers, 2009)
and its recent PBS documentary, focus on sex trafficking, maternal mortality,
sexual violence, microfinance and girls' education. Besides an intersection of
each topic with HIV/AIDS, the stories provide insights into the daily lives of
women and the seeking of education for girls and women around the world. Get a
copy of the book and read it, or watch the gripping four-hour documentary. It
will be an eye-opener to many. Reading or watching is a great way to contribute
to International Women’s Day and Women’s Awareness Month.
The
World Health Organization reported that by 2008, globally women comprised over
50% of the people living with HIV. Many factors contribute to this, including
lack of access to education, self-determination and economic empowerment.
The
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is March 10. Its theme in 2013
is “Share Knowledge, Take Action”. It is coordinated by the Office on Women’s
Health as part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. For
resources, registration and partnership; go to www.womenshealth.gov/nwghaad.
17. CHURCH SCHOOL
LESSON BRIEF FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2013: ‘DANIEL’S VISION OF CHANGE’ (DANIEL
7:9-14):
*Brother
Bill Dickens
Daniel’s
Prayer Daniel 9:4-14
Basic Need
When
the burdens of life seem overwhelming there are typically three options we can
use to seek resolution. We can turn to
others by seeking advice, counseling or other forms of third-party
intervention. We can turn inward and
rely on our own wit, intellect and problem-solving abilities. Or, we can seek God who has the unique core
competence of being the ultimate “problem fixer”. The AME Adult Church School lesson for March
10, 2013 examines how Daniel chose the third option by using prayer as the tool
to cope with the challenges of his Babylonian ordeal. Daniel’s Prayer illuminates the need for all
of us to make prayer a permanent part of our spiritual personae.
Basic Lesson
Daniel
Chapter 9:4-14 provides a model prayer by emphasizing the three Rs: remorse,
responsibility and restoration. After an
intense personal Bible study of Jeremiah (Dan. 9:1-3), Daniel understood the
predicament of the Jews seventy year exile in Babylon. Instead of wallowing in his sorrows Daniel
took the pro-active approach by acknowledging the shame and guilt of himself
and his fellow countrymen. This was the
act of remorse. In addition, Daniel
confessed that the nation of Israel understood their sin and understood that
God’s punishment was just. This was the
act of responsibility. Daniel’s petition
to be restored in verse 14 is only made possible by being godly sorrowful for
sin and being held accountable for sin.
Daniel’s prayer is a prayer of humility, healing and hope. Daniel’s prayer resonates with maturity and
rejects the superficiality seen in many modern prayers. Daniel’s prayer is a reminder that our
ancestors praise song is still true – ‘Have a little talk with Jesus, Tell Him
all about our troubles”. Prayer is
personal, painless and doesn’t cost us a dime!
Basic Application
When
Christians pray we are “Prioritizing Requests by Acknowledging Yahweh”. The genesis of the AME Church is rooted in
prayer. Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and
other prayer warriors were rudely interrupted in their meditative prayers by
religious zealots at St. George Methodist Episcopal Church in 1787 thus
precipitating an historic church boycott.
The recent re-election of Barack H. Obama as the 44th US President of
the US was interpreted by many as God answering prayer. Faithful Baltimore Raven football fans prayed
that God will find favor in their “team” and allow the Super Bowl trophy to be
hoisted in Baltimore, not San Francisco.
However, Daniel’s Prayer in Chapter 9 transcends the partisan nature of
sports, politics or the environment. The
key takeaway we find in Daniel Prayer is recognizing our culpability in sin
prior to making specific petitions. Too
often our prayer life is tantamount to treating God like an ATM (means to an
end). God is greater than an ATM! Once we grasp this point we can begin to
enjoy a satisfying prayer life.
*Brother
Bill Dickens is currently the Church School Teacher of Bible Class Number 2 for
Allen AME Church in Tacoma, Washington. He is currently a member of the
Fellowship of Church Educators for the AME Church.
18. MEDITATION BASED
ON PSALM 139:1-18:
*The
Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Darby
This
week’s meditation is a day early because the Seventh Episcopal District of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church Mid-Year Conference will be held in the
Florence, South Carolina Civic Center this Wednesday through Friday. That’s a very different kind of church
meeting locale from my early days in ministry, when large denominational
meetings were easily hosted in the larger churches of the Episcopal District.
The
blessing of growth in the AME Church has made it necessary for large meetings
to be held in places like the Florence Civic Center - a big building that’s
used for everything from conventions to concerts to trade shows. There’s no stained glass, no permanently
installed organ, piano or church furnishings, no pulpit and no choir stand, but
for those three days, the Civic Center will become a church because we’ll not
only meet there - we’ll also worship there.
That’s
actually appropriate, because the God of all Creation can’t be confined to a
building designated for use as a church and because what makes a “church” is
not the building, but the people of God who come together in the building.
That’s
worth remembering when difficult, trying and stressful times make us long for
Sundays, when we can come to church and be in the presence of the Lord. We easily associate God’s presence with a
physical structure and forget that we don’t have to be in a designated worship
place to be in the presence of the Lord.
God is with us at home, at work at school and wherever we find
ourselves. God is with us in life’s
comfortable places and in life’s difficult places, for as a song I learned as a
child says, “This is my Father’s world.”
Regardless
of where life takes you or what life throws at you, take the time to go to God
in meditation and prayer each day. You’ll find that even if you aren’t in a
designated church building, God will still hear you, guide you, comfort you,
inspire you, bless you and show you why one modern Gospel song says, “There is
a sweet anointing in the sanctuary, there is a stillness in the
atmosphere. O come lay down the burdens
you are bearing, for in the sanctuary, God is here.”
If
you are in the Charleston, South Carolina area, join us on the Second Sunday in
March for Church School at 9:45 a.m. and for Worship at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. The Combined Choir, Gospel Choir, Children’s
Choir and Young Adult Choir will offer praise.
Sunday’s
Scripture Lessons are:
Isaiah
2:1-5
II
Corinthians 4:1-7
John
8:1-12
Sunday’s
Sermons are:
8
a.m. – “Walk In the Light”
11
a.m. – “Live In the Light”
See
YOU in church, and have a great week!
*The
Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Darby is the pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in
Charleston, South Carolina
19. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We are saddened to share news of the passing of the Rev.
Benjamin Booker, Presiding Elder Emeritus, Thirteenth Episcopal District of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Reverend Benjamin Booker served as a pastor and presiding
elder in the Thirteenth Episcopal District for more than sixty years. He and
his wife, his partner in ministry, Mrs. Nell Harvey Booker, past
Corresponding-Secretary of the Connectional Women's Missionary Society served
throughout the states of Tennessee and Kentucky. The Reverend and Mrs. Booker
were one of the Founding clergy teams of the Connectional Ministers' Spouses,
Widows and Widowers Organization, Plus P.K.'S (1989).
He is the father of 7 children, Benjamin Booker Jr., (Memphis,
Tennessee), Anna Elizabeth Booker (Kenneth), Coatesville, Pennsylvania; the
Rev. Calvin Booker (Connie); the Rev.
David Booker, (Nashville, Tennessee); and the Rev. Spencer Booker (Gail),
Pastor and First Lady Bethel AME Church, Kansas City, Missouri. The Rev.
Benjamin Booker was predeceased by his son, the Rev. Marvin Booker and
daughter, Mary Booker. He leaves to cherish his memory, three Godchildren: Marcus
Louis Harvey, (Boston, Massachusetts), Ashleigh Diane Brock, (Memphis,
Tennessee), and Joshua Miles Collins (Washington, DC); 20 grandchildren, 38
great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation with the family will be Thursday, March 7, 2013, from
4-8 p.m., at Mt. Zion AME Church, 42 S. Parkway West, Memphis, TN. The funeral
service will be Friday, March 8, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. at St John AME Church,
4862 Millbranch in Memphis, TN.
Entombment will follow at the Martin Luther King Mausoleum at
New Park Cemetery, Memphis, TN. Services entrusted to V. H. Bins and Sons
Funeral Home, 1265 Mississippi Boulevard, Memphis, TN 38106.
Hotel Accommodations:
Memphis Marriott Hotel
2625 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Memphis, TN 38118
Phone: (901) 362-6200
Rate: $99.00
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
Mrs. Nell Harvey Booker
7252 Kingsland Drive
Memphis, TN 38125
Telephone: (901) 737-0562
The Reverend and Mrs. Spencer Booker
Bethel A.M.E. Church
2329 Flora Avenue
Kansas City, Missouri 64108
20. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you
of the passing of Sister Gloria Gail Groover, sister of the Rev. Gregory G.
Groover, pastor of the Historic Charles Street AME Church, Boston, MA. Sister
Gloria was a faithful member of Bethel AME Church, Freeport, NY. The following
information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements.
Wake: Friday, March 8, 2013
5:00 P.M. - 9:00 p.m.
John N. Moore Funeral Home Inc.
150 Nassau Road
Roosevelt, NY 11575
516-378-0292
Funeral service: Saturday, March 9, 2013
Bethel AME Church
420 North Main Street
Freeport, NY 11520
Telephone: 516-379-1513
Fax: 516-378-1572
The Rev. Stephen Michael Lewis, pastor & eulogist
Professional Care entrusted to:
John N. Moore Funeral Inc.
150 Nassau Road
Roosevelt, NY 11575
Tel: 516-378-0292
All resolutions should be sent to Bethel AME Church:
Bethel AME Church
420 North Main Street
Freeport, NY 11520
Phone: 516-379-1513
Fax: 516-378-1572
Cards, expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
Ms. Shannon Eason
6 Locust Court
Freeport, NY 11520
Please keep the family in your prayers.
21. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the death of Mr. Samuel Reddick, the
father of THE Rev. Serena Lofton. The Rev. Lofton is the pastor of Shocco AMEC
in Spring Hope, North Carolina.
Arrangements for Mr. Samuel Reddick:
Service will be held on Tuesday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.
St. Peter's Disciples of Christ Church
1111 Massey St.
Smithfield, NC 27577
A wake will be held on Monday, March 4th at Walter Sanders
Funeral Home from 4 - 7 p.m.
Walter Sanders Funeral Home
302 S. Brightleaf Blvd.
Smithfield, NC 27577
Telephone: (919) 934-6661
Fax: (919) 934-0583
The family will receive friends at 50 Towbridge Street,
Smithfield, NC 27577.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Walter Sanders Funeral
Home, address above, or to:
The family of Mr. Samuel Reddick
50 Towbridge Street
Smithfield, NC 27577
Contact for the Rev. Serena Lofton:
Phone: 919-348-0086
22. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mrs. Gloria Jean
Callian Dentham, a retired educator and the widow of the Rev. J. T. Dentham, a
former pastor in the West Tennessee Annual Conference of the 13th Episcopal
District. The Reverend J. T. Dentham
served as pastor of New Allen AME Church and Mt. Zion AME Church in Memphis,
Tennessee.
Services for Mrs. Gloria Jean Callian Dentham:
Saturday, March 2, 2013, 11:00 AM
St. James AME Church
600 North Fourth Street
Memphis, TN 38107
Services provided by:
E. H. Ford Mortuary
3390 Elvis Presley Blvd
Memphis, TN 38116
(901) 345-9558
Messages of condolences may be sent to the family of Mrs. Gloria
Jean Callian Dentham in care of St. James AME Church or E. H. Ford Mortuary,
addresses are above.
23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY
ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Phone: (615) 837-9736 (H)
Phone: (615) 833-6936 (O)
Cell: (615) 403-7751
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AME-Church-Clergy-Family-Information-Center/167202414220
24. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:
The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend
T. Larry Kirkland; the 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 those
who have lost loved ones. We pray that the peace of Christ will be with you
during this time of your bereavement.
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