The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
Thought for the week: "Theological formation is the gradual and often painful discovery of
God's incomprehensibility. You can be competent in many things, but you cannot
be competent in God."
Henri J.M. Nouwen
1. TCR EDITORIAL – BEWARE! ANOTHER COMPUTER DECEPTION TO AVOID - ASSUMPTIONS CAN BE COSTLY:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III
The 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
--
Beware! Another computer deception to avoid - i assumed incorrectly and it cost me:
I learned an important message this week and I want to share what I
learned and hope you will not get caught in the same scheme.
I have auto insurance with USAA, a highly reputable company. I have
been with them for over 40 years.
I was going to do some routine online business with USAA. About the
time I was going into my account a pop-up window appeared on my computer that
said, “Fill out the short survey and get a free gift.” I “assumed” that the pop-up was a part of
USAA. I now know that the pop-up was not
a part of USAA.
The long story short, I filled out the short survey and selected Lunar Sleep – All Natural Sleep Aid, which
I didn’t need and haven’t used. The
other options were magazines in which I had no interest.
I got a free bottle, but continued to get “free” bottles of the Lunar Sleep – All Natural Sleep Aid each
month, which I threw away.
Well, I happened to look at my USAA Credit Card Statement and saw a
May charge of $84.99 for Lunar Sleep- All
Natural Aid! I called USAA and discovered that I had been charged $84.99 a
month since December. The reality of the situation: I was throwing away $84.99
each time I threw away a bottle of Lunar
Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid.
Apparently the “free survey pop-up” occurred at the time I was
accessing my USAA or other account.
I was lured by the “free gift of taking the short survey,” which I
“assumed” was a part of the legitimate USAA website. And after thinking about
it, I recalled that I had received several invitations to fill out short
surveys and to receive a free gift, but had not responded to them. (Lesson # 1 – There are no “free gifts”
I should have read the small print, which was probably somewhere on
the Lunar Sleep Website) I should not
have given them my credit card number and if I had been thinking, I should have
figured, if the pop-up was from USAA, they would have already had my credit
card number. Hindsight is 100% reliable! I had been paying $84.99 since
December! I was, literally, throwing $85
in the trash each month.
There is a little good news. The wonderful lady from USAA contacted Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid and
deftly negotiated a two-month credit to my credit card. I say, “Deftly
negotiated” because it looked like I was “up a creek without a paddle” because
the lady at Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep
Aid started out saying, “You authorized the use of your credit card and you
had 14 days to cancel the order…”
Anyway, the USAA lady got that straightened out and the 4 months of
charges to my credit card was a “learning event.” I guess I will never find out
if the Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid
works.
Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid is not the only “free”
product offered in short surveys; there are many companies that use adware as a
strategy to lure customers.
Back to the beginning
So, since the pop-up didn’t come from USAA, where did it come
from? And from where do similar pop-ups
come?
I did a little research and discovered that the Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid pop-up came from the Desktop WeatherAlert pop-up. I
discovered the “Desktop Weather Alert”
is an adware program that displays pop-up ads, advertisement banners and
sponsored links within Internet Explorer,
Firefox and Google Chrome. Adware is a software package that automatically
renders advertisements in order to generate revenue.
The Desktop Weather Alert installer
software bundles various potentially unwanted software such as toolbar and web
browser extensions. Once installed the software will display pop-up
advertisements designed to look like a browser window, but will display
“alarming-looking” pop-up ads warning that certain software (such as Internet Explorer) is out-of-date and
requires update. If you attempt to download the update, it will install
numerous adware (unwanted) toolbars as well as other potentially unwanted
utilities, which is why it is important never to click on those pop-ups. Once you click on the pop-ups, it is hard to
get rid of them.
I also discovered that Desktop
Weather Alert is technically not a virus, but it does exhibit malicious
traits. Desktop Weather Alerts is
advertised as a program that displays information about the latest weather
changes. Although Desktop Weather Alerts
may sound like a useful service, the program is intrusive and will display ads
whether you want them to or not. The Desktop
Weather Alerts adware infection is designed specifically to make money,
which they successfully did in my case. I did not get a “free gift,” Lunar Sleep-All Natural Sleep Aid got a
“free gift” of $85 a month from me.
The really bad news is that once the Desktop Weather Alerts and other adware add-ons get in your
computer, the adware programs start automatically when you start your computer;
the adware runs in the background and will periodically display advertisements
in the form of pop-up windows. And, if
you did as I did and fill out the short survey for a “free gift,” you might be
paying month after month for an unwanted product.
The bottomline for me is that the Desktop
Weather Alerts’ pop-up is malicious software that can often get downloaded
from an infected website or comes bundled with legitimate software, and
sometimes collect the computer user's sensitive personal information, open the
door to other Desktop Weather Alerts’
pop-ups or viruses and interfere with a computer’s stable system performance.
The really bad news is that spyware and adware are subtypes of Desktop Weather Alerts’ pop-ups.
Spywares are programs that monitor the activities and “spy” on a person’s
computer. Spyware is a type of program that is installed with or without your
permission on your personal computer to collect personal information about your
computer or browsing habits and tracks everything you do without your knowledge
and sends it to a remote user.
It was spyware that tracked my relationship with USAA and that opened
the door for me to answer a survey, which I thought was from USAA to get a
“free gift.”
Spyware can also download other malicious programs from the internet
and install them on your
computer. Spyware works like adware but is usually installed unknowingly when
you install another “freeware” type program or application.
And, while we are talking about spyware, malware is another problem
area for computer users. Malware is a
program with malicious intent. It can be damaging to your computer, spying on you or performing other malicious
tasks.
Simply stated, spyware is any technology that aids in gathering
information about a person without his or her knowledge.
Malware is malicious software developed for the purpose of doing harm
to a computer.
Adware, such as Desktop Weather
Alerts is any software application in which advertising banners are
displayed while the program is running.
Computer Protection
If you don’t read or internalize anything else, read this! Every computer needs antivirus protection and
let me say upfront again, there is no “free” computer antivirus protection. It
is usually an annual or three-year package. It can be as low as $39. Do not click on “free” antivirus protection
advertisements. There are a number of reputable antivirus firms to include
Kaspersky, Norton, Symantec, McAfee, Bit defender, Panda, Avast and others.
My story has a good ending
I contacted Kaspersky, my antivirus software and they emailed me a
link for an adware cleaner and my computer is running like a new computer. In
addition to my computer running more efficiently, no more Desktop Weather Alerts’ pop-ups. I had 11 single-spaced typewritten
pages of deleted adware, spyware and malware items that were removed from my
computer.
I am sure other antivirus protection entities have adware cleanup
programs. The bottomline: Install
antivirus protection on your computer.
Lessons learned
Lesson # 1 – There are no “free gifts.”
Lesson # 2 - Don’t download “free” programs. Adware is distributed
with “free” games, PDF programs, media players, and even with quite legitimate
utilities.
Lesson # 3 – Watch the kids and grandchildren when you allow them to
use your computer because they have the tendency to “open the door” for adware,
which is distributed with game downloads.
Lesson #4 – Never, click on “alarming-looking” pop-up ads warning that
certain software is out-of-date and requires update. Don’t click on any
pop-ups, nada, none!
Lessons # 5 – Never click on pop-ups that say you need to install
certain software to view videos. If you need to install software to view a
video, you don’t need to view that video.
And, 9 times out of 10, if you don’t install the software, you will be
able to view the video anyway.
Lessons # 6 – Never provide your credit card number to unsolicited
pop-ups or firms and never in instances where there is only “HTTP without the ‘S.’ Secure websites have “HTTPS.”
Lesson # 7 – When installing a program, do not click too fast [Next]
without paying attention to Terms of Use and third party programs – be cautious and read the "End User
License Agreement (EULA)." Most of
us consider it a nuisance and click on "yes" without having read a
word. The EULA is a legal agreement you are making with the software vendor and
without reading it you may be unwittingly agreeing to install spyware or a
variety of other questionable actions on your computer. Sometimes it might be
better answer, "No, I do not accept."
Lesson # 8 – Don’t click on links to websites unless you know exactly
where you’re going. Almost all malware starts from a link to a poisoned
website. Don’t click on links that arrive in spam email, instant messages, or
that start from an untrustworthy website. Don’t click on links in email
messages unless you deeply trust the judgment of the person who sent the
message. Don’t click on links in
forwarded messages.
Lesson # 9 – Be careful with shortened links that are frequently used
in Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and social networking sites. You can’t tell where
they lead by looking at them. Don’t follow them unless you trust the person who
created the link.
Lesson # 10 – Just because something is listed in a Google search
doesn’t mean it is safe. Make a judgment about where you’re going before you
click.
Lesson # 11 – Always check your credit card statement each month.
I have learned an invaluable lesson and will take greater care from
this point forward. I wanted to share my experience with the readers of The Christian Recorder because if I had
a problem, I figure there are others out there experiencing the same problem I
have experienced.
I want you to be careful because technology is a wonderful thing when
it is working properly, but can be a nuisance when unscrupulous persons and
entities attack technology through adware, spyware and malware.
We must be alert and always on guard.
There is a spiritual lesson in all of this
The care we take with technology to protect ourselves is similar to
the care we should take in protecting our spiritual lives.
We need to always be on guard and to be mindful that negative forces
are ever present to disrupt our relationship with God and we must be on guard
to avoid the stumbling blocks that are put in our paths.
Sometimes stumbling blocks are put in our lives by others, but many
times they are put there by our actions and our temptation to take shortcuts
and find “free gifts.”
The Desktop Weather Alerts’
pop-ups or the Lunar Sleep – All Natural Sleep Aid offer were not responsible for
the problem I experienced with the entry on my credit card or the disruption
with my computer; it was my carelessness of not paying attention and wanting a
“free gift” for filling out a short survey. In other words, I was trying to get
something for nothing!” I “paid the piper.”
Editor’s note: I received
information from various websites
2. TCR OP-ED - NEVER AGAIN!
* Dr. Jamye Coleman
Williams
- May 25, 2015
Every time I say “time
flies” Mac, my husband of 71 years, 4 months, and 28 days, patiently reminds me
that it goes “minute by minute, one day at a time.” Even so I must say that it does not seem that
it was in the year 2000—fifteen years ago—that I penned the article “It’s Late!
It’s Time! Let’s Do It!” The “It” was an
appeal to my Church to eliminate gender bias.
It was a challenge to the first General Conference of the new century to
act with moral courage and spiritual resolve and elect a woman to the
bench. When I made my appeal to the
leadership of the Church, I was advised that 2004 would be the best year to
elect a female bishop since there would be eight openings. Many of us, on the other hand, were convinced
that the second millennium year and the new century were long enough to
wait. Thus “It’s Time” became a rallying
cry.
On July 6, 2000, at the
Third Business Session of the General Conference, I gave the required 24-hour
notice of my intent to present a Resolution on the election of a woman to the
bench of bishops. When I was recognized
the following day, I announced that Dr. Floyd Flake would read the
Resolution. The Resolution requested the
General Conference to instruct the Episcopal Committee to include in its
recommendations the election of a woman to the bishopric.
Several days later on July
8 the Episcopal Committee reported that the Resolution was beyond its
jurisdiction and it was, therefore, returned to the General Conference for
action. A vote on the matter of a
“female set-aside” was voted on by the General Conference. The result was 667 in favor, 716
against. The Resolution failed by 49
votes.
I never thought it would
be easy, but I had been consumed over the previous four years with the
conviction that the election of a woman was an idea whose time had come. I could personally recall that at the first
General Conference I attended—1940, Ebenezer AME Church, Detroit—Martha Jayne Keys
(my late Mother’s longtime friend, known to me as Aunt Martha) made a dramatic
effort to secure the ordination of women.
Eight years later, in 1948 in Kansas City, KS, the General Conference
voted to make it lawful to ordain women as deacons. It was not until the 1960 General Conference
in Los Angeles that they would gain the status of itinerant elders.
Thus by the year 2000 I
concluded that women not having moved to the top in over a half century spoke
volumes about our concept of equality and fairness. I quoted Dr. Jacquelyn Grant, Professor of
Systemic Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Seminary, who, in “An
Epistle to the Black Church,” suggested that it was her prayer that the Church
would no longer support such an oppressive system as patriarchy, which is
debilitating; and a violation of our covenant with God. Dr. Dolly Deselle Adams expressed it another
way in “Empowering Women in the Church” when she suggested that "feminine
leadership is inevitable. We have the
numbers, the toughness, the tenacity, the compassion, the commitment, and the
call.”
By the year 2000 mainline
denominations had moved ahead and elected women to the bishopric. In 1984, the same year the glass ceiling was
pierced in African Methodism with the election of the first woman as a General
Officer, Editor of The AME Church Review, the United Methodist Church elected
Leontine Kelly as the first African American female bishop. The Episcopal
Church in 1989 broke a 500-year tradition of Anglican Church history when it
elected African American priest Barbara Harris to the bishopric.
We as African Methodist
women who began the long struggle to the top recall that it was in 1964 that
the first woman made a serious announcement for the episcopacy—Carrie
Hooper. In 1984, came Elizabeth Scott;
in 1988 Elizabeth Scott was joined by Louise Harris. Joining Elizabeth Scott and Louise Harris in
1992 were Gloria Barrett and Delores Pennerman Jacobs, my former student at
Wilberforce University. Carolyn Tyler joined Gloria Barrett and Elizabeth Scott
in 1996.
The year 2000 was to be
the year when the glass ceiling would be shattered. Although the Resolution to Elect a Woman
failed by 49 votes, it was the consensus that the enthusiasm and controversy,
the press conference, news stories in The
New York Times and The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution served as a
catalyst. On July 11 we were able to
celebrate victory with the election on the second ballot of Vashti Murphy
McKenzie as the 117th bishop with the second highest number of votes
(847). Clearly it was God’s time.
Prior to the 2004 General
Conference I again made an appeal on behalf of women and the episcopacy with an
article entitled “It’s Time—Again.”
Asserting that just as “one swallow does not a summer make,” neither
does the elevation of one woman to the bishopric eliminate gender bias. Joined again by the Connectional Lay
Organization and Women in Ministry we worked and prayed for another successful
outcome.
On July 7, 2004, there was
jubilation among women—who constitute between 2/3 and 3/4 of Church membership--when
Carolyn Tyler Guidry, who had been “left at the door” in 2000, received 776
votes and became the 122nd bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal
Church. Then on the 3rd ballot there was
another victory with Sarah Frances Davis, who with 716 votes became the 126th
elected bishop of our Church. Another
woman to seek the high office in that year was Linda Alford.
Here we are on the eve of
our historic celebration of the Bicentennial of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church as a denomination, the oldest African American one in the world. Here we are, as I am so prone to say,
preparing to march proudly into Philadelphia, our birthplace, to declare to the
world that we have survived and prospered for 200 years. Here we are - proud descendants of Richard
Allen, proud inheritors of a commitment to education. We were inspired by Daniel Alexander Payne
who, when he purchased Wilberforce University, enabled the African Methodist
Episcopal Church to claim priority in the ownership of an institution of higher
education to be owned and controlled by African Americans.
But in the midst of our
jubilation, I am reminded sadly that in 2016 the lone, active female bishop
will be facing retirement in 2020, returning the AME Church to 1996 with no
female on the bench. That we cannot
afford, tolerate, or accept. We cannot
turn the clock back to a former day of a patriarchal church. We cannot go back to a history of
discrimination. We as women, therefore,
deserve representation and equity.
From 2000 and my plea in
“It’s Late! It’s Time! Let’s Do It!” to 2004 and my appeal in “It’s
Time—Again,” I come to this my 17th General Conference and say to the Church I
love and have served for more than six decades, “Let there, henceforth, never
be a bench of bishops that does not include women. Never Again!” God bless you!
* Dr. Jamye Coleman
Williams is a retired General Officer and a life-long AME
3.
READER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL AND OTHER ISSUES:
-- To the Editor:
Re: The Christian Recorder
Breaking News – “Never Again!” – A Passionate Plea!
I agree with Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams’ missive in The Christian Recorder Breaking News,
but would go further. Dr. Williams’ implication is that we need to reserve
"a slot" or "set aside" spot for a female in order to
guarantee that we never again have a bench without a female bishop. A set aside solution tends to result in the
limitation to “ONE” position, when perhaps; there may be several qualified
females who should be elected in a given quadrennium. With the "set
aside" mechanisms, would we not be pitting females against one another for
“ONE” position? We have at least 4
females running for bishop in 2016, do we not?
Is it the conclusion that none of them will win? Last I heard, the percentage of female AME
ministers are just about 50-50 with males and I believe our general church
membership is predominantly female. Why
shouldn't we have the numbers to promote the election of the BEST POSSIBLE,
Episcopal Candidates...male and female?
Am I wrong in my thinking on this?
Name Withheld
-- To
the Editor:
RE: Preaching is
not the Primary Function of the Pastoral Ministry
Allow me to great
you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Another great
article you have written yet again and I fully agree on all the points you have
said. As a young preacher I feel I have learned a lot from older folks. In the
beginning of this year I attended a pastors' conference (non-AME) and I heard
one great preacher say to the attendees that a great sermon is okay, but the
pastor should be great in the sense of being accessible to the church members,
no matter their financial, ethical and cultural background. Pastors should be
available to the poor, the unwanted and lost members of the church. But again,
he said that pastors tend to think they are the smartest of the people they are
leading and often forget that in the same church a whole lot of important'
people are sitting in the pews and the other intellectual people have allowed
the pastor to speak to them due to the respect they have for the church. If as
AME leaders we would learn to know that we are dealing with a new breed of
people who have access to knowledge and are as smart as we are or smarter than
us, we would know we are privileged to
lead the flock of God no matter how small or big a church is.
A great sermon is
very important, a sermon should be prepared to heal the people of God and
empower them to do these a lot of work has to be put in place. Money, time and
energy have to be applied to the sermon preparation (as people can see a half
baked sermon from far away). Let me share this: I once met an itinerant elder
in the church and I wanted to know what he uses as for sermon preparation and
bible study preparation, he said his bible only and things like Strong's
exhaustive bible concordance he has never used, years later on I heard him
preach and I would say he does not invest his time on studying the text at the
highest level.
Yours in Christ
The Rev. KA
Moloi
4.
SPRING ESSENTIALS FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP:
*The Reverend
Timothy Sands, MScM, M.Div.
Whether it is
wholesale and foreign trade, higher education, construction industry and yes,
even the church, if effective leadership is lacking, organization failure is
looming. Thus, leaders must focus on boosting productivity, isolating problem
areas and take the necessary action of implementing solutions. Now when the aforementioned occurs, retention
takes place. For example, in the secular
world, the focus is on the customer and in the church it is about the
parishioner. In the church, this is
important whether you are affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal
Church or not.
As a result, once
reading the Rev. Dr. Sydnor’s comments during May 15th as well as May 22nd,
2015 editorial in The Christian Recorder, I concur. For a problem to diffuse and the condition to
be address radical as well as painful but polite action is vital. Specifically, the leader needs to make
productive, thought out and efficient decisions. To illustrate in the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, the key as a pastor, you must have a Presiding Elder that
does not waiver and has your back as long as the action is legal and ethical.
Moreover, in
athletics you have player manager or player coaches and the same should be true
of Presiding Elders within the African Methodist Episcopal Church. When this occurs, the leader is confident;
therefore, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians
4:13, New Revised Standard Version).
Being confident is a critical springtime essential for effective
leadership; especially if the pastor is following the rules of The Doctrine and Discipline of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.
Equally important,
the leader must be truthful. Whether it
is budgeting, procurement, planning of events, the leader must be clear for
effective communication. In other words,
the leader has to steer clear of deceit and fraud. It is all about being fair-minded. Hence, the
leader has to be honest; “for we intend
to do what is right not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of
others” (2 Corinthians 8:21, New Revised Standard Version).
At the end of the
day, a leader must have strong analytical skills as well as being an effective
negotiator. In particular, the leader
must avoid being disingenuous and be sincere.
Joshua 24:14 mentions, “Now
therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put
away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and
serve the LORD” (New Revised Standard Version). I appreciate the Rev. Dr. Sydnor and thought
of these essentials from the first letters of his name (CHS). Nevertheless, according to the doctrine of
the Reverend Timothy Sands, spring essentials of confident, honest and sincere
are imperative for effective leadership.
*The Reverend
Timothy Sands, MScM, M.Div. is the senior pastor at Grays Chapel AME Church in
Yatesville, Georgia
5. CONGRATULATIONS AND BLESSINGS FOR A JOB WELL DONE FOR THE 10TH
EPISCOPAL DISTRICT GOLF TOURNAMENT:
Once again the Tenth
Episcopal District has demonstrated its staunch resolve and willingness to work
together as a team for the Glory of God and the betterment of God's Kingdom
here on earth.
The culminating activities
at the Tenth Future Inc. Annual Golf Tournament were absolutely superb! For those who were not able to attend because
of the inclement weather or scheduling conflicts please know that everything turned
out extraordinarily well. The food was
excellent! The goodie bags were the best! The silent auction extremely
successful and the hospitality were "off the chain!"
Even though the golf
course was under water (several holes) just a few days earlier, the course was
in very good shape and proved to be a challenging venue and tons of fun.
It was evident that the
golf course superintendent and his staff worked overtime to get the course
ready for our tournament. Special kudos
to the City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department.
I want to express sincere
appreciation to our host Chairperson, Dr. Mark Washington, each committee
chairperson, the Presiding Elder and Host Pastors, Lay, and Missionaries of the
Austin-Capital District, and the entire Southwest Annual Conference supporters
for all of the hard work associated with hosting the Third Annual Tenth Future, Inc.
Annual Golf Tournament.
I also want to thank each of you (our core committee
members) for faithfully working for almost three years to assist our collective
effort to provide additional revenue streams to support the various ministries
in the Tenth Episcopal District.
Lastly, I want to
encourage each of us to privately and publicly thank God for our truly gifted
Episcopal Team and the Tenth District staff for being the "Wheel in the
middle of a Wheel"
"Job-Well-Done"
everybody.
Houston, we already are getting
excited about continuing the fellowship in your “neck of the woods” next year.
The Rev. George Johnson,
Jr.
6.
NEWS AROUND THE AME CHURCH:
--
Valdosta Church Honors Fallen Veterans for Memorial Day...
7.
AME LUNCHEON AT THE HU MINISTERS’ CONFERENCE:
The AME
luncheon at the Hampton Ministers Conference will be held on Wednesday June 10, 2015 at Noon at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel, 700 Settlers Landing Road Hampton, VA 23669.
The Cost of the
Luncheon is $25.00 and the luncheon is always a great time of fellowship.
If you need further
information call Bethel AME Church (757) 723-4065
8.
FOURTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT WMS QUADRENNIAL CONVENTION HOST MESSAGE:
Peace
and Holy Blessings
Soon, we will
gather in Indianapolis for the 18th WMS Quadrennial Convention. The
mandate for missions in this Millennium is well-known to you. In an attempt to
address an area that the Black Churches have not fully engaged, the Fourth
District, in hosting the Convention, will bring to the forefront the ecological
issues concerning “water” on the planet.
The Fourth District
of The AME Church (Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota,
Canada and India) is preparing to Host the 40 nations of our denomination in a
5-Star manner.
Our hospitality has
a message, a mission and a mandate: The message: water is a sacred gift, a
human right and a life source.
The
Mission: To make potable
water accessible to a primary school in Liberia and to support a potable water
project in Haiti through SADA.
The
Mandate: To equip the AME
churches locally and globally to become intergenerational water witnesses and
water educators for the uplift of humanity and the glory of God.
Our signature event
will be held in the Ballroom of the Indianapolis JW Marriott Hotel.
The
Water: A sacred
confluence of the arts, ecology and activism Saturday, July 18, 2015, 7 p.m.
A multi media event
featuring the 48 member Black Pearl
Chamber Orchestra founded by Maestra Jerri Lynne Johnson, Conductor.
Contributions to
Water for Life should be made payable to:
4th
District WMS 18th Quadrennial Convention, 4448 South Michigan
Avenue, Chicago, IL 60653
Isaiah
41:17-18
"The poor and needy search for water, but
there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will
answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers
flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert
into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.”
Visit the Fourth
Episcopal District, Host District WMS Quadrennial Convention Web site: http://ame4th.org/quadfourth/event/water-event/
The Rev. Dr.
Cecelia Williams Bryant, Senior Episcopal Supervisor
The Rt. Reverend John
R. Bryant, Presiding Prelate of the 4th Episcopal District &
Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
9.
WHERE ARE THE MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS:
*The Rev. Dr.
Angelique Walker-Smith
In 1908, a
Methodist laywoman named Anna Jarvis celebrated the first modern Mother’s Day
at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, W. V. Her campaign to make
Mother's Day a recognized holiday in the United States had begun in 1905, the
year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna's mission was to honor
her own mother by continuing the work she had started and to set aside a day to
honor mothers, "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the
world.” In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day,
the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday. Since that time, Mother’s Day
has been celebrated throughout the United States and the world. Six years
later, the 19th Amendment was passed, which prohibits state or federal
gender-based restrictions on voting.
The vision of Anna
Jarvis to honor mothers and to change public policy nationally and globally, in
order to further recognize and empower women is still needed. Today, our
progress toward the empowerment of women is as reliable only as the data used
to track specific improvements. Asma Lateef, director of Bread for the World
Institute, says that the world has few, if any, real-life examples of countries
with full gender equality. The Institute argues that gender inequality is an
indicator of hunger in the world. Thanks to today’s technology, we can actually
visualize gender inequality. When we look at this issue from a visual
perspective, we can see that the best available statistics, broken down by
country, are actually missing a staggering amount of information.
While data can tell
powerful stories, in this case, the lack of data is the story. Bread for the
World Institute has produced an interactive data tool that makes this
unavailable information “visible.” You can see at a glance how missing data on
gender leaves hundreds of millions of women out of the picture at http://www.hungerreport.org/missingdata.
The Institute’s
data tool uses 52 indicators identified by the U.N. Economic and Social Council
in 2012 as essential to showing the state of gender equality. The indicators
range from the most obvious -- such as the incidence of gender-based violence –
to those that might seem less relevant at first glance.
During the past few
decades, there have been major changes in how many women live their lives. This
is clear with or without enough data to tell us exactly what happened and how.
But there’s growing agreement that the world needs to make more far-reaching
and sustained progress on women’s empowerment. Lateef further states that,
“Data is the yardstick by which we measure progress. Identifying the many
missing marks on the yardstick means that individual countries and the global
community will know what they don’t know.” Then they can effectively begin to
gather this information -- starting this year, as the world adopts the
Sustainable Development Goals that can lead us to the end of hunger and extreme
poverty within 15 years.
*The Rev. Dr.
Angelique Walker-Smith is Bread for the World’s national senior associate for
African-American and African church engagement.
10.
HARARE DISTRICT CONFERENCE IN KAM-BUZUMA - ZIMBABWE
The Rev. Francis
Kataka (Presiding Elder, Harare District, Zimbabwe)
Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If
you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4 NLT).
The above
scripture, I think aptly captures what I believe was the mood at the close of
the Harare District Conference hosted by Kambuzuma AME Church. Coming from a
three day “No More Dry Bones II” energy-sapping crusade, one would have thought
that the Rev. Florence McLaren and the wonderful people of Kambuzuma would find
hosting the conference too much for them. However, they hosted us so well that
we like Peter felt we could have stayed longer, but we however had to leave
because the real work of the church is in our local churches.
The spirit at the
conference was amazing; the Pastors‟ progress reports were encouraging, and the
preaching phenomenal. The conference was told of: The revival of the Forbes
Memorial Church from a mere 4 members before the Easter Revival held at the
church to now 65 members; commencement of construction of the church building
structure at Philip Life; tiling of the floors and paint-ing of the inside
walls at Sims Chapel; the return to the church of the majority of members of
Webster Temple who only a few months ago had seemingly abandoned it; and the
purchase of 150 chairs at Bright Temple. Then Rev. Israel Chimuse capped it all
with a very powerful sermon spiced with inspired singing by the Pastors and
Spouses choir led by Pre-siding Elder Rugeda who graced
11.
FROM THE PASTOR’S PEN KAMBUZUMA AME CHURCH IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE:
*The Rev. Florence
McLaren
Greetings, my
brother and sisters, in the matchless name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. I am speechless at this moment in time because of the great works of
Jehovah in my life and ministry. Let me testify that I have seen the hand, the work,
the face and the spirit of God at work. A Revival Crusade and a District
Conference are two big and tiring events for one to be organising and hosting,
especially with Kambuzuma Church as little as it
Is, I saw miracles
and wonders this month of May, Glory be to Jehovah.
Now that we have
crossed over and we are done with the Revival Crusade and the District
Conference, we are continuing with our Goals as the Kambuzuma Church. We will
be focusing on the discipleship of the new members of the family whom we were
given by God during the Revival Crusade and continuing with our leadership
seminars once every two weeks. As we are welcoming new converts we will be
having the beginners class where we will be teaching the basics of the church
history, baptism and the bible knowledge. We would like to thank God Almighty
for The wonderful District Conference. He is indeed Jehovah-jireh for He
provided all the things that were needed in time—from the venue, the catering,
utensils to Joy and His presence. It was a blessed time for Kambuzuma Church.
*The Rev. Florence
McLaren is the pastor of Kambuzuma AME Church in Harare, Zimbabwe in the 20th
Episcopal District in the North East Zimbabwe Annual Conference.
12.
REVIVAL CRUSADE - KAMBUZUMA AME CHURCH IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE:
*The Rev. Florence
McLaren
This years‟ Revival
Crusade, “No More Dry Bones II”, was more powerful, better organised and better
attended than last year. As you may all be aware, the beginning is always
challenging. The experience from last year taught us a lot of things in the
planning, the setting up and the logistics. We had a lot of support from our
sister churches, residents of Kambuzuma and the Kambuzuma Fraternal. (The
Kambuzuma Fraternal is made up of almost all the churches and denominations in
the suburb of Kambuzuma.) Not only did they support the Crusade, but assisted
in many ways in making the AME Church Harare District Conference the success it
was. The Anglican
Church, for
instance, lent us their magnificent 400-seat tent. Their minister, the Rev. J.
Chawarika, assisted us in searching for a venue.
The Church of the
Nazarene made their musical instruments available.
Women from the
Kambuzuma Mubatanidzwa (Union of women from all different denominations) did
the cooking and serving. The delicious food was one of the highlights of the
Conference. The word was received with gladness and a lot of residents asking:
“Why did you close your crusade so soon, Reverend?”
We thought you were
going to spend the whole week with us.” One of the Kambuzuma residents we met
on the Wednesday after the Crusade asked the same, saying: “Three days was not
enough.”
It is so sad that
some people came to the ground on Friday the 8th for the Crusade
only to find the ground empty, not knowing that we had moved to Wadzanai
Primary School for the District Conference. As we were moving around in
Kambuzuma, looking for the venues for the two events mostly with Brother G
Nhidza and Sister T. Mtamzeli, God was showing us that we were not alone. We
were able to use the Crusade venue for free. There were no problems in getting
police clearance—we got it in only four days. With the assistance of the Rev.
J. Chawarika of the Transfiguration Anglican Church, we were able to secure a
venue for the District Conference Venue at Wadzanai Primary School in Kambuzuma
Section 3.
Passing through
Gogo Miriam's house while looking for her granddaughter who was to be one of
our caterers, she offered her house as a storeroom for all our crusade and
conference goods and, what’s more, lent us her big pots, dinner plates, spoons,
forks and cups. Glory be to God.
-- Let me just take
this opportunity to thank and mention all the people that God sent to us for
His work to be successful
Revival
Crusade and District Conference - A Special Thank You and Acknowledgement List
Intercessors
Overseer H Mabhiza
of VIP Ministries, the Rev Daniel Chimuse, Sister T Mtamzeli, Sister N Jeptara,
Sister B Yosiya, Brother A Fraison - On Friday, 2nd April these
great men and women and I prayed without ceasing for the success of the
forthcoming programmes at an all night prayer service at the crusade venue. It
was so cold that when we left the following morning our shoes and socks were
water-soaked from the dew and the cold of that place. It was not in vain. God
will surely reward you.
Director
of Ceremonies
Pastor Z Kwapatira
of Body of Christ Ministries, all the way from Epworth, my mentor, brother,
father and advisor. A prayer warrior and a worshipper who did a sterling job.
Bless you, Baba.
Speakers
of the Word
The Rev. D.
Chimuse, Brother A. Fraison and the Rev. E. B. Ginya (who gave an apology this
time) - May the Dear Lord continue to bless you and enlarge your territories.
May God continue giving you fresher and greater revelation in your calling.
Printing
services
Mr and Mrs S Magaya
for the wonderful work they did for us in printing our banners, programmes,
newsletters and partnership and decision forms.
Crusade
Stage
Mr F. Kapesa and
Roadshow Advertising who gave us the use of the stage for free
The
Conference Venue
The Headmaster, Mr
Saunyama, and staff of Wadzanai Primary School
The
Tent
The Rev J Chawarika
and the Transfiguration Anglican Church
PA
system and sound services
Lewis and Alois,
very humble and understanding twin brothers.
Transport
Ms Chipo Basopo,
Manager of CHIPAWO, and driver, Batsi-rai Kunzvi, and Brother Jim Chimuse
Crusade
Video
Wilfred
Chidyausiku, my brother, friend and colleague from the film industry, with whom
I have worked for more than ten years.
Electricity
at Crusade
Mr and Mrs N.
Makwati gave it to us for free
Catering
Special mention to
these wonderful ladies who gave their all for free, their pots, plates, cups,
dishtowels, cooking spoons and above all left their homes to do the work of God
in the AMEC, not to mention their husbands: Mrs B Yosiya (CCAP), Ms (CCAP), Mrs
Zengeya and Mrs N. Morris (Methodist Church in Zimbabwe), Ms Brenda (Seventh
Day Adventist), Gogo Miriam and Gogo Terera (Anglican)
Vabvuwi
(Participants)
To all those who
attended I pray that you receive all that you desire in Jesus’ mighty name.
The members of
Kambuzuma AME Church who were in charge of ushering, security, sanitary and
hygiene. A special mention for Brother G, Nhidza who was the first person to
get to the venue and the last to leave and spent all day sitting under the
stage at the venue, guarding the stage. May the God of abundance abundantly
bless you brother and all those others of my congregation
Family
Last, but not
least, my husband and family who supported me spiritually, physically,
financially and emotionally.
The Rev. Florence
McLaren
13.
THE AMEC REVIVAL CRUSADE IN KAMBUZUMA, HARARE, ZIMBABWE:
*The Rev. Ester
Manyau
I was privileged to
be invited to the AMEC Revival Crusade in Kambuzuma.
Aaah! I was blessed
from the two days that I attended. The theme was “No More Dry Bones 2.‟
The Rev McLaren
preached on the power of the Word. When Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones,
the bones came together flesh and breath filled them and they lived.
When situations are
tough if you speak to God, things will change; just speak a word! God will do
it for you. The praise and worship was brilliantly spiritual and I was blessed.
The preached Word was powerful! I am so thankful for the prayers. I was
strengthened.
*The Rev. Ester
Manyau is the Chairperson of the Kambuzuma Women’s Mu-batanidzwa and wife of
the late Rev David Man-yau of the Anglican Church
14.
THE WORD OF GOD:
From the theme of
this year’s Crusade, “No More Dry Bones II‟ taken from Ezekiel 37: 1-10, the
issue of prophesying comes up. To prophesy is to speak out, to speak something
into existence. Ezekiel was told to speak to the dry bones. It was only when he
spoke to them that there was a response, a noise, a rattling sound and an
earthquake as the bones came together. Bone joined up with bone. Tendons and
flesh appeared and skin came to cover up the bones. But there was no life. So
Ezekiel did not stop there, if he had stopped there, the bodies would have
remained lifeless. He had to speak again and he spoke life so that the bones,
the tendons, the flesh and the skin that had heard the voice of the Lord would
live. He spoke to the four winds to bring life to the bones. Then the winds
filled the bones lying on the ground. They came to life and became a great
army.
So keep on praying,
keep talking, speak out until there is change. “Pray without ceasing” (1
Thessalonians 5: 17). Don’t give up, do not tire.
What I am saying
here is whatever is happening in your life, anything that is weighing you down,
like dry bones; speak a word from the Lord and say something! Don’t give up!
Gone is the time to remain silent. Be it a husband who is giving you problems,
speak change. Be it a wife who is that dry bone in your marriage, speak life.
Speak just a word from the Lord. Be it the children, work, money, life in
general that are giving you a hard time, prophesy in the name of Jesus that
they be transformed, say: “No more dry bones in this family, in my life—in
Jesus Christ’s Name.”
Dearly beloved,
confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that there will be change
and there will be life. Prophecy is in the power of your tongue. Thus says
Proverbs 11:22: “Death and life lies in the power of the tongue.” If you speak
hardship, things will be hard. If you speak oppressively, things will be
oppressive. But if you speak triumphantly you will triumph. Jesus, when he took
hold of the deaf and dumb man’s beard and sprayed spittle on him, nothing
happened. But when he looked up to heaven and called “Ephphatha” saying “Open
up‟, the ears opened up, the deafness and dumbness left him and he began to speak
and hear (Mark 7:33-5). Speak a word, dearly beloved; speak a word in every
situation in your life. Do not remain silent.
15.
SHOKO RA MWARI (THE WORD OF GOD):
Editor’s
note: This article in
Shona is the same article above entitled, The
Word of God. Shona is one of
Zimbabwe's major dialects, which is spoken in the Mashonaland region of
Zimbabwe where Harare is located.
Tichitora pa
dingindira redu reCrusade regore rino, „No More Dry Bones II‟, tikaverenga
Exekiel 37: 1-10, panenyaya yekuprofita. Kuprofita kutaura kuraira chimwe
chinhu kuti chii itike Ezekiel akanzi: “Taura kumapfupa akaoma.” Pa akataura
ndopakatanga kuvenemubvumo bvupa rikaenda kunarimwe bvupa raro akaprofitazve
pakavenemarunda nyama neganda asi haanakuguma ipapo. Dai akaguma ipapo paivenemutumbi
usina upenyu akafanirwa kutaurazve upenyu pamapfupa runda nyama neganda
zvakangazvanzwa kutaura kwa Jehovah zvikararama. Aka taurazve kuti
paveneupenyu. Mhepo ikauya kubva kumativi ose mweya ukazadza mapfupa akarara
akaveneupenyu ikavahondo huru. Ramba uchinyegetera, ramba uchitaura kusvika
paitika shanduko. “Rambayi muchinyengetera” (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). Usanete.
Saka zvatirikutaura
ndeezvekuti pachinhu chose chirikuitika muupenyu wako chingakuomera samapfupa
akaoma. Speak out, say something. Taura. Usarambe wakanyarara. Murume anonetsa,
taura naJehova. Mukadzi anonetsa, taura izwi raJehovah. Vana vanetsa profita
kudzikama nezita raJesu. Mari ichishayikwa, mabasa kusina, upenyu waomesesa,
taura kuti “No more dry bones”. Hatichada mapfupa akaoma.
Taura zvakanaka,
zvinoshanduka. Usarambe wakanyarara, mudikani. Zvinoda kupupurura kumuromo wako
kuti paveneshanduko kuti pave noupenya. Chiprofita chiri mumuromo mako.
Proverbs anoti “Rufu noupenyu zvirimusimba rerurimi” (Proverbs). Ukataura
zvakaoma, zvinooma. Ukataura zvakadzvanya, zvinodzvanya. Asi ukataura kukunda,
unokunda.
Jesu, paakabata
nzeve akasvipa mathe pamurume mbeveve hapana chakaitika. Asi paakatarira
kudenga, akataura kuti “Efata”, zvichireva dzivuka nzeve dzembeveve dzakavurika
akatanga kutaura nekunzwa (Mark 7:33-5). Taura shoko, mudikani, taura shoko
muupenyu wako. Usarambe wakanyarara.
16.
MUSKOGEE NATIVE RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTORATE:
A Muskogee native
was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Wilberforce University,
a media release states.
Colonel William R.
Lee, United States Army, retired, son of the late Rev. Willie R. and Bertie Mae
Lee, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree during the
annual commencement of Wilberforce University on May 10. Wilberforce University
is our nation’s oldest privately owned historical black college/ university.
Founded in 1856 by the African American Episcopal Church, its primary purpose
was to provide an education for freed and runaway slaves and their descendants.
It also served as a station on the Underground Railroad.
Lee was born in
Muskogee and graduated from Manual Training High School. He received a Bachelor
of Science Degree in biology and chemistry from Wilberforce University,
Wilberforce, Ohio, and a Master of Science Degree in public administration from
Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pa. He is also a graduate of the U.S.
Army War College, the Command and General Staff College, and the National
Security Management Course. Upon graduation from Wilberforce University, he
received a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Infantry Branch.
Lee had a
distinguished military career that included command and staff assignments in
Vietnam, Korea, Germany, Hawaii, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and as an
instructor at the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. His
last active duty assignment was with the American Embassy, Rome, Italy.
His awards and
decorations include the Legion of Merit with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star
Medal with V (valor) and 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with
Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Service Defense
Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and numerous foreign medals and decorations.
With the rank of colonel, he retired from the military after 30 years of
service.
Upon retirement
from the military, Lee accepted a position as proposal manager with the
Raytheon Company in Massachusetts. Subsequently, he accepted a position as an
instructor at Brighton High School, Boston Public School System, retiring from
this position in 2001.
Lee, the immediate
past chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University, was recently
honored with the title of chair emeritus. He served as president of the
Wilberforce University National Alumni Association during the sesquicentennial
celebration of the university and led the Alumni Association in raising more
than $1.7 million in observance of the occasion. He was inducted in the
Wilberforce University Alumni Hall of Fame. Lee is a life member of Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity Inc., the NAACP, and the Wilberforce University National
Alumni Association. He is a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church,
Melbourne, Fla.
Lee has two sons,
William Jr., and David, who served military tours in Iraq and Afghanistan,
respectively. He resides in West Melbourne, Florida.
17.
NAACP STATEMENT ON DOJ AGREEMENT WITH CLEVELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT & OFFICER
BRELO ACQUITTAL:
The NAACP has
released the following statement in response to the DOJ’s Agreement with the
Cleveland Police Department & Officer Brelo’s Acquittal:
-
From Cornell William Brooks, NAACP President & CEO:
The NAACP is deeply
saddened that the Cleveland police officer who fired 15 shots into a car with
two unarmed people has been acquitted. The 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and
Malissa Williams represent two more tragedies in a series of others who have
senselessly lost their lives at the hands of those who swore to protect and
serve. We understand the anger and
frustration being felt among the community and stand in solidarity with
peaceful protestors who seek justice. It is essential that police must respect
the community before they can protect the community. Therefore, we are very encouraged by the
Cleveland Police Department’s agreement with the Department of Justice to
overhaul its criminal justice system. This agreement calls for many of the reforms
that the NAACP has advocated for, including body worn cameras and community
policing and signals a turning point for police accountability in this
country. The NAACP will continue to
advocate for federal policy change that works to assure that racial profiling
ends today.
-
From Sybil Edwards – McNabb, NAACP Ohio State Conference President:
We are appalled by
the decision to acquit Officer Michael Brelo and our sincerest thoughts and
prayers go to the families of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams during this
difficult time. The Ohio State Conference will continue to double down for
justice. We applaud the Department of Justice on exacting standards over how
and when the Cleveland Police Department can use force, and ensuring that these
rules are not ignored. This agreement is
not only a road map for criminal justice reform in Cleveland, but can the
beginning of a national model for all police departments looking to restore
community trust and build a fairer criminal justice system in the 21st Century. The NAACP Ohio State Conference will continue
to monitor the activities of the police department and will continue the fight
to end racial profiling throughout the state of Ohio.
-
From the Rev. Hilton Smith, NAACP Cleveland Branch President:
We are proud of our
work with the Department of Justice and the consent decree with the Cleveland
Police Department. The Cleveland Branch of the NAACP will continue to
persistently monitor police and community relations and stand steadfast in our
commitment to ensure accountability by working closely with the city’s
leadership to bring systemic criminal justice reform to Cleveland, developing
ordinances prohibiting racial profiling and advocating on behalf of our
community, especially our most vulnerable.
Fuller Theological
Seminary Title Sponsor of Christians for Biblical Equality Conference:
There is a stained
glass ceiling in Christendom as apparent as the glass ceiling in corporate and
non-profit organizations.
Fuller Theological
Seminary recognizes the importance of serving women by empowering them with all
the same privileges afforded a man–in the workplace and the pulpit. Bringing
this challenge once again to the forefront, Fuller announces it will partner
with Christians for Biblical Equality for their 2015 international conference,
“Becoming New: Man and Woman Together in Christ.” Held at the Hilton Los
Angeles Airport Hotel this July 24-26, the conference will focus on issues
central to CBE: breaking down prejudices and gender barriers in the home,
church, and world. The theme of this year’s conference is based on 2
Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has
come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
“It’s tragic that
we still have to be having this conversation after all this time—I wish gender
equality was something that had been achieved a long time ago, but that’s not
the case,” said Ken Fong, executive director of the Asian American Initiative
at Fuller and a plenary speaker at the CBE Conference. “More than half the
students in Christian Higher Education are female; where will these seminarians
go when they're done with their degrees? This conference is about trying to
tackle these types of issues and work against these prejudices for the good of
the entire church. We are hoping to equip people to fully pursue the calling
that God has placed on their hearts.”
Established in
1988, CBE has been an advocate from its beginnings for biblical justice and
community that sees men and women share leadership and authority equally.
Taking verses from Paul as their starting point—particularly Galatians 3:28—CBE
declares that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ
Jesus.” Their passion is to see this enacted across the church.
Fuller Seminary has
long been an advocate for the ordination of women, a practical and historically
controversial step in affirming biblical equality. The decision to support the
ordination of both sexes came with heavy consequences for the seminary. The
backlash of the decision caused Fuller a great deal of public and economic
harm, but the faculty at the time decided that this was a hill Fuller was
willing to die on. That commitment still holds over 50 years later, and the
resistance to declared and enacted gender equality is still pervasive.
“For Fuller,
wrestling with this sex/gendered partnership persists as a major aspect of our
vocation and calling as a seminary,” says Erin Dufault-Hunter, associate
professor of Christian ethics at Fuller. “It has long been part of our history
to equip men and women for the manifold ministries of Christ and his church,
and it is part of our ongoing responsibility to reengage this bent-ness of our
loves and lives time and again. We may grow numb to sin or weary of its
effects, but we never move past it in any area. We must continue to seek with
hope God’s new creation—a creation that includes treating every human with the
dignity, respect, and opportunity fitting a person made in the image of God.”
To register for the
conference, contact Fuller Theological Seminary: reedmetcalf@fuller.edu
About
Fuller:
Fuller Theological
Seminary is one of the world’s most influential evangelical institutions and
the largest multidenominational seminary. We offer 19 degree programs—with
Spanish, Korean, and online options—through our Schools of Theology,
Psychology, and Intercultural Studies, as well as 16 centers, institutes, and
initiatives. More than 4,000 students from 80 countries and 110 denominations
enroll annually, and our 40,000 alumni have been called to serve as ministers,
counselors, teachers, artists, nonprofit leaders, businesspersons, and in a
multitude of other vocations around the world.
18. THE TRUTH IS THE LIGHT:
*The Rev. Dr.
Charles R. Watkins, Jr.
Based on Biblical
Text: John 16:7-11 – “Nevertheless I tell
you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on
me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
Many people have
asked. “Why did Jesus have to die?” It is a sincere question that many folk
grapple with. The disciples grappled with it as well. For them, the death of
Jesus Christ was painful, difficult, profitable and beneficial. In other words
it was necessary.
The fact of the
matter is if Jesus had not departed, there would have been no gospel. If he was
going to save us Jesus had to atone for our sins. So He had to depart or we
would have had no glorified Lord to send us the Holy Spirit, the counselor to
apply our atonement or forgiveness. Jesus had to die in order to pay for our
sins, and then to send the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, in His place.
Counselor in the
original Greek is parakletos and it
is a word used to describe the legal assistants who pleaded a cause or
presented a case. In a courtroom setting a counselor is critical. It could very
well be that without a good counselor one could receive the maximum penalty for
an offense.
The maximum penalty
for our sin is eternal death. That means that our soul, which was created to
spend eternity in heaven, would instead spend eternity in hell. Jesus stepped
in as our Righteous Judge and paid the penalty for our sin. He then sent us a
Comforter or Counselor whose job it is to convict us. Jesus converts us, and
the Holy Spirit convicts us. Conviction however is not the same as conversion,
and the two go hand in hand.
We cannot be
converted unless we are first convicted. It is our nature to wallow in sin
unless our sin is exposed. An example is toddlers right in our own home. Watch
how they maneuver when they think they are not being watched. The fact of the
matter is toddlers will get into anything they want to get into, as long as
they feel unrestrained. Isn’t that a whole lot like what we adults do? We
engage in all kinds of stuff until we get caught.
Jesus knew we would
not repent unless our sin was exposed. So Jesus laid the groundwork for our
conversion, and paid the price for sin’s penalty. Jesus then sent the mighty
power of the Holy Spirit to convince and convict us of our desperate plight and
to show us the difference between righteousness and sin. The Holy Spirit was
sent to continually convict us by revealing righteousness.
Another area of the
Holy Spirit’s work is sin. Sin is rebellion against God. Our rebellion reached
its climax with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already” reminding us that the greatest sin is failure to believe in Jesus Christ.
Interestingly
although people may admit to failures, vices, or crimes, they would never admit
that such things are a sin against God. Lamentably, the unsaved deep down, do
not believe that they owe God an explanation, apology, or confession. So Jesus
sent the Holy Spirit to expose sin and to make us uncomfortable with our sin
nature.
When Jesus was
crucified, the Jews showed that they thought He deserved to be hung on a cross
because He was unrighteous. However Jesus was vindicated by the Resurrection
and the Ascension. The Resurrection proved that Jesus is God’s Righteous
Servant. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinful views of Jesus whenever the
Resurrection story is proclaimed.
This, of course,
begs the question, “How is the Holy Spirit exposing our sin?” Do we feel guilty
when we take something that doesn’t belong to us? Are we touched when we have
said an unkind word, or failed to fulfill a promise. How do we feel when we
have refused to honor a commitment? Is it guilt or fulfillment that we feel
after spreading false gossip? The Holy Spirit works day and night to prick
those whom He reveals the difference between righteousness and sin.
The Holy Spirit
reveals Righteousness, and exposes Sin. One other area of work for the Holy
Spirit is judgment. The Bible says, “Now is the judgment of this world; now
shall the prince of this world be cast out!”
The death and
Resurrection of Jesus were a condemnation of Satan. The death of Jesus defeated
Satan, who the Bible says once held “the power of death”. We need to understand
that just because Satan is defeated, doesn’t mean that he has stopped trying.
Satan, like the losing team will not give up. However the truth is though he
may still be trying to cause chaos as it relates to our relationship with God,
like a condemned criminal, his execution is coming. It is only a matter of time.
The Holy Spirit’s
job is to reveal to us just who has “the power to judge”. The Holy Spirit works
to reveal to us Satan’s defeat, and lead us to fear the Lord, who holds all
power to judge. As the truth of the coming judgment is proclaimed, the Spirit
convicts us and prepares us for salvation.
*The Rev. Dr.
Charles R. Watkins, Jr., is the pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in
Charleston, S.C.
19. GETTING TO ZERO: A CLOSER WALK:
*Dr. Oveta Fuller
We are in Ohio for
the intensive course “What Effective Clergy Need to Know about HIV/AIDS” at
Payne Theological Seminary (PTS). There are 28 students enrolled in this May
2015 class. They have traveled from 13 different states in the USA. There are
10 males and 18 females in this week long in-residence interactive class.
Goals of the course
include that people will leave in a different state of mind than when they
arrived and they will leave with a basic understanding of HIV as a relatively
fragile virus that is only moderately communicable. A goal is that they will
understand the local and global impacts of HIV/AIDS that are occurring right
now- whether we recognize and deal with it or not.
We use in the class
the documentary film “A Closer Walk” that is narrated by Glenn Close and Will
Smith. One scene is a Sunday message of Rev Emmanuel Cleaver- a pastor who
states “that the church of Jesus Christ cannot afford to be silent about
HIV/AIDS.”
As we go through
this week of 30 hrs of instructor-student contact time, I am aware of
transformations occurring. The Masters
of Divinity (MDiv) students are mostly AME clergy, but there are several from
another denomination. Some of those enrolled are ministerial staff members,
some are pastors. They are all here to learn how to be more effective in
leadership to address HIV/AIDS as one part of a health ministry for their
congregation and community.
We talk about the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the African American community. We are 44% of the
people in the USA who are living with HIV infection while only 12% of the
American population.
We talk about
social determinants, the responsibility of men and the vulnerability of women
around the world. In many countries- many women are not educated (there is
little opportunity for such). Many have no means for economic empowerment to be
free of dependency on men- on a father, a husband or others. We talk about how
such vulnerability makes it difficult to navigate around potential contact with
HIV– to protect herself from exposure to one of the body fluids that can
transmit the AIDS virus so it can move from an infected person to another.
The 2007
documentary “A Closer Walk” is a mid-week feature in this class. It explores
many topics. One of these is how some women in some countries, including in the
USA, are in situations where they provide sex (even in a marriage) for economic
security, a home and a family or for necessities such as rent or food. The
movie talks about how in India, a woman may be considered “a non-person” if she
contracts HIV/AIDS or if she cannot or will not bear children.
Members of the
class watch the documentary after learning about HIV as “just another virus”
and AIDS as “a preventable disease.”
One of the documentary
commentators asks the question, “What will be world be like in 20 years when we
have 40 million orphans and vulnerable children because of HIV/AIDS impact?
What will become of the AIDS orphans- will they become sex slaves, child
soldiers? What rights do they have?”
Some are exposed to
HIV infection at birth to a mother who is HIV positive. Some of the children
affected are HIV negative, but are vulnerable or orphaned because they have
lost a parent or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
For some, family members take on the responsibility of raising them and
providing needed care. Others are not so fortunate. What is the short and
long-term future of these children for whom Glenn Close states, "They have
deprived of a fundamental human right- the right to life itself.”
The “A Closer Walk”
documentary is powerful, moving and on target. As it nears the end, Will Smith
asks, “What will we tell our children about HIV/AIDS… that we did not know,
that we did not care?”
I have asked the
class of MDiv students to be prepared at tomorrow morning’s class to unpack the
documentary and talk about their impressions while watching it. I have asked
them not to talk to each other immediately after the film is over so that they
might be alone for a few moments with their own thoughts. They will pack their
notebooks and personal belongings and leave the classroom without talking.
One person
interviewed in the film says “The current situation quickly brings to my mind,
"what can I do?" You never know what a difference to someone that a
small effort will make. You can’t predict that there might be a ripple effect
of an action to make a difference.”
Another goes on to
say, “What can I do? Every individual should take a moment to think about what
can they do, and then do it and keep on doing it.”
Tomorrow morning
will be a class time of discussion, reflection and processing. It is part of
transformation that accompanies the intensive course. It is part of achieving
the goal that those enrolled will become implementers of some of what is
already known, understood, discovered. They will use what is learned about the
biology of HIV as a fragile virus and AIDS as a preventable disease in the real
world context in which people live.
When the week’s
intensive course is completed the MDiv students at PTS will head to their
respective homes. They will be changed. They will be more aware of the
responsibilities of their calling. As clergypersons they will be able to more
effectively serve the people, those who have encountered HIV/AIDS and those who
have not.
*The Rev. Oveta
Fuller Caldwell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
at the University of Michigan (U-M) Medical School, Associate Director of the
U-M African Studies Center and an AMEC itinerant elder and former pastor. She
lived in Zambia for most of 2013 to study HIV/AIDS prevention among networks of
religious leaders.
20. iCHURCH
SCHOOL LESSON BRIEF FOR SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015 - LOVE NEVER ENDS - I CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 13:
*Brother Bill Dickens
Introduction
Sunday, May 31,
2015 is the second week of Pentecost. It
goes without saying that the only things of eternal value in this world are
those that are eternal. Life in this world is temporal, not eternal, and
therefore, the only part of life that has eternal value is that which lasts
through eternity.
Clearly, the most
important thing in this world that has true eternal value is having a
relationship with Jesus Christ, as the free gift of eternal life comes only
through Him to all those who believe (John 3:16). As Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me” (John 14:6).
Everyone is going to live somewhere for all of eternity, Christians and
non-Christians alike. And the only eternal destiny other than the one in heaven
with Christ is one that provides everlasting punishment for those who reject
Him (Matthew 25:46).
The Church School
Lesson for May 31 looks at the eternal value of love. Love has been a focal
point throughout this spring 2015 quarter. God is Love. God is Eternal. Ipso
facto, love should be eternal.
Bible Story
The Value of Love (I Corinthians 13: 1-3)
In these three
verses, Paul mentions six spiritual gifts: tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith,
giving, and martyrdom. Yet, despite the importance of these gifts if they are
not collocated with love Paul declares we are nothing. The nothingness suggests
love has the ultimate value. We can boast about our gifts and talents but no
love means we have accomplished absolutely nothing. The spiritual arithmetic
works something like this: Gifts + Talents + Love = Spiritual Value. Gifts +
Talents + No Love = 0!
The Virtue of Love (I Corinthians 13: 4- 7)
Love is a word that
can only be properly defined in terms of action, attitude, and behavior. Paul
has no room for abstract, theoretical definitions; instead, he wants us to know
what love looks like when we see it. Thus, he paints fifteen separate portraits
of love. Yes, that’s right: in the space of four short verses Paul uses fifteen
verbs, all of which have “love” as their subject. Our contemporary definition
of love is that it is an emotion or a feeling—we love our jobs, we love
football, we love pizza. In the biblical definition of agape, love acts, for
love is an action, not an emotion. Verse 4 begins by summarizing the unselfish
nature of love. This is the true virtue of love. Because love is unselfish it
stands to reason love is kind, not jealous, does not brag, is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not
rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. These attributes
reinforce the virtue of love.
The Victory of Love (I Corinthians 13: 8-13)
Love is victorious
because love does not fail. All of the gifts described by Paul in this chapter
will eventually sunset. Love however has no sunset provision. Love is eternal
hence love can’t fail. This is why Paul can declare that of the Big Three
(Faith, Hope & Love), the most important hands down is love.
Life Application
In I Corinthians
Chapter 13, Paul argues that love is an action word, not an emotion. The kind
of love Paul talks about is seen, experienced, and demonstrated. This is
contrary to our culture that honors personal feelings above almost everything.
We do what we want when we want because we “feel” like it. And if we don’t
“feel” like it, we don’t do it. But when we study this passage, I am struck by
the complete absence of any stress on personal feelings. Hence, if love is an
action, not an emotion, we need to study what God has to say about love. We
need to know what love is and what it looks like when it is lived out in the
church.
Love as described
in I Corinthians is revolutionary. Many things can provide us with value and
virtue. However none of these objects can equate with the power of love. We can
have all of the material comforts at our disposal but with no love the
possessions are reduced to zero spiritual value. Given the value, virtue and
victory of love it should come as no surprise why this passage is the most
widely read section of Holy Writ at wedding ceremonies. Love never fails!
African American
Inspirational Quote for this week: "If
we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die."
Angelou, Maya
*Brother Bill
Dickens is currently the Church School Teacher at Allen AME Church in Tacoma,
Washington. He is currently a member of
the Fellowship of Church Educators for the African Methodist Episcopal Church
21. MEDITATION BASED ON PSALM 51:1-12:
*The Rev. Dr.
Joseph A. Darby
I’m writing this
Meditation at the end of an “interesting” traffic day in Charleston, South Carolina. A traffic accident on the bridge over the
Cooper River that connects Charleston to the nearby town of Mount Pleasant
caused a major gasoline tanker truck spill and the closure of the bridge for
over eight hours to clean it up.
The result was a
horrendous traffic nightmare. Those
traveling between Charleston and Mount Pleasant - usually a three or four
minute trip - had to either go thirty minutes out of the way and sit in clogged
traffic on the next closest bridges in North Charleston or take a more than
fifty mile detour through the town of Moncks Corner to avoid the traffic.
The eight-lane
Cooper River Bridge is a beautifully designed modern marvel. It’s the third longest “cable stayed” bridge
in the world, with two diamond shaped towers that connect the cables to the
bridge and that’s often used as a symbolic image of Charleston. For over eight hours today, however - while
the spilled gasoline was cleaned up - it was beautiful, but useless.
All of us are a lot
like that bridge. As God’s creations, we
are - as Psalm 139 says - “wonderfully made,” with special gifts and graces
bestowed upon us by the God who made us.
We’re also, however, flawed human beings with unique faults and failings
and with an inherited tendency to sin that hinders our being what God intends
us to be - sin that can easily lead us to be just like that bridge was today -
beautiful, but useless.
That’s why Jesus
the Christ came into this world. God saw
our weakness and our tendency to sin and gave us His Son, so that His broken
body and spilled blood would be the price for our sins. We can find forgiveness, salvation, new peace
of mind and eternal life because when humankind was at a low point, Jesus came
into this world to clean us up.
Let the Lord Jesus
Christ clean you up and lead you to new blessings each day. You’ll find new direction, new joy and new
power to go beyond your old, polluted life and say, as did those who trusted in
Jesus in spite of being hindered by the soiled chains of American slavery, “I
looked at my hands, and my hands looked new; I looked at my feet, and they did
too!”
This Meditation is
also available as a Blog on the Beaufort District’s Website: www.beaufortdistrict.org
Get Ready for
Sunday, and have a great day in your house of worship!
*The Rev. Dr.
Joseph A. Darby is the Presiding Elder of the Beaufort District of the South
Carolina Annual Conference of the Seventh Episcopal District of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church
22. EPISCOPAL, GENERAL OFFICER AND CLERGY FAMILY
CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-- Courtney Sharisse Green was awarded the Bachelor of
Science Degree
Courtney Sharisse
Green was awarded the Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Relations from
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida. The
Commencement Exercises took place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, 2015.
Courtney is the
daughter of the Rev. Dr. John Frank Green, President-Dean of Turner Theological
Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia and Mrs. Phyllis N. Green, Supervisor of the 12th
Episcopal District. She is the niece of Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green, Sr.,
Presiding Prelate of the 12th Episcopal District, Rev. Dr. Henry E. Green, Sr.
(Jennifer), Rev. Dr. David W. Green, Sr., (Kim) and Mrs. Minerva Green Miller
(Johnny).
Courtney’s future
plans include an internship in Public Relations and pursuing a Master’s Degree
at Florida State University in Integrated Marketing/Public Relations.
-- John Foster, Jr. received the Juris Doctor Degree
John Foster, Jr.
received the Juris Doctor Degree (J.D.) on May 15, 2015 from Samford
University, Cumberland School of Law. John is the son of the Rev. John Foster,
Ph. D., pastor of Big Bethel AME Church and Sister Mary Ann Foster, First Lady
of Big Bethel AME Church, Atlanta, Georgia.
-- The Reverend Geoffrey S. Ellis awarded the Honorary
Doctorate of Divinity Degree
The Reverend
Geoffrey S. Ellis, pastor of Asbury Chapel AME Church in Louisville, Kentucky
was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree from Simmons College of
Kentucky at the Commencement Exercises held on Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 5:00
P.M.
Simmons College of
Kentucky located in Louisville, is accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). On April 13, 2015, the United States Department
of Education designated Simmons College of Kentucky with the 107th historically
black college and university (HBCU) status.
Rev. Ellis, a
community activist, was employed with state, county, and metro governments for
over 22 years. He served under County Judge Executive Harvey Sloan, County
Judge Executive and Mayor David Armstrong, and Mayor Jerry Abramson. He was
also employed by the Kentucky Human Rights Commission and the Louisville Urban
League. He is a past president of the local branch of the NAACP and the
Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition of the NAACP. He has also served as
the Chairman of the Board of West Louisville Community Ministries. He currently
serves as President of the Greater Louisville AME Ministerial Fellowship. Rev. Ellis
is a co-founder of Ervin House; the first owned and operated African American
half way house for ex-offenders in the state of Kentucky. He is also
founder/owner of the first black shoe store located in West Louisville, The
Boot Gallery.
Congratulatory
responses can be emailed to:
-- Eugenia Michelle Brannon was awarded a Bachelor of
Arts Degree
On Saturday, May
16, 2015, Eugenia Michelle Brannon was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Mass Communication with a concentration on Broadcast Journalism, from the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Eugenia is the
daughter of Presiding Elder (retired) Eugene and Anita Brannon (1st Vice President
of CONN-M-SWAWO +PK's). She is President
of the YPD of Union A.M.E. Church, in Little Rock, and serves as one of the
Liturgical Dance coaches there. She is also the Corresponding Secretary for the
Arkansas Annual Conference YPD.
Prior to her graduation,
Eugenia served as an officer in the Epsilon Phi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Incorporated on the campus of UALR.
During the Spring
Semester of her senior year, Eugenia interned at KARK Channel 4/FOX 16 News,
and had the pleasure of meeting and
interviewing the oldest living person (at that time) in the USA, who just
happened to reside in Camden, AR.
Eugenia will attend
Graduate School to pursue a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication, and looks
forward to a career in the Journalism.
Congratulatory
notices may be sent to:
-- Jeremy Andre Cox received the Bachelor of Science
Degree
On May 9, 2015,
Jeremy Andre Cox received the Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of
Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. His minor is in
Sociology. Jeremy is the son of the Rev. Ashley and Sister Tracey Cox of
Columbia, Tennessee. Rev. Cox is the Pastor of St. Matthew AME Church in
Cornersville, Tennessee.
Congratulatory
email can be sent to: cox_rev.aq@hotmail.com, Rev. Ashley and Sister Tracey
Cox.
23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We are saddened to
share with the connectional church family, news of the passing of Mrs. Mary
Agnes Robinson, beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great
grandmother, aunt and Godmother. Mrs. Robinson, 86, passed away peacefully
Saturday, May 23, 2015, at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.
Mrs. Robinson was
proud to serve as a Stewardess at her local church, Asbury Chapel, Louisville,
KY; the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Ellis, Pastor; as a Licensed Missionary Worker in the
West Kentucky Conference; a Life Member of the Women’s Missionary Society of
the AME Church; a member of the West Kentucky Conference Lay Organization and
the Thirteenth Episcopal District Lay Organization. During her active years, Mrs. Robinson held
many offices at the Episcopal District and Conference levels in both the WMS
and Lay. Rooted in African Methodism,
the responsibilities of each, she joyfully and dutifully preformed, until her
health failed. She took great delight
over having served as a voting delegate to both WMS Quadrennial Conventions and
Lay Biennials.
Neither ordained
nor consecrated, she led many to Christ and His Teachings, through her
challenging, Christ centered admonitions and compelling conversations, “she bid
them to obey and live”.
Services for Mrs.
Mary Agnes Robinson:
Friday, May 29,
2015
Family Visitation:
2:00 p.m. – 4:00
p.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (The family will be present at both.)
A. D. Porter and
Sons Funeral Home
1300 West Chestnut
Street
Louisville, KY
40203
Telephone: (502)
587-9678
Fax: (502) 581-1869
Saturday, May 30,
2015, 11:00 AM
Celebration of Life
Service:
Quinn Chapel AME
Church
1901 W Muhammad Ali
Blvd
Louisville, KY
40203
The Rev. Troy
Thomas, pastor
Expressions of
sympathy may be sent to her daughters:
24. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to
announce the death of Mr. Isaac E. Johnson, Sr., father of Mrs. Pamela J.
Sembly, wife of the Rev. Charles T. Sembly, Pastor of Union Bethel AME
Church-Randallstown, MD in the Second Episcopal District, Washington
Conference.
Funeral Services:
Wednesday, May 27,
2015
Family Hour - 10:30
a.m.
Funeral – 11 a.m.
Evangelical
Presbyterian Church of Annapolis
710 Ridgley Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401
Office: (410)
266-8090
Fax: (410) 266-6736
Interment is
scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 10 a.m. at the Maryland Veterans
Cemetery in Crownsville, Maryland
Expressions of
sympathy may be sent to:
Mrs. Pamela J.
Sembly
9827 Marriottsville
Road
Randallstown, MD
21133
25. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to
announce the passing of the Rev. Almaree Williams who was the mother of the
Rev. Maerena Poole, pastor at Mt. Pisgah AME Church in Salem, New Jersey (New
Jersey Conference, Atlantic City District).
The following
information has been provided regarding the funeral services arrangements.
Saturday, May 30,
2015
Celebration of Life
- 11:30 a.m.
New Zion Missionary
Baptist Church
1310 Martin Luther
King Jr. Dr.
Greensboro, NC
27406
Telephone: (336)
272-8441
Fax: (336) 378-1164
The Rev. William
Wright, Jr., pastor
Expressions of
sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Maerena
Poole
221 Roger Chaffee
Square
Bear, DE 19701
26. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform
you of the passing of the Rev. Dr. W.C. West, pastor of the Antioch Baptist
Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Dr.
West was the father of Mrs. Jacquelyn Calloway, immediate past president of the
Southern California Conference M-SWAWO+PK's and father-in-law of the Rev. Dr.
Kelvin T. Calloway, pastor of Bethel AME in Los Angeles and Dean of the Southern
California Conference.
Service
arrangements for the Rev. Dr. W.C. West:
Calling Hour:
Sunday, May 31,
2015
6 -8 p.m.
Antioch Baptist
Church
1057 Texas Ave.
Shreveport, LA
71101
Celebration of
Life:
Monday, June 1,
2015
11:00 a.m.
Antioch Baptist
Church
Mortuary:
Heavenly Gate
Funeral Home
1339 Jewel Street
Shreveport, LA.
71101
Office Telephone:
(318) 222-8010
Fax: (318) 222-5004
Condolences:
The Calloway Family
4258 Don Carlos Dr.
Los Angeles, CA
90008
27. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
This comes to share
that Mr. J.C. Goodman, the father of the Rev. Christopher (Brenda) Goodman,
died on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The Rev.
Goodman is the pastor of Bethel AME Church in Warren, East Arkansas Annual
Conference.
A celebration of
his life will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015, 11:00 a.m.:
Pilgrim Rest AME
Church
522 No. Bailey
Street
Monticello, AR 71655
Services have been
entrusted:
Stephenson-Dearman
Funeral Home
943 Highway 425
Monticello, AR 71655
Telephone:
(870)367-2451
Condolences may be
sent to the family c/o:
The Reverend &
Mrs. Christopher Goodman
761 Florence Road
Monticello, AR 71655
Telephone: (870)367-3550
/ (870) 723-6032
28. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform
you of the passing of Derrick Crawford, the brother of the Rev. Bobette
Hampton, pastor of Fresh Fire AME Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Service
arrangements for Derrick Crawford are as follows:
Viewing for Family
and Friends:
Thursday, May 28,
2015
5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Harper Funeral Home
521 Douglas Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Telephone: (269)
342-1000
Fax: (269) 342-0634
Service of Memory:
Friday, May 29,
2015 - 11 a.m.
Fresh Fire AME
Church
2508 Gull Road
Kalamazoo, MI 49048
Telephone: (269)
381-8050
The family request
in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the church in care of the Lucille
Crawford Missionary Society in memory of Derrick Crawford.
Mail to:
Fresh Fire AME
Church
2508 Gull Road
Kalamazoo, MI 49048
Cards and others
expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Bobette
Hampton
Fresh Fire AME
Church
2508 Gull Road
Kalamazoo, MI 49048
29. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform
you of the passing of the retired Rev. Clifton Miller, who was a member of the
South Carolina Annual Conference. The
Rev. Miller was the father of the Rev. Randolph Miller, pastor of Nichols
Chapel AME Church (Charleston), Edisto District, South Carolina Annual
Conference, Mr. Charles A. Miller, Sr., 2nd Vice President of the 7th Episcopal
District Lay Organization, and the grandfather of the Rev. William C. Miller,
pastor, St. John AME Church (Cottageville), Beaufort District, South Carolina
Annual Conference.
Memorial (Wake)
Service at:
Greater Trinity
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Friday, May 29,
2015
7:00 p.m.
677 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC
29403
The Reverend Jerome
Wilson, Pastor
Funeral Service at:
Greater St. Luke
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Saturday, May 30,
2015
11 a.m.
78 Gordon Street
Charleston, SC 29403
The Reverend
Herbert L. Temoney, Pastor
Condolences may be
sent to:
Reverend Randolph
Miller
25 Jawol Drive
Charleston, SC
29407
30. CONNECTIONAL LAY ORGANIZATION FAMILY BEREAVEMENT
NOTICE:
We regret to
announce the untimely death of Deaconess Esther Lombe of St Thomas AME Church,
Chingola of the South West Zambia Conference of the 17th Episcopal District,
Bishop Wilfred Jacobus Messiah, Presiding Prelate.
Deaconess Lombe
aged 78 years old transitioned from Labour to Reward on May 21, 2015. She is
mother to the 17th Episcopal Lay President, Brother Martin Lombe. She is
survived by 3 children.
She was consecrated
Deaconess by Bishop T. Larry Kirkland at Kirkland Temple in Ndola in 1996.
Funeral Services
will be held at Bro. Lombe's residence at:
725 Buntungwa Road,
Mimbula, Kasompe in
Chingola.
Burial is scheduled
to take place on
Monday May 25,
2015.
Messages of
condolences can be sent to Brother Lombe via the contact details below:
MHSRIEP
Cell: +260 977
457389
*Connectional Lay
Organization AME Church
31. BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY
ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Telephone: (615) 837-9736 (H)
Telephone: (615) 833-6936 (O)
Cell: (615) 403-7751
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AME-Church-Clergy-Family-Information-Center/167202414220
32.
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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