The Right Reverend 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
-- Easter - Sunday, March 27, 2016
-- Pentecost - Sunday, May 15, 2016
The 50th Quadrennial
Session of the General Conference, July 6-13, 2016
-- Massacre of Emanuel 9, June 17
Happy Easter!
1. TCR EDITORIAL – AUTHENTIC
WORSHIP ALLOWS PARISHIONERS TO DEAL WITH THE “WOWS”
AND THE “WHYS” OF LIFE:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III
The 20th Editor of The Christian
Recorder
In 2010, I decided
that I was going to learn to play the guitar; it was something I had always
wanted to do, but had not gotten around to doing.
As a matter of fact,
way back in 1997, I even bought a cheap guitar and a parishioner offered to
teach me how to play the guitar, but I didn’t follow up and the cheap guitar
stayed in my closet for years.
In 2009, a dear friend
sent me a new expensive guitar with the encouragement to learn to play it.
No movement on my part
until he emailed and wrote, “I am going to try to get to Nashville and we can
strum together.” I got nervous because I
didn’t want to embarrass myself by accepting a gift and not using it. I quickly
decided I needed to find a guitar teacher so I could learn to play something. I
found a good teacher and his studio was not far from home.
Before accepting me as
a student, the guitar instructor asked, “Are you willing to practice?” I responded affirmatively. The rest is
history, but there were some learning curves along the way.
As an aside, I have
been playing the piano since I was a teenager and played for choirs, but I
always wanted to play the guitar. The guitar is such a mobile instrument and I
dreamed of playing the guitar and singing along as I played; so I chose to
learn to play the acoustic guitar.
I quickly discovered
that playing the guitar was not an extension of playing the piano. My fingers took a beating and those six
strings seemed at times to be 12 strings. My big hands and long fingers didn’t
seem big enough to maneuver my fingers to play even the simplest chords. I
struggled.
About six months into
my lessons, I had an epiphany. My teacher explained to me what some call the
Nashville Numbering System.
He explained that if
you went to the various studios around Nashville, you will see guitarists and
pianists excitedly numbering their musical score. He numbered a rock and roll
song and a hymn and I was on my way to learning to play the guitar.
I always knew that I
learn best when I understand how things work and my guitar lessons reinforced
it. I learn best when I can make an application to something concrete; I do not learn well in a vacuum. I
don’t learn well from ethereal concepts.
Over time in my life
and ministry, I discovered worship became more meaningful as I gained a greater
knowledge about worship and liturgy and came to understand that the order of
worship was not something that was “kind of thrown together.”
Recently, a young man
doing some work in our home came into my office and saw all of my guitars and
two ukuleles and we got into a discussion about playing the guitar. I mentioned the Nashville Numbering System to
him and he had a quizzical look. After explaining it to him, I pulled out some
music and showed him how I had numbered several musical selections. He said, “I understand the 1-4-5 notations,
but I don’t know anything about all of the minor, seventh and other chord
notations. I know that I play them, but
I don’t know them like that.”
I suspect there some
parishioners like the young man working on our home, they know about church,
but they are unaware of the power of worship.
I suspect there are
parishioners and, maybe some clergy too, who attend worship and “meet the
requirements for having attended church on Sunday.” They are familiar with the
order of worship, love the singing, like to hear the preaching,
tolerate preaching and meet the requirement of having gone to church.
They love the “Wow”
moments of church; the great music, dynamic sermons, the good job, the new car,
the great medical results, etc.
They often have
difficulty with the “Why” moments of faith. Why things don’t go right, why the
children are rebellious, why the troublesome medical issues, why the conflicts
in marriage, why the financial burdens.
I believe worship
would be more meaningful if we understood the various parts of worship. I think
if we understand worship, we can
more effectively deal with the “Wow” and “Why” moments of life.
AME worship is kind of
like AME protocol, we always acknowledge God first.
A synopsis of AME
worship
The prelude and
introit help parishioners prepare their hearts and minds for worship. Parishioners should rid themselves of
non-spiritual distractions.
The Doxology is an
affirmation at the beginning of worship that affirms the authority of God in
our lives and in the worship event. The
Doxology is the assembled parishioners’ praise to God.
The Doxology always
requires an “Amen.” A Doxological statement sung or spoken requires an “Amen”
from Christians. A shout or a holy dance is appropriate after the Doxology!
A call to worship is
just that, a call of the people to congregational worship and an opportunity
for parishioners to affirm their love and commitment to be in the house of the
Lord, in the presence of the Holy God and their commitment to share in joyful
worship.
If a pastor uses
another call to worship, that call to worship should express the same
intentions of the joy of being in the house of the Lord and a commitment for
joyful worship.
The opening hymn,
which should be taken from the AMEC Hymnal, should always be a hymn of praise
to God! The opening hymn gives honor and
acknowledges the awesomeness and power of God. If a pastor does not use an opening hymn out
of the AMEC Hymnal, the opening hymn should express the awesomeness and power
of God. The opening hymn should not focus upon the issues and struggles. The
opening hymn is about God, nothing else!
The worship prayer is
congregational or a shared petition; it’s not a personal prayer. A pastor or
parishioner who prays should not use personal pronouns, i.e., “Lord, bless my
family…”
Corporate prayer is
about “us” and “we,” never “I” or “my.”
“I” or “my” are used in personal prayer.
We kneel to pray and
if a person is unable to kneel, it might be more appropriate to ask someone who
can kneel to lead in the prayer. We do
not stand when petitioning God, we kneel or bow.
An outline for prayer
that has been around for a while, is ACTS: Adoration, which should praise /
adore God; Confession- a General Confession type statement(s); Thanksgiving as
in expressing our thanks to God for the blessings of the congregation, the
church, the community; and Supplication, which expresses the collective needs
of the congregation or issues facing the congregation. In many AME Churches,
those offering prayers end their prayers with an eschatological appeal.
In congregational
prayer the use of “us” and “we” are most appropriate. In personal prayer “I”
and “my” are appropriate and the ACTS might be a helpful outline to follow.
In churches that use
the term “invocation,” it simply means invoking God’s presence, not necessarily
in the worship space, but in our lives and in our hearts as we join in
corporate worship.
We pray before reading
the scripture because we seek God’s presence before reading the Word.
The prayer ends with
the prayer response. The preacher or whoever prays remains kneeling until the
end of the prayer response.
A prayer response
should be an appropriate ending of the prayer. “Go tell it on the Mountain” is
not a prayer response. Choirs should not use a prayer response as a special
selection. A prayer response should not take five minutes, not even four
minutes, and probably not three minutes, unless the Spirit is high.
The Decalogue allows
us to affirm that we will follow God’s Law.
If a pastor uses a responsive reading, the responsive reading should
give the congregants an opportunity to affirm that they will follow God’s
laws.
The Gloria Patri
provides a Trinitarian conclusion of the Decalogue and a statement of Jesus
Christ’s fulfillment of the Law.
The offering gives
parishioners an opportunity to support the ministry of the church and to give
to God a portion of what God has provided for us.
Up to this point in
worship, everything should be moving to a climax in preparation for the delivery of the sermon.
The music and the
announcements and other acts of worship are all good, but the sermon is the
supreme act of worship.
The coordination of
the opening hymn, prayers, scripture lessons, the Decalogue or responsive
readings, announcements should all be done as liturgical movement to the sermon.
The sermon is the supreme act of worship.
The hymn of
preparation should be just that, a hymn of preparation for the people to listen
to the Word of God. In some areas of the
country, people sit for the hymn of preparation.
If a choir gives a musical
selection in place of the hymn of preparation, the selection should be
appropriate for the sermon that will follow.
“All roads” of the
liturgy should lead to the sermon. The delivery of the sermon is given from the
pulpit and should be delivered with power and authority, because the sermon
represents the Word of God. The sermon should “cut to the soul” of the
congregation. Sermons should be well prepared and it should be evident
to all that the sermon is well prepared.
There should not be a
lot of activities after the sermon; and on Communion Sundays no activities
after the Lord’s Supper.
The invitation to
discipleship gives parishioners and guests the opportunity to recommit or make
a decision for Christ. The invitation should be given with power and with care.
The invitation should not be rushed. People should be allowed to respond to the
Word of God. It takes some people longer to make a decision and a decision for
Christ is an important decision!
The Affirmation of
Faith gives parishioners an opportunity to reaffirm what they believe.
If someone on the
street asks me if I am a Christian, I respond, “Yes” and if they ask me how I
know, then I know I have got them, I respond, “I believe in God the Father
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ…” and go on to recite
the entire Apostles’ Creed, which usually ends the inquiry.
The closing Doxology
gives parishioners another opportunity to praise and proclaim the greatness of
God.
The benediction is
simply the closing blessing and worship does not end before the benediction is
pronounced.
The recessional is an
orderly way for the clergy and choir to exit.
Worship is movement
and worship allows us to effectively deal with the “Wows” and the “Whys” of
life.
2. TCR OP-ED - QUESTIONS AROUND THE
CANDIDATES FOR BISHOP:
*Mr. Mxolisi Henry Vilakazi
Allow me to raise the following legislative matters
for your considerations on the question of a Bishop and I will appreciate your
response on the matters hereinafter referred.
Page 701 under Glossary defines what or who is a
bishop. But before that, allow me to refer you to page 700 the top paragraph
which contains the following injunctions: "... in general, the definitions
are based on the language of The Doctrine
and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church utilizes. In those
instances were no specific legislation could be found, the terminology is based
on historical, cultural usage and accepted practices"
Now we can return to page 701 to get the definition of
a Bishop which is " General superintendent, chief executive, Chief Pastor,
Administrative head of the of the AME Church, who is an elder, elected and consecrated to the office of the
Bishop. " In this definition, there are two qualifications to be a Bishop
because the other tenets are just descriptive. I therefore hold that the two
qualifications to be a bishop, from this definition are: "…who is an elder" and "…
elected and consecrated Bishop. This qualification is affirmed by Section II A
1 on page 116 which articulate that "An
Itinerant Elder, to be elected Bishop by the General Conference, shall
be blameless in character and qualifications, and must be elected by secret
ballot of the General Conference. The
principal qualification for the office of the Bishop is to be “… an Itinerant
Elder”.
So it is evident that the
supreme qualification for the office of the Bishop is, I argue, Itinerant
Eldership. Not that I ignore the voting or elections in General
Conference but my focus is that in all our discussion we miss one fundamental
aspect, Itinerant Eldership! I take note of this because if not discussed we
leave an assumption that will put in doubt our Itinerant Elders and to some
extent Itinerant deacons. In a nutshell it may indirectly tell us that we do
not have Elders in our Conferences. So in the context of the office of Bishop,
we cannot ignore the salient concept of Eldership. In fact, the Eldership, I
argue is the only tangible qualification for office of Bishop. For office of
Bishop there are no qualifications needed except eldership. In fact, under
Preachers admitted on Trial and under Ministerial Education, there is no
Mention of education for Bishop but for Itinerant Elder and Itinerant Deacon. I
will return to this section latter. SO there are no education requirements for
a Bishop, but instead, of an Itinerant Elder for the obvious reason is that
only an Itinerant Elder can stand for the Office of the Bishop. There is also
no educational requirement to be a Presiding Elder, for obvious reason that a
Presiding Elder must be an itinerant elder. So both the qualification of a
Bishop and a Presiding Elder are hidden in the Qualification of an Itinerant
Elder. So who and what is an itinerant elder? The next section attempts to
answer the question.
The discipline does not define itinerant Elder but it
defines Itinerant and Elder separately. Let me start with itinerant under
glossary on page 706 which states that an itinerant is a "travelling
deacon or elder".
So what is an elder, our subject of interest? Under
the Glossary on page 704, an elder is defined as, “The second of the two
ministerial orders of the AME Church; a deacon satisfying the disciplinary
requirements and ordained to the office order of elder by the annual
conference."
This definition has an annual conference in it meaning
that the current dispute about the academic qualifications to run for bishop
does not need a mute head of the conference, but one who must indicate how are
elders are ordained in the annual conference. I will return to this point
later!
I now refer readers to Section II, E on page 85 which
says, “All candidates for ordination to the itinerant ministry must be a
college graduate".
How is this clause interpreted? It is wide-open to
many interpretations in the sense that it does not indicate which college and
on which qualification. I will leave it here.
But of interest to the current debacle is section F on
page 85 which asserts that "A candidate for ordination as an Itinerant
Elder must be a graduate of a seminary accredited by the Association of
Theological Schools (ATS) or a similar accrediting agency. Exception to these
requirements is at the discretion of the annual conference board of examiners
with the approval of the presiding bishop"
This clause to me is subject to a variety of
interpretations. Firstly, how does
section F relate to section E. Section E says all candidates for
ordination, I argue, either itinerant elders or deacons must be college
graduates.
What is a college graduate
and anyway what is a college? How is the
discretion of the board of examiners of an annual conference get to be
interpreted here as well as the approval of the Presiding bishop? This clause,
if discretion is emphasized under section III ministerial education, Conference
Course of Study under (A) Board of Examiners on page 85.
Now that the eldership is clarified, we must agree
that:
- A Master of
Divinity is only a requirement to be a member of the Board of Examiners as
stated on page 85.
- There is no other qualification needed for
presiding elders and bishops, except being an Itinerant Elder.
If this is the case, why is
Section II A 4 on page 116 read solely in isolation, What about A, 1?
Why does this section ignore
the exception for an Itinerant Elder by the Board of Examiners of the Annual
conference and approved by the bishop?
*Mr Mxolisi Henry Vilakazi is the RAYAC and
President of the Ilanga District of the East Annual Conference of the 19th
Episcopal District
3. TCR OP-ED - THE GETTING
BACK TO GRADE ONE:
The Rev. Willard Machiwenyika (P.E)
This an Open Document to the General Conference of the
2016.
I think I have written this document in the right time
and with hope that this 2016 general conference will address this problem faced
by most of Districts 14 - 20 of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Every time we have the General Conference, we are
always going back to Grade ONE.
The 50th Quadrennial Session of the General
Conference marks the 200th Anniversary of the AME Church.
I am able to attend the General Conference due to some
reasons beyond my control and most of the elected delegates, especially from
the 20th Episcopal District, the youngest district, are coming on a learning
purpose, but the most painful thing is that they will not be given chance to
showcase whatever they learn at the General Conference.
This is a second time I am writing to the Editor of
The Christian Recorder, telling the same story, entitled “Getting back to Grade
One” as it relates to Episcopal Districts 14 – 20.
Episcopal Districts 14 -20 are always referred to as
the developing districts.
My question is that for how long shall they remain
developing? When are they going to be developed?
Appended below are my observations that make them
“remain developing and never developed,” hence the title, “Getting Back to
Grade ONE.”
1) The District and conferences Boundaries.
2) The Church development programmes
Allow me to explain my observations based upon the
above mentioned reasons.
The General Conference Committee on the re-districting
should consider the following facts when they mark the boundaries, especially
the overseas Districts.
They should not consider the colonial boundaries
because they cause a lot of financial hardships for the travelling bishops,
especially for the bishop of the 20th Episcopal District, which is comprised of
D.R. Congo, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Geographically the five countries are very far apart
from each other and the people have different cultures and languages, more so
their economic status.
The committee making the boundaries should be have a
map and knowledgeable people from those areas when they determine Episcopal
district boundaries.
For instance, in Zimbabwe almost 250km east of
Zimbabwe (Manicaland Provinces) and west of Mozambique share the common native
language that is from Mutare to Beira (Sofala Province). Maputo and Bulawayo
the same, Mashonaland central and Tete Province shares the same. I have just
used that of my Country and my neighboring Mozambique, which is not even part
of the 20th Episcopal District.
The Church Development Programmes
No notable projects or developmental projects have
been established in the overseas districts because most of the appointed
bishops spend most of their time in learning, theory, lectures and learning the
character and behaviours of both the clergy and the laity and they will leave
the Episcopal district without understanding anything.
For example, the characters and behaviours of the
people of Malawi and Zimbabwe are completely different and the bishop stays in
a confusion state throughout the conference year. The two peoples are only
joined by a colonial link that they served the same colonial master, but
nothing social, political, economically and even cultural are in common; the
only similarity is that they speak English as the second language.
It seems that the bishop on his or her first year in
the district will be studying the character and behaviour of the people; on the
second year, the -bishop will be make projects proposals; on the third year,
the bishop will be launching some developmental projects throughout the
district. In the fourth year the bishop will be preparing to go back to the
United States or the General Conference and finally he or she will not return
to the district and the next bishop will come in with another version of episcopal,
hence GETTING BACK TO GRADE ONE.
The colonial boundaries, for the most part haven’t
worked and I suspect they won’t work for our Zion. The AME Church needs to
address the issues of Episcopal and annual conference boundaries.
4. NEWS AROUND THE AME CHURCH:
-- Opinion: Just what does 'again' mean? Daily
Press -
I can usually pick up
on nuanced code words and figure out what they mean, but in those instances
when this year's political candidates use a...
-- Former reverend of Mother Emanuel AME church
speaks in Augusta
The former reverend
who led the Emanuel AME church after last June's deadly shooting mass shooting
delivered a sermon to the congregation.
-- http://www.wtvm.com/story/31522128/former-reverend-of-mother-emanuel-ame-church-speaks-in-augusta
-- New Mother Emanuel AME pastor has day named in
Sumter in her honor
Dr. Betty Deas Clark is
the new pastor of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston where 9 people were
killed tragically last June. She was honored in Sumter, South Carolina, where
she served as a pastor at the AME church for more than 6 years.
Read more: http://wach.com/news/local/new-mother-emanuel-ame-pastor-has-day-named-in-sumter-in-her-honor
5. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AME CHURCH IN CANADA:
*Rochelle Bush
Upper Canada introduced Anti-Slavery legislation
to prevent the further importation of African slaves in 1793. The new
legislation would also stop American bounty hunters from entering the British
colony in order to claim runaway slaves. Once enslaved African Americans
learned about these new laws, they began to seek freedom in Canada. Many were
advocates of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC). By the 1820s, the
majority of the new arrivals who settled in St. Catharines, Upper Canada (now
Ontario) were followers of Bishop Richard Allen and they formed an AMEC Society.
In 1837, the St. Catharines faithful sent a
petition to the AMEC Conference in the United States (US) asking for pastoral
care. As a result of this action, AMEC missionaries stationed in Canada were
instructed to regulate the existing Societies and organize more congregations
in other parts of the province. The Canadian members would be subject to the
order of the bishops and amendable to the Annual Conference of the New York
District. The following year, the New York Conference organized a church in St.
Catharines and named it the Bethel Chapel.
When the U.S. Congress passed the 1850 Fugitive
Slave Act thousands of free and escaped African Americans living in the North
sought refuge in various parts of Canada. Harriet Tubman the legendary
conductor of the Underground Railroad (UGRR) also fled to Canada. She settled
in St. Catharines in 1851, attended the AME Church and was a highly respected
member of the community. Over a ten year period, while living in St.
Catharines, Sister Tubman would plan her clandestine UGRR rescue missions to
liberate enslaved family and friends. Years later, when asked about their final
destination she proudly said, “I brought them all clear off to Canada.”
As fugitive slaves continued to arrive by way of
the UGRR, the St. Catharines AMEC congregation decided to build a larger
church. The construction of the new church began in 1853 and two years later
AMEC Bishop Daniel A. Payne publicly dedicated the church to the service of
Almighty God. As a Methodist meeting house, the new church would continue to
provide aid and temporary shelter for the new arrivals and host many leading
abolitionists such as, Fredrick Douglass and John Brown.
In 1856, most of the AME Churches in Canada would
separate from the US Conference and establish the British Methodist Episcopal
Church (BMEC). Many of the Canadian AMEC members refused to attend Conference
in the U.S. because of the fugitive slave laws and they wanted to identify
themselves more closely with British ideals and government.
One hundred years later the descendants of the
freedom seekers would restore the interior of the St. Catharines church and
rename it as the Salem Chapel. As the oldest black church in Ontario, the Salem
Chapel, BMEC continues today as a religious institution and as an international
sacred destination. The small congregation of this National Landmark consists
of several direct descendants of the African American founding fathers of the
AME Church in Canada.
*Rochelle Bush is a Trustee & Historian at
Salem Chapel, BMEC NHS
6. A WORD OF WELCOME AND PURPOSE:
*Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr.
Welcome to a new and different kind of
collaboration. It is church and law enforcement thinking together about the way
forward. It is the vision of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, encouraged by
Sheriff Morris Young, championed by Major Shawn Wood. It is our combined hope
that what is happening here in Gadsden County will be replicated across the
nation.
This gathering endeavors to address race
relations in a comprehensive way, it is spiritual; it leans upon shared values
of faith. It is the love motif in action; it is forging a cross-cultural
relationship based on mutual respect. It was prompted by the amazing
depth-of-spirit found among family members who lost loved ones in the senseless
massacre in Charleston on June 17, 2015. It was inspired by the collective
response of Mother Emanuel where the unspeakable violence occurred. The grace
exhibited in the aftermath probably saved a city from further violence and
ruin.
The Florida Annual Conference (comprising 130
congregations across the Panhandle) is pleased to collaborate with the
Sheriff's Office in a role that includes "Ride-along Partners,"
"Community Chaplains" and "Citizen Advisory" groups. Adding
this dimension only strengthens the collective resolve to work for a stronger
community, a place we are pleased to call "home".
Within 15 hours of the massacre, the AMEC Council
of Bishops held a meeting. I was given an assignment to compose a special
litany in time for use on the following Sunday morning. Inspiration came;
technology had become a friend. It was read in churches across denominational
and racial lines around the country, and eventually as far away as Europe and
Asia. As a memorial to the victims, and a reminder of our faith, I called it,
"The Doors of the Church are STILL Open."
We are pleased to welcome the Reverend Dr. Betty
Clark and congregants of Mother Emanuel Church to North Florida. Dr. Clark has
stepped to the frontline and the scrutiny of the media. She's the first female
to assume the pastoral helm of this historic pulpit. The people requested
female leadership; the bishop assigned Dr. Clark. The assignment speaks volumes
about what she brings to this important leadership position, and how far the
church and the culture have come in the 200 years since the founding of
"Mother" Emanuel. It is the oldest AME Church in the Deep South.
With events like this in Gadsden County, we
recognize a glimmer of hope. The race war the shooter tried to instigate never
happened. We are inspired by the demonstration of love and forgiveness
exhibited by our brothers and sisters in Charleston and "Mother"
Emanuel. We credit this achievement to something above the natural; it was, in
effect, "Supernatural!" This is the example that calls us together
tonight, and with our gathering, we are sure to see a path forward.
While we are called to a heightened sense of
vigilance to protect the lives of those who frequent houses of worship and
study, we encourage ourselves with the exhortation of Jesus, "Let not your
hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Let's go forward
together!
*Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr. is the Presiding
Prelate of the Eleventh Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church
7. I HAVE A SON:
*The Rev. Velma E. Grant, M. Div, Th.M.
Many centuries ago, a Grand Jury met and decided
the fate of a young, unarmed man in Jerusalem.
The mother of this young man waited anxiously as the Grand Jury met at
night to deliberate the fate of her first-born son. She must have been in shock when the jury
rendered a guilty verdict against her son who was innocent of the charges that
were levied against him. This mother had
a son who was loved by many but his life and his fate were in the hands of
those who were the ruling masses. Those decision makers showed in their
condemning the young man to death that they placed no inherent value on the
life of this woman’s son.
Fast forward to the year 2014 and another Grand
Jury meets and another mother waited anxiously to hear the results that would
indicate that her son’s life was valuable.
Words cannot adequately describe the wealth of emotions, disappointment,
and sadness experienced on Monday November 24, 2014 after hearing the Ferguson,
MO, Grand Jury report not to indict the officer who killed an unarmed teenager,
Michael Brown.
By all
accounts, it might have seemed that for once the American justice system would
deliver a verdict that would show that the lives of young African American
males and females are valued in this nation built on the sweat of slave
labor. However, the verdict not to
indict the named police officer - who somehow knew that his life would not be
altered, forged ahead with plans to get married - shows once again that America
is a nation that is separate and unequal.
I am writing because I have a son who could have
met a fate similar to Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Armand Bennett, Ezell
Ford, John Crawford, Jeremy Lake, and even 12-year-old Tamir Rice. I have a son who because of his ancestry and
hue will be deemed guilty of any offense despite the fact that he is educated,
progressive, and non-violent. I have a
son who is more likely to be demonized for his youthful indiscretions despite
the fact that his youthful indiscretions are the same youthful indiscretions of
youth in this present age and previous eras.
As a mother I would like the United States of
America and the world to know that I have a son and that value is placed on my
son’s life because the blood that courses through his veins is “red” the color
of humanity. I use the color red and the
term “color of humanity” simply to indicate that the Creator with all infinite
wisdom gave all humanity blood, the life force for all human beings. In addition, regardless of a person’s race,
gender, ethnicity, or social class rank, the color of the life force is red.
My son and others who look like him should not be
considered “fair game” or “moving targets” in the arenas of police brutality
and assassination training grounds. Yes,
the skeptics will make wonderful orations from their pundit boxes and declare
that black on black crime is the silent killer that is not being addressed in
our communities. Nevertheless, the real issue is more than the quoted
statistics relevant to black on black crime.
The real issue is addressing the deep-rooted, inbred; inborn racist
feelings that are expressed in shoot first, ask questions later
incidences. These all too familiar scenarios that are taking
the lives of young Black men, and young Black women, tearing and tugging at the
heart strings of too many parents and families burying their young has to stop.
I have a son and although I talk constantly with
my son, there is no guarantee that he will remember the lessons taught by myself,
his father, male relatives and supporters if he is in a situation where the end
is predetermined by someone with racist tendencies. I have a son and my son
deserves the same respect, due process, and inalienable rights that are
afforded to others that might not look like him. I have a son and my son
deserves to live a life of his choosing without fear of frisking, police
brutality, and certainly not death by police or Grand Jury.
The Ferguson, MO Grand Jury rendered a decision
that saddened and crushed any hopes of justice for a mother’s son. The Grand
Jury in Jerusalem rendered a decision that saddened and crushed the hopes of a
mother who believed that her son was the Savior of the world. I have a son and
it is my prayer that history will record a time when the lives of young African
American men and women are valued by every citizen and every class.
Not only do I have a son but I also have a
daughter and grandchildren who are not exempt from experiencing the racist,
discriminatory, hateful actions of others who sometimes identify themselves as
followers of Christ. The same Christ who was sentenced by a Grand Jury over two
thousand years ago. Mary’s pain at the crucifixion is reverberating around the
world today when mothers have to bury their children because of modern day
crucifixions (drive-bys, death by police, robberies, homicides etc). As we
journey through the remaining season of Lent in anticipation of Easter, the
season of new beginnings, let us not forget the pain of Jesus’ mother, Mary and
the pain of the countless number of mothers and fathers who have to bury their
sons and daughters too soon.
*The Rev. Velma E. Grant, M. Div, Th.M. is
Associate Minister, First Saint Paul AME Church in Lithonia, Georgia
8. WILLIAM THEODORE MITCHELL II, OF WRIGHT CHAPEL AME CHURCH - SAN
FRANCISCO, CA SINGS AT NELSON MANDELA’S MEMORIAL:
William Theodore Mitchell II, a member of Wright Chapel AME Church in San
Francisco, CA, sung with the three-time Grammy Award-Winning Pacific Boy Choir
at the Memorial Program paying tribute to South African President Nelson
Mandela, held in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, December 11, 2013.
William, who is 16 years old, stated that it was a great honor to sing at
such a historic event. William is a first tenor and was selected to be one of
twenty-six voices to travel to Washington for this extraordinary occasion at
the National Cathedral.
The South African Embassy specifically requested that the Pacific Boychoir
sing at President Mandela’s Memorial, because the choir sang for Nelson Mandela
at his birthday celebration in South Africa in 2009.
William’s choir sang on the same stage as dignitaries such as Vice
President Joe Biden, US Congressmen and Senators, the Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak,
Andrew Young, Johnnetta Cole, and the following performers: Sweet Honey and the
Rock, Jessye Norman, Peter Paul and Mary, Morgan State University Choir, and
the South African Community Choir.
William has been singing with the Pacific Boy Choir for six years. The
Pacific Boychoir also performed in Brazil last year. William is the grandson of
the late Rev. D.B. Frierson.
Submitted by the Reverend Ayisha Benham, pastor of Wright Chapel AME Church
in San Francisco, California
9. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IS ALIVE AND WELL IN THE BOSTON
HARTFORD DISTRICT:
What a joy it is to
celebrate improving the mind. The Boston
Hartford District recently did just that.
At the last Boston Hartford District Conference, members and leaders
from several local churches received awards for active student participation in
our Annual Church School Convention.
Each summer, Church School Convention participants (primary school
through adults) come together to celebrate Christian Education. Under Presiding Elder Herbert L. Eddy’s
leadership, the convention ends with a real treat for young and old alike. Participants end the conference with a fun
visit to a local museum or theme park.
Educating church membership can be fun but also one of the most
important functions of any Christian Church.
At our District Conference, churches with the largest Christian
Education Convention attendance are recognized and churches with the largest
percentage of their Church School students at the Christian Education
Convention are also recognized.
Pictured in the
photo from left to right are the award recipients and Christian Education
staff: Sister Josephine Anderson, Boston Hartford District Church School
Superintendent; Sister Linda Gant, Church School Superintendent of Allen Chapel
in Providence; Rev. Kahlil James, Pastor of Allen Chapel; Sister Barbara Jones,
Church School Superintendent of St James Danbury, Rev. Hollis Cotton, Pastor of
St. James Danbury, Rev. Viola Morris-Buchanan, Boston Hartford District
Director of Christian Education; Presiding Elder Herbert L. Eddy; Rev. Amelia
Eddy, WMS Advisor Boston Hartford District; Rev. Reginald Mitchell, Pastor of
Allen-Providence; and Sis. Sharon Mzyck, Church School Supt from Allen
Providence.
In addition to the
Church School Convention, the Boston Hartford District has a quarterly
publication called the Hull. This
newsletter includes articles on current events, puzzles, upcoming events and
seasonal facts. During the 2008 District
Planning Meeting, the Presiding Elder appointed a new Christian Education
Director for the District. One of the
new director’s (the Rev Morris-Buchanan) duties became getting the new
quarterly newsletter started. Since then
we have received a new version of the newsletter every quarter. The publication is available electronically
all the time and as a hard copy at major District events. Requests for copies can be sent to revviola@comcast.net.
10. MONICA A.
COLEMAN: JESUS IS HERE, EVEN FOR THOSE SILENCED BY DEPRESSION:
In
Holy Week, a favorite gospel song reminds the author that God loves even those
who cannot cry out in praise, those whom depression has left as silent as
stones.
I
have always enjoyed singing at church. Even as a child -- from the Sunbeam
Choir at Second Baptist Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when I was three, to the
youth choir at Bethel AME Church -- I loved joining with other voices, singing
songs of praise together.
I
come by it honestly. I grew up around grandmothers who sang spirituals and
hymns in the kitchen as they cooked. My mother, a schoolteacher, listened to
gospel records from her home church while she graded papers or worked on her
graduate studies. Music is my default form of worship.
When
I was in college, I joined my local church’s “all voices choir” for a women’s
day performance. It was there that I learned the gospel song “Don’t Want No
Rocks.” (link is external)
The
chorus repeats:
If
I don’t praise the Lord, the rocks are going to cry out.
I
don’t want no rocks crying out in my place.
As
we rehearsed the song over and over, it became a part of me. Even today, I can
still hear in my mind the alto harmony part that the choir director taught us.
Famously
recorded by the Rev. Paul Jones, the song refers to Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-40 (link is external)). It is a story I have heard every
Palm Sunday of my life.
Jesus
rides into the city on a donkey, with the crowds in some Gospel accounts waving
palm branches, and in Luke’s account shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
(Luke 19:38 NRSV).
When
the Pharisees tell Jesus to rebuke the disciples, Jesus replies that if the
disciples were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.
The
song “Don’t Want No Rocks,” like Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees, suggests that
praising God is so important that nature itself will take over if we Christians
don’t praise God adequately.
Years
ago, the song and its perspective on praise played an important role in my call
to ordained ministry. At my moment of deepest wrestling, I felt that God was
calling me to ministry -- and that if I didn’t answer in the affirmative, then
everything around me would praise God because I wouldn’t.
I
even imagined the furniture and books in my room having mouths like Muppets and
praising God -- because I would not. Because I was scared. Because I said no.
Because I wasn’t praising God.
I
heard the song as part of a call to live my life as a testimony to the goodness
of God. The message I heard: I’d better testify to the goodness of God or
someone else would. Praising God, the song suggested to me, was about
celebrating Jesus’ divinity. If I was to praise God through ordained ministry,
then I needed to be like the disciples waving palm branches -- singing and
celebrating and telling the world about Jesus. I sang this song in my mind and
prayed, “Yes, God, I’ll do it. I’ll be a minister.”
This
kind of celebration is not always easy for me. I live with a depressive
condition. When I am depressed, I am more like a stone than a
palm-branch-waving disciple.
I
don’t move; I don’t praise; I don’t testify. I don’t make it to church. I don’t
inspire others. I am … inanimate. I am a stone.
Sometimes
I feel guilty about this. Sometimes I feel like an inadequate person of faith
because I can’t praise. I can’t sing aloud, or even in my heart. I go silent.
And I feel bad that I’m not a Palm Sunday Christian.
In
those times, I’m just here. I breathe and take care of the most basic parts of
life. I try to get more sleep, or keep myself from sleeping all day. Sometimes
I take medicine or go to therapy. As others around me celebrate Christmas and
Easter and other sacred occasions, I am the proverbial “bump on a log.” I hold
on through the hard times because I believe that things will get better again.
It’s
taken me years to realize that God loves us stones. Us stones, whom others
ignore because we aren’t happy Christians on high holy days. Us stones, who
judge ourselves harshly for not being who and what we wish we could be but
can’t. Us stones, who still feed the children and get up and go to work even
when we feel worthless. Us stones, who neglect the things we love and need. Us
stones, who render cries of anguish rather than shouts of joy. Us stones, who
survive sleepless nights and suicidal depths.
Jesus
saw the rocks that others ignored. In those times when I can’t move, when I am
a stone, God is the earth upon which I rest. I believe that Jesus sees my
immobile, non-palm-waving, stone life as a testimony.
This
is the message of Holy Week. Jesus is here for those who praise him, those who
betray him, those who condemn him and those who keep silent. Jesus knows
friendship and hunger and pain. Our ability to see the humanity in Jesus is as
powerful as God’s calling out the divine from within us. Sometimes it looks
like a palm branch. Other times it is a stone.
11. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, INC. OFFERS NEW
DISCOUNT PROGRAM WITH OVER 100,000 DISCOUNTS:
The African
Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Inc. is proud to announce that the A. M. E.
Church Member Card now offers a plethora of new benefits and enhancements. The
A. M. E. Church recently partnered with Abenity, Inc. (www.abenity.com), a
leader in the member engagement and loyalty field, to provide a private
discount program for members who have registered for an A. M. E. Member Card.
The new program
will streamline the AME Church’s rewards and recognition platform offering members
a central online location to find and discover new savings and perks offered.
“We know that times
are tight and this program is something we can offer that helps everyone in our
Zion. Very few churches have the resources to create something like Abenity
offers from the ground up, and their application was a great fit for our
church,” said Dr. Jeffery Cooper, General Secretary / CIO.
The AME Church’s
new discount program gives each member access to over 100,000 local and
national discounts, which can add up to over $4,500 in savings.
Member discount
programs help organizations provide well rounded benefit packages and increases
total compensation for all A. M. E. Member Card holders. Exclusive discounts
available to the member card holder will include savings at hundreds of hotels,
restaurants, movie theaters, theme parks, museums and other attractions
nationwide, such as, Holiday Inn, Wyndham Hotel, Outback Restaurants, Costco,
Jiffy Lube, Sea World, just to name a few!
“We’re excited to
be working with The African Methodist Episcopal Church and appreciate their
desire to offer their members benefits that meet them where they live,” said
Abenity President and CEO Brian Roland. “Putting cash back into people’s
pockets can make a real difference today.”
Dr. Jeffery Copper
and Dr. Richard Lewis expressed that they were impressed with Abenity’s
efficient, turnkey approach that made implementation of the program simple for
our denomination.
“Their ability to
deliver a personalized and customized church discount platform that integrates
easily with The African Methodist Episcopal Church is a game changer. That made
them a clear choice for us,” stated Dr. Richard Lewis Sr., Treasurer / CFO.
Abenity will offer
The African Methodist Episcopal Church a practical, straight-forward approach
to discounts, with a powerful, exclusive program capable of delivering
privately labeled custom programming to meet our specific needs. N. Cajetta
Stephens and Marcia Fugh Joseph, A. M. E. Member Card Coordinators, anticipate
that this new program will be a blessing to all A. M. E. Member Card holders!
Existing Member
Card Holders: In order to get the AME Perks, you will receive an email from the
AMEC Membership system that will provide instructions on how to register for
the new perks program.
AME Members who
have not registered will receive instructions on how to register for the new
perks program when they receive their ‘Confirmation Email’ from the AMEC
Membership system.
Don’t miss out on
this opportunity as we move forward with Abenity, Inc. in our “Extraordinary
History advancing into our Incredible AME Future!”
12. TOP 10 CHURCH FAUX
PAS THAT TURN OFF MILLENNIALS:
By Jeremy Steele
The reality in the
church world is that many pastors are in a different generation than the
millennials they are trying to reach. That can sometimes create tension between
generations. Here is a quick list of faux pas compiled using current research
and conversations with millennials across the U.S. to help you steer clear of
the big ones.
1) Politics
Millennials are
much more politically independent than previous generations, making them more
sensitive to political statements from the pulpit. Whether conservative or
liberal, millennials would rather hear pastors speak about spiritual issues.
When pastors break into the political side of things, millennials may
disengage, often feeling that pastors are using their captive audience to
further their own political perspective.
2) Lack of deep, spiritual
content
Like other
generations, millennials come to church to be spiritually fed. For them, that
means real content. They want to walk away from a worship/sermon experience
feeling that they were exposed to new information or a new perspective and
challenged to be a different person.
3) Lack of
relatable content
The flip side of
the deep content they crave is their desire for it to relate to their lives and
current cultural trends. Don’t get me wrong. They might love learning about
first-century eating practices and how those explain a biblical passage.
However, if it never makes it beyond the pages of the Bible into their world,
the sermon has fallen flat. They appreciate not only understanding the biblical
narrative but also how it applies in the current world.
4) Overly negative
view of millennials
Often in pop
culture, millennials hear their generation referenced as a negative example —
whether overtly or subtly. Millennials are very optimistic about their
generation, so it is important to be careful in how you frame discussions about
generations.
5) Overly negative
about the world in general
Millennials are not
only optimistic about themselves; they also are optimistic about the world in
general. They are turned off by people who talk about how wrong, broken or
ruined the world is. They see problems in the world as things that can be
changed or fixed. Sermons that paint an overly negative view of the world can
create the impression that the pastor does not have confidence in their
generation to make a positive change in the world.
6) Not being
welcoming
This generation is
much more welcoming of all kinds of expressions of sexuality. What bothers them
more than the way people choose to live their lives sexually is when the church
either directly or indirectly excludes anyone.
7) Hating on social
media
Millennials have
grown up saturated with social media. For them, Snapchat and Facebook are not
cool new gadgets but the normal way people communicate and engage with each
other. Social media is a central part of their communication and expression of
connection with other people. It does not occupy some digital second place to
other types of interactions; it is very much the “real” world for them. If they
hear social media being discredited, they hear a person who does not understand
their culture and does not care to learn to speak in their native language.
8) Lack of
sacredness
Millennials are
looking for just about the opposite of what we termed “seeker-sensitive” in the
‘80s. They are not offended by religious symbols. They are not completely
turned off by liturgy. Rather, they want to feel as if they have come in
contact with something divine. However, they are often not liturgical natives
and appreciate guidance during worship. Adding simple explanations like “We are
about to prepare for communion by using words that have been used by Christians
for hundreds of years all over the world” can help them capture the ancient
connection as well as understand why you are doing what you are doing.
9) Being someone
you’re not
If you like to use
paper instead of an iPad and watch old movies on TCM, own it. Don’t try to be
someone you’re not. Millennials have a sort of authenticity radar. When someone
is misusing current jargon and cramming their sermon with movie clips that
don’t exactly work, millennials can tell and they are not impressed.
10) Lack of passion
If you aren’t
excited about what you are saying, they won’t be either. You don’t have to jump
up and down, but being genuinely excited about what you are trying to convey is
essential in communicating with millennials. Focus on emotions and study the
art of storytelling or you’ll lose their attention quickly. If you don’t come
across as truly passionate about what you’re saying, millennials will likely
tune out.
13. HISTORY OF HYMNS - “WERE YOU THERE”:
*David Bjorlin
“Were You There”
African-American Spiritual: The African
Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal, No. 136; United
Methodist Hymnal, No. 288
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there
when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it
causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,
Were you there
when they crucified my Lord?
Included in almost
every major hymnal of the last thirty years, “Were You There” is one of the
most prominent and popular of the African-American spirituals. Yet, like most
spirituals, the origins of “Were You There” are impossible to trace, borne not
from the pen of an individual but out of the communal slave experience. As Paul
Westermeyer notes in the companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, its first
published iteration came in 1899 in William E. Barton’s Old Plantation Songs in
the section “Recent Negro Melodies.” There, it included four stanzas: 1) Were
you there when they crucified my Lord?; 2) …when they nailed him to the cross?;
3) …when they pierced him in the side?; 4) …when the sun refused to shine. The
United Methodist Hymnal, along with many other songbooks, includes a fifth:
“…when they laid him in the tomb.”
The series of
questions that forms the basis of the song is obviously not meant to be taken
literally; none of us were physically present at the passion of Christ. Rather,
the questions are meant to function as a form of anamnesis. From the Greek,
anamnesis literally means to remember. Yet, it is much more than simple mental
recall of an event. It calls the community to re-member the past to the present,
to bring these historic events to bear on the now and make them part of our
story. When Moses tells the second generation of Hebrew people about to enter
the promised land, “Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but
with us, who are all of us here alive today,” it is anamnesis; when Jews
continue to proclaim at the Passover Seder, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in
Egypt, and the Lord our God took us out,” it is anamnesis; and when the
Christian community celebrates the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance” (and the
Greek word here is anamnesis!) of Christ, it is anamnesis. “Were You There” is
then an anamnetic song that is meant to bring the past events of Christ’s
suffering and death into the present and transform us in its light.
Yet, if our anamnetic
exercise only includes Christ’s passion, it is incomplete. The song also calls
us to re-member the African-American slave experience out of which the song
arose. As James Cone notes in The Cross and the Lynching Tree, the cross is
central to the African-American experience: “During my childhood, I heard a lot
about the cross at Macedonia A.M.E. Church, where faith in Jesus was defined
and celebrated. We sang about ‘Calvary,’ and asked, ‘Were you there?’, ‘down at
the cross,’ ‘when they crucified my Lord.’ ‘Oh! Sometimes it causes me to
tremble, tremble, tremble.’…There were more songs, sermons, prayers, and
testimonies about the cross than any other theme. The cross was the foundation
on which their faith was built.”
For African
Americans, this remembering of the cross allowed them to claim the Christ who
knew their suffering and stood in solidarity with their oppression. Again, Cone
notes, “In the mystery of God’s revelation, black Christians believed that just
knowing that Jesus went through an experience of suffering in a manner similar
to theirs gave them faith that God was with them, even in suffering on lynching
trees, just as God was present with Jesus in suffering on the cross.” The
spiritual thus remembered the suffering of Christ to the suffering of the
African American community, with its inherent promise of God’s presence and
resurrection power.
Yet, like any hymn
or song that has achieved such prominence, the message of “Were You There”
quickly expanded beyond its initial context. African American pastor, author,
and civil rights leader Howard Thurman gives one poignant example in his
memoir, With Head and Heart. On a trip to India, he and his wife, Sue, had the
honor of meeting with Mahatma Gandhi. After a wonderful conversation, the talk
took a surprising turn as the Thurmans prepared to leave. Thurman notes, “But
before we left, he asked, ‘Will you do me a favor? Will you sing one of your
songs for me? Will you sing “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”’ He
continued, ‘I feel that this song gets to the root of the experience of the
entire human race under the spread of the healing wings of suffering.’”
While the story
could be told simply to marvel at the image of Howard and Sue Thurman singing
“Were You There?” with Gandhi in his ashram tent, it also shows the power and
affect of the spiritual. And while the influence of Gandhi’s philosophy of
nonviolent resistance on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the burgeoning Civil
Rights movement has been well documented, perhaps we see here how the influence
was reciprocal, as this song borne from the crucible of suffering spoke to any
and all around the world who faced oppressions of every kind.
As we continue our
journey through Lent and prepare for a Good Friday where many of our congregations
will no doubt sing “Were You There,” anamnesis calls us not only to remember
Christ’s death but also the stories of all those who suffer at the hand of
oppression. As mass incarceration, discriminatory drug policies, and police
brutality continue to disproportionately target African Americans and other
people of color, the song continues to give comfort to the oppressed that they
serve a suffering Savior especially present in their suffering. Yet, it also
asks those of us in privileged positions of comfort not only if we “were there”
at the cross of Christ, but if we are there in the suffering of the oppressed
where Christ’s cross still stands.
*David Bjorlin, a
minister of the Evangelical Covenant Church, is a doctoral student in
Liturgical Studies at the Boston University School of Theology. He teaches
worship courses at North Park Theological Seminary and is a pastor at
Resurrection Covenant Church in Chicago. He recently co-authored Incorporating
Children in Worship: Mark of the Kingdom with Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom.
This article is
provided as collaboration between Discipleship Ministries and The Hymn Society
in the U.S. and Canada.
For more
information about The Hymn Society, visit: http://www.thehymnsociety.org/
** Used with
permission of the United Methodist News Service
14. LEON SPENCER REID ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP 2016:
The Leon Spencer
Reid Scholarship Fund is available to every graduating senior who have been
accepted to and will be attending, an accredited post-secondary or proprietary
school. Only one family member per year
is eligible for a scholarship. The
following requirements must be met:
• A child or
grandchild of a Pennsylvania Legionnaire in good standing;
• A child or
grandchild of a deceased Pennsylvania Legionnaire
• Attending their
first year of college or proprietary school
To be eligible a
student must compose an essay of at least one typewritten page on the topic of
related to veterans and their services to this country and complete an
application containing the information of the person through which the
eligibility for their scholarship is made. The essays will be judged by the
members of the Leon Spencer Reid Post Scholarship Committee. The winning essay will receive a scholarship
(amount to be determined). Deadline for
submission of this essay will be May 20th, 2016. Recipients will be notified prior to Memorial
Day and awards will be presented at the Post’s Memorial Day Celebration.
The Leon Spencer
Reid Scholarship Fund was established to assist local young students achieve
their academic dreams. As part of our continuing commitment to the community,
we will award a scholarship to graduating high school senior.
The Leon Spencer
Reid Essay Scholarship Application
(Cut,
paste and reformat)
Name of Applicant:
_______________________________
(Last, Middle,
First)
Address: _______________________________________
City/State/Zip:
___________ Phone: _____________
Parent/Guardian
Name (s):____________________________
Person through whom
applicant is eligible for scholarship: _____
Relationship to
Applicant: ____________________________
Is this person
deceased: __Yes ___No
If no, please list
current PA American Legion Membership ID Number: ______________
College/University/
proprietary school you want to attend: _______
Required
documentation:
• High School
transcripts
• Copy of the
official acceptance letter (specifically naming the individual) to the
post-secondary or proprietary school they will be attending
• Essay (One
typewritten page)
Essays will be
evaluated on the basis of content, originality and depth of the subject matter
covered
Please complete
this application in its entirety and attach any required documentation. Return application, along with essay to:
Leon Spencer Reid
Post 547
Attn: Scholarship Committee
233 Simpson Rd.
Ardmore, Pa 19003
15. THE TRUTH IS THE
LIGHT:
*The Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr.
Based on Biblical Text: Acts 10: 43:
To him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. KJV
It is difficult sometimes to resist the commercial frenzy associated with
the Easter celebration. You see Easter
offers us a gift. Christmas, the holiday most associated with gift-giving, is
really about the Promise of a gift. The truth of the matter is Easter is about
the delivery of the gift!
Our text summarizes the gift of Easter, in my humble opinion, better than
some others. The sermon, Peter’s first as the bishop of the New Testament
church movement, is quite impressive, as it focuses on the meaning of Easter.
Peter reminds us that Easter is about the gift of forgiveness of sins.
We are in need of forgiveness because sin separates us from God. We cannot
pray, meditate, or even worship the Lord as a sinner. Sin cannot stand in the
presence of God. The Ten Commandments were the governing law in God’s covenant
relationship with mankind. They were designed to be the foundation of our duty
to God and our duty to each other. However, we disobeyed the Law. The truth is
we could not fulfill the laws of the covenant because of disobedience.
We need forgiveness because we have no power of our own to overcome sin. It
seems, for the most part, we are comfortable in our sin. That is, arguably why
there is so much of it. Sin presented a dilemma for us. It separated us from
God, who is holy and perfect. We who represent God’s precious creation, born
into this world to worship Him, could not worship Him because we were
overpowered by our sin. We could never fix our broken relationship with God on
our own. We needed holy help! We were in desperate need of the help of a
Savior.
We are in need of forgiveness because we are doomed for eternal death
without it. We cannot save ourselves! The power of sin is too great an enemy
for us to fight alone. Without forgiveness, we are doomed. Sooner or later,
every one of us must face the fact that our soul will spend eternity somewhere.
We can spend it in the presence of God or we can spend it forever separated
from God. The apostle Paul understood the great dilemma we faced and cried, “O
wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
(Romans 7:24). The answer reverberating from Heaven was clearly Jesus! The
choice is ours.
Jesus came to rescue us from the source, the scope, the strategy, the
sorrows, the signs and more importantly the sentence due to our sin! He came to
reconcile us to God in the only way we could be reconciled. He took all the
torture, all of the pain, all of the suffering and all the grief. He took our
punishment upon Himself. He shouldered it all so that we could stand in the
presence of God and worship Him! Our omniscience God realized, even at Creation
that an alternative covenant would be necessary to save us. Easter is the
fulfillment of that alternative method! We are forgiven and we are saved from
the hell of punishment without pity, misery without mercy, and despair without
end. That is the gift of Easter!
*The Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., is the pastor of Morris Brown
AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina
16. GETTING TO ZERO: LAUNCH OF “DOING IT” CAMPAIGN
*Dr. Oveta Fuller
In 2008, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a call to action
alerting the nation to the alarming levels of HIV infection and AIDS related
illness and deaths among African Americans.
In February
2014, with all the efforts since 2008, the CDC estimated that in the USA,
blacks account for almost half of all new infections (44%) and also almost half
of the people living with HIV. One in 16 black men will be diagnosed with HIV
during their lifetime. One in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV in
their lifetime.
A critical step
to addressing a problem is to understand the level of impact of the problem.
For example, take the lead in water in Flint, Michigan.
Exploring the lead found in city water
The lead pipes
in the city of Flint (and infra-structure of many other cities in the USA) have
been there and have been known to be obsolete for decades. It has taken the
widespread illnesses and predicted future dire impact on children and adults to
bring attention to the infra-structure needs. There is now widespread agreement
that this (monitoring and treatment) is not a place to cut costs to save money.
The unfortunate debauchery surfaced from implementing a supposedly money saving
decision to switch to use of Flint river water combined with lack of adequate
treatment and responsible monitoring.
The disaster
that has real, obvious, substantial, long-term, life-changing effects on the
young and old, and even the unborn, now and in the future has brought
widespread appreciation of the importance of water source, treatment of water
and sewage, waste disposal and, importantly, consistent reliable quality
control monitoring.
There are
important lessons.
One — We cannot
ignore ancient infrastructure and safe treatment to save money. Can’t do it!
Effects on lives, now and in the future, are too important.
Two—Ongoing
accurate steps to attain and maintain a healthy environment as we know to do
(some things we do not know to do) is not optional. It is every person’s
responsibility.
With the Flint
water crisis, someone could have predicted this. Someone did predict similar
outcomes if lead piping was not dealt with (1). Others did not listen. Or, maybe no one in the Michigan state or
Flint city government knew how to take steps to stop the water switch and lack
of adequate treatment.
Regardless, the
impacts of the atrocity over an extended time of high lead in drinking water
for the citizens of this city will affect generations to come.
Let those who have an ear hear (and do)
I am reminded
of the wisdom in Romans 10:14-15, “How
shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in Him in who they have no heard? And how shall they hear without a
preacher? And how shall they preacher, except they be sent?” (2)
I am reminded
of the wisdom from Hosea 4:6: “My people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (2)
We now,
hopefully, understand much better the problem of obsolete infrastructure in
Flint and many other places around the country. Old lead containing pipes will
have to be updated at a financial cost. Or, at the least, adequate treatment
and testing of water systems must be sustained, accurate and transparent.
People, elected
and appointed leaders and voting citizens, must be accountable to ensure that
one or both of these actions occur accurately and consistently.
We understand
that such important details cannot be left to someone else to do. We have to
make sure leaders and city officials are accountable to the responsibilities in
which they are entrusted.
Back to HIV/AIDS in African Americans
The 2008 CDC
Heightened Alert for HIV/AIDS among African Americans was recognition of a
serious problem. The alert was issued to point out an alarming health
disparity, that in the USA almost 50% of the HIV/AIDS infections, illnesses or
deaths disproportionately occur in 13% of the population- in African Americans.
Multiple
initiatives including “Act against AIDS” seek to build on this recognition of
this alarming disparity. Research seeks to understand what contributes to the
numbers and to address this now well documented problem in public health.
In January
2016, to address this issue, the CDC launched another campaign “Doing It” (3).
This one is aimed at making HIV testing a routine part of healthcare. “Doing
It” seeks to move the USA population to implement HIV testing as part of
regular annual healthcare for all persons.
It just makes
sense if one understands the unnecessary perils or consequences for over 95% of
the population of not getting tested regularly to know one’s HIV infection
status.
Who is
responsible for what people will know? Who is responsible for what people do
with HIV/AIDS as a preventable virus infection and AIDS as a manageable chronic
disease?
(To be
continued)
The Holy Bible,
American Standard Version
*The
Rev. Dr. Fuller is currently on Sabbatical leave from the University of
Michigan and will submit her column as her schedule permits.
17.
iCHURCH SCHOOL - MESSAGE FROM DR. BILL DICKENS REFERENCE HIS DAUGHTER IN BRUSSELS:
*Brother
Bill Dickens
Brussels, Belgium
My
daughter Nia Dickens is a Fulbright Fellow currently living and working in
Brussels. She doesn't live too far from the subway station that was
bombed a few days ago. I have been in touch with her by phone everyday
since Tuesday's terrorist events. Right now she is safe and okay. My
wife Jennie is holding up well and like Job, despite the setbacks I have
endured this year (my family members in Flint, Michigan being poisoned
with lead in water, passing of my father and now this), "Though you slay
me we will continue to serve You."
Nia
volunteers some of her time with the US Embassy in Brussels so the charge d ‘affairs (forget the actual
title) keeps her under a watchful eye and other American citizens. My
wife and son (college spring break visit) just recently (March 4 -
12) spent a week visiting Brussels. They all worshipped at Richard Allen
AME Church in London, England on March 6, 2016. I'm requesting special
prayer for my daughter while she is in Brussels. I thought you may want
to know about the status of one of our young adult AME members who remains
loyal to the God she loves and the AME Church she cherishes.
Due
to these recent events I regret to announce I won't have a Church School Column
for this week.
*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
18. MEDITATION BASED ON
PHILIPPIANS 2:1-10:
*The
Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Darby
2016 is the Bicentennial year of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination was incorporated in
1816, but the church was really born in 1787, when a young preacher named
Richard Allen and his followers rejected racial prejudice, walked out of a
church that restricted them to the balcony because of the color of their skin
and established what is now Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia.
The present Mother Bethel is a beautiful Romanesque
cathedral, but the first Mother Bethel was an old blacksmith’s shop that was
retrofitted to serve as a church. That’s why the cross and the anvil -
the basic tool of a blacksmith - form the emblem of the AME Church - Allen and
his followers took an unremarkable structure and made it special.
Remember that during Holy Week 2016, which will
conclude with the remembrance of the death and the celebration of the
resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Jesus died what should have been a
humiliating and disgraceful death on a cross - an instrument of cruel torture
reserved by the Roman government for vile criminals and enemies of the State.
Because of Christ, however, what was a symbol of
crushing and final defeat in the Roman Empire is now a beloved, eternal and
sacred symbol of salvation, hope, power and everlasting life - Christ made the
Cross special.
The same Christ who did that with the cross can do
the same for us. This world can often throw us into agonizing crushing
and humiliating circumstances that steal our hope, hinder our well-being and
restrict our joy. People in this world - especially in a mean spirited,
partisan political season - can speak words that divide, demean and make many
people feel like “nobodies.”
When we take the time, however, to trust in the
Jesus who made the cross special, He’ll also make us special. We’ll find
special hope that can’t be limited by this world, special blessings that can’t
be restricted by rude and crude politicians and their angry followers and
special reassurance that we don’t walk alone and that we can achieve and find
victory.
Put your
life in the hands of the Risen Savior. When you do, then you won’t have
to wait for Easter Sunday to feel special. You can walk life’s journey,
saying every day as one hymn writer said, “He walks with me and He talks with
me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none
other has ever known!”
*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
19. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of
Brother Peter Felder II. Brother Felder,
a member of Williams Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orangeburg,
South Carolina. He was a very, very active
member of the Lay Organization and held numerous positions as a great Lay
worker of the AME Church. Brother Felder loved the Lord and served the church
with a humble grace that made a difference in the lives of many.
Brother
Felder was a graduate of Allen University.
He was an associate professor at Allen and the current director of Allen
University’s Concert Choir. He was an educator, conductor, clinician, and
soloist. He was principal of Elloree High School and Haleyville-Ridgeville High
School, Choral Music Director for the Consortium for the Arts, and at Claflin
College he served as Chairman of the Music Department, teacher of voice, and
Choir Director. He conducted the 200-voice choir for the 100th anniversary of
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and he served as Assistant Conductor for a
600-voice choir for the Bishop’s Council. He was a guest conductor of The
Messiah at Butler Presbyterian Church in Savannah, GA, and with the John W.
Work Chorus Booker T. Washington Foundation at the Koger Center in Columbia,
SC. His professional goals, he wrote, “are to do my best to ensure that all of
today’s youth have an opportunity to secure the best education available to
them, so that they can be a functioning asset in today’s society, and to
continue to improve myself so that I will always be equipped to help.” He was truly a leader among leaders and a
strong man of God.
Please
note the following:
Wake
Services
7:00
p.m., Monday, March 21, 2016
Williams
Chapel AME Church
1198
Glover Street
Orangeburg,
SC 29115
Telephone:
(803) 536-0600
Celebration
of Life Services
11:00
a.m., Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Williams
Chapel AME Church
1198
Glover Street
Orangeburg,
SC 29115
The
Rev. Dr. Caesar Richburg, pastor
The
Rev. James R. Glover, Presiding Elder, Orangeburg District, Central
Funeral
Director
Glover’s
Funeral Home
2562
Charleston Hwy.
Orangeburg,
SC 29115
Telephone:
(803) 536-3200
Website:
www.gloversfuneralhome.com
Condolences
May be Sent to:
The
Felder Family
1939
Lake Drive
Orangeburg,
SC 29115
20. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We
regret to inform you of the passing of the Reverend Julia Tillman, retired
pastor in the Seventh Episcopal District.
Please
note the following:
Celebration
of Life Services
Wednesday,
March 23, 2016
6:00
p.m.
Bethel
AME Church
819
Woodrow St.
Columbia,
SC 29205
The
Reverend Dr. Ronnie E. Brailsford, pastor
Funeral
Services
Friday,
March 25, 2016
1:00
p.m.
St.
Paul AME Church (Sampit)
2569
Powell Road
Georgetown,
SC 29442
The
Reverend Kelly Spann, II, pastor
Expressions
of Sympathy may be sent to:
The
Tillman Family
404
Lake Vista Ct.
Columbia,
SC 29229
21. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It
is with heartfelt sympathy that we announce the death of and the funeral
services for Mrs. Dorothy L. Martin, the mother of the Reverend Michael L.
Martin, pastor of Greater Hayes AME Church in Oakdale, Louisiana.
The
following arrangements have been provided.
Visitation:
Friday, March 25, 2016 - 6:00 p.m.
Lewis
Brothers Funeral Home
1140
Minter Avenue
Selma,
Alabama 36702
Visitation
and Celebration of Life Service: Saturday, March 26, 2016
Ebenezer
Missionary Baptist Church
1548
LeGrande Street
Selma,
Alabama 36703
Visitation:
10:00 a.m.
Celebration
of Life Service: 12:00 Noon
Arrangements
have been entrusted to:
Lewis
Brothers Funeral Home
1140
Minter Avenue
Selma,
Alabama 36702
Condolences
and Expressions of Sympathy may be sent to:
The
Reverend Michael L. Martin
1003
West Sunflower Road
Cleveland,
Mississippi 38733
Telephone:
662 588-1906
Email:
mmartin@deltastate.edu
22. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It
is with heartfelt sympathy that we announce the death of and the memorial
service for Mr. Willie Richardson, Jr., the brother of the Reverend Cheryl J.
West and the Reverend James Palmer, Jr., pastor of Saint John AME Church in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
The
following information has been provided.
Memorial
Service: Saturday, March 26, 2016
2:00
p.m.
Estelle
J. Wilson Mortuary Chapel
2715
Danneel Street
New
Orleans, LA 70113
Arrangements
have been entrusted to:
Estelle
J. Wilson Mortuary, Inc.
2715
Danneel Street
New
Orleans, LA 70113
Office
Telephone: (504) 895-4903
Fax: (504) 891-5712
Email:
ejwilsonfuneralhome@msn.com
Condolences
and Expressions of Sympathy may be sent to:
The
Reverend James W. Palmer, Jr.
500
West Tracy Drive
Gulfport,
MS 39503
Telephone:
Cell:
(228) 324-2367
Residence:
(228) 831-2742
Email:
jpchurch@bellsouth.net
23. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It
is with heartfelt sympathy that we announce the death of and the funeral
services for Mr. Gus Jones, the uncle of the Reverend Michael L. Martin, pastor
of Greater Hayes AME Church, Oakdale, Louisiana.
The
following arrangements have been provided.
Visitation:
Thursday, March 24, 2016 - 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Lewis
Brothers Funeral Home
1140
Minter Avenue
Selma,
Alabama 36702
Celebration
of Life Service: Friday, March 25, 2016 - 10:30 a.m.
Lewis
Brothers Funeral Home
1140
Minter Avenue
Selma,
Alabama 36702
Arrangements
have been entrusted to:
Lewis
Brothers Funeral Home
1140
Minter Avenue
Selma,
Alabama 36702
Condolences
and Expressions of Sympathy may be sent to:
The
Reverend Michael L. Martin
1003
West Sunflower Road
Cleveland,
Mississippi 38733
Telephone:
662 588-1906
Email:
mmartin@deltastate.edu
24. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
The
Third Episcopal District sadly announces the passing of the Reverend Wyleeia
McCrary-Moxey, pastor of Hatcher Chapel AME Church in Cleveland, Ohio who
transitioned on Sunday, March 20, 2016.
We unite in prayer with her husband, Raymond Moxey; mother, Carolyn
McCrary; sister, Vivian Wills; family and friends.
Home
Going Celebration will be held Saturday, March 26, 2016
Wake
at 10:00 a.m.
Funeral
Service at 10:30 a.m.
Lee
Memorial AME Church
861
East 105th Street
Cleveland,
OH 44108
Telephone: (216) 761-4447
Fax:
(216) 761-4668
Email: lmamec@aol.com
The
Reverend Wesley I. Reid, pastor and eulogist
Final
Arrangements Entrusted to:
Strowder’s
Funeral Home
822
East 105th Street
Cleveland,
OH 44108
Telephone:
(216) 761-3092
Fax:
(216) 761-0608
Email: maristrowder@aol.com
Condolences
may be sent to:
Raymond
Moxey
10205
Westchester Avenue
Cleveland,
OH 44108
25. CLERGY FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We
are saddened to share news of the sudden death of Mrs. Eddie Lee White, a Life
member of the Women’s Missionary Society of the AME Church, former president of
the Tennessee Conference Branch Women’s Missionary Society and an active leader
of the Tennessee Conference Lay Organization.
She passed away on Tuesday, March 22, 2016.
Mrs.
Eddie Lee White has two adult children (Roderick White and Mavis White Chubbs),
and she is the sister-in-law of the Reverend Donald T. White (Mary E.), a
retired pastor of the Tennessee Annual Conference, 13th Episcopal District.
Service
Arrangements for Mrs. Eddie Lee White:
Family
Visitation:
Friday,
March 25, 2016 - 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Neuble
Monument Funeral Home, LLC
1330
Bluebird Road
Lebanon,
TN 37087
Telephone:
(615) 444-3117
Fax:
(615) 444-3117
Online
Guest Book: http://www.neublemonumentfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Eddie-White-3/
Funeral
Services:
Saturday,
March 26, 2016 – 1:00 p.m.
Lee
Chapel AME Church
1200
Dr. D.B. Todd Blvd.
Nashville,
TN 37208
Telephone:
(615) 320-0260
The
Reverend Roderick D. Belin, pastor
Expressions
of Sympathy may be sent to:
Mr.
Roderick White & Family (son)
4100
Central Pike, Apt. #1219
Hermitage,
TN 37076
Telephone:
615-419-5469
Email:
Mchubb1369@yahoo.com
And
to:
The
Reverend and Mrs. Donald T. White
2209
Albert Martin Road # C-11
Nashville,
TN 37215
Telephone:
615-292-1062
Cell:
615-202-3983
In
lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in the name of Mrs.
Eddie Lee White be made to the following:
Tennessee
Conference Branch WMS
Tennessee
Conference Lay Organization
Special
Requests - Funeral Attire:
Members
of the Women’s Missionary Society, wear White
Member
of the Lay Organization, wear Lay Organizational Blue
26. BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED
BY:
Ora L. Easley,
Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family
Information Center
Email: Amespouses1@bellsouth.net
Web page: http://www.amecfic.org/
Telephone: (615)
837-9736 (H)
Telephone: (615)
833-6936 (O)
Cell: (615) 403-7751
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMEC_CFIC
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AME-Church-Clergy-Family-Information-Center/167202414220
27.
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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