1. THE GLOBAL CORNER
THE FIRST ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE OF PRAYER, PRAISE AND THE WORD IN THE 18TH DISTRICT (http://www.18thdistrictamec.org/)
Men and women and boys and girls came! The Right Reverend Sarah Davis, Presiding Prelate of the 18th Episcopal District was there! Persons of various faiths and from other churches; youth, lay preachers and pastors of the African Methodist Episcopal Church all gathered on Ash Wednesday 2005 for the first of its kind Ash Wednesday Service of Prayer, Praise and the Word. The invitational flyers announcing the special gathering had been circulating in and around the Maseru area and had been announced on the radio since early January.
The F. C. James Center Hall was on Ash Wednesday night a sanctuary of approximately 200 persons waiting in great anticipation for what was to take place. At 6:45 p.m. Evangelist Monaletsana Jameson Qhobela, worship leader and Director of Prayer for the 18th District, opened the service with singing and prayer. As the Evangelist prayed, the presence of the Lord was ushered in. The singing, the praise, and the praying elevated the congregation to an awesome level of worship. Everyone was in a spiritual posture of waiting and did not want to be anywhere else, but there. The Evangelist invited four persons, including a youth to come forth and offer prayers. Each offered up to the Lord a song of praise and prayers.
Bishop Davis was introduced as the teacher of the night by Presiding Elder F. D. Rafube, president of the Presiding Elders’ Council of the 18th Episcopal District.
Ash Wednesday is a well known day to most Christians, but many members of the A.M.E. Church in Lesotho did not know the significance of Ash Wednesday. Bishop Sarah taught with authority, conviction and power; sharing answers to the “whys” of Ash Wednesday and then explaining the opportunities Christians have for self-examination in the 40 days of Lent which follow. Many of the clergy and the congregation expressed appreciation for the “eye opening” teaching done by the Bishop and the new information that was shared with them. Nine of the many young people present were invited to assist the Bishop in her teaching about what Ash Wednesday "is "and "what it is not." Handouts were provided for everyone concerning Ash Wednesday, the Disciplines of Lent and Fasting and Prayer. The entire program and the congregational prayer of committal were conducted in English and Sesotho.
Following the teaching and invitation to discipleship, Bishop Sarah asked for 50 persons who were willing to deny themselves an activity, a habit or food during the next 40 days, so that that they might commune with God and join her in fasting. Fifty-plus persons came forward. Bishop Sarah then prayed for their commitment and their strength in the Lord for the journey of Lent. Everyone was then asked to stand and pray the prayer of Psalm (Pesaleme) 51:10-17.
The going forth prayer and benediction was given by Bishop Davis. Everyone was encouraged to share their love with others before leaving the hall and to continue to “look within” as they departed from the worship hall.
It was truly a God ordained night in the 18th Episcopal District.
May the good Lord keep and secure the Episcopal, leadership of the 18th Episcopal District who has come with a vision and is implementing it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Today, the members of the African Methodist .Episcopal Church in the 18th Episcopal District, not only know about, but understand the meaning of Lent and Ash Wednesday.
Humbly submitted: Evangelist Monaletsana Jameson Qhobela
2. FEBRUARY 26 SYMPOSIUM AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF HIV/AIDS,FEATURES KAISER PERMANENTE PLAY, FREE HIV TESTING:
LOS ANGELES — (February 14, 2005) — “People perish for lack of knowledge,” wrote the Old Testament prophet Hosea. It follows then, that fewer African American men and women will die of HIV/AIDS if they are properly educated on ways to prevent its spread.
That’s the premise of the Feb. 26 Community Symposium entitled, “No Secrets: The Truth and Facts about HIV/AIDS,” at Grant A.M.E. Church in Watts. The event is sponsored by the Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie unit of the Willie B. Webster Women’s Missionary Society.
The nominal cost includes breakfast and a play by the Kaiser Permanente Foundation dramatizing real-life examples of the effects of the disease. Kaiser representatives will lead a discussion and answer questions. Los Angeles’ King/Drew University Mobile Testing Unit will also be onsite to provide free HIV testing.
“We want to dispel the myths and clear any misconceptions or misunderstandings about HIV/AIDS,” explained event co-coordinator Kenya Francis, 24. “This disease is devastating the Black community in alarming numbers. It’s taking away potential spouses, it’s leaving children without parents and it’s isolating a large segment of the Black population. The time to act is now!”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that AIDS is a leading cause of death among black women aged 25-44 years and among black men aged 25-54 years. Black men are nearly nine times more likely than white men to have AIDS, and Black women are 23 times more likely than white women to have AIDS.
“We cannot turn our backs on our brothers and sisters who have contracted this disease,” added co-coordinator Sharolyn Gailliard, 29. “Nor can we sit back and watch other members of our generation and members of the family of God suffer needlessly. We’re spreading the word that HIV/AIDS is preventable and its continued effect on our community is inexcusable.”
The Feb. 26 Symposium is the latest in a string of AIDS-related events sponsored by or supported by Grant, noted Pastor Leslie R. White.
On Feb. 9, for example, the Church hosted Southern California’s historically Black Methodist denominations for Ash Wednesday worship. At White’s suggestion, the $4,000 in proceeds benefited the African American Women’s Health & Education Foundation, which sponsors the Southern California Regional 5K AIDS Walk for Women and Children.
Grant was the largest ecumenical contributor to the 2004 AIDS Walk, through sponsorships, pledges and participants, according to U.S. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA, 37th District). Likewise scores of people were educated and tested during an AIDS awareness event last June.
Yet, as long as people are contracting and suffering from the disease more must be done, added committee member Ebony Malbry, 22.
“Regardless of whether or not you are sexually active, HIV/AIDS affects you,” Malbry said. “If you don’t know and you don’t take the proper precautions, you can get infected. And that’s exactly what we are trying to prevent.”
Donations are $10 per person and $15 at the door; sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact the Church Office at (323) 564-1151 or visit www.GrantAMEChurch.org.
Submitted by the Rev. Kevin T. Taylor
3. MEDITATION: “GOING FORWARD WITH GOD”:
The Reverend Jim Moody
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood; you have no life in you. On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” "From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” (John 6: 53, 60, 66)
Jesus’ teaching offered those following Him a deeper insight into the life-changing plan of salvation offered by the Father through His Son Jesus Christ (John 6: 26-29, 35-40). When God expresses a truth in my life by His Holy Spirit and through His word, if I don’t live in it, I will as Oswald Chambers says, “sink into a point of view that is contrary to God” and never intended by God for my life (John 6: 41-42).
Whenever Jesus speaks I am faced with only two options. According to Chambers, I can be “A Disciple or A Deserter!” I can never be the same after Jesus reveals truth (v. 60). I will either “turn back and no longer follow him” (v. 66) or I will follow Him and “know that He is the Holy One of God” (v. 69).
John chapter 6 outlines for us a number of steps we can apply in our lives as we go forward with God.
Steps in going forward with God:
1. John 6: 1-13 – God reveals Himself in ways I experience but may not understand, as He did in Christ feeding the multitudes with five loaves and two fish.
2. John 6: 22-25, 28, & 30-31 – I am to be honest with myself and with God in my inquiries. Ask Him to give me what I lack in my understanding of His nature.
3. John 6: 41-45, 52, & 63 – Maintain and address the spiritual context and content of God’s response to my inquiry (II Corinthians 10:5). Satan tries to get me to create a false line of separation between my actions and my spiritual life (v. 52) and the temporal and eternal aspects of my life (v. 42). They are connected through Christ. God is trying to teach me something – I will receive the lesson from God (v. 45).
4. John 6: 60-65 – God strikes at the heart of the matter blocking my progress as a disciple. His words can be hard for me to accept (v.60). To reveal His truth, God may intentionally offend me at the point of my reluctance (v. 61). This is His light removing darkness.
5. John 6: 66-67 – Jesus again invites me to follow Him. Some of us are right now receiving this additional invitation to follow Him, as God has already revealed the point of reluctance in our lives.
6. John 6: 68-69 – I acknowledge my dependence on Jesus Christ as my source of life, expressing my faith in Him (v. 68). “Lord to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life. I believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Faith is the active belief that God is who God says God is (v. 69).
As we enter the year 2005, let’s walk the walk of faith, going forward with God. Take a moment to pray this simple prayer,
“Lord, you have the words of eternal life. Therefore, reveal to me and remove from me, anything that struggles against the life of Christ in me.”
Let’s go forward with God!
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
