Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. BREAKING NEWS!
A federal judge in Jacksonville, Florida heard arguments Thursday, but made no decision on whether to let Edward Waters College remain accredited. Edwards Waters College is suing the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SAC) that stripped its accreditation. Bishop McKinley Young is quoted as saying, "We're not going to be stomped into the ground, disrespected…"
Edward Waters College is one of our great institutions of higher learning. Four private historically black colleges have lost accreditation since 1994.
Read an account in the link below of the news coverage in this morning’s edition of The Florida Times-Union.
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online
/stories/030405/met_18126136.shtml
2. EDITOR’S CORNER:
We have had persons to attempt to answer the questions posed in this venue. We hope that more of you will “take a shot “at answering the questions. Don’t worry; I will not be posting the names and answers of incorrect questions. Let’s have some fun. The answers can be found in books that can be purchased from the AME Publishing House, telephone (800) 648-8724; in the Discipline, The A.M.E. Church Review, telephone number (615) 248-0905, The Christian Recorder (800) 648-8724 and the Internet. We also invite responses from our youth.
Typically, I would like attempted responses back within 24 hours, unless it is an unusually hard question. You may reply to: chsydnor@bellsouth.net
Today’s Questions - Know your Church!
Please give your full name, address and telephone number with your responses.
Youth Questions:
(1) Name the Episcopal Supervisor who served as a soldier in the United States Army.
(2) Name the Episcopal Supervisor who played professional basketball. Which teams did he play for and what basketball record does he hold?
(3) What do the initials stand for in Bishop T. M. D. Ward's name? Which elected official in the AME Church was named after him?"
(The youth who correctly answers all three questions within 24 hours will receive a copy of Bishop Nichols’ book: The Upward Journey: A Centenarian's Chronicle - Personal Stories of Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols, Revered Clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, or a subscription to the AME periodical of his or her choice)
Adult Questions:
(1) Which elected official of the AME Church was born in the 8th Episcopal District, served the Church only in the 8th Episcopal District, ran for election from the 8th Episcopal District and that person was elected at the General Conference the second time that person ran for office?
(2) Name three bishops, other than Richard Allen, who were born in Pennsylvania.
(3) What do the initials stand for in Bishop T. M. D. Ward's name? Which elected official in the AME Church was named after him?
(The person who correctly answers all three questions within 24 hours will receive a copy of Bishop Nichols’ book: The Upward Journey: A Centenarian's Chronicle - Personal Stories of Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols, Revered Clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal Church or a subscription to the AME periodical of his or her choice)
If you can’t find the answers in about 5 – 10 minutes, please call (800) 648-8724 and ask which books you need to purchase so that you can reacquaint yourself with the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. There is no shame in not knowing. The shame is in not doing anything about what you don’t know.
3. THE BLACK CHURCH WEEK OF PRAYER FOR THE HEALING OF AIDS MARCH 6-12, 2005:
The Black church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is observed around the world. It focuses on HIV/AIDS and the impact it will have without prevention education and compassionate care efforts from all segments of the community, including the faith communities.
The Week of Prayer begins on the first Sunday in March and continues for seven days (March 6-12) in African American communities across the country as well as in Africa and the Caribbean. The Black Church Week of Prayer is a vehicle for spiritual renewal and transformation, and HIV prevention education for every individual and faith community that participates. The purpose of the Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is to bring National attention to the role the Black churches are playing in the AIDS crisis. It paves the way for continuous mobilization and education for the implementation of AIDS prevention and support programs in our churches.
In Oklahoma, AME churches who are members of The African American Faith Community for AIDS Prevention (AAFCAP) will participate in several Ecumenical events to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and the organization’s programs. For more information about the Coalition, visit the website at www.aafcap.org
Mrs. Saundra Lucas
Davis Chapel AME Church
Oklahoma Conference-
12th Episcopal District
4. THE REVEREND DR. CLYDE W. ODEN, JR., ENCOURAGES US TO OPEN THE LINKS BELOW AND READ ABOUT HIV/AIDS:
The challenge of HIV/AIDS is facing our people and our world. The burden of HIV/AIDS is ours, first. It is unacceptable for us to approach the HIV/AID epidemic from a parochial perspective; rather we should approach it from a global perspective. HIV/AIDS is not just another issue. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is our issue.
This is for the Black Church, the “Week of Prayer” for the healing of AIDS.
http://www.unaids.org/unaids_resources/
HomePage/images/AIDSScenarios/
AIDS-scenarios-2025_section1_en.pdf
Daily HIV/AIDS Recent Reports - Kaisernetwork.org
The Rev. Dr. Clyde W. Oden, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Bryant Temple A.M.E. Church Los Angeles, CA
5. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Dr. Sydnor,
I enjoyed reading your Editor's Corner about "If I were starting my ministry over again.” Your points are right on target as Pastors and their families’ need some "me" time to refresh, reflect, and to rejuvenate themselves. And so it is with each of us as we all should step back from the rush and grind of our daily lives and take it easy. Let us be reminded that the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Thanks,
The Reverend Beverly T. Goines
St. James AME Church
Memphis, TN
Dear Editor -
More of us should accept your priorities as our own. Thanks for the focus on a needed discipline. Pray that I might move in that direction. The Reverend Sidney W. Williams, P.E.
Editor’s comment:
I would add this to my list of, If I were starting my ministry over again: “I would, from the beginning of my ministry, contact a trusted financial planner and develop an investment portfolio and a college fund for my children.”
- Dear Rev. Editor,
Can't resist this opportunity to check in with you once more, this time about your Priorities list. Naturally, I read this with focus on my own husband's years of ministry. So much of what you said struck home. For instance, it took a lot of years for us to realize that he/ I / we NEEDED time away from the stress of ministry. I finally had to take that over and "dictate" -- according to what I observed about his schedule, feelings, difficulty of duties at a given time -- that we make a point to get away for a few days. He soon learned to agree with me. :-) Even two to three nights away mid-week could yield such a blessing. He'd come back ready, willing, and able to put out all the little "brush fires."
Here is what I would like to share about my husband: C. B. Johns read the Holy Bible through every single year of his life, starting with somewhere during his college years. He died at age 78, so that's a mighty lot of reading, if you ask me!!! During his last 10 years or so he would complete the full reading of The Bible in LESS THAN A YEAR and start another version immediately. He read scads of different versions in his lifetime and studied constantly. The Bible was God's Word and it was his main ministry "tool"; it was his life.
Even when we started going on cruises, he always had religious reading with him and it was nothing for him to come home with a new sermon or two, completed. For him, this was a part of his "vacation." I couldn't understand this at first, but I finally did. He was reading and preparing under different circumstances. If he could read a while and look up and see God's beautiful ocean waves passing by or some beautiful scenery from the stateroom window, and then get back to his writing, was that not a "difference" from how he usually wrote? It took me a while, but I finally understood. To each his, or her own.
In addition to all this, though, he certainly knew how to enjoy life and take advantage of all God put in his path to learn about and to love. We particularly spoke about how fortunate we were to be able to learn first hand about our wonderful world which included God's natural wonders (waterfalls, mountains, valleys, glaciers, Grand Canyon, etc.) AND the marvelous projects that God had allowed man to create (Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, huge towers, etc.). As we traveled a bit, these things came to mean so much to us. God was, indeed, EVERYWHERE!
Okay, on to something else. I haven't commented on your editorials and other information included in your Online Edition and the hard copy "CR". I have a young church friend (one of the "daughters" I've collected) who told me how very grateful she was to you for your articles regarding colors used in the pulpit and the meanings of each at their time of use. I've been meaning to tell you about that. Further, I find that I am so eager now to read your on-lines. I can hardly wait to open them because I know there will be something interesting and timely for my consumption. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My ambition now is to eventually get to all the back editions that appeared online before I subscribed recently.
May God continue to bless you as you perform this service for His people. You are a blessing to us and I hope that you can continue this work for a long, long time.
Jeanette T. Johns
Editor’s Note:
Jeanette Johns is author of the book about Bishop Nichols: The Upward Journey: A Centenarian's Chronicle - Personal Stories of Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols, Revered Clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
6. I RECEIVED THIS NOTE OF THANKS LAST NIGHT FROM THE REVEREND SHELDA HERRING AND THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD BE AN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL OF OUR READERS. THIS PRAYER IS ENTITLED, “THANKING GOD”:
Dear GOD:
I want to thank You for what You have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards,
I am thanking you right now
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better,
I am thanking you right now
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me,
I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears,
I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves,
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet,
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job,
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief,
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed.
I am thanking you right now.
I am thanking you because I am alive.
(Author unknown)
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
