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. EDITOR’S CORNER:
- The Reverend Gregory Nettles Shares the News that Bishop Richard A. Chappelle, Sr. is One of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans:
Bishop Richard A. Chappelle, Sr. is listed in May '05 Ebony magazine as one of the top 100 most influential Black Americans. It is on page 58.
Editor’s Comment: To Bishop Chappelle - Congratulations on being selected as one of the 100+ Most Influential Black Americans. Ebony is to be commended for selecting you, the President of the General Boards, as one of the most influential Black Americans!
Thanks to the Reverend Gregory Nettles for sharing the information with us.
- CHECK THIS OUT:
http://www.bugtime.com/ might be a great resource for your youth.
2. THE GLOBAL CORNER - NEWS FROM THE SEVENTEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT, THE RIGHT REVEREND PAUL KAWIMBE IS THE PRESIDING BISHOP:
- Supervisor Yvonne Kawimbe Joins Missionary Sisters of Area 1 to Raise Funds for Matero Home for the Elderly
The deplorable living environment among the old people at Lusaka Matero after care Center in Zambia has prompted the African Methodist Episcopal Church women missionary society at Bethel church in Kabwata Zambia to raise K700, 000 to supplement on their domestic requisites for the senior citizens.
17th District Supervisor, Yvonne Chinakila Kawimbe has implored the Women missionary sisters to remain dependable spiritually and materially in the Church and community. Supervisor Kawimbe encouraged all the women to become dependable contributors in the society.
Supervisor Kawimbe said it does not matter how small a contribution you make as God values our efforts and motives.
“It is a noble thing that you have embarked and it is my hope and prayer that the funds raised will go to the intended beneficiaries “. Said supervisor Kawimbe
W.M.S area one chairperson Sis Regina Bulaya Ngulube said that after the recent fundraising event hosted at Bethel congregation the women from the eight congregations will committee themselves to improving lives of the old people at the referral center.
The fundraising follows a cleaning exercise that was undertaken by 38 women at the nearby Chingwere Clinic who thought of appealing to well wishers after seeing the deplorable state in which the aged are living in.
Mrs. Ngulube said that the women have decided to help the old people in line with the Christian principle of caring for elders in our families and community.
She added that her leadership was expected to raise money and help the orphaned children and ease their burden of food and education.
By Christabel Kazembe, 17th District Public Relations Director
- New Church Was Purchased in the Town of Gisenyi. The Name of the Church is Goshen African Methodist Episcopal Church:
A Church was purchased in Gisenyi, Rwanda and was named Goshen AME Church.
The Right Reverend Paul Kawimbe is the Presiding Bishop of the Seventeenth Episcopal District.
- Bishop Paul J. M. Kawimbe in Rwanda and Goma (D.R.C)
It was a colorful moment at Rwanda - Kigali International airport when the W.M.S, the Clergyman and Y.P.D sang and danced their Rwandese style as they joyfully and proudly welcomed the Rt. Rev. Paul J. M. Kawimbe for their first ever Annual Conference.
Bishop Paul Kawimbe held a combined Rwanda and Burundi annual from on
March 17 –19, 2005 in Kigali the Capital City of Rwanda. In attendance were AME Pastors and member from the war-toned Eastern Congo (DRC) Goma as well as from Uganda.
The people of Rwanda in 1994 experienced a genocide that left over a million of innocent lives dead. In order to attend the needs of the population in terms of reconciliation, restorative justice a group 8 persons came together in prayer and fasting for Lords direction as to which Church they were to belong to, as works in works in a mysterious way the came across the AME doctrine and discipline book and after a prayerful consideration of the document in February 2003 they contacted Bishop A. J. Richardson at that time he was the President of the Bishops’ Council requesting if they could be accepted into the AME Church family. Bishop Richardson responded positively and recommended them to Bishop Preston W. Williams then presiding prelate of the 17th District who admitted them into connectional on March 3, 2003.
The Church in Rwanda has and is experienced a tremendous growth it started with only 8 members who organized themselves and registered the AME Church with the government and on June 1, 2003 they had their worship service in rented housed. These members dedicated themselves to prayer and fasting since then the Church has grown 31 Churches, 34 Ministers with the membership of 11,148.
The Bishop was amazed and impressed with the enthusiasm of A.M.E Church members in Rwanda despite the 1994 genocide, which left millions dead, and other millions traumatized and homeless.
Their faith in God has even become stronger than ever before and their aim is to bring 15,000 more souls to the knowledge and personal relationship with Christ and the AME Church by the end of 2005, said Bishop Kawimbe with a big smile on his face.
The power and miracles of God are being experienced in the Church work and the A.M.E Church has crossed the borders of Rwanda in to Goma in D.R.C were for some years the area has been a no go zone area for missionaries due to war.
Bishop Kawimbe had an opportunity to visit AME Churches in the war-toned Eastern Congo in the town of Goma without any interference from the rebels.
The Bishop said in an interview that by next year the Church would have planted a few more Churches in Goma.
The Bishop added that we planning to construct a Pre – School Teachers Training College the only one of its kind in the entire nation of Rwanda, the Church has already acquired a ½ hector peace of land in the capital Kigali at the cost of US $ 6500.
The Church also envisages constructing the African Methodist Episcopal Church College in Goma. The project will cost about $87,453.5 United States Dollars and Presiding Elder Rev Kamutera is appealing to well- wishers and the Church to assist them.
The ever-increasing number of student’s will use the college divested in the war region of D.R.C.
Meanwhile Reverend Ngendahayo Eduardo the General Administration Assistant to the Bishop in Rwanda reported that the church in Rwanda have started projects in
HIV/ AIDS, trauma, reconciliation, counseling.
By Christabel Kazembe, 17th District Public Relations Director
- Information Deputy Minister Graces This Year’s A.M.E.C Founders Day Celebrations of the 17th Episcopal District.
Information and Broadcasting services Deputy Minister Gastone Sichilima opened the founder day annual celebration in Lusaka on 14th February.
The founder day cerebrations attracted more that 1000 people at Ebenezer in Chilenje in Lusaka Zambia.
Mr. Gastone Sichilima stressed that division in the Church and other organization come about when those supposed to be led belittled their leaders.
He explained that the greatest achievement that A.M.E Church has was having an indigenous Zambian elected bishop of the 17th Episcopal district.
He said it was not good for people to be pulling down those in authority in a bid to get such positions.
Mr. Sichilima said people in Churches just like those in other organization should wait for God to pick them as leaders. He has also called on Zambians to support president Levy Mwanawasa in his endeavors to serve the nation.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sichilima said government was encouraging Churches to invest in agriculture, education, health and other economic activities to help create more jobs in the country.
He said government was ready to work with the Church to improve the state of the country and ensure that people were well cared for by providing an enabling environment for development.
Mr. Sichilima expressed happiness at the support that government was receiving from A.M.E Church in the fight against HIV/AIDS and creation of employment.
And delivering a sermon entitled “What Do You do When You don’t Know What to do. “
Bishop Rev Paul Kawimbe, implored AME Church members to have faith in God who alone was able to save them.
Bishop Paul Kawimbe said when people loose hope that is the time when God was ready to help and save them.
And in a vote of thanks Reverend Bettlem Chonde, pledged to supplement government’s effort in addressing all social vices. He said A.M.E Church would work as a team and united force in supporting the government of the day in all its programs.
By Christabel Kazembe, 17th District Public Relations Director
- 17th Episcopal District Of AMEC to Open a Community Radio Station
Plans are underway for the African Methodist Episcopal Church-17th District under leadership of Bishop Paul Kawimbe to open up a community radio station in the Central province of Zambia to be housed in Kabwe.
The radio station will be called 17.87 Community Christian radio station signifying the year the AME Church was founded and its vision is to have a well-informed society on issues of health, education, agriculture, good governance and religion.
The radio stations main objective is also to assist the Kabwe community in terms of fair news coverage and help the community boast its economy by high lighting issues affecting Kabwe. It will also be used as an evangelistic for the Church.
According to discussions held with local authority with Christabel Kazembe the 17th District Public Relations Director, the town clerk was very happy with the development and the opening of the radio station will be tabled in their full council meeting were all the government heads will decide on proposal for the station.
Meanwhile the project is yet to be submitted for approval by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The establishing of this radio station will cost US $ 42,150,000.
By Christabel Kazembe, 17th District Public Relations Director
3. CHAPLAINS’ CORNER:
- Chaplain David Brown will be leaving this weekend to preach a three-night revival at Holy Trinity AME Church in Las Vegas, NV. The pastor is the Reverend Emmanuel Wasson, III and the associate pastor is his wife, the Reverend Juanita Wasson. Please pray with Chaplain Brown for God to send traveling mercies, revival to his people and lost souls to Christ.
- Chaplain Addison Burgess (United States Army) is serving as an assistant minister at Ebenezer AMEC in Fort Washington, MD, where the Rev. Drs. Grainger and Joanne Browning pastor.
- Chaplain Theodore Valcourt has switched his commission from the Navy to the Army. He is now officially a captain and will attend Army Chaplain's Basic Course, Fort Jackson, South Carolina in June.
- Chaplain Atticus Taylor has transferred to Naval Station Mayport, Florida. He successfully completed a tour as command chaplain at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, NJ.
- The Reverend Sherri Garrett from Third Street Bethel AME Church in Richmond, VA is a Chaplain Candidate within the Navy. She has received orders to report to the Naval Chaplain's Basic School in Newport Rhode Island in July. Upon completion of the Basic School, she will be officially designated as "chaplain" and receive her first set of active duty orders.
Submitted by Chaplain, LCDR David Brown
4. ARTICLE – “SECULARIZATION AND OUR MISSION”:
By: Reverend Charles R. Watkins, Jr., B.S. M.Div.
Among the positive elements of the process commonly referred to as “secularization” is the freedom to experiment and make independent decisions. This freedom, of course, leaves the door wide open for every “wind of doctrine” that blows by. This freedom becomes increasingly dangerous as we are left to make decisions relative to educational material to be used in the religious education setting. Our challenge is that we are encouraged to exhibit the relevancy of faith while making the concept of faith appealing to a society that no longer finds faith attractive.
We are left, in this sin sick world, to remind those who will take time to listen that God “did not abandon His creatures in their rebellion” and He has not abandoned us. We must make the Gospel competitive among the many secular options for material and carnal success. We find ourselves in an age of less and less concern for the mysteries of God and more and more concern for the “right now” of secular reinforcement. The separation of Church and State has served to further undermine the authority of the church. The increase in the apparent weakening of authority serves to give the appearance of a lack of legitimacy. A spirit of liberalism affects the church very much like it did during the “Enlightenment”. The missions of the church are not clear. There is so much emphasis on revival and renewal in foreign countries while there is little being done for Salvation right in our backyard. There is still an ever widening disparity between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
We lean more and more on science for answers to questions that our lack of faith won’t allow us to reach. Secularism thrives as we continue to give in to our depraved human nature. Evangelism, it seems, is no longer the central thrust of our church mission and I am afraid we lack the sincere commitment to spread the Gospel; we are no longer convinced ourselves.
We have done so much to clearly separate and promote the separation of what is spiritual and what is social. There is no clear distinction of what is wrong and what is right. We seem content to exist in a “gray” area of our own creation. The Gospel spells out for us a vivid example of the path we should be on however; we seem destined to veer even if ever so slightly in the direction of least resistance. We know by faith that God is well aware of the choices we make and yet we continue to allow secularization to cut into the fabric of our lives. We are so mesmerized by the attractiveness of secularization and its tilt towards modernization that we are willing to put our faith aside.
Let us hold fast to tradition as it has sustained us thus far. However, let us carefully search for ways to incorporate the current social perspectives, weeding out the negative, accentuating the positive, into our evangelistic ministry model. How critical is our task? Let’s ask ourselves the question: “How is it that our young people eagerly learn a 20 minute “Rap” dialogue yet we cannot get them to learn and recite the 23rd Psalm?”
To God Be the Glory, Great Things He Has Done! I am thrilled to serve God in the Seventh Episcopal District under the astute leadership of the Right Reverend Preston Warren Williams II. The blessing certainly continues as the Greenville District, of which I am a part, is superintended through Godly direction provided by our Presiding Elder the Rev. Dr. Jonathan J. Baker.
Editor’s note: The Reverend Charles R. Watkins completed a 21 year career in the United States Army in 1996. He served as an Airborne Infantryman and was assigned to various units throughout the U.S. and Europe. He answered the call to Pastoral Ministry and turned down a promotion to Command Sergeant Major and entered the Seminary. He has recently accepted a Commission (Captain) into the Chaplain Corps of the South Carolina State Guard.
5. WELCOME TO BRYANT TEMPLE A.M.E. CHURCH:
An invitation to become part of the believing and worshipping community known as THE TEMPLE.
We are a part of the great AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH FAMILY. We carry the spirit of African Methodism in our worship and in our work.
We model what we do after the ministry Jesus presented to us:
Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV): Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
We go beyond the walls of our Church seeking those who are harassed and helpless, and bringing the good news of a liberating Savior – Jesus the Christ. Our ministries are directed to go where the needs of the people are: the hurting, the oppressed, the depressed, the sick, in prison, those who live in the shadows of life – the homeless, those who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, and those impacted by the cycles of violence in our community and in this world. We are seeking to go where we believe Jesus would go, if He was still walking the earth. We believe we are taking His Spirit with us, as we seek to build His Kingdom here on earth.
We declare that in the name of Jesus, we are going to take back everything the devil has stolen from us – as individuals, families, communities and as a people.
Come worship with us:
We meet every Sunday at 7:55 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Bryant Temple A.M.E. Church2525 W. Vernon Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90008323-293-6201
“Bring your tambourine & your dancing shoes” – we love to praise Him!”
Bishop John R. Bryant, Presiding Prelate, 5th Episcopal DistrictThe Rev. Dr. Cecelia Williams Bryant, Episcopal SupervisorThe Rev. Dr. Howard S. Gloyd, Presiding Elder – Los Angeles/San Diego/Las Vegas District
The Rev. Dr. Clyde W. Oden, Jr. Senior PastorMrs. Velma L. Oden, First Lady
6. FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR REV. CECELIA WILLIAM'S MOTHER:
Home going service modification for Sister Pauline Williams, mother of Episcopal Supervisor Rev. Dr. Cecelia Williams Bryant:
Wake:
Friday, April 15, 2005
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 -9:00 p.m.
Institutional A.M.E. Zion Church
52 Bishop WM J. Walls Place
Yonkers, NY 10701
FUNERAL:
Saturday, April 16, 2005
10:00 a.m.
Bethany AME Church
21 Ludlow Street
Yonkers, NY 10705
(914) 965-0511 (Phone)
Services Entrusted to:
Brooks Memorial Funeral Home
275 Warburton Ave
Yonkers, NY 10701
914-965-3781 (Phone)
914-965-1271 (Fax)
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:
New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott
102-105 Ditmars Blvd
East Elmhurst, NY 11369
(718) 565-8900
7. FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE REVEREND DR. C. E. SHEPHERD:
Service arrangements for Dr. C. E. Shepherd, Retired Presiding Elder, Southwest Georgia Conference, Sixth Episcopal District and the spouse of Mrs. Lillard Shepherd, charter member (founding member) of CONN-M-SWAWO + PK'S:
Funeral
Monday, April 11, 2005
1:00 p.m.
Grant Chapel AME Church
318 West Central Avenue
Moultrie, GA 31768
912-985-2553 - Phone
Rev. Edward W. Maddox, Jr., Pastor
Services entrusted to:
Luke Strong & Son Mortuary Inc.
20 1st Street NE
Moultrie, GA 31768
229-890-1717 - Phone
229-985-7854 – Fax
8. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mr. James Cooper on Thursday, April 7, 2005.
He was the Father of:
The Rev. James S. Cooper, Retired Army Chaplain and presently pastor of:
High Hills AME Church
Dazell, SC 29040
803-499-9456 (Phone)
And:
Rev. Jeffery B. Cooper, Pastor
Trinity AME Church
604 Lynhurst Dr. SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30311
404-696-5826 (Phone)
Service will be held on:
Thursday, April, 14, 2005 - 12:00 Noon
Trinity United Methodist Church
2979 Lincoln Blvd.
Ft. Myers, Fl. 33916
Services entrusted to:
Barrett Funeral Chapel
2305 Henderson Ave.
Ft. Myers, FL 33916
239-332-1212 (Phone)
239-334-4020 (Fax)
Please remember the Cooper family in your prayers.
9. ALL FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Ora L. Easley
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
(Nashville, TN Contact)
Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
(Memphis, TN Contact)
(901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
CONN-M-SWAWO +PK'SWEB SITES
http://www.amemswwpk.org/http://www.connmswawo3.com/CONN-M-SWAWO + P.K.'S June 2005 Events
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
