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. CONTRIBUTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA:
Dr. Clement Fugh, General Secretary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church announces that contributions may be made ONLINE to the Connectional Church Katrina Disaster Relief Fund, by going to the Official AME Church website of the African Methodist Episcopal Church - www.ame-church.com and click "Contribute Now." Episcopal Districts will be credited for the donations received from within their districts.
2. UPDATE FROM DR. GEORGE FLOWERS:
- The urgent need is the placement of persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina. There are enormous groups of displaced individuals and families. AME Churches and families around the connection are needed to adopt individuals and families. Adopting individuals or families can be coordinated through my office: Office of Global Witness and Ministry, 1587 Savannah Highway, Suite A, Charleston, SC 29407, telephone, (843) 852-2645/2646 and on the weekends, (843) 297-0503; or via email: gwmame@bellsouth.net .
Churches or persons who adopt families should be prepared to accept the responsibility of getting the displaced families to your area and that may include making arrangements or funding their travel to your area. Host families and churches will be expected to help them find places to live, feed them, and most likely help them to find employment.
Bishop Preston Williams and the Seventh Episcopal District pledged to adopt 100 families. Bishops or pastors who wish to adopt individuals or families should contact the Office of Global Witness and Ministry.
Additionally, Bishop Richard Norris (First Episcopal District) and Bishop Preston Williams (Seventh Episcopal District) have made contacts with bottling companies to supply over 1 million bottles of water to those in the affected areas.
The trucks filled with supplies from the First and Seventh Episcopal Districts are expected to arrive in the affected areas beginning tomorrow (9/7/05).
The Reverend Dr. Ronald Braxton, pastor of Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC has a loaded tractor-trailer full of clothing, toiletries, medical supplies and non-perishable foods that will be leaving Washington, DC on Thursday or Friday.
Dr. Flowers and any volunteers will make a trip in about 2 – 3 weeks to go to the Eighth Episcopal District – Mobile, Selma and Birmingham, Alabama
Dr. Flowers spoke with Dr. Johnnie Barbour and gave condolences to his wife in the death of her uncle and great aunt.
The following persons accompanied Dr. Flowers on his trip the devastated areas of Katrina: Dr. Pam DeVeaux, Episcopal Supervisor of the Sixth Episcopal District and the Rev. Phil Flowers, pastor of Bethel AME Church, St. Matthew, South Carolina.
3. THE SLOAN FOUNDATION OFFERS FREE ACCREDITED ONLINE COURSES FOR STUDENTS DISPLACED BY HURRICANE KATRINA:
The Sloan Consortium is offering students displaced by Hurricane Katrina an opportunity to continue their education at no cost. In collaboration with the Southern Regional Education Board and with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the special accelerated program will provide a wide range of courses to serve the learning needs of students at the community college, university and graduate level, regardless of academic discipline. Major universities and other Sloan Consortium members will give these courses.
- Students interested in free online courses and regionally accredited schools interested in providing courses can find more information at www.sloansemester.org.
- All courses will be from regionally accredited institutions to allow for easier transfer back to home institutions.
- More than 180 colleges and universities across the country are building a bridge for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
- Online learning is an important tool to provide academic continuity in a time of crisis.
"We know that many colleges and universities in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi will not be able resume their fall semesters and students are scrambling for alternatives," said Dave Spence, President of the Southern Regional Education Board. "With the help of dozens of colleges and universities nationwide, we can now offer students key courses online to bridge them through this difficult time and eventually allow them to return to their home campuses."
The 8 week accelerated semester is being funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Colleges and universities offering the courses will forgo tuition and fees to help students at institutions disrupted by Katrina. "Online learning can be an important means of academic continuity in a time of crisis," said Frank Mayadas, Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "We are getting a tremendous response from both those who want to offer courses and from impacted institutions that need the help." At this time, the goal is to accommodate at least 10,000 student enrollments.
For additional information about Sloan Semester and to find out how you can help or participate in this initiative, please visit www.sloansemester.org. Please share this.
John Bourne and Janet Moore, EditorsSloan-C View
Editor’s Note: The Editor works closely with the Sloan Consortium and the information posted above is legitimate. I am hopeful that displaced student will take advantage of this opportunity. Even if you do not have a computer, remember that libraries have computers and many churches have computers. This is an excellent opportunity form students to continue their education in spite of being displaced and it is an opportunity to become familiar with online learning. The application process www.sloansemester.org is user-friendly.
4. LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
I have been an AME all my life, but I keep wondering, “Where is the Church? I have yet to see any AME church open its doors for the victims of Katrina. Yet the Church is still having meetings, i.e. from Sept 19-23 in Nashville. This is a waste of money, money that could buy water, clothes or food to the thousands of people that have lost all. I know life must go on, have a teleconference, this would save some money.
I think this shows the lack of sensitivity of the Church. I saw T. D. Jakes, Jesse Jackson and Oprah, but no Kirkland, no Ingram, no McKenzie (who will be sponsoring the meeting in Nashville). Do we not care about people that are not AMEs? I saw on The Christian Recorder Online, where someone suggested using Edward Waters College or Morris Brown College to give discount tuition to misplaced students, I would like to go one further and open the doors for shelter for displaced families.
Why are we always waiting for the white man, the singer or the movie stars? The Church should be the first place of assistance that anyone sees during a time of crisis.
I was waiting for the call, but the only call I received was from the New Black Panther Party. Please stand up and be counted during this time of stress for all of us, but especially for our own black brothers and sisters.
Brenda Jackson KL Associates, Inc. 202-462-5106, ext. 14
Editor’s note: Sister Jackson thanks for your concerns and desire to see the Church be active and out in front in the Katrina Hurricane Disaster relief. I was going to respond but you were kind enough to share the response of Bishop John Bryant and so I am sharing his response to your letter.
Response by Bishop John Bryant to Sister Jackson’s letter
Sister Jackson,
I am so pleased to report to you that the AME Church is rising to the occasion all across our Connection. As we speak, we have truckloads of food and clothing going to our people in need. We have even donated vehicles, including trucks, to our people in Mississippi. Many people are now staying in several of our churches in Memphis, and the Thirteenth Episcopal District is working hard to meet the needs of the people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. AMEs all across the Fifth Episcopal District gave generous offerings that will be sent in by the end of this week. We have several churches and families that have opened their doors to receive our displaced brothers and sisters. I do hope you, as an AME, are doing all you can do, and giving all you can give. Together we can, and will make a difference.
Sincerely,
John R. Bryant
P.S. Please send a copy of my e-mail response to those you copied in your letter.
5. A WORD FROM THE EDITOR:
The AME Church is doing a great work. African Methodist Episcopal Churches across the Connection participated in collecting designated offerings for persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina and will do so for as long as assistance is needed. Dr. George Flowers, Executive Director, the Office of Global Witness and Ministry, and a small team of volunteers are in Jackson, Mississippi today and will be going to all of the affected areas. The Department of Global Witness and Ministry is planning subsequent assistance visits in the coming week. Dr. Flowers has called for volunteers and that information appeared in The Christian Recorder Online yesterday. For those who may have missed it. Person desiring to volunteer and go to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina should contact the Office of Global Witness and Ministry, 1587 Savannah Highway, Suite A, Charleston, SC 29407, telephone, (843) 852-2645/2646 and on the weekends, (843) 297-0503; or via email: gwmame@bellsouth.net .
I know that tractor-trailers are being filled in the Thirteenth Episcopal District and I am sure that other Episcopal Districts are doing the same. I am hearing bits and pieces and your letter raises a concern that I have, and I am a part of the problem. I am hopeful that I will be a part of the solution.
You asked the question, “Where is my Church?” That is an excellent question. Your Church, OUR Church, is out there and our Church, believe it or not, was moving quicker than the federal government. The AME Church has provided assistance for disasters all over the world. We have excellent institutions of higher learning in the United States and overseas. The AME Church has nurtured and provided leaders in government, academia, the military, in corporate America, and of course in the profession of ministry. Other denominations want to be like us and as a result, you have clergy calling themselves, “bishops” in Baptist churches. Our bishops have been such good role models that other religious leaders want to be like them and call themselves, “bishop.”
Now, having said all of that, your question, “Where is our church?” raises a systemic failure and that is we, the AME Church, has not been telling our story. We have not done a good job of sharing our good works. A part of that is my failure and a part of the failure belongs to the AME Churches doing great things and Episcopal Districts. I am going to take corrective action in learning how to put out our press releases more globally. I need the help of churches and Episcopal Districts to share the good things they are doing.
For Instance, I have read, by searching the Internet the good things that Bethel AME Church, Maryville, California, Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, Bethel AME Church, Tallahassee, Florida and Flat Rock AME Church, Fayetteville, Georgia have done in raising money for Katrina victims. I had to search for it, as I have had to use the Internet to find information about what goes in The Christian Recorder Online’s “News Around the AME Church.”
All of us can assist, and as you read all of this issue, and in the subsequent issues of The Christian Recorder Online and in the print edition, I believe that you will see that OUR Church is “stepping up to the plate” in a significant way.
And, we will be telling you more about what the AME Church is doing to assist the people (AMEs and non-AMEs) who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The news will be good!
6. BISHOP MCKENZIE “LIGHTS A FIRE” TO GET THINGS GOING FOR THE THIRTEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICTS SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA:
I want everyone - pastors and laity - to know what the 13th Episcopal District is doing in support of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. All churches should solicit food, clothes, diapers, water and other items to send to the affected areas. People need help – and they need help NOW, not next week or in two weeks. Our AME brothers and sisters, and others need help and are looking to us for help.
a. Offerings should be lifted each Sunday. The first offering should have been collected last Sunday. Checks should be made out to the 13th Episcopal District. Send checks to this office or through the presiding elder.
b. Funds collected will be sent to the Office of Global Witness and Ministry of the AME church. An Ad Hoc committee comprised of Bishop Richard Norris, Bishop Kirkland, Bishop Henning and Bishop Young has been established.
c. The Kentucky Annual Conference and the West Tennessee Annual Conference will secure a tractor-trailer to fill with non-perishable food, supplies and clothes - that truck will go to Pearl Street AME Church in Jackson, Mississippi as soon as possible. It may have to make more than one trip.
d. The West Kentucky Annual Conference and the Tennessee Annual Conference will secure a tractor-trailer and do the same. That truck will go to Allen Chapel in Baton Rouge as soon as possible and more than one truck may be needed and more than one trip may be necessary.
e. The East Tennessee Annual Conference will do the same and send the items collected to Ward Chapel in Selma, Alabama and Daniel Payne College in Birmingham, Alabama as soon as possible, unless the bishops say those items are not needed, and if that happens, directions will be given as to where to deliver the collected items.
f. I appreciate that many of you are assisting local efforts however; AMEs in Districts 8 and 9 are looking directly to AMEs for assistance. Let us not disappoint them.
g. The funds collected this week will be sent to the Connectional Church this week as soon as we receive them from you.
h. Seven churches in New Orleans are lost, along with the Episcopal Residence and Office Building.
i. AME families will need to be adopted. I would hope that as a minimum, each church will adopted one or more families to clothe, feed and help in other ways. This may, or may not, include housing.
k. I am encouraging everyone to assist the hurricane victims. . Let us get to work. I encourage you to solicit help from businesses and organizations in your areas. Everyone can help. Empty your closets of clean clothes, purchase diapers, children’s clothes and baby formula. Label the clothes according to age and size and please do not send clothing you would not want to receive please!
l. I am mobilizing the 13th Episcopal District Nehemiah Nation. In a few weeks, members of the Nehemiah Nation and local church missionaries should be prepared to spend several weekends helping to rebuild, clear debris, fix meals, etc.
m. The proceeds from "The Anvil," the living-well resource guide of the Council of Bishops of the AME Church, will go to the victims of Katrina in the affected areas.
This is the day and the hour where we need to demonstrate the love of God to those who are in need.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Bishop V. M. McKenzie
7. NEWS AROUND THE AME CHURCH:
From the Tallahassee Democrat
The Tallahassee Democrat reports that the African Methodist Episcopal churches in Florida will be collecting hurricane-relief offerings on Sundays through October. Church members contributed $5,000 to the first of those offerings Sunday. The church also has "adopted" a member's family who evacuated Aug. 27. Betty Steven's daughter, Gayna Credle, a professor at Xavier University, will receive assistance while she and her daughter and granddaughters are in Tallahassee. For more information, call the Rev. John Green, senior pastor, Bethel AME Church, 576-7501.
8. THE BISHOPS’ WIVES COUNCIL’S NAME HAS BEEN CHANGED:
In 1955, The AMEC Bishops' Spouses Council, originally called the "Bishops Wives Council," was founded. Initially, Presidents were elected based upon seniority, the first being Mrs. Julia Fountain, the wife of the Senior Bishop. That custom no longer exists.
In her writings, Mrs. Elvira Baber characterized the Council as a group of sisters seeking a closer relationship. They convened to develop a sisterhood with those of like purpose. Paramount among their goals was to be kind, loving and supportive wives for the husbands, Bishops in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Furthermore, this group sought to celebrate honest and open expression, seek and obtain the support one from the other, and to benefit from the power of prayer on behalf of others, issues and concerns across the globe and for themselves.
In July 2000 at the General Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio, the first female Bishop of the denomination was elected. With open arms, the Council welcomed its first male member, Stan McKenzie. The name of the Council was immediately changed to "Bishops' Spouses Council." Now, the Council has three male members.
Over the years, the Council has actively engaged in substantive retreats, sponsored the Annual Prayer Breakfast for the Women's Missionary Society's Executive Board Meetings, welcomed and honored new members, donated to and supported worthy causes monitored and reported on widows to our districts, and conducted memorials for deceased members.
The Bishops' Spouses, also known as Episcopal Supervisors, remain committed to fostering a loving, unified, ministerial family for the work of God through the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
9. RUSSELL L. LIVINGSTON NAMED PRINCIPAL OF CEDAR HILL, TEXAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ’S NEWEST MIDDLE SCHOOL:
At the board meeting on Monday, January 10, 2005, the Cedar Hill Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved appointment of Mr. Russell L. Livingston as principal of the new second middle school, slated to open next fall. “Mr. Livingston was not only the Superintendent’s choice for the job, but also was the top choice of the selection committee, which is always a good sign,” said Dr. Jim Gibson, CHISD Superintendent. Judging by the standing ovation for Mr. Livingston, it is apparent that he is also a favorite of students, teachers and the community in general.
Indeed Livingston has a vast educational background, having graduated from three universities: University of North Texas with his Bachelors of Elementary Education in 1978, Tarleton State University with his Master’s in Educational Administration in ’99, and the University of Texas at Arlington with his Superintendent’s Certification in ’02. The variety of colleges selected was not accidental, but was intentionally done to gain a “vast array of knowledge and varying perspectives of the educational setting,” said Livingston.
Throughout his diversified educational career, Livingston has served as a classroom teacher in Ft. Worth and Junior High Assistant Principal, Elementary Assistant Principal, and Elementary Principal all in Arlington ISD prior to joining the CHISD team. In his early classroom experiences as a sixth grade reading, math and computer-assisted math teacher and later as a teacher of classroom-contained ‘at-risk’ students, Mr. Livingston simultaneously served as Coordinator of Summer Youth Programs and Adult Education Teacher at Tarrant County Junior College in Ft. Worth.
“In my last seven years in the at-risk classroom prior to coming to Cedar Hill, I had 15 students, and at least once, each of the 15 was retained by probation officers…It wasn't unusual to be holding class when all of a sudden in would come an officer and a student would be spread-eagled against the wall. I decided that many of these kids hadn't had the chances that others had, and along with the help of another chaperone, I decided to try to change that… at least to broaden their perspective. We set a trip up to take the at-risk students to San Antonio, and it was so interesting that as soon as we got the bus on the highway, several honestly wanted to know if they were already in San Antonio… They had never had the opportunity to go anywhere before, and on that trip, we had little or no problems… It was wonderful to see the difference a change of perspective makes, and when you really love and care about the kids, they know it and usually respond in kind,” said Livingston
Prior to selection as Principal of the new middle school, Mr. Livingston was in his second year as Assistant Principal at W. S. Permenter Middle School, and rare was the time you would find Livingston without a group of admiring students surrounding him. He is a fair, but firm leader and leads by example rather than simply words. The effectiveness of Livingston’s philosophy of leading by example is obvious to anyone with the opportunity to observe him in Permenter’s classes and hallways. Not only does he share the wealth of his wisdom, but he also effectively leads with his heart and genuine caring for his students. In fact, upon closing of announcements each day, he says, “Remember that I love you and there's nothing you can do about it.”
Although a principal’s duties are demanding and diversified, success all begins with respect for one’s teachers, staff, and students. And, Cedar Hill ISD is proud to announce that Russell L. Livingston is definitely the man for the job of principal of the new second middle school.
Russell is the former Parliamentarian of the Connectional Lay Organization. He is a member of Historic Allen Chapel A.M.E. in Fort Worth, Texas. Since the printing of this article, the school became the first school in Cedar Hill to be named after an African-American. It was named after Bessie Coleman who was the first African-American IN THE WORLD to earn a pilot’s license! To obtain her license, she had to go to France because of her color. When she returned, she made a speech and told of her toils and dreams in Baltimore at Trinity A.M.E. Church.
10. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Regretfully we share news of the passing of Mrs. China Foster, spouse of the Reverend Eugene Foster, Pastor of Mt. Vienna AME Church, South Conference, 6th Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop William P. DeVeaux, Presiding Bishop.
FUNERAL SERVICES:
Thursday, September 8, 20051:00 PM
St. James CME Church
Damascus, GA
Services are entrusted to:
Meadows Funeral Home
315 South Madison Street
Albany, GA 31701
(229) 439-2262 (Phone)
(229) 439-9290 (Fax)
Condolences may be sent to:
The Reverend Eugene Foster
P.O. Box 4632
1306 Pinehurst Drive
Albany, GA 31706
(229) 888-0441 (Phone)
Or
To:
The Reverend Eugene Foster
c/o Mt. Vienna AME Church4
880 Vienna Church Rd
Valdosta, GA 31605
Please remember the Foster family in your prayers.
From: Shirley V. Taylor, President
6th Episcopal District Ministers' Spouses, Widows and Widowers Org.
11. BEREAVEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action Clergy Family Information Center
Mrs. Ora L. Easley - Administrator Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
(Nashville, Tennessee Contact) Phone: (615) 837-9736 Fax: (615) 833-3781
(Memphis, Tennessee Contact) (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
Please remember these families in your prayers.
12. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:
The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend Gregory G. M. Ingram; 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
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
