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. A “THANK YOU” AND A REPORT ON THE FUNDRAISING PROGRESS FOR MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE:
I am happy to report that Dr. Samuel Jolley, President of Morris Brown College has received a check for $10,000 from the 29th Biennial Session of the Connectional Lay Organization as an initial payment for the funds raised at the Lay Biennial.
The funds will be used for scholarship assistance. Our understanding is that additional funds will be sent before October 1, 2005.
Thank you,
Bishop William P. DeVeaux
Sixth Episcopal District
2. 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.
3. BISHOP VASHTI MURPHY MCKENZIE WILL HOST KATRINA DISASTER INTERDENOMINATIONAL MEETING ON MONDAY:
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Presiding prelate of the 13th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church has been asked to host an interdenominational gathering of national clergy leadership and pastors in Memphis, Tennessee at St. Andrew AME Church on Monday, September 12, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting is to dialogue about the national response to Hurricane Katrina, and to develop a common Katrina-related agenda and a 10-point plan for churches in the African American community. Bishop McKenzie explained, “This is a working meeting” and went on to say, “A goal will be to develop strategies to develop a more effective focused response of the African American community in this and in future disasters. She went on to say, “We want a united front to help Katrina families in need and to determine the next step needed to help them in the days and month ahead.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram, President of the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop Thomas Hoyt, Jr. and Bishop Henry M. Williamson of the CME Church, Dr. Major L. JemisonPresident, PNBC, Bishop C. Garnett Henning and Bishop T. Larry Kirkland of the AME Church along with several heads of the National Baptists, A.M.E. Zion, and COGIC denominations will be present. Scores of clergy from around the country have been invited and are expected to attend.
Leadership from other helping agencies, i.e., the Red Cross, FEMA, the Congressional Black Caucus, along with state and local government officials and civic leaders have been invited to attend. Bishop McKenzie said, “It will be a working meeting to produce a focused intentional ‘next steps’ campaign that goes to the heart of recovery and rebuilding.”
The meeting will be held at St. Andrew A.M.E. Church - 867 South Parkway East, Memphis, TN 37206 (901) 948-3441, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth S. Robinson, pastor. Memphis was chosen as the gathering place, because of the city's proximity to the affected area.
4. TELLING THE AME STORY:
This is the "word on the street"
- Allen Cathedral (Dr. Floyd Flake) raised $100,000.00 for aid to Katrina victims.
- Empowerment Temple (Dr. Jamal Bryant) contributed $50,000.00 that it raised for Katrina victims.
- Bethel AME Church, Baltimore (Dr. Frank Madison Reid), along with two Baptist Churches raised over $100,000.00 to aid Katrina Victims.
5. DUPAGE AME CHURCH SENDS TRUCKS TO EIGHTH DISTRICT TO AID IN RELIEF:
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
James 2:14-17 NASB
DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 4300 Yackley Avenue in Lisle, Illinois (4th Episcopal District) collected donations of non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing, diapers, adult depends, baby food, blankets, and personal toiletries over the Labor Day Weekend. Volunteer members of the church drove down several trucks of items to the Pearl Street AME Church and the 8th District for relief support in Gulfport and Jackson, Mississippi.
Rev. Dr. James F. Miller, Pastor of DuPage AME Church, sent out the plea Friday to his congregation and it has spread all over. What began as one truck turned into several truckloads. Other AME Churches in the Chicago Area brought their items to be included in this mission effort. Fourth Episcopal District Supervisor M. Joan Cousin also donated several boxes to the cause. The DuPage County community came together and donations came in from everywhere; they were excited to help! Local businesses were generous with their donations.
Future trips are being planned after the situation has been assessed to include Louisiana.
Editor’s comment: Thanks Dr. James Miller and congregation of DuPage AME Church, Lisle, Illinois for sharing how God has blessed you to assist others.
6. FEMA Disaster Relief Assistance for Survivors with Disabilities INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE REVEREND DENISE ROGERS www.ameherald.com:
Every hurricane survivor with a disability must register with FEMA to be able to receive the full range of federal disaster relief assistance. Registrants must make it clear that they have a disability or chronic health care need. To register, call 1-800-621-FEMA, 1-800-462-9029 or 1-800-462-7585 (TDD/TTY), or register online.
Those deaf and hard of hearing individuals from areas of Louisiana devastated by Hurricane Katrina who want to find information on recovery and rescue efforts in these areas are encouraged to contact the Communication Service for the Deaf of Oklahoma at:
www.c-s-d.org (click on locations, then Oklahoma) 866/845-7445 Voice/TTY (toll free) 918/835-7445 Voice/TTY918/835-6459 FAXcsdoklahoma@c-s-d.org
Those in other states affected by Katrina, such as Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, or those victims displaced to the Mid-Atlantic area should contact the Northern Virginia Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons at:
www.nvrc.org703/352-9056 TTY703/352-9055 Voice703/352-9058 FAXinfo@nvrc.org
For People with Developmental Disabilities
Community And Residential Services Association (CARSA), a trade organization for providers of services with developmental disabilities, in cooperation with the ARC of Louisiana, the Developmental Disabilities Council and The Advocacy Center, is available to assist families who may have relatives who were evacuated from community homes and other service programs in the Greater New Orleans area.
Families seeking information may call the following numbers for assistance:
· CARSA - 225-343-8811
· The ARC of Louisiana - 1-866-966-6261
· Developmental Disabilities Council - 1-800-450-8108
· The Advocacy Center (Baton Rouge) - 1-800-711-1696
· The Advocacy Center (Lafayette) - 1-800-822-0210
7. ASSISTANCE FOR CONTINUING THEIR EDUCATION FOR DISPLACED COLLEGE STUDENTS:
The Sloan Consortium is working with the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Sloan Foundation on a project called the “Sloan Semester” to bring free online courses to students displaced from colleges shut down due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. We have been putting together a website that provides and collects information that will help in this effort and we are now asking for your help in getting this information out to students that could potentially benefit from this initiative. The courses offered through this initiative come from over 240 regionally accredited institutions, are completely online, don't start until October, and all tuition is paid for by the Sloan Foundation and the Institutions offering these courses.
Courses offered through the Sloan Semester start in October and are completely online. This gives these students the flexibility to have some time to get their personal lives back together, and the geographical freedom not to have to attend a face-to-face classroom in an institution far from where they intended. The Sloan Semester makes it easier for students to return to their institutions once those colleges have recovered from the hurricane damage. A student is not limited to one college, they can pick from any online course offered from any institution and combine them as one set, allowing them a better chance of replacing more of the courses they intended to take.
This is a grassroots effort, meaning everything hinges on your help to get this information to the students. Please help us in getting the word out to everyone you know, so that we can help these students continue their academic careers in spite of this very unfortunate event. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected.
This is the link that you can forward: www.sloansemester.org.
Sincerely,
The Sloan Consortium
www.sloansemester.org
8. NEW TYLER A.M.E. CHURCH – 3300 SUMMER AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA:
William W. Easley, Jr., Pastor
Tuesday, August 30, 2005: Two men from New Orleans now in Memphis visited church and indicated that there were nine families (approximately 50 persons) from New Orleans, LA who had fled from hurricane Katrina now living in the Guest Inn Motel located at 5225 Summer Avenue. Day Care Staff gave money and food to the men for their families. Pastor visited the Guest Inn Motel later in the day, met with the families there, and provided assistance for hotel rent.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005: During Bible Study, Church decides to adopt the nine families living in the Guest Inn Motel and begins to receive food, water and clothing for the displaced families.
Our licentiate Jeralyn Powell was a student at Xavier University in New Orleans and was in Memphis to escape hurricane Katrina with four of her classmates from various parts of the country. Ms. Gwen Dillihunt began to contact the Governor’s Office, etc. to see if these students could be accepted in Tennessee Schools and they were all accepted.
Other students were stranded at Xavier University and various contacts were made to rescue the remaining students.
Friday, September 2, 2005
Pastor attends a general meeting for ministers of Memphis with various city officials, businessmen and Mayor Herenton, Mayor of Memphis, and Mayor Wharton, Mayor of Shelby County to learn of Memphis and Shelby County’s response to the 12,000 or more displaced citizens from Louisiana and Mississippi now living in Memphis. The meeting was held at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.
Sunday, September 4, 2005: Pastor begins Sunday’s Service by offering Prayer for all the victims of hurricane Katrina and announcing a Season of Prayer at New Tyler for those families.
Pastor announced that a special offering would be received each Sunday for the hurricane victims.
Supplies were received for the Truck that will take supplies from the West Tennessee Conference to Pearl Street A.M.E. Church in Jackson, Mississippi.
A week’s rental payment at the Guest Inn Motel was paid for the nine families housed there. A dinner was served to those families there and various forms directing them to shelters and help in the Memphis area were distributed.
Tuesday, September 6, 2005: Pastor on conference call with other leaders of the 13th Episcopal District with Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie to be informed of the 13th District’s response to the victims of hurricane Katrina.
Editor’s comment: Thank you Reverend William W. Easley and congregation of New Tyler AME Church, Memphis, Tennessee for sharing how God has blessed you to assist others.
9. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ORDAINED DEACON - US ARMY SOLDIER HELPING KATRINA VICTIMS:
Staff Sergeant Sheilah Robinson, a Medic in the Tennessee Medical Command of the National Guard is on duty in Gulf Port, Mississippi. She is rendering Medical Support with the 269th Military Police (MP) Unit out of Lebanon, Tennessee.
Sgt. Robinson is an ordained Deacon in the Tennessee Annual Conference of the 13th Episcopal District. She is a student at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and in matriculating in the dual degree programs of Master of Divinity and Marriage & Family Therapy.
I spoke with Rev. Robinson this morning (9/7/05) and she stated that what she has seen could not be described in words. Entire cities leveled to the ground lives in shambles.
Reverend Robinson asks for prayers on her behalf, her fellow soldiers, and the people of the Gulf Region as they attempt to pull their lives back together.
Her unit may be moving in a few days to New Orleans to render Medical assistance to those involved in body removal.
Submitted by the Reverend Charmayne Davis
Louisville, KY
10. DR. DENNIS DICKERSON SHARES A HOTLINE NUMBER FOR FAMILIES LOOKING FOR FAMILY MEMBERS:
This hot line to aid families to reconnect and learn of loved ones just came to my attention. The number is l-866-217-6255.
I hope that dissemination of information through THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER will help many. During the Civil War/Reconstruction period, ex-slaves extensively used THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER to reconnect with relatives torn apart by slavery. Many had been sold away from each other, but they tried finding each other by putting notices in THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER.
Sincerely,
Dennis
11. KATRINA BRINGS OUT THE BEST, BUT SOMETIMES THE WORST:
There has been a discussion about whether to refer to the people affected by Katrina as “refugees.” One of our Christian Recorder readers went to her old trusty dictionary and discovered the definition for refugee as a “refugee is a person who flees for safety. She went to another dictionary which defined the term as “one who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution.”
The words President Bush spoke last week would suggest that he considers the persons displaced by Katrina as foreigners. He is quoted in an Associated Press release, “I've come down here to, one, to take a look at the damage first-hand,’ Bush said, “And I'm telling you, it's worse that imaginable. And secondly, to tell the good people of this part of the world that the federal government is going to help.” I am appalled that he said, “...of this part of the world,” instead of referring to those affected by the hurricane as “Our fellow Americans.” Well, come to think of it, the folk that were shuffled into the Superdome and the images of New Orleans looked like news clips of some of the poor third-world nations.
China's state-run newspaper published the in its paper, “…the anarchy and chaos seen in New Orleans after the hurricane looked to the world like America was "fighting a city war at home."
Bush may have waxed eloquent after 9/11, but he stumbled on Hurricane Katrina. He went to “the hood” and heart of 9/11, but he played it safe when he visited the areas affected by Katrina. He was cautious and did not risk walking among the people who were hurting the most. He stayed on the fringes and flew over the area instead of walking through the areas and among the people who needed to see and hear a word form their leader.
And, this week, Barbara Bush accompanying her husband to the Astrodome remarked about the refugees, "This is working very well for them." And, went on to say, "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."
And, one more thing, the Bush administration is “So,” what can I say, other than to tell it as I see it, “So white.” All of the folks around him look like him and I am appalled that there are no or so few people of color. I am certain that the people who were affected by Katrina would also like to see some folks who look like them.
The historically Black denominations have been, and are; the pulse of the African American community and it seems to me that it would have been a good plan for President Bush to call in the leaders of the historically Black denominations so that he could enlist their help and support and put them on the “front lines” of the disaster.
African Americans are helping the victims of Katrina with significant financial contributions, equipment and supplies, but the secular media apparently cannot locate, or is just failing to highlight the contributions of the African American community. Reading the newspapers and looking at the news programs one would get the impression that whites are the only ones providing significant help to the Katrina victims.
In the words of Paul Harvey, “The rest of the story” is that assistance for Katrina victims is coming from every corner of the country. The Katrina victims are Americans and all Americans are rallying to bring comfort and the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church who represent all races and people of all hues and colors, are out front in providing support for our fellow Americans.
- Some “bad news” that we are finding out from The Washington Post is that we now know that five of the eight top Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials had not experience in handling disasters. That means that they were incompetent. Inexperienced persons should not have been placed in such an important post as FEMA. There are places a President of the United States could have put cronies, but FEMA, was not, as we now know, one of them.
- Some “good news” and some “bad news” is the report that Vice President Dick Cheney went to Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday and toured the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. That is the “good news. The Vice President then went to New Orleans by helicopter, flew “low and close to the ravaged coastline,” and was later briefed on the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima that was docked in New Orleans. He looked at large aerial photographs. That is the “bad news.” He should have been walking among and talking to the Katrina victims or better yet, if he was not going to be on the “front lines” meeting and talking with disaster victims, should have stayed home. And, that would have been, “good news.”
- Some “bad news” and “good news.” Hurricane Katrina victims in Baton Rouge will not receive the $2,000 debit cards being handed out by the federal government. Only evacuees in the Houston Astrodome will get debit cards to help with housing, food, clothing and other needs.
- Maybe some “good news” if the government bureaucracy does not prevail:
FEMA also is offering more long-range housing assistance, including, up to $5,200 for home repairs, up to $10,500 for housing replacement, and permanent housing construction. Eligibility depends on the amount of homeowner's insurance an evacuee has and assistance is limited to primary residences,
12. NEWS AROUND THE AME CHURCH:
Quinn Chapel, Lexington, Kentucky will be collecting items for the Hurricane Relief at 749 Charles Avenue (across the street from the church). Contact Sister Billie Goldsmith at 859-294-5150 for additional information.
New Bethel AME Church is accepting nonperishable food and water that will be delivered and distributed to people in Mississippi and Louisiana. A church member owns a trucking company and hopes to make at least three trips during the next two weeks, said the Rev. Jimmy Thompson. The church is at 2122 Martin Luther King Ave. in Lakeland. For more information, call 863-687-1994
13. SISTER FANNIE K. DENSON SHARES HER EXPERIENCES OF HURRICANE KATRINA:
From: Mrs. Fannie K. Denson, fanniedenson@bellsouth.net
I would first like to thank all concerned about us in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am a rescued flood victim. I have been placed with a friend of my deceased husband, who as you know, died on August 8, 2005. On the day of the storm Katrina, I had to return back to New Orleans after getting out of harms way to make sure that my step son was not stranded at the International Airport in New Orleans after receiving a desperate called from him within the airport that all airport attendees had indeed abandoned them to flee for their own safety. My stepson and I tried to get on the Interstate to leave the city only to be told by authorities that they would not be taking on any more vehicles and that we should prepare to seek safety and prepare for the storm. Our relatives who lived near the Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans were more than happy to let us stay with them. Several hours later, the storm approached and changed our lives forever. That night their lovely home filled with water rapidly and we could do nothing but sit and try to figure out what would happen to us next. We then began to take whatever perishable was available and move to the upper floor of the house where we anchored down for the night. Doing the night, we heard cries of people wanting so desperately, like us, to be rescued but there was nothing that we could do for them. The cries continued through the night until you could no longer hear them any more. The next morning we discovered that our neighbor had been covered by water and drowned because of the burglar bars on the windows. Our neighbor across the street took it upon himself to rescue a woman and her kids whose front door blew in from the water rushing in. He was able to save her son and as he returned to the water to help the others, he went under and drowned. Later that morning his body became part of the debris left from Hurricane Katrina. By that afternoon, all of us who were survivors were using whatever means necessary to signal for help and all they did was pass by us not knowing what to do. There was just too many to save. All we had left was to form a prayer circle and ask the Lord for favor and He answered. Within a half hour after fervent prayer, the Lord sent the NOPD (New Orleans Police Department) boat to rescue us. The officer said the US Coast Guard spotted us on the 2nd floor and told them not to pick any one else up but us.We were then taken to I-610 and St. Bernard Avenue Bridge and slept on that bridge for two (2) days. We watched as Black Hawk Military helicopters landed and took only the special needs persons, medically ill, senior citizens and children. Later that evening they explained to us that helicopters do not fly at night and we would have to stay until the morning when trucks would come and/or buses, but they never came. People began to panic, they believed that at this point that no one cared, that they would be left to die, and then the worst began to happen, folks turned on each other. Our lives were in jeopardy and it was no longer safe for us to stay on this bridge, we had once again returned to the filthy waters of New Orleans. Some of my family that was with us could not swim and was afraid of the water. So, we paid a man who had a little boat but the boat would only hold two. I (Fannie Denson) and my Stepson (Brannon Denson) decided to let the non-swimmers go on in the boat and he and I would take to the water. We all made it to the other side of the bridge to another piece of the Interstate, which was high and dry only to be discovered by other boats in the distant that rescued all of us. The next boat took us to I-10 and Causeway where there were others who had been rescued, waiting to be taken to shelters. We did not know where we were going and we did not care. I did not have a bath, cold water to drink or food to eat for five days. I was taken to Nicholls State University in Thibdaux, Louisiana where somehow our family members and friends found us and took us to their home in Lafayette, Louisiana. As for my stepson he walked over (10) Ten Miles to the airport in New Orleans from Interstate 10 and Causeway on the day we were left under another over path. Delta Airlines and United Airlines gave evacuees free Phone Cards so that they may call their families and let them know that they had been through a horrific ordeal but they were all right. It was my son's first time in New Orleans because he decided that he should stay with me after his father's funeral since I did not have any children. My son made it back home to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and I have been relocated to Washington, DC with a lovely friend of my husband's by the name of Ms. Brenda Williams.I have been through a horrific ordeal but it has made me a better person for doing so. I am a lot stronger and more humble. God really knows how to get your attention when you realize all you have is God!Mrs. Fannie K. Denson, Dr. James L. Denson's (Widow)
We share with you a testimony of Faith and Courage from a loyal and faithful African Methodist Episcopalian who survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA, Sister Fannie K. Denson. The Clergy Family Information Center, at the request of Bishop C. Garnett Henning, Presiding Bishop of the 8th Episcopal District, shared the passing of Sister Denson's husband (Dr. James L. Denson) in August 2005.
Submitted by Mrs. Ora Easley, Administrator, Clergy Family Information Center
14. FUNERAL NOTICE:
Regretfully we share news of the passing of the Reverend Andrew J. Patterson, Pastor of St. Thomas AME Church of Savannah, Georgia, Georgia Conference, 6th Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop William P. DeVeaux, Presiding Bishop.
FUNERAL SERVICE:
Saturday, September 10, 2005
11:00 AMSt. Philip AME Church
613 Martin L. King, Jr. Blvd.
Savannah, GA 31401
Rev. Dr. John Foster, Pastor
912-233-2083 (Phone)
Services are entrusted to:
Bynes - Royall Funeral Home
204 W. HallSavannah, GA 31401
Condolences may be sent to his wife, Mrs. Mae Frances Patterson at the address below:
Mrs. Mae Frances Patterson
901 Adel Street
Savannah, GA 31405
912-354-2758 (Phone)
Received from: Mrs. Shirley V. Taylor
Please remember the Patterson family in your prayers.
15. 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.
16. 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
