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. AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR PREACHERS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE KATRINA:
Dr. Jerome V. Harris, Executive Director of the AMEC Department of Annuity Investment and Insurance has arranged with the annuity investment vendors, Symetra Insurance Company and American Express, to process requests for "Hardship" annuity withdrawals on an EXPEDITED basis for those participants affected by Hurricane Katrina.
All participants assigned to the Eighth (Mississippi and Louisiana), Ninth (Alabama) and Eleventh (Florida) Episcopal Districts are eligible for expedited hardship annuity withdrawals. In an effort to provide more immediate financial assistance to persons in these devastated areas, expedited payments can now be made and received in as soon as 24 hours, depending on the mode of distribution, i.e. Direct Bank Transfer, US Mail, etc. The normal withdrawal process usually requires approximately 3 - 4 weeks, so our pastors and their families are blessed, in this time of difficulty, with the expedited arrangement.
Participants desiring to avail themselves to this process should contact the AMEC Department of Annuity Investment and Insurance directly at (901) 527-2006 or by Email at amec_des@bellsouth.com
Dr. Jerome V. Harris
Executive Director
AMEC Department of Annuity Investment and Insurance
2. EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE RETAINS ITS ACCREDITATION AND REINSTATED BY SACS:
JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Edward Waters College (EWC) officials received word today from the Commission on Colleges for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that EWC retains its accreditation. The Commission voted today to reinstate the College’s accreditation and work with the institution during the next 12 months towards the mutual goal of delivering quality education to deserving students.
“This is a great day for the students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters of EWC. The minds and futures of our students are the reasons that we have been fighting,” stated Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr., the college’s president. “We thank God for this victory and we will continue to push towards excellence and ethics, not only at the institution but throughout the college community and the business community.”
Bishop McKinley Young, chair of the EWC Board of Trustees, stated, “We welcome the partnership with our accreditor over the next several months as we work to perfect, improve and enhance a stronger EWC while providing quality education for our students and our constituents. The ongoing relationship with the Commission will allow us to achieve excellence with our faculty, staff and students.”
In addition, Bishop Young stated that the Board has appointed Dr. Bronson to serve as the College’s 27th president effective immediately. “We are pleased that Dr. Bronson has agreed to head the College for the next two years as we continue our search for a president. Dr. Bronson, who served Bethune-Cookman College for 29 years, brings with him integrity coupled with leadership and a wealth of knowledge and experience that can move EWC to the next level. He is known worldwide as a competent leader and a role model for many other presidents to emulate.”
The Search Committee for the President has been formed and is chaired by Dr. James Leander Byrd, member of the Board of Trustees.
In a separate joint press release with the College and SACS, it was announced that the issues that led the Commission to vote to remove the College from membership as an accredited institution, and that led the College to file a lawsuit to preserve its membership, have been resolved. The Commission and the College are jointly petitioning the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
The joint press release further states that the Commission has determined that the College has sufficiently addressed the specific issues in the Principles of Accreditation that led the Commission to vote to remove the College from membership; thus, the Commission has reinstated the College’s accreditation, subject, of course, to the Principles of Accreditation applicable to all accredited institutions.
“We regret the errors that occurred but we move forward with confidence,” said Bishop Young. “During the next two years, EWC is going to work hard to maintain and improve on its history of excellence and ethics, and to attract the best possible faculty and leadership for the school.”
Edward Waters College was established in 1866 to educate the descendants of African Americans, newly emancipated from slavery. Today, its enrollment continues to be substantially African-American students from the Southeast and Northeast regions of the United States, while also welcoming students from all racial and ethnic groups within the United States and abroad. The College is a private, four-year, liberal arts, coeducational, residential institution, committed to Christian principles, which emphasize high moral and spiritual values, because of its close affiliation with, and support from, the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate degrees. The College offers these degrees in the arts and sciences and other career-based professional fields.
For more information contact: Phyllis Bell-Davis, Director Phone: 904-470-8251
Communication & Marketing pbelldavis@ewc.edu
3. AROUND THE AME CHURCH:
- News Story about the Reverend John J. Hunter and FAME, Los Angeles
“The Rev. John J. Hunter ascended the pulpit of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles last Sunday and threw open a sanctuary transformed. The church, housing the city's oldest black congregation, is gleaming with new pews and paint, fresh carpet and a gold-edged inscription of its motto, ‘First to Serve.’”
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fame17sep17,0,7438847.story
Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
- The Reverend Tony Lee guest speaker at Howard University Chapel
The Reverend Tony Lee is minister to young adults at the Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, Maryland and one of the founders of the Hip Hop Caucus, a nationwide association among the hip-hop society that promotes activism through communal, political, and youth leadership organizations.
4. AME CHURCH'S BISHOP WILLIAMS CALLS FOR UNITY:
Summerville, SC - Monday September 19th at 8:30 a.m., Bishop Preston Warren Williams II, the presiding prelate of the African Methodist Episcopal Churches throughout South Carolina, held a gathering for several of Berkeley County's elected and appointed officials. With hundreds of AME clergy and delegates convening in Summerville this week for their 2005 South Carolina Annual Conference, Bishop Williams held this political meeting at St. James AME Church at 1831 Jedburg Rd which will serve as the center of the AME conference. The Honorable W. H. Alston who is the Mayor of Charleston County, Jim Rozier who is the Berkeley County Supervisor and Chairman of the County Council, Caldwell Pinckney, Jr. who is a member of the Berkeley County Council for District 7, Wayne Dewitt who is the Sheriff of Berkeley County and Frances Taylor who is Commissioner of Voter Registration for Berkeley County all attended.
Bishop Williams welcomed his guests stating, "I am a community based person and so how can the AME Church help things to go more smoothly in Berkeley County and its surrounding communities?" Councilman Pinckney responded by citing the challenges involved with mobilizing the African-American voter base as well as the importance of tackling Berkeley County's unemployment rate. Bishop Williams offered that the AME church should be used as a liaison between local government and the larger community it serves. Pastors can become conduits in getting messages from elected officials directly to the people. In fact, Bishop Williams asserted that, "The church is the glue that holds the community together."
Chairman Rozier spoke of the County's positive efforts in developing water and sewer lines as well as stimulating new housing developments. He touched on the three trips per year he makes to Washington DC to lobby for funds and services for Berkeley County, which over the past four years have produced millions of dollars and thousands of jobs for local Summerville communities.
Bishop Williams then asked Sheriff Dewitt for assistance in tackling the issue of equity in the prison system. He asserted that African-Americans are incarcerated at disproportionately high levels while black businesses are represented at conversely low levels. The Bishop lobbied for Sheriff Dewitt's aid in opening doors for black owned businesses such as vendors who work with the penal system. He argued in that there are multi-million dollar contracts awarded to various jail related businesses if African-Americans are going to fill jail houses at disproportionately high levels then black businesses should be allowed to work with those jailhouses at equally high levels. He pointed out that although this would not rectify the problem of African-American incarceration it would at least lessen the degree of one-sided victimization.
Bishop Williams then verbalized the need for all tri-county officials to ally themselves for the betterment of the people they serve, particularly citing the need for African-American leaders to unify to assist each other in identifying challenges and solutions to problems that are at times specific to the black community. He clarified that, "We must bring enough of the past into the present so that the younger generation is aware of where they have come from so they will know where they are going."
Finally, Bishop Williams issued a general challenge to all of his official guests. He firmly stated, "We must do better! Part of my job is to hold people, especially elected officials, responsible and accountable. I must continually challenge Council Members, Mayors, Governors and Senators to address the problems of the people and to find solutions.
Bishop Preston Warren Williams II is the Presiding Prelate of the Seventh Episcopal District of the AME Church.
5. CORRECTION FOR THE 2005 ELEVENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT CALENDAR:
West Coast Conference (65th Session)
October 15-21, 2005
Host Site: New Bethel A.M.E. Church
2122 M. L. King Jr. Avenue
Lakeland, FL 33805
Telephone (863) 687-1994
Host Pastor: The Rev. Jimmy Thompson
Host Presiding Elder: The Rev. F. B. Lemon
October 15 Young People’s Division (YPD)
October 16 Debutante Masters Commission (DMC)
October 17 Women’s Missionary Society (WMS)
October 18-21 Annual Conference Convenes - Opening - Business - Closing
6. THE PASTOR’S CORNER – “LIFE-GIVING LIVING”
37b“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. 39aBy this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. (John 7:37b-39a)
As we yield to the presence of the Holy Spirit who operates in and through us, we become vessels through whom God pours life into those who thirst for what only God can provide in their lives. This is God’s provision in the life of the believer to draw humankind to the throne of mercy. Are we prepared to allow God to pour His blessings through us?
Jesus said, “Rivers of living water will flow from within” those, “who believe in [Him] as the Scripture has said.” Jesus was speaking of the flow of the Holy Spirit through the life of the believer. Acts 1:4-5 & 7-8 tells us that the power to serve is placed in us as we are baptized with the Holy Spirit (v. 5). The power to be effective witnesses is the power of the Holy Spirit operating in us (v.8).
Jesus operated in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:37-38). The Holy Spirit baptized Him immediately after He was baptized with water (Matthew 3:16-17). God the Father baptized God the Son, in God the Holy Spirit and power. Then Jesus “went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) If Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit, (Acts 10:39-44) so must we be baptized in the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses for Christ.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit is like placing an open pipe in a body of water. To be baptized is not only to be surrounded by the medium, but also to be filled by the medium in which we are immersed. As the pipe is open on both ends, the water surrounds the pipe and also flows through the pipe.
God desires to fill us with His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) because the power to be the church of Jesus Christ, carrying out the mission of spreading the gospel, and building the kingdom of God is the result of the flow of the Holy Spirit from within us. The product (John 4:13-14) of the Holy Spirit’s operation in our lives is eternal life. The flow of the Spirit from within us produces the following results:
1. Acts 2:14-40 – Boldness in speaking the gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter stood up and raised his voice and addressed the crowd on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14). He shared with them the Scriptures that pointed to Jesus’ coming (Acts 2:22-35), told how “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36),” and “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. (Acts 2:40)’”
2. Acts 2:41 – Souls accept the message of the gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ grows. The kingdom of God is expanded as people receive Christ as Savior and are taken into the “Body of Christ” - the church.
3. Acts 4:32 – There is extravagant love for Christ. Our love for Christ generates extravagant commitment to Jesus Christ (Mark 14:3-4). Christ becomes the priority in our lives. Mary of Bethany ignored the rules of the world’s economy, choosing instead to anoint Christ with costly perfume in preparation for His burial. She chose to do that which was most pleasing to Him.
4. II Samuel 23:13-17 – We pour out our blessings. We offer back to God those blessings God has brought into our lives. Our blessings must be poured out and sanctified before God, just as David poured out his blessing of water from the well outside Bethlehem. Our blessings must flow or they can be corrupted and corrupt us. If we hoard our blessings, they can produce lust – a love for the gift and not the giver. This can also produce bitterness – the result of all inflow and no outflow, like the Dead Sea.
Allowing the Holy Spirit, the power, and the blessing of God to flow through us into the lives of others is (Leviticus 23:10-14) reflective of the joy of our relationship with God. Our lives mirror (John 3:16-17) God’s example of “Life-giving Living.” God spilt the blood of His Son, Jesus so the world might be saved. Are we prepared to spill out our lives for Him? Are we prepared to allow God to pour His blessings through us? Are we ready to demonstrate LIFE-GIVING LIVING?
Pastor James M. Moody, Sr. Quinn Chapel AME Church, ChicagoWebsite: www.quinnchicago.org
7. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Mr. Robert McKenzie, of Miami, Florida, brother of 13th Episcopal District Supervisor Stan McKenzie: Arrangements:
FUNERAL SERVICE:
Saturday, September 24, 2005
1:00 PM
Greater Love Missionary Baptist Church
18200 NW 22nd Ave
Miami, Florida, 33055
305-474-8118 (Phone)
305-474-8168 (Fax)
Family Visitation:
Friday, September 23, 2005
6:00 PM
Grace Funeral Home
770 NW 119th St
Miami, Fl 33167
305-688-6388 (Phone)
305-688-6885 (Fax)
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be sent to Believe Inc. a 501 (c) 3 organization:
Send To:
The Thirteenth Episcopal District, AME Church Administrative Office
500 8th Avenue, South, Suite 201
Nashville, TN 37203.
To the Connection:
Thank you for your calls, concern, and love shown our family.
From: Supervisor Stan McKenzie
StanMcKenzie44@aol.com
Condolences may be sent to:
Thirteenth Episcopal District AME Church Administrative Office
500 8th Avenue, South, Suite 201
Nashville, TN 37203
615-242-6814 (Phone)
615-242-2496 (FAX)
Email: 13th_episcopal@bellsouth.net
Residence:
1012 Beech Tree Lane
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-833-1444 (Phone)
Email: StanMcKenzie44@aol.com
Please remember Episcopal Supervisor Stan McKenzie, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie and the family in your prayers.
8. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Home going Celebration of love for the mother of Reverend Danny Roy Poe
Sister Elizabeth Carr Poe went home to be with the Lord On Friday, September 16, 2005.
Her remains are entrusted with:
Pendergrass - People Mortuary1
09 west First Street
Smithville, Texas 78957
Her services will be held onSaturday, September 24, 2005
12 noon
Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church
400 walker Street
Smithville, Texas 78957
512-360-2777
9. 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.
10. 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
