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. THE LATE GENERAL OFFICER, JOSEPH COLUMBUS MCKINNEY – WHAT A TRIBUTE, WHAT A FUNERAL:
The Service of Worship to Celebrate the Life of Dr. Joseph Columbus McKinney was held yesterday at Metropolitan AME Church, where the Reverend Dr. Ronald Braxton is the pastor. People came from far and near and the crowded streets of Washington were made more crowded by the people who came to attend the homegoing of Dr. Joseph C. McKinney. The streets around Metropolitan AME Church were full of cars; automobiles blocked M Street that runs in front of the church and cars traveling across 15th street were caught in a traffic logjam. The sidewalk was full of people and pedestrians had to “work” their way through the crowded sidewalk. The main level of the sanctuary was almost filled to capacity.
The Bishops of the Church and General Officers, except those who were in annual conferences and attending funerals for their own family members attended the funeral. The Bishops of the Church filled the pulpit area. The General Officers filled the chancel area and the retired and former General Officers occupied the forward pews, along with presiding elders and preachers. The church was filled with laypersons and the choir loft was filled to capacity.
The host bishop, the Right Reverend Adam Jefferson Richardson, presiding prelate of the Second Episcopal District, was the worship leader and he, and the bishops of the Church and the worship participants modeled liturgical decorum, while at the same time, maintained in worship, the high presence of the Holy Spirit.
The choir was composed of members from Metropolitan AME Church, the host church for the funeral; Ward Memorial AME Church where Dr. McKinney was a member; and members of the Annual Conference Choir. They sang magnificently and added to the spiritual atmosphere of the service. Mrs. Susan Todd Edwards was the organist. It was AME worship at its best. Mr. William E. Ayers, Jr. and Ms. Miriam A. Dixon led in the choral presentation, “Let Mount Zion Rejoice.” General Officer, Dr. Richard Lewis, AMEC Treasurer sang, “If I can help somebody…my living will not be in vain.” One could feel the “Sweet, Sweet Spirit in that place.” And, of that was not enough, Mrs. Annie Lewis, the sister of Dr. McKinney from Magnolia, North Carolina lifted the Spirit with a spirited selection that brought many of the congregants to their feet.
Dr. McKinney’s son, Mr. Maurice McKinney gave moving remarks about his dad and it was apparent that they had a warm father-son relationship. He said that some called his father, “Dr. McKinney,” others called him “Joe,” his mother called him, “Joseph” and he called him, “Dad.” He gave a moving tribute his dad. Dr. McKinney’s nephew, Mr. Howard C. Davis, Jr., also delivered heartfelt remarks.
The Reverends Conrad K. Pridgen, Ronald Braxton, Henry L. Seawright, Granger Browning, Norman W. Handy, Jr., Jonathan Weaver, and Richard E. Tankerson were worship participants. Dr. Dennis Dickerson, President of the General Officers and retired General Officer, Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams gave rousing tributes to the life and work of Dr. McKinney. Other worship participants included, Mr. Malcoln Lea, Mrs. Vinnie Q. Miller, Mrs. Jamesina Evans, President of the Women’s Missionary Society, Mr. Robert Nicolas, Dr. Jesse Burns, President, Connectional Lay Organization, and Mr. Isiah O. Sewell. Bishop Richard Allen Chappelle, President of the Council of Bishops shared experiences he and Dr. McKinney shared as General Officers and extended condolences on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to the family.
And, the best is saved for last. Retired Bishop, the Right Reverend John Hurst Adams, delivered the eulogy, and it was a eulogy in the truest sense. He began the eulogy with the statement, “If I make Joe McKinney sound like he was too good to be true, that the way I felt about him.”
Bishop Adams enjoys preaching and interacting in a congregational setting. When he gets up to preach or deliver a eulogy one can see the sparkle in his eyes; and he had a sparkle when he delivered the eulogy for Dr. Joseph McKinney, whom he called, “Doc.” He described “Doc” as a strong leader and devoted churchman. Bishop Adams recalled that it was Dr. McKinney’s influence that solidified the move of Ebenezer AME Church; to its current location in Fort Washington, Maryland and now Ebenezer is one the largest congregations in America.
Bishop Adams lifted every emotion with his wit and serious presentation. He went to describe Dr. McKinney as possessing the best gifts from God, explaining that Dr. McKinney had the gift of consummate people skills. He went on the say, “Doc had a Ph.D. in Negroes” and had done post-graduate work in, “AME Negroes.” Bishop Adams weaved the stories with seriousness and levity. The bishop has a gift of “working a congregation.” He went on to add that Dr. Joseph Columbus McKinney had the enormous capacity to care, was compelled to help, and had the gift of complete intelligence. He went on say, ”Dr. McKinney was spiritually intelligent, theologically intelligent, morally intelligent, socially intelligent and AME intelligent. He added that one of the best lessons that Dr. McKinney taught him was the "ministry of presence" and how important it is "to be there when people are hurting."
It was evident that Dr, McKinney and Bishop Adams had a deep relationship and the family seemed moved by the comforting words shared by Bishop Adams.
2. CORRECTION: THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA IN THE GULF - A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL WITNESS AND MINISTRY (GWM):
Mrs. Malinda Watts is the 8th Episcopal District YPD Director. She was listed in the article as the Conference YPD director. Additionally, the two areas that served as command centers for AME Church support was Malinda Watts' School (where she teaches kindergarten), West Elementary School and Gaston Point Elementary, which is less than a mile away. The principal of Gaston Point Elementary is Dr. Wanda Bradley, a member of St. Paul AME Church.
Submitted by the Rev. Cory Watts505 Whitehall St. SW, Suite 307Atlanta, GA 30303
3. BREAKING NEWS FROM THE REVEREND GREGORY BALL...TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS:
Many of you may had heard or read my letter or statement of observation to the
A. M. E. Christian Recorder Online, which appeared in the September 12, 2005 issue regarding the visibility and mass support of clergy assisting, comforting, ministering and consoling the people affected by Hurricane Katrina through Pastoral counseling, mental health or professional counseling who are right now angry at God and the church.
I also stated that I felt a call by God to journey on a mission to one of the disaster sites. On Thursday Sept 22, 2005, the Red Cross not only provided me training, but also has confirmed my deployment to the affected areas. I will be traveling to the affected areas of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita to provide support and counseling.
Please keep my family and me in prayer as God will take me there and bring me back safely.
God's man Servant
The Reverend Gregory Ball Sr. Pastor
Brown's A.M.E. church, Smithfield Virginia
4. A MESSAGE FROM THE CONNECTIONAL WMS PRESIDENT:
Women's Missionary Society Executive Board and Training Session, January 25 - 28, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 151 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Registration Fee for Executive Board is $185.00 (if postmarked before December 19, 2005, $200.00 after December 19, 2005). Registration Fee for Executive Board and Leadership Symposium is $205.00. Late Registration Fee is an additional $15.00. On-site Registration fee is an additional $25.00.
You may visit the official Website for the WMS by clicking Connectional WMS
Registration Forms will be available in The Christian Recorder and The Missionary Magazine.
Mrs. Jamesina M. Evans,
Connectional President
http://www.wms-amec.org/ME2/Default.asp
5. PHILIP COUSIN JOINS RELIGIOUS LEADERS URGING CONGRESS TO PROTECT THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM FROM BUDGET CUTS:
Bread for the World Leads Effort by Heads of Faith Communities to Combat Hunger in the United States
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Every member of Congress will receive a letter today from a prominent group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders asking representatives to protect the Food Stamp Program from funding cuts during the federal budget reconciliation process. This letter is the next step in the anti-hunger efforts of leaders who came together on June 6, 2005, for the first Interfaith Convocation on Hunger at the National Cathedral, representing more than 100 million people of faith, to call on Congress and the President to make a new national commitment to fight hunger. This diverse group of signers includes Rt. Rev. Philip R. Cousin, Sr., Senior Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church.
"It is unthinkable that in a time when hunger and poverty are on the rise in the United States, Congress is considering trying to balance the budget on the backs of hungry and poor people," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. "Hurricane Katrina exposed poverty anew to our nation and highlighted the importance of supporting safety-net programs for those in need.
The religious leaders are sending the letter appended below to Congress and are imploring our representatives to listen to the will of the American people and protect the food stamp program."
The text of the letter follows:
Care for hungry people is a mandate for every major religious tradition. As leaders from many of these traditions, we appeal to you to protect the Food Stamp Program from cuts in the current budget process.
Food stamps are the frontline defense against hunger for many of the most vulnerable members of our society. More than 50 percent of food stamp beneficiaries are children. Virtually all of the rest are seniors, people with disabilities, or those making the transition from welfare to work. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the first actions authorities undertook was distribution of food stamps, tapping a program that has helped curb hunger for 40 years.
Although we understand the challenge you face in finding $3 billion in savings from the Agriculture Committee, budget constraints do not release us from our obligation to care for poor and vulnerable people. It would be a moral failure to take those cuts from the Food Stamp Program. The number of people experiencing hunger in the United States has been on the rise and our national nutrition programs are as important as they've ever been. The unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina will force many more people to depend on the federal nutrition programs.
On June 6, 2005, many of us participated with a group of more than 40 religious leaders in the first Interfaith Convocation on Hunger at the Washington National Cathedral. This event was unique in U.S. religious history because of the diversity and level of responsibility of the religious leaders involved. All of us were able to come together to call for an end to hunger. This issue is one on which we all agree.
In a deeply religious country like the United States, it is no surprise that the majority of Americans also believe that fighting hunger is an issue of utmost importance. A recent poll conducted by Jim McLaughlin for the Alliance to End Hunger found that 75 percent of likely voters say that even in a tight budget year, the Food Stamp Program should be protected from cuts.
More than one in six children (13 million) in the United States live in households that struggle to put food on the table, giving us the highest rate of childhood hunger in the industrialized world. We implore you to reject a budget that would deprive more working families of food for their children. Any such reductions would break our national commitment to help hard-working people who struggle daily to feed their families and build better lives.
The budget must reflect the best of our nation's moral values: our resolve that poor and vulnerable people not go hungry.
Note: Bread for the World is a 54,000-member Christian citizens' movement against hunger.
Founded in 1974, Bread for the World's members have lobbied Congress and the administration to bring about public policy changes that address the root causes of hunger and poverty in the United States and overseas.
Bread for the World is a nonpartisan organization supported by 45 denominations, including the AME Church, and many theological perspectives. Please visit our Web site at <http://www.bread.org/>.
6. THE PASTOR’S CORNER: LIFE-GIVING LIVING II:
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” …27On his way he met an Ethiopian…official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. 29The Spirit told Philip, ”Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Acts 8: 26, 27, & 29
The work of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ’s coming is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses us as conduits through which “rivers of living water can flow.” Our job is to be yielded and obedient to the direction of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit carries out His plan of redemption of all human kind. The biblical narrative of the Holy Spirit’s use of Philip gives us insight into the work of the Holy Spirit in sharing the gospel.
1. v. 26 – The Holy Spirit will put you in the right place at the right time. (Acts 16: 15-34) – Where you are, is the right place and right time for the Holy Spirit to use you to spread the gospel. Paul and Silas were in jail and the Holy Spirit used them to save the jailer and his family. You are in God’s place for you.
2. v. 27 – The Holy Spirit produces or orchestrates contact with others. Yes. It is His will that you made contact with this person. Trust the Holy Spirit in what the Holy Spirit is doing. God loves this person and wants to bring them into right relationship with Himself.
3. v. 29 – The Holy Spirit commands us to go with the Holy Spirit’s interests toward others. We must draw near to others with the Holy Spirit’s goals in mind, not our own. No biases, assumptions, or human sympathy is to be allowed. These can disrupt our submission to the Holy Spirit as our interests toward others influence us. Let us see others through The Holy Spirit’s eyes.
4. v. 30 – The Holy Spirit has already “primed the pump” so the Spirit can flow. People are constantly being made ready for the gospel. We may be those who experience the flow of the Spirit in sharing with others or those who are being used to “prime the pump” for The Holy Spirit’s work later in someone’s life.
5. vv. 31-35 – The Holy Spirit produces questions in people’s lives that can only be answered by the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are presenting issues that may seem unrelated to the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are our opportunities to connect to others in their place of need. (Acts 17: 22-34) Christ is the answer. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in sharing the gospel in a manner that is relevant to the person with whom you are speaking.
6. v. 36 – The Holy Spirit changes the heart of the hearer, not the person who shares the gospel. People respond to the call of the Spirit Christ saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7: 37) There is no pressure on us to perform or to achieve results – it is The Holy Spirit’s work to fulfill, The Holy Spirit only calls us to be faithful.
7. vv. 36-39 - The Holy Spirit will direct you in how to “close the deal.” New believers desire to express their new relationship with Christ (Acts 16: 33). Baptism and public prayer are outward signs of an inward transformation. (Romans 10: 9-13) Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. It is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The work of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ’s coming is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses us as conduits through which “rivers of living water can flow.” Our job is to be yielded and obedient to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor James M. Moody, Sr. Quinn Chapel AME Church2401 South Wabash AvenueChicago, Illinois 60616
7. BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Regretfully we share news of the passing of The Reverend Howard Clark, a retired minister who was a former Pastor in the 13th Episcopal District. Reverend Clark passed on Friday, September 16, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Services for Reverend Clark were entrusted to:
Boatwright Funeral Home
2163 N. Illinois Street
Indianapolis, Indiana
317.931.1956 (Phone)
317.931.1955 (Fax)
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS:
Friday, September 23, 2005
Visitation: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Funeral Service: 11:30 AM
A Family Dinner will follow the services:
Bethel AME Church414 W. Vermont StreetIndianapolis, IN 46202317-634-7002 (phone)
317-634-0923 (fax)
The Reverend Dr. John L Lambert, Pastor
Condolences may be sent to his wife, Ardane Clark c/o of Boatwright Funeral Home or to Bethel AME Church.
Or condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Ardane Clark
Springfield Nursing Home
6130 North Michigan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46208
8. 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.
9. 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
