Bishop Richard Franklin Norris - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
1. EDITORIAL – WE CAN DO OUR PART, DO IT WITH A CHEERFUL HEART AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III,
The 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
This issue will be largely devoted to mainly to Haiti and to Malawi. Those of you who are subscribed to The Christian Recorder (TCR) Online receive Breaking News and regular updates about the devastating issues in Haiti and Malawi. Those of you who are not subscribed to TCR and who choose to check the TCR website do not receive Breaking News and news updates. Subscribers have been kept up-to-date on all of the activities in Haiti and Malawi and you receive news as we receive it. Subscribers cannot complain about “not getting enough AME news.”
Malawi suffered the devastation of an earthquake several weeks ago and many of the residents of Malawi are without homes. A number of the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church are among those who are homeless. Bishop Julius McAllister and SADA Executive Director, Robert Nicholas, visited Malawi to assess the damage and the need. The news media reported extensive structural damage and several deaths in Malawi and the earthquake did not get a lot of attention by the U.S. news media. TCR will publish the damage assessment and need when Bishop McAllister and Mr. Nicholas return from Malawi.
The massive 7.0 earthquake in Haiti has been devastating in terms of structural damage and loss of life. The American Red Cross estimates the loss of lives in Haiti will exceed 100,000 and other agencies and Haitian officials expect up to 200,000 Haitian deaths. Both projections of deaths are difficult to fathom.
As of this date, we do not have any word about the AME Churches in Port au Prince and the surrounding areas. We do know that the Palace is severely damaged and the Roman Catholic Cathedral, close to the palace is severely damaged; and we know that Eglese St. Paul AME is located near the palace.
We do not know the condition of the churches in the Port au Prince District of the Haiti Annual Conference: Saint-Paul AMEC, Rosetta-Lee AMEC, Christine Smith AMEC, Canaan Christ Révient AMEC, and Loulabro Kenton AMEC; nor do we know, at this time, the condition of the AME Churches in the other areas of Haiti: Mary Becket AMEC in Croix-des-Bouquets, L.L. Berry AMEC in Gonaives, Annabel Freeland AMEC, Bethel AMEC, and Christ Révient AMEC in Section de Petit-Goâve. But one thing we can be certain of is that all of the churches in Haiti will need our sustained support.
The Haiti earthquake news coverage has been exhaustive and I must say that I am proud of the President of the United States and all of the people from the United States and from around the world who are making personal sacrifices and helping the Haitians. The U.S. military and the military from the U.N. member nations are to be commended.
The Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church are to be commended for the proactive steps they have taken in organizing the AME Church to collect funds in order to help those in need, members of the AME Church and others who are suffering. Each bishop is mobilizing his or her episcopal district to collect funds for the Haiti earthquake victims.
The bishops, under the leadership of the President of the Council of Bishops, the Right Rev. Carolyn Tyler Guidry and Senior Bishop, the Right Rev. John R. Bryant, held a news conference in Cary, North Carolina on Friday and issued a Public Statement that was covered by the various news agencies.
The Presiding Prelate of the 16th Episcopal District, the Right Rev. Sarah Davis, has been tenacious in coordinating and providing guidance in determining the appropriate response needed for the 16th District. Bishop Davis and Episcopal Supervisor Claytie Davis are to be commended for their prompt response to the devastation in Haiti. Dr. George Flowers, the Executive Director of the Department of Global Witness and the Commission Chair and the Right Rev. James Davis are to be commended for their expeditious response and preparation for the massive assistance that will be needed. Kudos to Mr. Robert Nicholas, Executive Director of SADA, for the support SADA will give to the victims of the earthquake victims in Haiti and to the Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, MD, MPH, Medical Director for the AME Connectional Health Commission, who is mobilizing healthcare professionals to travel to Haiti and Malawi to provide medical assistance.
Kudos is also given to Dr. Clement W. Fugh who is continually updating the AME Official Website to keep the Church abreast of the events in Haiti.
Bishops, General Officers, pastors and laity are working behind the scenes, making telephone calls and preparing their congregations to make the Herculean financial sacrifices that will be needed in this austere economic environment. The assistance to Haiti will be a long-term project and the African Methodist Episcopal Church is proactively responding and the Bishops of the AME Church are making their voices heard.
The AME Church and its leaders are expeditiously responding to the devastating earthquake in Haiti. We all need to be expeditious in response to the earthquake in Haiti and be prepared to dig deeply to assist our brothers and sisters in Haiti. We all need to make a sacrifice, whether $1, $5, $10, $15, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1000 or one million dollars. We can all afford something and we should be prepared to make multiple donations to this project, while at the same time maintaining our commitment and stewardship to our local churches. Giving a donation(s) for the earthquake victims is not an “either / or” situation, it’s an “and” situation. We give to the Haiti earthquake victims “and” at the same time maintain our financial responsibility to our individual churches.
We can do this; the people in the United States have responded and have donated over $73 million since Tuesday’s earthquake.
We, the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, can do our part and we can do it with a cheerful heart and we will feel good about it, individually and as a denomination.
Editor’s Note: I am posting below some of the Breaking News Items that were sent out this week.
2. THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL (AME) CHURCH WILL HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE:
The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church will hold press Conference today (1/14/10) at 11 a.m. in Cary, North Carolina
The African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Council of Bishops in its Winter Session organized fundraising efforts through the Department of Global Witness and Ministry, the 16th Episcopal District and the Service and Development Agency (SADA). There will be a press conference in Cary, North Carolina this morning at 11 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the AME Church’s response to the disasters in Haiti and Malawi.
3. THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF THE AME CHURCH, BISHOP CAROLYN TYLER GUIDRY, PRESIDENT, ISSUES PUBLIC STATEMENT CONCERNING HAITI AND MALAWI EARTHQUAKES:
January 14, 2010
(Cary, NC) The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church stopped its winter session which included deliberations about the earthquake in Malawi upon learning of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. “We want the members of the AME Church in both Malawi and Haiti to know that your Church stands ready to mobilize with its partners (US AID, NGOs, American Red Cross and other faith bodies) to deliver humanitarian relief as quickly as possible,” declares Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, President of the Council of Bishops.
Our hearts are heavy and because of our connection, we have moved quickly to coordinate with fellow AMEs to answer the call to service. The Department of Global Missions and the Presiding Bishops of both the 16th District (including Haiti) as well as the 20th District (including Malawi) along with SADA (the Service and Development Agency) are actively gathering information and we anxiously await reports of the plight of our brothers and sisters, and the extent of need. We have begun prayers for the safety of all in the affected countries and for location of family members, and neighbors whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
We learned much from Hurricane Katrina and those lessons will guide us as we work in this new response. In fact, the US government is contemplating the auction of the trailers manufactured for families in the gulf areas but never used or without a current need. We urge President Obama to consider sending those trailers to Haiti, Malawi and the other affected regions along with the other relief supplies.
The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with Bishop Sarah F. Davis, who is making arrangements to return to Haiti, and Bishop Julius McAllister, who is in Malawi stand in solidarity with the people of both countries. The Council has begun fundraising efforts by donating funds from the sale of publication of an annual resource guide. Even as we face economic hardships in the United States, your bishops urge and encourage all of the members of the AME Church to quickly respond by sending monetary donations so that the staff of the Richard Allen Health Clinic may continue to provide healthcare. The schools in both countries may be shelter resources so our support is critically needed. It has received the support of the Dept of Global Witness, the Women’s Missionary Society, and expects to receive the support from other ministries of our international body. Local congregations are urged to accept donations for the next two Sundays and forward as follows:
1) Donations for Haiti can immediately be made at www.ame16th.com as well as through the Department of Global Missions and Witness, under the direction of General Officer, Dr. George Flowers and Chairman Bishop James Davis.
2) Donations for Malawi may be sent to the Dept of Global Missions also.
(Published in TCR Online on January 14, 2010)
4. DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL WITNESS (DR. GEORGE F. FLOWERS) MAKES INITIAL STATEMENT ABOUT EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI:
AMEC Department of Global Witness (Dr. George F. Flowers) Makes Initial Statement about Earthquake in Haiti and Call for Assistance. Additional information is forthcoming.
Department of Global Witness and Ministry
Church World Service
Emergency Response Program
Haiti Earthquake Response
If there is a place on Earth that could have done without an earthquake right now, it’s Haiti.
A 7.0-magnitude quake struck Haiti Tuesday, shattering buildings forever changing lives. While authorities still don’t know the extent of the damage, it is estimated that 3 million people may be affected by Haiti’s worst earthquake in 200 years. One survivor reports there are thousands of people roaming the streets, looking for shelter.
Haiti is already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 8 out of 10 people living in extreme poverty. It’s a place where many in the world have turned their backs, but not the African Methodism or the Church World Service.
Now, a massive earthquake has hit this already vulnerable island nation, and the needs there are greater than ever before. Please donate now…we need your immediate help!
Global Witness companion, Church World Service has an established presence in Haiti, with our partners Service Chretien d’ Haiti, Christian Aid, SKDE an Ecumenical Foundation for Peace and Justice. EFPJ’s House of Hope is a day school CWS supports in Port au Prince, as well as the Richard Allen Hildebrand Clinic that the AME Church supports in Port au Prince. Preliminary information indicates the school and clinic are damaged, and staffs are trying to determine the well-being of their colleagues and children and patients.
We’re working to help our partners in this time of urgent need—will you take a moment to make this possible? You make it all happen.
Please stay tuned for more information and updates on GWM and CWS response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti. And, join us in praying for the people affected by this earthquake. (Please do not collect goods, supplies, or commodities for distribution).
George F. Flowers
gwmame@bellsouth.net
Executive Director
Global Witness and Ministry
African Methodist Episcopal Church
1 866-211-9934
5. EIGHTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT MESSAGE TO CLERGY AND LAITY:
I have received many phone calls from you expressing your empathy and desire to help the victims of the devastating Earthquake in Haiti.
I am asking that all churches in the Eighth Episcopal District to declare Sunday January 17, 2010, “Haitian and Malawi Disaster Relief Day.” We are making an urgent plea for generous donations to our Missionary Offerings, and earmark the funds collected as “Aid for the Haitians and Malawi Disaster Relief.”
Please bring or send all funds collected to the Eighth Episcopal District office Tuesday, January 19, 2010.
Malawi (20th Episcopal District) and Haiti (16th Episcopal District) have both suffered catastrophic loss of life and property in recent earthquakes. We know all so well the devastation that occurs with a natural disaster. All pastors, missionary societies, and all other departments are being asked to raise or give an offering for the disaster relief of the people in both Haiti and Malawi.
Please be compassionate in your giving as you reflect on the support and compassion that the Connectional Church shared during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Rita in our District. It is our time to share the love and support to our church families in time of need as the Eighth Episcopal District Family.
In the Master's Service,
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry
6. 13TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT MESSAGE TO CLERGY AND LAITY:
We have a dual tragedy that as Christians and AME's we need to respond immediately.
The Council of Bishops in its winter session organized fund raising efforts through the Department of Global Witness and Ministry, the 16th Episcopal District and SADA. There will be a press conference in Cary, North Carolina tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. EST on the AME Church’s response to this disaster.
Funds from the sale of The Anvil, the annual resource guide of the Council of Bishops will be divided evenly between the 16th District where an earthquake struck yesterday and the 20th District, where an earthquake struck earlier. The Women's Missionary Society is giving an initial donation tomorrow and will preparing for a more substantial response. All of this is to demonstrate our immediate response to this immediate need.
I'm encouraging all of our churches to issue a special appeal this Sunday not only to our church members but to the community at large. Lift special a special offering please! Send or bring your contributions to the 13th District office by Tuesday, January 19, 2010 so that we may send it in the name of the people of Tennessee and Kentucky as our initial effort to help in the recovery process.
This is a critical times in the life of the people of Haiti and Malawi. We need to be in prayer for them. At this time we have no information if the Richard Allen Clinic is still functioning. We are praying that it wasn't destroyed but is able to help victims needing medical attention. There are also schools, churches and a plethora of people who will be looking to us in the coming days to be a source and resource of help.
As we have done in the past, let us rise to the occasion to be a blessing to both Malawi and Haiti.
By he Grace of God,
Bishop Vashti McKenzie
7. MESSAGE FROM THE CONNECTIONAL LAY ORGANIZATION / AMEC:
It is with a sad heart that I greet you during the devastation and turmoil being suffered by our sisters and brothers in Haiti and Malawi.
The magnitude of the disaster can only be imaged as we witness so many people struggling for life and the horror of so many lives lost.
How quickly a way of life can be made even worst in seconds. It’s time for us to mobilize to assist Haiti and Malawi and the people of the 16th and 20th Episcopal Districts who are experiencing catastrophic tragedy.
The most powerful force we have is prayer. I’ve asked our Chaplain to pray and publish a prayer of comfort and consolation. I am asking all laity to do at least two things to help the distressed of the 16th and 20th Episcopal Districts. Pray and share financially.
Please contribute to the Connectional Lay Disaster Relief Fund; we will in turn contribute to the AME effort through the Office of Global Witness and Ministry, Dr. George F. Flowers, Executive Director and the Service and Development Agency (SADA), Mr. Robert Nicolas, Director. Brother Nicolas is a native of Haiti. Please remember him and family in your prayers.
Bishop Sarah F. Davis is the presiding prelate in Haiti and Bishop Julius H. McAllister is the presiding prelate in Malawi.
Dr. Willie C. Glover
President, The Connectional Lay Organization.
8. INFORMATION FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEND CHECKS / MONEY ORDERS:
Episcopal Districts would like to coordinate and consolidate donated funds and are requesting local congregations to collect funds over the next two Sundays and forward to their Episcopal District Office so that the AME Church will have an accounting of and an audit trail of the collected funds. Those persons wanting to make individual donations can access the AMEC Official Website, which provides updates on the Haiti and Malawi earthquake relief efforts. Stay updated on the situation in Haiti by visiting the AMEC Official Website: http://www.ame-church.com/
You can mail your check to the district office:
The 16th Episcopal District AME Church
P.O. Box 821308
Houston, Texas 77282-1308
Or:
Please make your checks payable to:
Haiti Relief Fund Malawi Earthquake Relief
AME Church-Global Witness and Ministry
Charleston Executive Park
1587 Savannah Highway, Suite A
Charleston, SC 29407-7820
9. MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE 15TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT (NAMIBIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE):
The Rev. Willem Simon Hanse
The presiding elders, officers and members of the Namibia Annual Conference in the 15th Episcopal District under the leadership of Bishop Wilfred Jacobus Messiah wish to extend our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the Government and the people of Haiti and to the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The images sent out on televisions all across the world are heart-wrenching, and we particularly give our prayers and support to those uncertain about the status of their loves ones trapped beneath the rubble.
Africa and African Diaspora have historical, political, intellectual and sentimental attachment to Haiti. It was in Haiti that African Diaspora fought and won a heroic victory of liberation against colonial forces and established an independent state in the Americas.
May God bless the reconstruction and rehabilitation work of the Haitian people and may their take their deceased loves ones to their eternal resting place with the thought that “earth’s loss is heaven’s gain.”
The Rev. Willem Simon Hanse
revwshansepe@yahoo.com
Windhoek District
The Rev. Dr. Andreas Biwa
Keetmanshoop District
The Rev. Neels Jacobus Simon
Lüderitz District
The Rev. Daniel Schmidt
Hoachanas District
The Rev. Albert Eberhard Biwa
P. O Box 50278,
Bachbrecht, Namibia
Gibeon District
10. CONNECTIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION APPEALS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS:
Message from the Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, Medical Director, AME Church Connectional Health Commission:
The AME Connectional Health Commission is preparing to respond to the urgent medical needs of our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Malawi.
Request all Healthcare professionals send me an email indicating their present and future availability to travel to Haiti and Malawi.
Efforts will be coordinated through AME SADA (Mr. Nichols), Bishop Sarah Davis and Dr. Flowers in order facilitate this process.
The Rev. Miriam Burnett, MD, MPH
mjbchcamec@yahoo.com
Medical Director
AME Connectional Health Commission
11. PRAYER ANSWERED FOR HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE VICTIM:
Prayer Request
Rock-Andral Ludger is a native of Haiti and under the care of our own Reverend Etolia White of Saint John in Frankfort. He has to my knowledge not been in contact with his family, and the Reverend White is requesting special prayer from us in this matter. Please join me in requesting God's protection for his and other families in Haiti (as well as in Malawi) affected by the earthquake and for God’s peace for those who wait and worry. (January 14, 2010, 6:27 PM)
Kenneth J. Golphin, Presiding Elder
Kentucky Conference/Lexington District
Prayer Answered
Prayers availeth much! Thanks be to God for His blessings today. At 10:10 p.m., we heard word from Haiti indicating that Rock-Andral Ludger’s family is safe, although now homeless. Praise be to God! Thank you to all who called upon His name and will continue to call upon God for those who are suffering this great catastrophe. Thank you, Father, for all of your blessings and for answered prayer. (January 14, 2010 10:26 PM)
The Rev. Etolia White
12. HAITI EARTHQUAKE UPDATE FROM THE AMEC DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL WITNESS AND MINISTRY:
January 15, 2010
Support Temporary Protected Status for Haitians Affected by Devastating Earthquake:
Ask Congress and DHS to grant Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the U.S. as part of a comprehensive response to the current humanitarian crisis
Tuesday’s 7.0 –magnitude earthquake in Haiti resulted in great human casualties and widespread structural damages in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. While relief efforts are underway, CWS urges Communions to contact your congressional representatives and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ask that the United States grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians in the U.S. as part of a comprehensive response to the current humanitarian crisis.
The Haitian government does not have the necessary funds or infrastructure to undertake relief and reconstruction efforts on its own – also making it temporarily unable to accept returns of Haitians nationals. Before this latest disaster, Haiti was still in the process of rebuilding following a series of hurricanes that hit the country in September of 2008. Haitian President Rene’ Preval requested that the United States grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians following the 2008 storms, in order to better allow the Haitian government to focus on providing lifesaving assistance to those persons affected by the disaster within their own borders.
In a previous update (yesterday) we mentioned that The Executive Director of the Department of Global Witness and bishops: (James L. Davis, Commission Chair of Global Witness; Sarah Davis, Haiti’s Bishop, and William P. DeVeaux, General Board President; and The Reverend Ron Owens) were scheduled to leave for Port-au-Prince, Haiti Tuesday, January 19th – 21st. However, due to State Department Advisory Alert not to travel to Haiti and the cancellation of Spirit Air Flight this group must wait for a short time before traveling.
Dr. George F. Flowers
Executive Director
Global Witness and Ministry
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Email: gwmame@bellsouth.net
13. AME CHAPLAIN ASSISTING THE HAITIANS:
*Bishop John White I
AME Navy Chaplain, LCDR Glenda Jennings Harrison, Chaplain Corps, USN of the USS Carl Vinson is in Haiti as a part of the earthquake relief and recovery mission.
I ask that Church will keep her and the other military personal as well as the people of Haiti in their prayers. I also informed her that we do have AME Churches in Haiti and the Richard Allen Hildebrand Health Clinic.
*Bishop John White I is the Ecumenical Officer and endorsing Agent
14. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE CENTER FOR FAITH-BASED & NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS:
Locating Family Members:
The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747.
Monetary Donations:
Monetary donations are the most effective form of assistance because they allow humanitarian organizations to purchase (often within the affected region itself) the exact type and quantity of items needed by those affected by the crisis. Read about the advantages of monetary donations.
For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. Or you can go online to relief organizations to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts
Commodity Contributions
While monetary donations are preferred to commodity contributions, there may be rare instances when a commodity contribution would be of value to relief operations.
- See a list of conditions which are necessary to ensure that a commodity contribution is appropriate.
- Read about handling appropriate commodity contributions.
- If a commodity collection has already been made, but there are problems identifying a need in the affected region for the commodities or an organization to accept them, read about some alternate ideas.
Volunteering
Volunteer opportunities in disaster settings are extremely rare, and are usually limited to people with prior disaster experience and technical skills (such as health, engineering, etc). To register your skills and experience for a possible volunteer opportunity, go to http://www.cidi.org/reg_off.htm. For opportunities to volunteer overseas in non-disaster settings, visit http://www.usaid.gov/cgi-bin/goodbye?http://www.serve.gov/. Or read about Volunteers for Prosperity http://www.usaid.gov/cgi-bin/goodbye?http://www.volunteersforprosperity.gov, a volunteer program managed by USAID. For more information on volunteering, visit http://www.interaction.org/disaster/volunteering.html.
Alexia Kelley
Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
15. NEW DETERMINATION FOR A NEW DECADE:
*Dr. Joseph Darby
The Keynote Message for the “Ties That Bind” Conference of politically progressive South Carolina organizations - http://www.tiesthatbindsc.org - at the headquarters of the South Carolina Education Association, Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, January 9, 2010.
Prepared and presented by the Reverend Dr. Joseph A. Darby, Senior Pastor of Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and Board President of the South Carolina Christian Action Council.
We’re in the first month of a new decade, and I’m glad that we are, because the last decade was rough. The last decade saw our nation embroiled in warfare, attacks on our civil liberties and the near collapse of our economy, all because of political decisions that favored the few instead of the many.
The last decade saw mean spirited rhetoric and actions by those who would hunt down, imprison and expel those that they call “illegal immigrants,” forgetting that by their standards, their ancestors who first came here from Europe could also have been called “illegal immigrants.” The last decade saw the loss of American jobs and attacks on collective bargaining because corporations focused not on civic responsibility but on building up their financial bottom lines, and willing politicians were their partners on doing so. The last decade saw attacks on public education by those for whom reform means not owning up to and correcting past inequities, but creating new inequities by giving public finds to private schools and creating “private-public” charter schools.
The last decade was ruled by those who care more about building bigger prisons for drug offenders, preserving Confederate heritage and keeping our state in the dark ages than about cleaning up the environment, providing affordable health care and housing and making liberty and justice for all a reality.
The last decade was rough, but we have a new President and a more progressive Congress in this new decade, we have the chance to make positive electoral changes in our state and communities in this new decade, we have the chance to shape and impact public policy and repair the damage of the last decade and change our communities, state and nation for the better in this new decade, but we can’t do it in one day at one conference or only with those who are here.
Our legislature will be open for business this week, and if we’re to assure that they work for us and not on us, then we have to stand together and stay together and lobby together and vote wisely together, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Was right, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” When we realize and reinforce that and act based on the ties that bind us together, then we can make new progress, secure new liberty and equity, and do so with new determination for a new decade.
We need new determination for a new decade, and that requires escaping from what a wise friend of mine calls the “APE” that prevents our taking unified action - Agenda, Power and Ego. We can’t fail to work together unless our particular organization gets to set the full agenda, unless we get to pick and choose who we work with on the basis on how we get along, unless we get to claim credit for what goes right and to blame others when things go wrong.
The civil rights revolution of the mid-twentieth century changed America in ways that were thought to be impossible because a wide range of organizations and people with different agendas, different ideas, different personalities and even old rivalries and grudges and issues laid aside all that divided them and worked together to reach a common goal.
When we have the determination to overcome Agenda, Power and Ego and pursue common goals in this new decade, then we can create good jobs for all and see that every public school is a quality public school, see that factories no longer locate near and pollute poor communities and that no one has to go to the emergency room for basic medical care. We can build a better state and nation where equal opportunity and equal justice under the law become realities and where those seeking to better themselves can do so in the spirit articulated by James Brown, who first said in song, “I don’t want nobody to give me nothing, just open up the door and I’ll get it myself.”
We need new determination for a new decade, and that means doing things that might take us out of our comfort zones. I say that as one who affirms my faith tradition’s mandate to “speak the truth in love,” but also knowing from experience that those who have no love for those who don’t think or act or think like them might not respond to loving persuasion and might need a little “somethin’ somethin’” else.
It’s nice to hold peaceful vigils to protest unjust laws, but sometimes you have to get in the faces of those who make those laws. It’s nice to legally advocate for those who make it to America from other nations as best they can looking for a better life, but sometimes you have to stand with them to confront those who would deny them the promise of freedom out of fear that they might end up in the minority. It’s nice to condemn those who use their cloak of morality to spread hatred and division, but sometimes you have to point out that some of them don’t meet their own moral standard. It’s nice to be close to those in political power, but sometimes you have to call them out when they either make bad laws or look the other way while bad laws are made in the name of political collegiality.
New determination in a new decade may require new strategies that might cost you some good will among those in political control, might cause some doors to be closed in your face for not being polite and accommodating enough, might cause some folks to stop smiling at you and might even cause some politicians who love you at election time and forget you the rest of the time to wonder why you’re suddenly on their case, but Frederick Douglass was right, “Power concedes nothing without a demand,” new determination requires doing the right think, whether it’s popular and politically acceptable or not, some may say that the time isn’t right, but it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
When we do not what’s comfortable and safe and unfailingly polite and do the right thing by speaking truth to power through our words and deeds, then we’ll have new determination for a new decade. We’ll tell those who now carry tea bags instead of flaming crosses and who claim to speak for America that we’re Americans too, stand up to demagogues like Senator Jim DeMint, let him know that he does not speak for every South Carolinian, and every time he spouts his version of the truth, we can borrow the words of his political soul mate Representative Joe Wilson and say, “You lie.” We’ll tell politicians of every party and color who forget that the seats they occupy are not their seats but the people’s seats that it’s time to do good or be gone, tell advertisers who sponsor the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks of this world that if you don’t respect our positions, you won’t get our business.
When we firmly and assertively and strategically speak trust to power and stop just going along to get along. We can change the rules of the game, go beyond business as usual, and say by our words and deeds as did those who faced down fire hoses and police dogs four or five decades ago, “I ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around.”
It’s good to be here today, thank all of you for being here today, but if we do nothing else when we leave here today, let’s leave here with new strategies, new commitment, new relationships and new determination for a new decade. George Bush set up “free speech zones” to keep his critics at bay and out of the media spotlight, but armed protestors are allowed to get close to President Barack Obama’s public appearances we need new determination for a new decade. Wealthy corporations that make bad financial decisions receive public assistance to survive, while poor people who make bad financial decisions are left to suffer; we need new determination for a new decade. Bigoted politicians want to stop and strip search those coming to America with names like Abdul and Mohammed, but would let those with names like “shoe bomber” Richard Reed pass through, we need new determination for a new decade.
Rich folks like Howard Rich are spending big money and buying political support in our state to create a new system of public education that features public-private schools and “school choice” that would make our schools very separate and very unequal again, we need new determination in a new decade. In many cities, you can be pulled over and hassled by the police simply for being a young black or Latino man in a decent car; we need new determination in a new decade. Schools along South Carolina’s very white and very Republican I-85 corridor are well funded and successful, while schools along South Carolina’s very black and very Democratic I-95 corridor are struggling to survive; we need new determination for a new decade.
People who play cards in their own homes in our state are subject to arrest if too many players are there, but our state runs its own numbers game, calls it the “Education Lottery” and allows predatory lenders who run roughshod over the poor to do business with minimal regulation as a “public service,” we need new determination for a new decade. Poor, white blue collar workers who ought to be the natural allies of those gathered here are led by carefully crafted fear games to vote against their own best interest by those who tell them to look beyond their poverty and find consolation in the color of their skin; we need new determination for a new decade.
The times are too tough, the needs are too great for us to do political business as usual and do the same old things in the same old ways with the same old players, we have to find new common ground and do new things to fight new battles to realize the lofty promise that our nation will guarantee liberty and justice not for some, but for all, we need new determination for a new decade.
We can find it when we take to heart the words penned by James Weldon Johnson over ten decades ago, “Facing the rising sun of a new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.” When we have new determination for a new decade, we’ll march on and see good schools in Anderson County and in Allendale County, march on and see equitable law enforcement in Lexington County and in Lee County, march on and see quality housing in Greenville and in Greelyville, march on and see new jobs in Spartanburg and in Santee, march on and see environmental equity and equal justice in Newberry and in North Charleston.
We’ll have new determination and new direction and keep on marching, saying as did those in my faith tradition said just this side of slavery, before we had well dressed choirs and padded pews and pretty sanctuaries, “I’ve come this far, I find no fault, I feel like going on.” We need new determination for a new decade.
*Dr. Joseph Darby is the pastor in charge at Morris Brown AME Church, Charleston, South Carolina
16. LET’S GET OUT OF THE BLACKSMITH SHOP, AND GO EVANGELIZE:
Recently, I blogged the following statement regarding the merger in Midwest region on http://www.kcdministries.net/ that said, “The Midwest Conference has not yet [begun] touching the surface of what the Conference can be. As I've traveled the Connection we (AMEs) especially the Midwest must began writing legislation that can help meet the needs in these changing times; there is an unlimited amount of software available for church management…” and it made me feel….
As I reflect on what was posted; this statement is applicable to the Connectional Church. In other words replace the word ‘Midwest and Midwest Conference” with the words ‘Connectional Church’ and the words Connectional Church previously mentioned in the blog with Christendom. For clarification, the Midwest Conference of the Fifth Episcopal District consists of the central and western part of Missouri and two other states: Kansas and Nebraska. Under the previous Presiding Prelate, Bishop John R. Bryant the 106th elected and consecrated bishop received a resolution from the merger committee of both conferences: Northwest Missouri and Kansas Nebraska at the Midyear Conference in March 2006 summarizing the following statement about bringing the two conferences together: shares many things in common; benefit from shared resources; conserve time and travel and number of meetings; and will make a stronger unit. Furthermore, the merger was approved at the 48th General Conference. In my opinion, if the consolidation did not occur the Midwest region may have experienced further weakening and scattered resources at a faster pace.
Several churches in our Zion are doing quite well and are moving steady without missing a beat while others are struggling to make ends meet. No longer should the offering plate be a primary source of income for the church to do ministry. Therefore, the local church must look for ways to invest in partnerships to generate a stream of financial income and other resources to do ministry. All areas of the church must be managed: staff, finances and the building. Through our Quarterly Conferences at the local church these three areas are reported on but even with that this process needs to be reviewed to close up the gaps of mediocre administration. As I mentioned earlier there is software available for churches. Recently I have learned of some additional church management software on the market: Shelby, LOGOS and ACS Technologies. There are lower cost software packages such as Power church and Servant PC Resource. Simply search the web under church management software (CMS) for other software companies. Each software company will list its features on its designated website.
We can go as far as to say that each region in the Connection should invest in a franchise to generate the income to do effective ministry. The investment can be made after much research has been done. A few business ventures owned by religious groups come to mind when speaking of entrepreneurship are the following: Walgreens and Marriott Hotel, and back in the day Sinclair gas service stations. And of course, the Wingate Inn in Weldon Springs, Missouri near St. Louis, Missouri, a 100-room hotel owned by the members of the Fifth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. According to sources, the Wingate Inn is the first hotel owned by African Americans. Nevertheless, we pride ourselves in self-help but we are losing ground in what used to be one of our strong points in African Methodism.
For more than two hundred years, we continue to celebrate the boldness of our founder Bishop Richard Allen and others marching out of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to start the African Methodist Episcopal Church in a blacksmith shop. But we have not left the blacksmith shop since that time. Now, let us take what we have seen in the blacksmith shop for two centuries and began hammering out the opportunities to take advantage of what God has given us and “evangelize.”
The Rev. Eraina Marie Ross-Aseme, B.A., M. Div.
An Itinerant Elder of the Midwest Conference of the Fifth Episcopal District
17. THE REV. RODERICK DWAYNE BELIN DEVELOPS A SUPERB WORSHIP AND PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL RESOURCES:
*The Rev. Roderick Dwayne Belin
The Rev. Roderick Dwayne Belin has developed the following resources (appended below and attached) for use in congregations, small groups and private devotions as we seek to serve the people of Haiti and to understand tragedies and natural disasters.
Other resources and links are available at the Rev. Belin’s website: http://www.ibelin.me/category/worship-resources/
The Reverend Roderick Dwayne Belin is the pastor of Kairos Community African Methodist Episcopal Church, 5511 Edmondson Pike Suite 105, Nashville, Tennessee 37211; telephone: (615)332-3320; infor@kcame.org / www.kcame.org
Roderick Dwayne Belin
www.iBelin.me
AME Church Disaster Response: An Appeal©
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
– 1 John 3: 17-18
Our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti suffered a terrible tragedy on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The massive loss of life and the cost of damages caused by the earthquake will not be estimated for some time. The presidential residence, the parliament building, hotels, and houses have been destroyed. Men, women, boys and girls are suffering as they wait for medical treatment in overcrowded hospitals and on the sidewalks outside.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries on the earth and this tragedy increases the suffering of God’s people in Haiti immeasurably. It is estimated that one-third of the 3 million people in Haiti are affected by the earthquake. The images coming out of Haiti show people searching for family members and loved ones through rubble and debris.
You must help. People are desperately in need of our prayers and our help. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, called to meet the emergent needs of God’s children with urgency, is already on the ground in Haiti working to search and rescue, provide water and to minister the Presence of God.
If our work in Haiti is to continue effectively, your financial contribution is needed. Give in a special offering today or go directly to the AME Church website and contribute there: www.ame-church.com
Readings for the 2nd Sunday After Epiphany Year C
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Possible themes to explore from these passages in light of the earthquake in Haiti include:
The Enduring Love of God for All Creation
“The Beloved Community”
Extreme hospitality
Unity
When human limitation meets God’s power
The Gifts of God to a Broken People (water/Baptism; wine/Communion; Gifts of the Spirit)
The Gifts of God for the Common Good
Appropriate passages for use in other ways:
Psalm 18
Psalm 46
Hymns appropriate to the occasion:
O God Our Help in Ages Past 61
When Peace Like a River 448
Be Not Dismayed Whate’er Betide 437
From Every Stormy Wind that Blows 419
His Eye is On the Sparrow 435
A Litany Crying Out for God’s Mercy
For the people of Haiti who are suffering the affects of the earthquake,
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy.
For those still clinging to life beneath the rubble
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy.
For each and every man, woman, boy and girl who are looking for loved ones and hoping to find them alive,
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy.
For the workers from all over the world who labor to rescue, keep peace, minister and heal,
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy.
For the ministers and laypeople who are with the suffering ministering to them Your Presence,
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy.
For the memories of your Children who lost their lives in this tragedy,
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy, Your strength and Your grace.
For the people of Haiti and for all who suffer in any place in this hour
O Lord, we cry out to You for Your mercy. AMEN
A Prayer for How to Help
Lord, we acknowledge that You are here, that You never left us even when all around us seemed to be falling apart. We are overcome by grief as we see the images of tragedy, as we hear the cries for help, and feel the pain of others’ suffering. Give ear, O Lord to the cries from our hearts and bring light to darkness, joy to sorrow, healing to pain. We come Lord for rest from the weariness of shock. We come seeking Your guiding hand in how we can respond.
How can we express Your love, O Lord? How can we be Your hands, O Lord? Give us strength and courage to do what pleases You, that we can put Your love in action, by word and deed and make Your presence known. Loving Father, Healer, Restorer, and Source of all hope, remove from us those things that prevent Your love from flowing through us. May we make a difference in someone’s life that they may come to know Your redeeming love and put their trust in You.
We ask this in the Name of Him who suffered for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN
(This prayer was written by Carlene L. Douglas, Nashville, TN)
A Prayer for People Still Trapped in the Rubble
O God, Creator and Sustainer of all that is, we come to You in reverence and humility thanking You for the great privilege of prayer. With our hearts heavy from grief and our minds filled with questions, we come to you! Once again and, as always, we need Your grace and mercy. God, we trust Your wisdom in all things.
Our hearts are filled with anguish for our sisters and brothers who are trapped in the rubble in Haiti who are still hoping and praying to be found before their spirits leave their bodies.
O God our Keeper! Your Word tells us, if we make our beds in Sheol, You are right there. So, show Yourself, manifest Your Presence to our sisters and brothers who are right now still trapped debris. Glorify Yourself in the rubble!
O God our Comforter! Wrap your loving arms around our Haitian sisters and brothers who are longing for to see their family members and loved ones again.
O God our Sustainer! Empower and strengthen rescue workers, keepers of the peace, medical personnel and preachers of your Gospel with your Holy Spirit.
O God our Peace! Breathe on Haiti.
O God our Healer! Heal broken bodies, troubled minds and sorrowing hearts.
O God our Joy! Penetrate the grief, pain and sorrow by the great power of your Presence that all may know, even in tragedies, that you are the Lord.
In Jesus’ holy name, AMEN
Haiti – Caring Enough to Ask Why
A Meditation
What do we think about what has happened in Haiti? Pat Robertson has proffered a spiritual reason for this tragedy that is frighteningly hateful. A young friend has just tweeted simply, “Theodicy?” which is a defense of the goodness of God in the face of “evil.” These two are among a host of people who are struggling to understand how and why such horrible occurrences happen in the world. The tsunami which took place in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina gave rise to similar questionings. At the root of many of the questions really is; why would God let something like this happen to God’s creation?
Even the people who bequeathed to us the writings that make up the book of Genesis wrestled with why tragedies happen. I suppose we are no closer to finding a satisfactory answer now than then. Well, let me just speak for myself: I have no answers, but I care. I care deeply. I care enough to act and I care enough to ask.
Yes, I will contribute financially to the relief effort and encourage friends and those I serve to do the same. But, beyond this, I will do the much harder work of grieving the dead. I will sit still and, at least, try to wrap my mind around the scope of the loss of life. I will work hard not to hear the big number of the nameless, faceless others who died in the tragedy. Instead, I will try to mourn individual people… mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, babies of specific and particular backgrounds who have ceased to hope, to love. I will look up and out into space imagining the direction of these brothers and sisters who have taken transit to the next realm and I will re-member them. I will name them and not number them. I will remember; I will put the broken back together in my heart. I will love these individual people.
Of course, I will ask “why?” But having the answer is not as important as caring enough to ask the question.
This resource above and attached is copyrighted. ©
18. FAULT FINDERS:
*The Rev. N.T. Pitts
There are some of us who can, and do, find faults in anything, everything and anybody. No matter what it may be or no matter who it may be and what they may be doing, some of us will find a fault. I believe that some of us find faults in others because of our jealousy. We find faults because we are lacking the opportunity and short of the desired capabilities of what is expected of us. Finding faults is easy if that is all you are looking for. Finding fault is the forerunner of making excuses.
I am sure you have heard these:
How was church today? It was alright but...
Did you enjoy the Preacher? He was ok, but…
Did you like that solo that sister B did? It was alright but…
Did you see that dress she had own? Yes, but it didn’t do anything for her…
Do you tithe? I would but I don’t like the way they handle the money…
It seems that “fault finders” always use the preposition “but.”
As Jesus stood before Pilate with all of the trumped up charges against him, Pilate said to the multitude I find no fault in this man. Luke 23:4
The Pharisees and the Scribes found fault in the disciples not washing their hands before eating. Mark 7:2
The Pharisees and scribes found fault with Jesus eating and drinking with sinners. Luke 15:2.
This is the way that many of us miss the central point of Christianity. We must go among them if we expect to win them.
Some of the Disciples found fault in the woman washing the feet of Jesus with precious ointments. Mark 14:3-5
Finding faults is a convenient way for us not to participate, and not to give credit to who credit is due. It is a way of “coping out.”
The songwriter penned: “In the midst of faults and failure stand by me,” which points to that fact that none of us are faultless and we are not perfect.
Those of us who spend our precious time looking for faults in others could use that valuable time looking into a mirror.
We must keep in mind that there is a difference between finding faults and making constructive criticisms. I am sure that all of us, at one time or another, could have stood some constructive criticism. But finding faults just to be finding fault is futile. The person who does not like or accept constructive criticism is doomed for failure.
Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1
I learned these few lines when I was in elementary school: There is so much good in the worse of us. There is so much bad in the best of us. So it doesn’t behoove any of us, to talk about the rest of us.
Question
What do you say about a person who boasts about not wanting anything any body else doesn’t want, but goes down town and buys a used car?
*The Rev. N.T. Pitts, Ptaegar@AOL.Com author, teacher, counselor, and humorist is a retired AME pastor who resides in Eatonville, Florida
19. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- The Honorable Rev. André L. Spivey, the pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Detroit, Michigan, was sworn in at the City of Detroit Inauguration last week along with the Mayor, City Clerk and eight other council members.
The first time candidate was elected to the Detroit City Council from a field of 168 candidates. He came in tenth place in the August Primary and in November, he finished in sixth place to win a seat on the nine member full-time board. The Hon. Rev. Spivey will help to make decisions to approve city contracts, create ordinances, reduce crime, reduce the budget deficit and create an atmosphere for job creation.
There have been laypersons from the AME Church in Detroit who have served on the Detroit Council City but the Honorable Rev. Spivey is the first AME pastor to serve on the council. The Hon. Rev. Spivey has a Bachelor's Degree from Morehouse College, a Master of Divinity from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and is completing a master's thesis at Central Michigan University.
Congratulatory messages can be emailed to: cdavis@spamec.org
- Presiding Elder Kenneth and Mrs. Dianna Golphin are very pleased to announce the graduation of their daughter, Chastity Renay Golphin, from the Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. The African American Student Union graduation exercises were held on Friday evening, December 18, 2009 at 7:00. The University graduation exercises were held on Saturday morning, December 19 at 9:00. Chastity plans to continue studies at Northern Kentucky towards a Masters in Communication.
Contact Information:
Chastity Renay Golphin
golphinc1@nku.edu
Presiding Elder Kenneth J. Golphin
eldergolphin@aol.com
Mrs. Dianna B. Golphin
mrsgolphin@aol.com
- Mrs. Mary M. Hughes, mother of Presiding Elder Thomas M. Hughes, South District of the Chicago Conference of the 4th Episcopal District, celebrated her 96th birthday on Saturday, November 21, 2009.
Mrs. Mary M. Hughes extends gratitude to the many friends and well wishers, who joined her family in celebrating her birthday. "It is one of the most enjoyable birthdays that I have ever had, and you helped to make it so. The memory will linger always.”
Congratulatory messages can be emailed to:
Presiding Elder Thomas M. Hughes,
South District-Chicago Conference
petmhughes299@sbcglobal.net
20. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the sudden passing of Sister Lorene Ford Hickman, of Ozark, Alabama. Sister Hickman passed away on Sunday, January 10, 2010. She is the mother-in-law of Rev. Lionel Green, Pastor of St. Samaritan AME Church, Coldwater, Mississippi, and the mother of Mrs. Betty Green (first lady). Rev. Lionel Green, pastors in the North Mississippi Conference on the Clarksdale District, Rev. J.L. Moore, Presiding Elder.
Funeral Services for Sister Lorene Ford Hickman:
Saturday January 16, 2010
11:00 a.m.
Church of God by Faith
214 King Street
Ozark, Alabama, 36360
Elder J.C. Smith, Pastor
All condolences can be sent to:
Holman Funeral Home
995 South Union Avenue
Ozark, Alabama, 36360
Phone: (334)-774-5348
www.Holmanfuneralhome.com.
The Rev. and Mrs. Lionel Green can be reached by cell phone: (251) 753-1008
21. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mrs. Dianne A. Bryant, the sister of the Rev. Ronald Freeman, pastor of St. Luke AME Church, Daugherty, Virginia and the sister-in-law of Mrs. Nona Freeman, first lady.
Funeral Services will be held for Mrs. Dianne A. Bryant at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at the:
Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church
2357 L Road
Chestertown, Maryland 21620
Expressions of Sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. & Mrs. Ronald Freeman
4712 Chalfont Drive
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23464
(757) 467-4422
(757) 439-2472 (Mobile)
Communications may also be sent via the Rev. Freeman's niece, Michele Foster, to the following email address: shelbel1@yahoo.com
22. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Brother John Leonard Druid, who passed away on Friday, January 8, 2010. He was the brother of Presiding Elder Richard T. Druid (New Jersey Conference, Atlantic City District). The following information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements.
Viewing and Funeral, Saturday, January 16, 2010
Viewing - 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Funeral - 11:00 a.m.
Allen A.M.E. Church
1717 Bishop Richard Allen Ave.
Atlantic City, NJ 08041
Phone: 609-345-6452
Fax: 609-345-0010
The Rev. Samuel L. Hayes, Jr., Pastor
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
Presiding Elder Richard T. Druid
5 Hemlock Drive
Edison, NJ 08820
908-754-0166
23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Sister Lynell Davis. She was the mother of the Rev. Rita Story, Pastor of Burks Chapel AME Church, Paducah, Kentucky.
Service Arrangement for Sister Lynell Davis:
Family Visitation and Service will be held at:
Harrison Street Missionary Baptist Church
1126 Harrison Street
Paducah, Kentucky 42001
Phone: 270-442-8946
Family Visitation:
Friday, January 15, 2010 - 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Service: Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 12:00 Noon
Professional services provided by:
Pettus Funeral Home
1229 Madison Street
Paducah, Kentucky 42001
Phone: 270-442-5749
Fax: 270-442-0272
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Reverend Rita Story, Pastor
Burks Chapel AME Church
635 Ohio Street
Paducah, Kentucky 42003
Phone: 270-443-9390
Phone: 270-564-3425
Email: ritastory@aol.com
24. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mother Leanna Hill. She was the grandmother of Dr. Derek H. Anderson, Connectional RAYAC President and Member of the AME Church Board of Trustees and grandmother-in-law to Mrs. Aimee Hurst Anderson, Ohio Conference YPD Director, and great grandmother of Master Cory Isaiah Anderson.
Service arrangements for Mother Leanna Hill:
Friday, January 15, 2010
Viewing: 11:00 a.m.
The Celebration Service: 12:00 Noon
St. Paul A.M.E. Church
1108 Second Avenue
Charleston, West Virginia 25302
304-343-3085 (P)
304-346-5838 (F)
Condolences may be sent to:
Dr. Derek Anderson & Family
3191 E. Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43209
Email: DerekStPaul@aol.com
25. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Thurman Dennie, the husband of the Rev. Dr. Deborah T. Dennie, the immediate past 13th Episcopal District WIM president. Thurman Dennie passed on Friday, January 8, 2010.
The funeral has been held.
Words of comfort, cards, etc. may be sent to:
The Rev. Dr. Deborah T. Dennie
1479 Pinecrest
Memphis, Tennessee 38111
26. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Cecil Alberty, the brother of Presiding Elder Clarence Boyd, President of the Presiding Elders' Council for the 12th Episcopal District, and Presiding Elder of the Hot Springs District, West Arkansas Annual Conference, and the brother-in-law of Mrs. Birdie M. Boyd, First Lady of the Hot Springs District and 1st Vice President of CONN-M-SWAWO + PK'S.
Service Arrangements for Mr. Cecil Alberty:
Funeral:
Friday, January 15, 2010
11:00 a.m.
Mrs. J. W. Jones Memorial Chapel
703 North 10th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66102
Phone: (913) 321-0253
Fax: (913) 321-1444
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
Presiding Elder and Mrs. Clarence Boyd
9700 LaBette Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
Phone: 501-747-1829
Cell: 501-944-5416
Home email: cbboyd@swbell.net
Office email: cvbfeb1935@global.net
27. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It is with sorrow that we announce the death on Saturday, January 9, 2010, of Mr. James H. Thurman Sr., father of The Reverend Sharon Johnson, pastor of Wilson Chapel AME Church in Parksville, Kentucky.
Service Arrangements for Mr. James H. Thurman Sr.:
There will be visitation 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. on Friday, January 15, 2010, with the funeral to follow at 11:30 a.m. at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky.
First Corinthian Baptist Church
214 Murray Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-2945
502.875.1569
O. L. Hughes and Sons Mortuary
322 East Third Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40508-1945
859.233.7112
Contact:
The Rev. Sharon Johnson
john5477@bellsouth.net
P.O. Box 944
Wilsonville, Kentucky 40423-0944
28. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
Mrs. Wesiona Walker entered into eternal rest on Friday, January 8, 2010. Mrs. Walker was 89 years old at the time of her death. She was a life member of the Women's Missionary Society of the AME Church and a faithful member of The St. John AME Church in Eufaula, Alabama. Along with nine (9) living children, she leaves to mourn her death, the Rev. David Walker, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Gainesville, Georgia.
Recognition of Mrs. Walker's 90th Birthday and Visitation with Family:
Friday, January 15, 2010, 6:30 PM
Sanford Memorial Chapel Funeral Home
549 S. Randolph Avenue
Eufaula, Alabama 36027
334-687-6900
334-687-4500 fax
Funeral: Saturday, January 16, 2010, 12 Noon
ST. John A.M.E. Church
901 Dale Road
Eufaula, Alabama 36027
Condolences may be sent to:
The Walker Family
% The Reverend David Walker
P. O. Box 2703
Aiken, South Carolina 29802
(803) 640-7200 or (803) 640-9888
Email: dawlk@aol.com
29. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
The Clergy Family Information Center
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Email: Amespouses1@bellsouth.net
Phone: (615) 837-9736
Voice Mail: (615) 833-6936
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Cell: (615) 403-7751
30. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:
The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend Richard Franklin Norris; 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
