Bishop T. Larry Kirkland - Chair,
Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr.,
Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor
III, the 20th Editor, The Christian
Recorder
February:
Black History Month
Mark your Calendars:
Richard Allen’s Birthday –
February 14, 2013
Ash Wednesday- February 13, 2013
Easter Sunday – March 31, 2013
Pentecost Sunday May 19, 2013
1. EDITORIAL –LET’S NOT WAIT UNTIL
THE LAST MINUTE:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III,
The 20th Editor, The
Christian Recorder
I am sure all of us, especially married men and males who have
girlfriends will remember Valentine’s Day – February 14th - retail
businesses will not let us forget Valentine’s Day. They start advertizing for
Valentine’s Day immediately after Christmas. Retail businesses take advantage
of every significant religious or secular holiday and observance. And because
they do we spend more money because they remember the significant days in the
lives of people. So, most all of us remember February 14, 2013 as Valentine’s
Day and those of us who are in committed relationships had better not forget
Valentine’s Day!
A greater significance
February 14th should have a greater significance then
Valentine’s Day for those of us who are members of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church because February 14th is the birthday of Richard Allen.
According to his autobiography, he was born on February 14, 1760.
In the early days of the AME Church, according to Richard Newman
in his book Freedom’s Prophet,
“Allen’s birthday was celebrated as an African American festive day.”
Unfortunately, we often forget significant events, not only in
the AME Church, but also in the African American community. We seem to forget
to honor and celebrate the significant historical dates in African American
history. I suspect many black Americans who fail to celebrate a lot of our
accomplishments complain about being left out of the history books. We need to
observe and honor our own accomplishments if we expect others to respect and
honor our great accomplishments.
Others do it
If you have been through basic or officer training in the Marine
Corps, you would never forget the Marine Corps birthday. If you asked a retired
or former Marine the founding date of the Marine Corps and if they couldn’t
answer the question, you could bet that they were never a Marine. If you go
through Marine Corps training you will not forget the Marine Corps birthday and
you will not forget the Riflemen’s Creed.
We should remember too
We should be as steadfast in remembering the birth date of
Richard Allen and the other significant dates in the life of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church because, for many of us, the AME Church has been
more than a Sunday place of worship; it’s been an anchor in our lives – worship,
after school activities, a learning center, connectional meetings and
fellowship, attendance at AME institutions of higher learning and the center of
our religious upbringing.
We should follow the model of the retail community and use the
significant AME dates, not only to encourage stewardship, but to instill pride
and respect for the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
I would like to give a test at this point, but I am afraid that
we might have too many failures. Well, I will do so anyway.
Easy test
How many of the clergy can give the month, day and year of your
first (trial) sermon? How many of you
can give the month, day and year of your diaconate and elder’s ordination?
How many of the laity, if their children were baptised as
infants, can provide the month, day and year when their children were baptised?
If you remember being baptised, can you give the month, day and
year of your baptism without looking at your certificate, if you received one? Baptism
should be a significant date in the lives of Christians.
The AME Church has many significant dates, but unfortunately, we
don’t have all of the exact days and months of some of the significant dates in
the early life of the church; but those we do have and have agreed upon should
be observed more reverently.
Some significant AME dates include March 31, 1831, the death of
Richard Allen; April 9 – 11, 1816, the organization of the AME Church in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which lasted three consecutive days; April 11,
1816, the election and consecration of Bishop Richard Allen; and July 1, 1852,
the first issue of The Christian Recorder
was published.
Shouldn’t the date of Richard Allen’s death, March 31, 1831 at
least be mentioned in our congregations? I believe so.
Does anyone celebrate the birthday of Jarena Lee, the first
black woman preacher in the AME Church who was born on February 11, 1783?
It would seem appropriate that the Women In Ministry might choose the first
Sunday in February as Jarena Lee Sunday. Her biography is exciting and
interesting. Richard S. Newman’s Freedom’s
Prophet has little bit of her life story and her relationship with Richard
Allen. And, of course the lives of Flora (Allen’s first wife who died) and
Sarah are worthy of celebrations, or at least mentioned.
A few other dates we may
have forgotten
The first issue of The Doctrine
and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was published in
1817.
On May 15, 1865, Bishop Daniel Payne organized the South
Carolina Conference, which embraced all of the southeastern part of the United
States; in 1840, the Indiana Conference was organized; 1866, the Georgia
Conference was organized; 1867, the North Carolina and Florida Conferences were
organized; 1882, the AME Sunday School Union started by the Rev. C.S. Smith;
1892 Voice of Missions; and in 1912, the founding of the Connectional Lay
Organization.
Founder’s Day 2013
Founder's Day is a time to celebrate the birth, legacy
and life of Richard Allen, the Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church; but, this year might be an appropriate time to recapture some of the
significant dates in our Zion as we move forward to our Bicentennial
celebration in 2016. Perhaps, the historians of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church might be able to come with the months and days of some of the
significant events and a more detailed chronology of the AME Church. 2016 is
not only the celebration of the Bicentennial of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, but also the bicentennial of the AME Church episcopacy because Richard
Allen was elected and consecrated in 1816.
Let me digress here. There have been some discussions
about the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Some would like to use 1787 as the founding date when
Richard Allen and other walked out of St. George Methodist Church, but it’s
interesting to note that in the Encyclopaedia
of African Methodism 1948, compiled by Bishop R.R. Wright, Jr., under
“Chronology of African Methodism” on page (15)
lists: “1866 - Semi-Centenary of
African Methodism celebrated.” Semi-centenary is a 50th
anniversary celebration, which would indicate that Bishop R.R. Wright, Jr. and
the AME Church celebrated 1816 as the founding date of our Zion.
The Encyclopaedia
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 1948 lists the connectional days
that the General Conference set apart for special celebrations and collections.
“Allen Day” was celebrated on the second Sunday in February and “Educational
Day” was celebrated the third Sunday in September.
A lot of work
We have a lot of work to do as we march toward the AMEC
Bicentennial celebration and it would be a shame if we let that celebration
casually pass by us.
Local churches, annual conferences, episcopal districts,
and the connectional church should already be promoting and planning
significant pre-bicentennial celebrations beginning now up to 2016. We should
not, and cannot wait until 2016 to “shout-out” the contributions of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church. If we don’t
“shout-out” now, nobody else will “shout-out” for us.
This year we should be emphasizing that we are
celebrating the 253rd Anniversary of the birth of Richard Allen and
next year the 254th Anniversary of the birth of Richard Allen. We
should never let Richard Allen’s legacy “rest”; his legacy should be kept
alive! His leadership lessons should be taught and emulated by clergy and
laity.
Founder’s Day is Richard Allen’s day for celebration of
his birth and accomplishments, but there are 364 other days to celebrate the
many significant events in the life of the African Methodist Episcopal Church;
and we should take every opportunity to do so!
2. TCR OP ED: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY:
Renita
Lamkin
My
communion reflection
My son must
have been around 8 or 9 years old when eaarrrrrlly one Saturday morning he came
into my bedroom to wake me up for “church.” I told him that momma could not
make it to the early service today, “just say a prayer for me.” After a bit he
returned singing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…” He continued with
the Call to Worship and said a prayer while kneeling next to my bed. After the
prayer he informed me he was doing a home visit for the sick and shut-in. He then
gave me a small drink of green Kool-aid and a piece of saltine cracker, “the
blood of Jesus shed for you; the body of Jesus broken for you.” After communion
we sang a song and prayed the Lord’s Prayer. “Hey, that Kool-aid was pretty
good; will you bring me a glass?” “Nooo!!! It was the blood of Jesus, momma!
Communion is not snack,” he said repeating my words back to me, “it is holy,
holy, holy.”
Yes, communion is holy
Communion
fascinates me. Each month we gather to share prayers and songs which bring us
back to our center—“nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee, e’en tho it be a
cross that raiseth me…” We sing songs that remind us of the fragile state of
our spirit “My Soul be on Thy Guard, Ten Thousand Foes Arise and Host of Sin
are Pressing Hard to Draw Thee from the Skies.”
We sing songs that remind us of God’s omni-ness, “glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost…as it was in the beginning is now and ever
shall be…” And we join with angels and arch angels singing, “Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory!”
Communion
is indeed holy, holy, holy.
Communion
is a time of personal reflection, repenting of our personal and collective
sins, renewing our commitment to Christ and regrouping our thoughts and heart’s
intentions all in a communal setting—this dichotomy is also fascinating.
Personal worship in community reminds me that we are all in this fight of life
together; that we are created in community for community; that our relationship
with God, while personal, must never be private.
Communion is a holy time.
I was told
of about a pastor who forgot to serve communion one particular Sunday. As the
people were leaving someone brought it to her attention. She grabbed the
communion plates and gave out the all-in-one cups they used to those who were
still in the sanctuary, “Go home and communion yourself,” she said. Tears
actually fell from my eyes as this story was being shared. My sense of grief
was not in going home to communion one’s self but rather in the seeming
disregard for the holiness of the sacrament—it was an afterthought. Jesus
didn’t send the disciples with to-go plates! Gee whiz!
I don’t
consider myself to be one who is bound to or by traditions for tradition sake,
but when it comes to communion there are some things that just oughta be. More
than speaking every word as is printed in our liturgy, more than every collect
prayed, more than every song sung the time for communion must be
intentional—set apart. The time for communion must not be rushed—it is holy. We
must have time for communion, we must share time communing. What other time do
we have to reflect, repent, renew and regroup in community?
I served on
the worship committee of the 2008 General Conference. During the planning there
was a lot of discussion regarding the use of the all-in-one cups versus the
traditional individual cups and wafers. The discussion reminded me of history I
had read regarding the switch from the common cup to the individual cups, from
wine to juice, from homemade bread to those styrofoamy wafers. Each shift,
though it had to do with matters of practicality, required people to wrestle
with the issue of holiness.
Speaking of
the all-in-ones, maybe they are the new answer to practical matters? After all,
at the original Lord’s Supper there were only 13 people, now we are serving
hundreds at a time. It takes so much time to fill all of those cups (although
stewardesses don’t seem to mind) and the all-in-ones are just more
convenient—people can move faster, right? This causes me to think about the
mass serving of communion—is communion more authentic in small group
fellowship?
I’m just
not a fan of the all-in-one cups for communal worship. There just seems to be
something significant about the juice coming from a common container, about the
act of pouring it out and the gathering it together. I am not a fan of the
little wafers, but it seems that there is something significant about all of
them coming from the same package, the symbolism of the bread coming from the
same loaf—am I making too much of this?
My real
angst, however, is not really about the all-in-one cups, it is the desire to
make communion more “convenient” and less “time consuming.” I wonder if we
really want people moving faster through communion. Do we really want the
serving of communion to become like going through the drive-thru of a fast food
joint? Do we really want to reduce or remove the time for reflecting,
repenting, renewing and regrouping?
Admittedly
I have been guilty of rushing through communion. I have read through the
liturgy at lightning speed and I have even left out the collects if it’s
already 12:30 when we get started—after all, the people expect to get out of
church “on time.” The Holy Spirit convicted me as I spent time thinking about
what others have done or proposes to do—I had to repent of my own sin. I was
guilty of rushing for the sake of convenience. I was once again reminded that
communion is holy, holy, holy.
My fear is
that one day we’ll do just like that preacher did and begin just passing
communion out to folks on their way out the door. My concern is that one day
there will just be stories of people coming to the altar to pray and receive
the elements. My grief is that one day children won’t know that communion is
holy, holy, holy.
The Rev. Renita Marie
Lamkin is an Itinerant Elder pastoring St. John AME Church in St. Charles, MO.
She is a wife, parent, writer, community builder and a student at Payne
Theological Seminary.
3. LETTER OF THANKS FROM BISHOP
DAVID R. DANIELS, JR.:
Dear
Bishops of the Church
Greetings:
I pray that
all is well with you and your work. I am most grateful for the time we recently
spent together in retreat.
Let me get
to the point. Treasurer Brother Richard A. Lewis has informed me that several
Episcopal Districts, through the kind generosity of their Bishops, contributed
to a Fund to assist the 15th Episcopal District in debt retirement
regarding the legal fees encumbered as a result of actions taken before I
arrived to superintend the work.
Let me
pause here and thank the Episcopal Leadership in the 2008-2012 Quadrennium for
the following contributions made between June and October 2011:
District 2:
$15,664.00
District 3:
$5,567.00
District 4:
$10,500.00
District 6:
$11,769.00
District 9:
$2,500.00
District 11: $13,067.00
District 13:
$3,500.00
TOTAL: $62,477.00
However,
the total sent to the 15th District to assist with legal bills was $101,000.00.
I presume your gifts were applied to the legal bills before my arrival.
Since I
have arrived in the 15th District, I have been presented with legal fees
totaling R1,098,180 or $142,310.00 (USD). I am not only grateful for what has
already been given, but I find myself in the unenviable position of making an
urgent appeal to my colleagues for additional financial assistance to cover the
cost of these burdensome legal fees.
I know that
times are difficult and the economy has not fully rebounded, but my appeal is
to my colleagues because you are aware of the gravity of our situation. If the
Lord moves upon your heart to aid your brothers and sisters, please send all
contributions to Treasurer “15th District Legal Assistance”.
I am
sending this by email, but expect to receive a hard copy by US mail with my
signature next week.
Thank you
so much for your kind consideration and cooperation.
Yours in
His Service,
Bishop
David R. Daniels, Jr.
4. BISHOP DEVEAUX'S PERSONAL
INVITATION TO FOUNDER'S DAY 2013:
A special
invitation from Bishop William P. DeVeaux to attend the 2nd
Episcopal District Founders Day that will be held February 14-16, 2013 at the
North Raleigh Hilton, 2415 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Please
click on the link or type address into your web browser for information about
the 2nd Episcopal District Founder’s Day.
5. UNVEILING OF THE ROSA PARKS
FOREVER U.S. POSTAGE STAMP:
The US Postal
service will unveil the Rosa Parks Stamp on the anniversary of her 100th
Anniversary on Monday, February 4th. There will be ceremonies in Detroit and
Dearborn. The first Rosa Parks Forever
stamps will be sold at the Wright museum, with a dedication ceremony starting
at 7:30 a.m. The Henry Ford Museum, where the Rosa Parks bus is on permanent
display, will host the First-Day-of-Issue stamp event at 10:45 a.m., as part of
a daylong celebration dubbed the National Day of Courage.
6. HELP COCA-COLA "PAY IT
FORWARD” TO A DESERVING YOUNG ADULT:
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
- Gandhi
For the
second year in a row, the “Coca-Cola Pay It Forward” program uncaps a world of
possibilities for today’s young people by offering once-in-a-lifetime
apprenticeship experiences that only Coca-Cola can provide. This year,
basketball legend and business mogul Magic Johnson, chairman and CEO of Black
Entertainment Television (BET) Networks, Debra Lee, and hip-hop artist, actor
and philanthropist Common have agreed to participate as celebrity mentors. This
summer, we will offer week-long apprenticeship experiences focused on business,
media/entertainment music and community, respectively.
To be a
part of this amazing opportunity young people between the ages of 16 – 21 must
be nominated by a parent, relative, teacher, mentor, friend, member of the
community or they can self-nominate by visiting www.mycokerewards.com/payitforward.
Nominations
can be submitted through March 2. These apprenticeships are life-changing for
the selected youth and are sure to inspire them to become the next generation
of history makers.
Share this
unique and amazing opportunity within your community and organization and
distribute the information to your members and network via email and/or your
social media channels. Encourage them to nominate an aspiring youth. “Coca-Cola
Pay It Forward” is more than a program; it’s a movement to uplift the next
generation. Please join us in making a difference in the lives of today’s youth
and tomorrow’s history makers.
Submitted
by Ms. Lauventria Robinson, Vice President, Multicultural Marketing, Coca-Cola
North America
7. KURT CARR: NASHVILLE HAS HIS
SONG:
Dr. Phyllis
Qualls-Brooks
January 31,
2013
Nashville.
Gospel singing sensation, Kurt Carr, who proudly sings gospel songs of
encouragement and expectation, returns to Nashville on March 1. The highly regarded gospel artist will be in
Music City to perform at the House of God, on Friday, March 1, at 6 p.m.
sponsored by Believe, Inc., the philanthropic arm of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, 13th District. The program is open to the public and tickets
are $30.00 for adults and $20.00 for children and youth, 18 and under.
Carr was
recently awarded the coveted James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award at the
Stella Gospel Music Awards, held at the famous Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville
in mid-January. Carr has been singing professionally for more than 20 years,
and his latest album/CD, Bless This House, debuted at the top of Billboard’s
Gospel sales chart. His first album,
"Together" was released in 1991.
Joe Turner,
Chair of Believe Inc. says, “We constantly strive to bring top quality gospel
artists to the Nashville and Middle Tennessee community and throughout the 13th
Episcopal District, which comprises Kentucky and Tennessee. Nashville is Music City and Kurt Carr has the
songs and style this community appreciates and supports.” According to Carr’s biographical information,
music critics say Carr has the unmistakable knack for choir-friendly melodies
that cross cultural appeal.
Carr, an
RCA Inspiration artist, has performed throughout the world and was recently
named honorary principal of a Gospel Music School in Japan that boasts the
“Kurt Carr” class of gospel music production.
Even though he has traveled extensively, Nashville holds special
memories for him. After receiving the
coveted Lifetime Achievement Award in Music City, Carr said, “I am privileged
to be able to say that I sing and write gospel music.”
The Believe
Concert will also feature Bynard Huggins, a young music prodigy who wails on
keyboards. The Nashville native will be
the opening act for Carr. Learn more about him on YouTube.
Bishop
Jeffrey N. Leath, presiding prelate of the 13th District, says, “It is
important for the church to reach beyond its walls of brick and mortar on
Sundays. We must be a part of the whole
community in every way possible to win souls for Christ.”
Believe
Inc. provides funds for scholarships for ministers seeking additional
educational growth and support for small churches ranging from facility support
to community outreach programs.
For
information about the concert, please visit www.believeinc.org
or call 615.242.1373. Tickets are available at the 13th District
Office located 500 Eighth Ave. South.
8. QUILTS: MORE THAN WARM AND COMFORT:
(This article inspired by “Knowing Hands: Binding Heritage in African American Quilts,”
by Raymond G. Dobard in “Crisis,” November/December 2001, p. 47)
“Quilt” -
Just hearing the word conjures up pictures of beauty and feelings of warmth and
coziness. Crawl into bed on a cold,
wintry night, pull up the quilt your grandmother made just for you right up to
your neck, up over your head, flap it back a bit and then cuddle up for a sound
night’s sleep. American Mothers, Inc.
sponsors a project among its many chapters nationwide that results in quilts
being made and distributed to hospitals, group homes, nurseries, shelters, and
other places that house ill children, unwanted children, homeless
children. These women know that even if
there is little happiness in the daily lives of such children a quilt will give
a child something tangible to hold and feel and use in a way that will bring
warmth and comfort to its little soul.
For African
Americans, however, quilts have a more far-reaching meaning. Just as the African griot tells his story in
words, pictures in quilts tell their own story.
This is a visual means of communicating and goes back to Africa. When this skill came to America with the
slaves, patterns were adapted to meet our people’s need to pass on secrets
without the necessary privacy.
Such quilts
now hang in museums and are regularly displayed in various settings. In recent years historians have begun studying
them for cultural clues to our past. This interest began around the time of our
country’s bicentennial celebration in 1976 when historians began considering
quilt patterns of American quilts in general and African American quilts, in
particular. They began to probe the possibility of links between quilts and
coded instruction on the Underground Railroad.
It has been learned that quilts were hung in windows or across fences
and the quilt patterns held instructions for those seeking safety from
slavery. Those making their way north
via the Underground Railroad were often notified by means of a quilt signal as
to whether it was safe to knock at the door of a safe-house or whether the
runaway should wait for a new signal to appear. Some of them hold precious
family secrets and it has been learned that these secrets are still guarded by
African American elders who still honor their pledges to their grandmothers and
other relatives never to tell anybody about the secret. Those secrets were passed down from generation
to generation.
Many scraps
of fabric are needed to make a quilt and usually they have special family
meaning because these scraps come from clothing of deceased relatives or they
may be leftovers from a sewing project. I can remember a quilt that my
grandmother made when I was five years old in which I could identify scraps
left from dresses she had made for me the year before. Some quilts are designed
to provide family genealogies. Thus, the quilt becomes a visible, tangible link
to the past and a connection to the future.
There are
many methods of construction. One is
called “strip piecing” which is similar to African textiles such as the narrow
weave in Kente cloth. The fabric remnants are sewn together horizontally, to
make one long, narrow row or strip. The
strips are then sewn together vertically to produce one multi-colored quilt
top. Other methods include “string
quilts”, “medallion quilts”, and “knotting”. In Africa male craftsmen were the
main producers of textiles and are most famous for the production of Kente
cloth. Women may have taken over the
craft when they reached America, but the role men played, and continue to play,
is noteworthy. Famous African American
painters John Biggers and Romare Bearden produced quilts, in addition to their
fine paintings. Biggers used quilt
patterns and illustrated the stories of his mother who was a quilter. Bearden explored the piecing technique when
making his collages. He even applied
cloth to the surface of one painting and titled it “Patchwork Quilt”.
The Bible
quilt is another African American quilt which provides a unique tie to the past
as well as inspiration for artists of today.
It is made by appliquéing images of Biblical events on single fabric
blocks. The Bible quilt may be read as a
collection of individual scenes or as a continuous narrative. Harriet Powers, a former slave who lived in
Athens, Georgia; is known for her fine examples of African American Bible
quilts. You can visit two which she made toward the end of the 19th century.
They are at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and at the Smithsonian Museum of
American History in Washington, DC.
Next time
you’re in your attic check into some of those old trunks and look into those
old boxes in your basement. There might be
an old, torn, stained quilt. Now, look
at it with different eyes. There just
might be a family treasure there.
Books to Explore:
- Benberry,
Cuesta Ray. A Piece of My Soul, Quilts
by Black Arkansans (2000)
- Freeman,
Roland. A Communion of the Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and
Their Stories (1996)
- Hicks,
Kyra. Black Threads: African American Quilting Sourcebook (2002)
- Leon,
Eli. Who’d A Thought It: Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking
(1987)
- Mazloomi,
Carolyn. Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts (1998)
- Tobin,
Jacqueline L. and Raymond G. Dobard.
Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of
Quilts and the Underground Railroad (1999)
Last week
our A.M.E. Founder’s Day was held in Philadelphia. We checked in at our hotel
and later I learned that a group called “Love Apple Quilters” was meeting there
and would have a Quilt Show the next day. Having just completed this article I
had no choice but to attend this exhibit.
There were no old, historical quilts, as such, there. Rather, these were
made by modern-day quilters. I was
struck by the walls and walls of beauty, the intermingling patterns, colors,
and lively patterns. Some were based on
topics that were whimsical; others made a profound statement, but all had
clever, meaningful titles. To move around two rooms full of such quilts placed
me in a different world. As I examined each one I found so much to love about
each. It made me want to meet each quilter and hear the story behind the fabric,
design, and title of each. And how many hours were spent creating such a lovely
work of art! I couldn’t help but feel there was a lot of each person’s life and
love wrapped into the quilt she had made.
Here are
notes about the ones I remember best:
• A quilt
recording the many places the quilter has traveled
• A rose
with a stained glass window background; another called “Cathedral Puzzle,”
definitely a stained-glass look
• Two
entitled “Stained Glass”, each different and each uniquely beautiful
• Patriotic
quilt - three different flags, each with stars represented by a different kind
of stitch.
•
Genealogical quilt showing a family tree
• Two which
immediately reminded me of the dreaded German swastika; titled “Zig-Zag” and
“Roman Strips”. I decided the similarity was not intentional and my mind was
racing down the wrong track.
•
Lighthouses from all over the U.S. coasts, including our own Montauk Point
Lighthouse
• One called
“The Original Flying Machine”, the focus of which was a huge dragonfly.
I looked
all over for one made of those little puffy-looking things that I remember my
grandmother laboring over. I remember her drawing up the strings to make it
into a circle and she taught me to do it with some degree of success. I never
found one in this exhibit, but as I was about to leave I spied a lady wearing a
vest like that. I had a nice chat with her and she patiently explained that
it’s called the “Yo-Yo” pattern. “Not ‘Puff’ ”, I asked? “No,” she said,
“‘Puff’ is different.” Hmmmmm. Now I don’t know what it was that I learned from
my grandmother. “Yo-Yo”? “Puff”? Perhaps she even had another name for it.
Probably I’ll never know for sure, but it was interesting to learn that much
from just a quick conversation with a modern-day quilter. There is always SO
much to learn, everywhere you go! God gives us so many privileges to learn; if
only we could take advantage of them all!
At
registration I had been given a slip of paper on which I could cast a vote for
my favorite quilt. What a job that was to choose just one! But I ended up
voting for one called “Eve”. It pictured the Garden of Eden with a brown Eve
draped in a vine which extended the length of her body, covering her
strategically. There was that famous
tree, and there was the snake (Satan) to tempt her with the one huge apple
hanging on this quilted tree. Several of the usual things attracted me to this
particular quilt. It was a beautiful piece of work, artfully crafted, etc. but
I noticed that it was bordered in something similar to Kente cloth. It
definitely was related to Africa. That, plus the fact that Eve was a brown lady
portraying this important Biblical character spoke to my feelings for Black
History Month. So I gave “the sister” my vote.
Other
quilted items were on display, as well:
Bags, jackets, wall hangings, welcome signs, placemats, cats, dogs. All
lovely, so creative, so cleverly designed.
I was so
elated by simply seeing all of this and being in the midst of all this beauty
which represented so much talent! When I
finally ended my visit I felt a certain strange attachment to each item I had
been privileged to view and all I could think about was getting back to my room
and getting this on paper to share with you.
*Jeanette
T. Johns is a member of Bethel AME Church in Huntington, Long Island and is the
author of The Upward Journey – chronicles of the life and ministry of Bishop
Decatur Ward Nichols
9. BLACK HISTORY DIES IN NEGLECTED
SOUTHERN CEMETERIES:
Larry
Copeland (USA Today)
HAMILTON,
Ga. — The chain-link fence slices through the Hamilton City Cemetery, splitting
it into two clearly defined sections.
On one side
are beautiful, grassy vistas with well-tended plots where rest some of the city's
most esteemed citizens. On the other are hundreds of abandoned, overgrown
graves, some thought to contain the remains of slaves. Many are unmarked; some
are inaccessible in the thick undergrowth.
At first
glance, that fence seems as defiant and forbidding as the "Whites
Only" signs that once defined life in this city of 1,021 about 90 miles
southwest of Atlanta. But the situation at the Hamilton City Cemetery, which
was established in 1828, is not uncommon in cities and towns across the Southeast.
The fence represents not so much the grip of the region's segregationist past
as a disturbing dilemma in the nation's present:
Just who
owns African-American history, whether the lost stories from a worn graveyard
or the very events or poetic moments that have shaped this nation? Perhaps more
troubling: Who wants it and will cultivate it for future generations?
The graves
on the south side of the fence at Hamilton City Cemetery in Hamilton, Ga., are
overgrown with trees and bushes.
It's a
question that resonates as we leave a month swelling with African-American
achievement — the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the
Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, the second inauguration of the nation's
first black president — and usher in Black History Month.
Yet those
hard-won gains toward a post-racial society for the living seem to fade amid
the forgotten souls in places such as the Hamilton City Cemetery.
The most
unsettling thing about the neglected black cemetery in Hamilton is how little is
known about these citizens who lived and died long ago. The very earliest
graves, the ones buried deepest in the woods, are unmarked. The ones from the
20th century mostly have markers that include only a name and dates of birth
and death:
Here lies
E.T. Smith: 1876-1916. Over there is Sophronie Pitts: Aug. 1, 1855-Aug. 27,
1944. And back there rests W.C. Robinson: Oct. 11, 1852-Nov. 25, 1935. Records
at the county courthouse reveal no details of their lives.
Andrea
McNally, an amateur historian who's leading an effort to have the city or
Harris County clean and maintain the "black side" of the cemetery,
has been repeatedly frustrated by the fact that no one here seems to know just
who owns that part of the burial ground.
"Everyone
I approached, when I asked about it, they said, 'Are you referring to the white
or black cemetery?'" she says. "I went to the tax office, went to the
deed office. Nobody knows who owns it."
None
The
"white" part of Hamilton City Cemetery is manicured.
Ownership
is important because maintaining a cemetery is expensive. The dead lack a
natural constituency to see that a site is properly maintained, say experts
including Michael Trinkley, director of the Chicora Foundation, a Columbia,
S.C.-based, non-profit heritage group that works on cemetery preservation.
Georgia
state law allows — but does not require — local governments to maintain
abandoned cemeteries. Both county and city officials deny ownership.
"Counties
frequently don't know who owns cemeteries," Trinkley says. "They had
no reason to tax them, because they can't collect taxes off them, so they had
no reason to keep up with ownership."
Local
governments, he says, are extremely reluctant to assume the steep costs of
providing perpetual care for a plot that generates no tax revenue.
"Cemeteries are like any other historic resource," he says.
"They have to have a constituency."
He says
communities have resolved similar situations in different ways:
- In
Columbia, S.C., black state legislators got a one-time, $300,000 state grant to
care for Randolph Cemetery started in downtown Columbia in 1872 by a group of
black legislators and businessmen. It was the city's first cemetery for African
Americans but eventually fell into neglect.
-
Portsmouth, Va., is taking steps to consolidate four essentially abandoned
African-American cemeteries — Mount Calvary, Mount Olive, Fisher's and Potter's
Field — under city ownership. The cemeteries were begun between 1879 and 1894
and have been abandoned since at least the early 1960s.
-
Thomasville, Ga., takes care of both its white cemetery, the Old Cemetery, and
its black one, Flipper Cemetery, "in a very equal, even-handed
fashion," Trinkley says.
These
neglected black cemeteries are most common in the Deep South but also are seen
in other parts of the country. Mansfield, Texas, near Fort Worth, faces a
situation nearly identical to Hamilton's: a fence separating a white cemetery
near downtown from a black one containing the anonymous graves of former
slaves. A black church there took over ownership of that cemetery.
In many
instances, African-American cemeteries in the South were started by small
associations of a dozen or so black community leaders around the turn of the century.
As those people died off, and as 6 million black people moved North during the
Great Migration of 1910-70, ownership of the cemeteries became muddled,
Trinkley says.
“I don't
think anybody really knows who owns the African-American side.”
— Nancy
McMichael, Harris County clerk, assistant county manager
Hidden from
view
No one
seems to know whether that's what happened in Hamilton.
Many
long-time residents of Hamilton were unaware that the cemetery was even there
until the recent death of Annie B. Copeland, a 96-year-old African-American
woman who wanted to be buried there.
"I've
been here seven years, and I'd never heard of it," says Hamilton City
Councilman Alvin Howard, one of the city's first black council members of the
modern era. "I called the city manager, and had him meet me at the
cemetery. He said, 'Mr. Howard, I'll be honest with you. We've just neglected
it.' I said, 'I can't hold you at fault for what's happened in the past, but
what we do from this day forward, we will all be held accountable.'"
The
"white side" of the cemetery is owned and maintained by the Hamilton
Cemetery Association, says Nancy McMichael, the Harris County clerk and
assistant county manager. "I don't think anybody really knows who owns the
African-American side," she says. "We had an attorney tell us that
the county owns it, but the county has no holdings out there, per se."
She says
the Hamilton Cemetery Association is believed to have erected the fence about
50 years ago. Don Newberry, president of the association, declined to be
interviewed.
Hamilton
Mayor Rebecca Chambers says the city tried to clean the front part of the
cemetery when she became mayor nine years ago. "When we found out what we
had there, we tried to find out who owns it," she says. "We have been
able to clean part of it. But from 1828 to now, trees have grown up that are
huge. We don't want to disturb ground that we don't know what's there."
McNally,
47, who is white, says she started trying to get the cemetery cleaned up after
she and her 12-year-old son, Patrick, saw it in September. "I started
asking, 'Why isn't it being taken care of, just like the other side?'"
McNally,
who works as a site operations manager for a national printer company, has
spent months trying to learn who owns the cemetery and working to get it
cleaned. She says she approached the city's largest black church, but many
churches here have their own cemeteries.
She says
she believes it's important to learn who is buried here and to document as much
information as possible about them.
One of
those buried here is Mack Miller, who was born in September 1886 and died Feb.
1, 1937. By standards of the day, he was a very wealthy man: At the time of his
death, he owned a home in Hamilton, other property in LaGrange, a 117-acre farm
in Kingsborough, and $1,000 he left to his mother, according to his will.
In the
segregated 1950s and '60s, the "colored" park in Hamilton was Mack
Miller Park. Hamilton native Robert Hixon, 56, believes it was named for
Miller. That's difficult to confirm: The authoritative county history at the
local library virtually ignores the contributions of black Hamiltonians.
What is
known, from Miller's will, is that he hardly expected his final resting place
to come to this: "It is my will and desire that my body be buried in a
decent and Christian like manner," he stated in the very first item of the
Jan. 3, 1936, document.
“It's a
pride thing, really. I just think it's important that we take care of our own.”
— Sgt. 1st
Class David Thomas
Appeal to veterans
Because
many veterans' graves rest in the African-American section, McNally sought help
from soldiers' groups.
The VFW
post in nearby Cataula, Post 10558, took up her cause. And on the Saturday
before Veterans Day, about 45 people, many of them combat veterans, cleared
huge piles of brush, sawed down trees, pushed through undergrowth and cleaned
debris off graves.
"They
put out a flier for volunteers, saying they had a cemetery in the area that had
been overgrown that had veterans buried there," says Sgt. 1st Class David
Thomas, 29, who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. "It's a
pride thing, really. I just think it's important that we take care of our
own."
Sgt. 1st
Class Ronald Spear, project chairman for the post, says the group put American
flags on all veterans’ graves — on both sides of the fence. "We've got
veterans out here, laid to rest," he says.
That
afternoon, the clusters of people digging through layers of neglect included
just three African Americans in a county with about 6,000 blacks. There were no
city officials, no county officials, no one from any of the local black
churches.
Whitley
Culverson, 64, one of the black people present, remembers when the city had
"Colored Only" and "White Only" water fountains.
"I
wish our young people were out here," he says. "There's a lot of
history out here. I think Martin Luther King is rolling over in his
grave."
It's
unclear what's going to happen with the Hamilton City Cemetery.
McNally is
trying to get the matter heard by a circuit judge to determine ownership. If a
judge determines that either the city or county owns the property, that entity
would be responsible for maintenance.
Rachel
Black, Georgia's deputy state archaeologist, says that, "If the cemetery's
lucky, a historical society comes forward or a family group will form an
organization that will provide perpetual care."
If that
doesn't happen, how do these situations end?
"Sometimes
they don't," she says. "They just keep going."
Read More:
10. SUMMER SEMINAR AT THE NAVAL
ACADEMY FOR: HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS:
This summer
program is only for HS Juniors.
The United
States Naval Academy Summer Seminar is a fast-paced, six-day experience for
high achievers who have completed their junior year in high school. Summer
Seminar teaches you about life at the Naval Academy, where academics,
athletics, and professional training play equally important roles in developing
our nation's leaders.
If you
think that you may be interested in pursuing an appointment to one of the
nation's service academies and serving your country as an officer, you should
seriously consider attending the Naval Academy's Summer Seminar.
2013 Summer
Seminar Dates:
Session 1:
1-6 June
Session 2:
8-13 June
Session 3:
15-20 June
11. CALL FOR PAPERS AFRO-AMERICAN
HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY - “150 SOUNDS OF FREEDOM” 34TH
NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
October
10-13, 2013
Nashville,
Tennessee
In honor of
the January 1, 1863, signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the
Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS) is pleased to
announce the 2013 Conference Call for Papers, with the theme “150 Sounds of
Freedom.” The 2013 conference will be held at The Inn at Opryland in Nashville,
Tennessee, October 10-13, 2013.
Papers and
other conference activities explore all aspects of freedom, including, but not
limited to, such topics as literacy, death, the Emancipation Proclamation,
religion, art, sports and music.
The annual
AAHGS Conference is the premier opportunity to explore standard and innovative
methods, resources, and findings related to the expansive history of
African-Americans and the African Diaspora. Authors and possible candidates for
general assembly gatherings may also submit proposals.
The
following focus areas are offered as suggestions for session topics:
•
African-American history/sports/music/medicine/professions/firsts
• DNA/use
of technology in research (No product sales presentations)
•
Church/religious history in the African-American experience
• Research
methodologies (various levels)
•
Antebellum/Civil War/confederates/reconstruction
• Local
history, i.e. town histories, institutions, industrial history, migration paths
• Native
American/African-American experiences
• Society
management
• Tennessee
slavery
• Ethnic
research, writing, publishing, source records
Presenters
who have solidly researched their topic area and are able to deliver insightful
and enjoyable presentations to diverse audiences are invited to submit.
Submission of Papers:
Submissions
should be forwarded to callforpapers@aahgs.org, no later than February 20,
2013. Notice of acceptance or rejection will be made no later than March 1,
2013.
Proposals
must include the following required information:
• Name of
session presenter(s), address, telephone, fax and email address
• Session
title
• Research
skill level of audience (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
• Proposals
are to be submitted in Microsoft Word format. If high quality and camera ready,
they can be submitted in PowerPoint. PDF
formats will not be accepted.
• Include
list of resources and/or bibliography
• Speaker
must provide a 50-100 word bio, with headshot and a maximum 100-word
description of the lecture for website, press releases and other materials
• Photos
should be sent as jpeg, tif, gif, or bmp
• Syllabus
material is required for every lecture presentation and should be between 2 and
8 pages per lecture. Syllabus material is due by May 1, 2013.
• Please
indicate your AV requirements, such as overhead projector, slide projector,
TV/VCR, DVD, internet usage, flip chart, portable sound system, microphone,
table or podium. Be specific.
• Speaker
will provide his or her own laptop computer for digital presentations
Considerations:
All
presenters agree to participate at their own expense. A $75 per lecture
honorarium is offered, as well as a complimentary conference registration
packet. Honorarium payments may be traded on a dollar for dollar basis on your
conference registration, syllabus advertising or exhibit space. However, it does not cover conference costs.
Please take this into consideration before submitting or agreeing to
participate.
Students:
College
students are encouraged to submit proposals and are not required to register
for the conference if selected to present. Faculty members are encouraged to
assist/present with students.
Key dates:
• January
2, 2013 – Call for Papers issued
• February
20, 2013 - Deadline for paper submissions
• March 1,
2013 – Selection and notification of speakers
• May 1,
2013 – Deadline for syllabus material submission
We look
forward to your participation!
Conference co-chairs:
Chajuan Fitzgerald,
Chapter President, AAHGS Nashville, info@aahgsnashville.org
Tamela
Tenpenny-Lewis, National President, AAHGS, TTenpLewis@aol.com
Additional
information: http://www.aahgsnashville.org/call-for-papers/
12. NAACP LAUNCHES NEW APP FOR THE
44TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS:
The
AT&T sponsored app gives users an interactive red carpet experience
(Los Angeles,
CA) – Ahead of the 44th NAACP Image Awards, the NAACP has launched a new app
that gives users an interactive experience for the award ceremony. The app, sponsored by AT&T, was designed
by Vaughn Dabney, an alumnus of the NAACP’s Academic, Cultural, Technological
and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). The
Image Awards will be broadcast live on NBC on Friday, February 1st at 8 p.m.
ET.
Apple and
Android users can interface with people across the country using the (hashtag)
#ImageAwards via Twitter streams.
The app is
available for download for:
Android: http://action.naacp.org/app-android
iPhone: http://action.naacp.org/app-iphone.
Event
sponsors include FedEx, AARP, UAW/Chrysler, Wells Fargo, Ford Motor Company,
Anheuser Busch, Hyundai Motors, AT&T, Southwest Airlines and Walgreens.
For all
information and latest news, please visit the official NAACP Image Awards
website at http://www.naacpimageawards.net.
13. OVERCOMING BLACK COMPLACENCY IN
AN HOUR OF CRISIS:
By William
P. Muhammad
In American
society, there is a commonly held belief that learning the lessons of history
will prevent past mistakes from repeating. Likewise, an adage that defines
insanity as continuing a given behavior, while expecting an altogether
different result, gives credence to those advocating alternative solutions
beyond the narrative of outmoded ideas and obsolete action plans.
Seeming to
rest upon the laurels of the 1950s and 60s, traditional civil rights
leadership, in the name of access and inclusion, is today focusing more upon
selling partisan loyalties than on promoting an unapologetic Black agenda.
Within the context of America’s various Black communities, the common
denominator of substandard education, high incarceration and high unemployment
rates reveals not only the failure of “non-economic liberalism,” but also the
failures of a movement that for too long has relied upon corporate patronage,
political favoritism and the diluting of Black interests in order to secure
acceptance and approval.
Furthermore,
in this compromising of Black interests, as a means for admittance into the so-called
mainstream establishment, Black America’s collective well being is
unfortunately being harmed. By rewarding the few, at the expense of the many,
and contingent upon a political climate that changes every four to eight years,
the relevance of ideas, programs and solutions, accepted and rewarded by
government and private philanthropy, is limited. Clearly requiring a new
direction and perspective, the current civil rights paradigm, which demands
jobs and justice over the ownership of producing land, a Black economic vision
and the breaking of dependency, the aimlessness and complacency many Black
communities are now experiencing will only continue.
For
instance, when comparing the collective progress of relative newcomers to the
United States, to that of the descendants of enslaved Africans, it goes without
saying that within one or two generations, many immigrants are showing more
economic productivity for themselves, their families and their communities than
Black people, whose families have been in for America decades, if not
centuries, longer. Although the hamstringing of Black progress through
deception, terrorism and anti-Black legislation has been well documented over
the last 400 years, the fact remains that 21st century obstacles to Black progress
are more self-inflicted and psychological than they are of outright opposition.
Subsequently
creating a so-called permanent underclass, devoid of hope and struggling to
survive, the decimation of Black communities through disenfranchisement laws,
associated with past felonies, and a poor public educational system, that fails
to prepare Black youth for a global economy, the system, to which civil rights
leadership has tied itself, is cruelly indifferent to the plight of the Black
masses. While the rural and urban poor are under no illusions regarding the
limitations inherent to such an arrangement, regardless of well meaning
intentions, civil rights leadership must reassess their agendas, reflect upon
proven and workable solutions and leave egos at the door.
Considering
the “Economic Blueprint,” long advocated by the Nation of Islam, as one model
for positive change, the issue of poverty and want could be addressed within a
relatively short period of time. Incorporating a holistic approach, that starts
with teaching Black people the knowledge of self, the importance of unity and
the value of pooling resources, if accepted and adopted by 40 million Black
people, harnessing only one percent of the $1.1 trillion Blacks spend annually
could usher in a renaissance of Black thought, wealth and consciousness. Having
an impact reaching far beyond the borders of the United States, once adopted,
the “do-for-self” model would not only create a new era of prosperity for Black
America, but it would also elevate American society in general.
By
capturing only $100 billion dollars annually, urban factories could be
repurchased, thousands of acres of farmland could be acquired, healthcare
facilities and new schools could be built and the Black community could enter
into international trade and commerce for the good our ourselves, our families
and our people. Such a vision is not a pipedream; it was actually carried into
practice and proven to be successful by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and
studied by both advocates and detractors alike.
Unity is
the key to Black America’s survival, relevance and prosperity and our failure
to “consider the time and what must be done” will lead to unfortunate loss.
With the simple elimination of alcohol, tobacco and other unhealthy habits, we
could free the dollars necessary to make such an endeavor possible. If we are
to defeat the complacency that has so permeated Black America in this time of
crisis, then it’s time to consider a program with a proven track record.
Whether you are Muslim, Christian or Hebrew, if you are Black, we cannot escape
the overall condition of our people and the time for action is now.
Brother
William P. Muhammad is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso and an
author. Post comments at www.wisdomhouseonline.com
Read More: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2013/01/30/overcoming-black-complacency-in-an-hour-of-crisis/
14. GETTING TO ZERO: AN UP CLOSE
VIEW:
Dr. Oveta
Fuller
Since
identification in 1981, HIV/AIDS has infected over 60,000,000 persons around
the globe. The relatively fragile virus has used to its advantage that humans
were created as sexual beings.
While HIV
is outside of the body, it is not a robust microbe. The required spread from
person to person can occur only through a few body fluids, blood, semen, vaginal
fluids and breast milk. Avoid contact with these to never become infected with
HIV. Once inside the body, HIV has many
strategies to meet the goal of making more virus and inactivating body defenses
against foreign items.
This
January 2013 article is written on the night of arrival in Lusaka, Zambia to
begin a Fulbright Scholar residency in Zambia. Even though leaving home and
loved ones for an extended time becomes less easy the older one gets, I am
excited to again arrive in this southern central African country.
I am
excited to continue the work begun in 2005 in partnership with Bishop Paul
Kawimbe, AME-SADA Director Robert Nicolas and the University of Michigan. In
God’s plan and purpose, this 2013 time for active engagement in HIV/AIDS
elimination will focus in the Copperbelt region. Copperbelt is one of nine
provinces in Zambia that is part of the 17th Episcopal District. Bishop Wilfred
Messiah is the recently assigned prelate and also Chairman of the AMEC
Connectional Health Commission. Although it should not surprise us still, the
timing and coordination of God astounds.
I am
excited to be here again. I am grateful for the smooth safe travels from
Michigan through Johannesburg, South Africa to “the real Africa” as Zambia is
called.
At the custom’s
booth at the Lusaka International Airport, to enter Zambia I had to explain the
purpose of a more extended than usual stay here. One of the immigration
officials asked the insightful question, “What is the level of HIV/AIDS in the
USA?” He already had commented that “almost every family in Zambia has been
directly or indirectly affected” and “there is a great need to remove the
mystery and stigma held about HIV/AIDS.”
It is
estimated that in Zambia about one in every 8 people has been infected with
HIV. Some cities in the USA have an estimated prevalence of one infection per
20 people (Washington, DC, Philadelphia). South Africa is estimated to have
1-in-5 HIV prevalence. I answered his question that in the USA with a
population of over 300,000,000 people, some 1,500,000 people have encountered
HIV since its discovery in the 1980s. Of
new infections in 2010, over 50% were among people of African descent.
The
13,000,000 people of Zambia live in urban, peri-urban and rural communities in
a geographical area about the size of the state of Texas. An estimated
1,500,000 Zambians have been infected with HIV/AIDS. Over 1,000,000 children
have become vulnerable because of sickness or death of a parent due to
HIV/AIDS.
The
custom’s official continued in conversation while his colleague checked with
other authorities to determine the appropriate category to stamp my entry visa
as business, visitor, study or special diplomat. Usually it is classified as a
business visa. With the recent research time here in May-June 2012, the 30 day
period per year allowed in country on business has been exhausted.
Whether on
this continent or that, HIV impacts lives. Since I have been here (in the 2nd
day at this final writing), two AMEC pastors and friends have made contact to
welcome my return. Both were calling in a day when they were each attending
different funerals. The two deaths may or may not have been related to
complications of HIV/AIDS. But, they serve as a reminder of why this time and
why the message that we can stop HIV (and other preventable diseases). We have
the means, but need the sustained will to eliminate HIV/AIDS and its associated
complications.
I am
reminded of and share with TCR readers the Word heard in the last weeks in
multiple places. “Be strong and of good
courage, be not afraid, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9.
For the
1,500,000 people in Zambia and their families and friends, and the 1,500,000
persons in the USA and their families and friends, or those anywhere in the
world who live with HIV/AIDS, we seek to get to zero.
We want no
new HIV infections, no virus transmission from mother to child and no
discrimination due to HIV/AIDS. These
goals cover what we together have to do, whether on this shore or on that or
wherever we find ourselves.
15. MEDITATION BASED ON ISAIAH
40:18-31:
*The Rev.
Dr. Joseph A. Darby
Those who
tend to be “night owls” like yours truly know that late night TV commercials
for “fantastic” new products are often either entertainingly novel or amazingly
ridiculous. One of my recent favorites,
which notes how hard it is to keep up with the many online “passwords” required
by today’s technology, offers a handy “password organizer” for the modest price
of twenty bucks - with the promise that if you buy one, they’ll throw in a
second one absolutely free!
The
“password organizer” sounds great in that commercial, unless you consider three
things: The first is that one goal of
today’s technology is to reduce paper usage.
The “password organizer” - which is a vinyl bound notepad - doesn’t do
that. The second is that if your
“password organizer” is stolen along with your laptop, tablet or smartphone,
the thief also gets a handy list of your passwords. The third is that those who do want to create
a written record of their passwords can as easily create one with a two buck
spiral notebook instead of a twenty buck, vinyl bound note pad!
The
“password organizer” is an initially appealing product, but it’s really a
reminder that what seems “new and novel” often isn’t all that it appears to be
and that “fantastic bargains” often aren’t bargains at all, but creative ways
to waste money. We’d all do well to
remember that as we go through life.
The demands
of life make all of us look for convenient shortcuts, and the need to maintain
the right image and appearance make all of us pursue what looks and sounds
good, hopefully with the least possible expenditure of time, energy and money. Most of us can look back at our lives and see
the debris of things we’ve done or gone after that caused us more difficulty
than delight because they weren’t what we thought they would be.
The best
things in life come not through “too good to be true” shortcuts but through
dedicated and consistent effort, and those things are best accomplished when we
have the faith to let God guide our efforts.
When we trust God to guide and lead us to where we need to be, then
we’ll reach our goals and have the satisfaction of knowing that we did so
working together with God. It may take
longer than we want to get there, but we’ll get there in God’s time and know
that when the things of this world turn out to be little more than cheap
illusions, God will bring us enduring peace of mind, enduring strength and
enduring joy.
Join us on
the First Sunday in February for Church School at 8:45 am and for Holy
Communion Worship at 10 a.m. if you are in the Charleston, South Carolina
area. The Combined Choir, Gospel Choir
and Mass Choir will offer praise.
Sunday’s
Scripture Lessons are:
Joshua
1:1-9
I
Corinthians 15:1-10
Mark
4:30-41
Sunday’s
Sermon is: “Never Doubt God’s Power”
*The Rev.
Dr. Joseph A. Darby is the pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston,
South Carolina
16. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY
ANNOUNCEMENT:
- The Reverend Ella Mae Samuels
elected as Vice-Chair of the McDuffie County Board of Education for the 2013
Calendar Year
The
Reverend Ella Mae Samuels, Presiding Elder of the Augusta-Athens District of
the AME Church serving in the 6th Episcopal District and the Augusta
Georgia Annual Conference, where The Right Reverend Preston Warren William II
serves as Presiding Bishop and Dr. Wilma Delores Webb-Williams serves as
Episcopal Supervisor, has been elected as Vice-Chair of the McDuffie County
Board of Education for the 2013 calendar year. Mr. Greg Derry was elected as
Chair.
The Rev.
Samuels was elected to her second four-year term as a member of the McDuffie
County Board of Education in November 2010.
She is also
a weekly Columnist, published in the Religious Section of the McDuffie Progress
- the leading Newspaper in Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia. This is an honor
given to the Rev. Samuels by the local paper.
Congratulatory
responses can be emailed to:
Presiding
Elder Ella Mae Samuels: pesmiley@gmail.com
17. GENERAL OFFICER FAMILY
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It is with
deep regrets that we share the passing of Ms. Mary Alice Jackson, R.N. who is the
sister of Ms. Gloria S. Bruce, widow of the late Rev. Dr. Y. B. Bruce, former
General Officer and Presiding Elder.
Celebration
of her legacy and life will be at 10:00 A.M., Saturday, February 2, 2013 at the
St. Nicholas Missionary Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida.
St.
Nicholas Missionary Baptist Church
2606 San
Diego Road
Jacksonville,
FL 32207
The family
can be reached at bruceg@south.net or
telephone 407.352.1431.
18. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We are
greatly saddened to announce the death of Sister Sharon Mills, the wife of the
Reverend Latham Mills, after an extended illness. Sister Mills' funeral was
held Saturday, January 19, 2013 at the Payne Chapel AME Church in Nashville,
Tennessee.
The Rev.
Latham Mills is a supernumerated AME Preacher of the 6th Episcopal District.
The Rev. Latham Mills served as pastor of the New Hope AME Church in Hoschton,
Georgia; the New Zion Hill AME Church in Thomson, GA; the Nimno AME Church in
Nicholson, Georgia; and St. Luke AME Church in Athens, GA - all situated on the
Augusta-Athens District. .
Condolences
may be sent to:
The Rev.
Latham Mills
6236
Twilight Trail
Morrow,
Georgia 30260-1213
19. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT
NOTICE:
We are
saddened to share the passing of the Rev. Cecil Napier, a retired pastor in the
Kentucky Annual Conference. The Rev. Napier passed on Friday, January 25, 2013
at the VA Hospital in Lexington, KY.
Services
for the Rev. Napier are as follows:
Wake: Thursday,
January 31, 2013 from 6-8 p.m.
Bethel AME
Church - Boneyville
755
Spoonamore Lane
Stanford,
KY 40484
Funeral:
Friday, February 01, 2013 at 11 a.m.
Bethel AME
Church-Boneyville
755
Spoonamore Lane
Stanford,
KY 40484
The Rev.
Kelvin Robinson, Pastor and Eulogist
Interment
will follow at the Camp Nelson National Cemetery
Letters of
comfort and prayers can be sent to:
Mrs.
Jeanette Napier
3901
Bluelick Road
Stanford,
KY 40484
Emails send
to Mrs. Mary Gooch:
20. CONNECTIONAL LAY ORGANIZATION
BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret
to inform you of the passing of Brother Frank Gilyard, Sr., the immediate past
Connectional Lay Organization Historiographer of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church.
The funeral
service for Brother Frank Gilyard, Sr. will take place on Friday, February 1,
2013 at:
Bethel AME
Church
330 W.
Windsor Street
Reading, PA
19601
Phone:
610-376-7555
Viewing
from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Service at 10:00
a.m.
The Rev.
Melvin Wayns, Eulogist
The Rev.
Eugene McDuffy, Pastor
Condolences
can be sent to:
Mrs.
Mildred Gilyard
4500
Sefranka Road
Temple, PA
19560
21.
CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information
Center
Phone: (615) 837-9736 (H)
Phone: (615) 833-6936 (O)
Cell: (615) 403-7751
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AME-Church-Clergy-Family-Information-Center/167202414220
22. 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.
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