Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
I received a negative letter from “Bishop” Robert L. McKenzie, which I wouldn’t even dignify by placing it in The Christian Recorder. I have forwarded the letter to all of the Bishops, whose email address I have, and to the General Officers. I am appending my response to the “good bishop.”
My response
Dear Bishop Robert L, McKenzie:
Thank you for your kind note. As far as I am concerned this matter with Grace Ministries International Fellowship and Grace Seminary is “laid to rest.” Praise God!
You have listed a number of negative things about the AME Church, but in the Spirit of Christ, I will not attempt to respond, in kind. Instead, I am responding in the Spirit of Christ and on behalf of the Church. We will “Turn the other cheek.” The Bible, quoting Jesus says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:11, 12) I am rejoicing because of your letter and I praise God for your letter. Thank you for all of the negative statements you said about the AME Church and its leadership. I am rejoicing! I rejoice because, you said that you, “…almost died laughing” because of what one of our bishops said. I rejoice because you found some humor in his statement. I rejoice, in the Name of Christ, because of all of the negative things you have written about the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Please accept this note as our way of “turning the other cheek” to your negativity and venomous statements.
May God bless you and your ministry and may the love and peace of Christ be yours!
2. UPDATE OF MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE
The Morris Brown College Board of Trustees has selected Mr. James E. Young, President and CEO of Citizens Trust Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, as its Board Chairman on September 13, 2004. The board is comprised of representatives from the corporate world, alumni of the college and concerned persons from the Atlanta community. At the time of the vote, there were no ordained African Methodist clergy serving as members other than Bishop DeVeaux.
Under the new model, Bishop William P. DeVeaux, the presiding bishop of the Sixth Episcopal District will serve as Board Vice Chairman. He has agreed to support all programs of the Board as it seeks to restore and revitalize the college. The trustees believe that this governance program will provide greater access of the corporate community, enhance the strategic planning process, and increase funding.
The Trustees will depend on the consistent and faithful support of the entire constituency of the African Methodism as its primary building block for insuring the future of Morris Brown College.
3. THE GLOBAL CORNER: NEWS FROM THE 20TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT:
Malawi North Annual Conference - August 3rd - 7th 2005
Host Church - Boma AME Church - Chitipa, Malawi
Host Pastor - The Rev. B. M. K. Siyeni
Host Presiding Elder - The Rev. W. M. Ngulube
Malawi south annual conference - august 10th - 14th 2005
Host Church - Nalikata AME Church - Mulanje, Malawi
Host Pastor - The Rev. S. Manyera
Host Presiding Elder - The Rev. Lewis Mwenye
Northeast Zimbabwe annual conference - august 17th - 21st 2005
Host Church - Sakubva AME Church - Mutare, Zimbabwe
Host Pastor - The Rev. Lovemore Machivenyika
Host presiding Elder - The Rev. O. T. S. Sanhanga
Southwest Zimbabwe Annual Conference - August 24th - 28th 2005
Host Church - Jordan Temple AME Church - Gwanda, Zimbabwe
Host Pastor – The Rev. Freeman Nhlazo
Host Presiding Elder - The Rev. John Makgatho
Central Zimbabwe Annual Conference - August 31st - September 4th 2005
Host Church - Mt. Zion AME Church- Gweru, Zimbabwe
Host Pastor - The Rev. David M. T. Muravu
Host Presiding Elder - The Rev. David M. T. Muravu
Malawi Central Annual Conference - October 5th - 9th 2005
Host Church - Mdabwi AME Church - Kasungu, Malawi
Host Pastor - The Rev. J. A. Kambanizite
Host presiding elder - The Rev. N. Chamamba
With kind regards,
Bishop W. J. Messiah
4. GOOD NEWS FOR THE UNINSURED SUBMITTED BY THE REVEREND DR. MIRIAM BURNETT:
Millions of people across the country and in our state have difficulty affording health care, including prescription medicines. They lack health insurance and simply do not have the money to pay for the medicines they need.
But there is good news
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance can help low-income, uninsured patients access the free or nearly free, brand-name medicines they need. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America’s pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patient advocacy organizations and civic groups. The African Methodist Episcopal Church Connectional Health Commission (AMEC CHC) is proud to be a part of this effort.
By calling 1-888 - 4PPA -NOW, patients can learn whether they may be eligible for one or more patient assistance programs. A trained specialist will ask a series of short questions and help identify the right patient assistance program for them. Patients can also visit the program’s interactive Web site, www.pparx.org, which will guide them through the application process.
The patient assistance programs available through the Partnership for Prescription Assistance offer prescription medicines to treat a broad range of illnesses and conditions, including, but not limited to, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, HIV/AIDS, depression, seizures, heart disease, arthritis, skin conditions, thyroid disease and high cholesterol.
Though each patient assistance program has its own eligibility criteria, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance encourages anyone who does not have prescription drug coverage and has trouble affording their medicines to call 1-888-4PPA-NOW or log on to www.pparx.org to see if they may qualify for one or more programs.
Helping the uninsured is a top priority for African Methodist Episcopal Church Connectional Health Commission, and we will continue to advocate for those in need. If you are interested in learning how you can help support the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, please contact Mrs. Gwen Williams, Executive Director (telephone: (504) 482-6053) or Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, Medical Director (email: mailto:mburnett@itc.edu). We are pleased to be a partner in the effort to bring free to those in need.
5. LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I thank you for bringing up the issue of Itinerancy. It is a topic that is worth discussing. I do not think one can discuss Itinerancy without discussing what it means to be called by God to be Pastor. For when God calls us he has a plan and it may mean moving.
I have had the pleasure of serving in the United Methodist and the A.M.E. church. As a United Methodist, I was taught we serve at the pleasure of God and the Bishop. In other words when the Bishop assigned you somewhere, even if you did not like it, you said "Thank you sir, for using me" then cried when you got home, if it was not an assignment you liked.
When I answered my call to serve God, I knew he wanted me to do a different type of ministry and I was excited! I never felt called to an urban church. And like you Dr. Sydnor, I was in a prize conference, the New York conference of the United Methodist Church in New York City.
While attending Princeton Seminary my last year, the Dean of placement called me and said he had the perfect position for me. As a United Methodist Campus minister in Bozeman, Montana!
I thought he was crazy. The position wanted someone with a social work degree which I had. That was 13 years ago I took the position and I am still in Montana. Now I am doing rural ministry in the A.M.E. church which I love. I am a church planter which is my heart's desire and I am now an Itinerant elder in the A.M.E. church. It has been an amazing journey. I still say I serve at the pleasure of God and the pleasure of Bishop Bryant. For being an Itinerant pastor is like being a fire fighter, we can not pick and choose which fires to put out; we must always be ready and go where we are needed.
Lastly, I am so proud to be A.M.E. for if I had not been in Montana, I would not be A.M.E. Though my work is small, it is important to God, Bishop Bryant. God needs some of us to venture from the safe and comfortable. For there are so many longing to hear his word. Dr. Sydnor, you have been such a wonderful mentor to me and so many others. I thank God for your wonderful work on the Christian Recorder.
The Rev. Denise Rogers,
St. Paul Community A.M.E. Church
www.forministry.com/59715spcac
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
3/29/2005
3/28/2005
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER ONLINE (3/28/05)
Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
The Itinerancy in the African Methodist Church is not well…
In years past, the issue of the itinerancy was a part of any discussion about ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I remember hearing the old folks talking about the itinerant ministry when I was growing up. Upon acknowledging my call to the ministry, among the first questions that I had to answer was whether I wanted itinerant or local orders. I was given the AME Discipline and told to study and to make sure that I made the decision about the itinerancy or local orders that was right for me. I was told that once I started on the track I selected, I could not change.
I started the journey of the itinerant ministry in the New Brunswick District of the New Jersey Annual Conference at Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway, New Jersey. I transferred to the Philadelphia Annual Conference and I recall Bishop John D. Bright constantly telling us, young ministers, if we wanted to pastor a church that we needed to be willing to leave the Philadelphia Annual Conference. He spoke that over and over again at each annual conference.
I was ordained an Itinerant Elder at Greater St. Matthews AME Church in Philadelphia and Bishop Frederick D. Jordan visited the Philadelphia Annual Conference. I remember going up to him at the end of one of the worship services and told him that I wanted to pastor a church and finish seminary. He asked me if I was willing to move to the Thirteenth Episcopal District and I responded that I was willing to move. He gave me a date and told me to meet him in Kentucky. My wife, Charlotte and our two children drove to Kentucky in our “Volkswagen bug” and met Bishop Jordan in the parsonage of Quinn Chapel AME Church, Lexington, Kentucky; and the rest is history. I pastored and completed my seminary education.
So where am I going with this? When I left the Philadelphia Annual Conference in 1966, there were folks who thought that my wife and I were crazy. One pastor told me, “You don’t trade the Philadelphia Annual Conference for the Kentucky Annual Conference; that’s going backwards.” It may have been a “backward move,” but it was the best “backward move” I ever made. I was like a young bird on its first flight. I took off, floundered a bit, and then began to fly with the Spirit of God beneath my wings. I was an itinerant.
What has happened to the itinerancy? Let me use the Second Episcopal District as an example. The applicants for ministry, especially the women, are pursuing their academic training with vigor. I believe that there are as many trained clergy in the Second Episcopal District as anywhere in the church. And, I suspect that the same demographic can be found in other Episcopal Districts.
So, we have trained clergy, but my casual observation tells me that a number of the trained clergy in the Second, and other Episcopal Districts, are not willing to trust the AME Church’s itinerant system. As a result we have highly trained Itinerant Elders who are willing to serve as assistant pastors and, in reality, are serving in a “local” relationship capacity. They do not want to risk losing their good jobs so they are satisfied with bi-vocational ministry. We have pastors who are more interested in setting up and nurturing a “nest egg” for retirement than risking and “giving up all to follow Jesus.”
The Itinerancy is a risk and it is not easy. It may be that some of our “best and brightest” are “bunched up” in large urban churches because they have gotten comfortable and acquired things and don’t want to risk losing their possessions. It might be that they are “waiting for their ship to come in,” in the district where they presently serve. It might be fear. And, it might be a lack of trust.
I can tell you from experience that the Itinerancy is a risk. When I arrived at Shorter Chapel AME Church in Paris, Kentucky in July 1966, it was a rude awakening. I was ready to go back to Bethel AME Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and be an assistant pastor for the rest of my ministry. I was ready to acknowledge that the people, who told me that I was crazy for trading the Philadelphia Annual Conference for the Kentucky Annual Conference, were right.
As bad as I thought that it was, it didn’t take me long to find out that God’s Grace was sufficient and I was in God’s favor. The people at Shorter Chapel and later at St. James AME Church, Danville Kentucky provided me an opportunity for ministry and growth that has carried me from then to now. The move from Philadelphia to Kentucky was blessing for me and my family.
So what’s the bottom-line? The African Methodist Episcopal Church needs inspired, Holy Spirit-filled, trained ministers all over the AME Church. Trust the system and, if you are an itinerant, be an itinerant in the fullest sense. If you want to finish your education, speak with a bishop and convince him or her that you are willing to move. It’s a faith venture and God still makes a way! “It doesn’t make sense, but God works it!”
2. LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Dear Editor: Thanks for calling to our attention the fact that some A.M.E. ministers were listed in the category of "Bishop" by a “Bishop” Robert L McKenzie who also claimed to be president of a "Grace Seminary" in Lubbock TX. A pastor from the Eighth District was included on that list. I called it to her attention and she acted on it immediately and with great integrity. I also think it is interesting that as soon as I (and the other bishops who took action) began to inquire about the site, it came down. To my knowledge, no other names from the Eighth District appeared on the site.
Again thanks for your timely action.
Bishop Henning
Editor’s Comment: You AME Bishops and General Officers took expeditious action against this intrusion by the Grace Ministries International Fellowship. The website http://www.graceseminary.org/ is dismantled.
Again, thanks to the Reverend Dr. Joseph Darby who had the presence of mind and the courage to expose this proselytizing agenda of Grace Ministries International Fellowship.
3. DEATH NOTICE:
We are sorry to report that our Episcopal Supervisor, Dr. Pam DeVeaux, the wife of Bishop William P. DeVeaux, lost her father, Mr. Jesse Morris, on Sunday March 27, 2005. He was 98 years old.
Condolences may be sent to:
Ms. Yvonne Simpson
601 Loyola Dr.
Carson, California
Dr. Pam will be staying with her sister in California, Ms. Yvonne Simpson, whose telephone number is (310) 719-9504.
Joanne Williams-Cooper, SED 1st VP
Shirley Taylor, SED President
Please remember the family in your prayers.
God Bless!Ora L. Easley
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
Nashville, TN Contact: Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Memphis, TN Contact: (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
4. MEDICARE AND YOU: IMPORTANT 2005 DATES FOR YOU TO REMEMBER:
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 has many changes to the Medicare Program. Important dates for persons with Medicare to remember prior to implementation of the Prescription Drug Program in January of 2006 are:
January 1, 2005 – the Medicare Prevention and Screening Services offers a “Welcome to Medicare” physical examination to new persons with MedicareCholesterol, cardiovascular, and diabetes screening as preventive services are also offered.
March 31, 2005 – Persons desiring the full $600 technical assistance for 2005 with Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card must apply no later than March 31, 2005 for credit. Those applying between April 1 and June 30, 2005 will be eligible for $450 technical assistance. Those applying July 1 – September 1, 2005 are eligible for $300 credit, and those applying October 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005 are eligible for only $150 technical assistance.
October 2005 – persons with Medicare will also be receiving their “Medicare & You” handbook in the mail. Persons with retiree health benefits should, watch for information from their former employer or union.
October 13, 2005 - persons with Medicare will be able to compare the benefits of the various Medicare Prescription Drug Plans.
November 2005 – Starting November 15, 2005, persons with Medicare may Enroll in the Medicare Drug Plan that fits their needs.
For more information visit the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov or call: 1-800 Medicare (1-800-633-4227).
Teresa Zayas
Health Insurance SpecialistCMS Atlanta (404) 562-7220
5. CONN-M-SWAWO + PK'S CLERGY FAMILY EVENTS, WYNDHAM ANATOLE HOTEL, DALLAS, TEXAS:
Sunday, June 26, 2005
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: PK Forum
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.: .Election of Officers for 2005-2009,
Monday, June 27, 2005
7:00 - 9:00 a.m.: Clergy Family Awards and Installation Breakfast
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, President, CONN-M-SWAWO + PK’S
Dr. John Q. Owens, Director of Social Action
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Social Action Commission Chair
HOSTS:
Mrs. Verdene K. Austin, Episcopal M-SWAWO President
The Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall Ingram, Episcopal Supervisor
The Right Reverend Gregory G. M. Ingram, Presiding Bishop
6. UPDATE ON THE REVEREND DR. HENDERSON DAVIS, RETIRED GENERAL OFFICER (HISTORIOGRAPHER) OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH:
My father, the Reverend Dr. Henderson Davis, is a retired General Officer of the AME Church; he served as Historiographer from 1980 -1988. Prior to being elected a General Officer, he was a presiding elder and pastor mostly in the 4th district, but also pastored in the 3rd district and taught at Wilberforce University and was dean of the seminary at Allen University in the Seventh Episcopal District. He is 91 years old and had a pacemaker put in last month. After he got out of the hospital, he went to the rehabilitation center and was discharged this month.
He is home recuperating and I know there are many in the Church who still know and love him. I don't know how many more precious days he has left - hopefully many, many more! But I would like for him to “smell his flowers” while he is still here. I would like people to know that they can send him cards at his home in Indianapolis: Dr. Henderson Davis 3773 Manor Court Indianapolis, Indiana 46218 I think it would lift his spirits and be of comfort to him. I am his youngest daughter - and understand information and media as I have had a long career as V.P. at Johnson Publishing / EBONY/J ET and just recently started my own media, marketing and special events company. I've attached my info. Again, thank you for anything that you can do. God bless you!
Lydia Davis EadyPresident
Joy Communications
Cell:312-656-0305
mauilde@yahoo.com
Editor’s Comment: The letter above was sent to the Reverend Dr. Clement Fugh, General Secretary and CIO of the AME Church, who forwarded, and requested that it be published in The Christian Recorder. Let’s show Dr. Henderson Davis some AME love and inundate him with cards and best wishes. He was a superb Historiographer.
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
The Itinerancy in the African Methodist Church is not well…
In years past, the issue of the itinerancy was a part of any discussion about ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I remember hearing the old folks talking about the itinerant ministry when I was growing up. Upon acknowledging my call to the ministry, among the first questions that I had to answer was whether I wanted itinerant or local orders. I was given the AME Discipline and told to study and to make sure that I made the decision about the itinerancy or local orders that was right for me. I was told that once I started on the track I selected, I could not change.
I started the journey of the itinerant ministry in the New Brunswick District of the New Jersey Annual Conference at Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway, New Jersey. I transferred to the Philadelphia Annual Conference and I recall Bishop John D. Bright constantly telling us, young ministers, if we wanted to pastor a church that we needed to be willing to leave the Philadelphia Annual Conference. He spoke that over and over again at each annual conference.
I was ordained an Itinerant Elder at Greater St. Matthews AME Church in Philadelphia and Bishop Frederick D. Jordan visited the Philadelphia Annual Conference. I remember going up to him at the end of one of the worship services and told him that I wanted to pastor a church and finish seminary. He asked me if I was willing to move to the Thirteenth Episcopal District and I responded that I was willing to move. He gave me a date and told me to meet him in Kentucky. My wife, Charlotte and our two children drove to Kentucky in our “Volkswagen bug” and met Bishop Jordan in the parsonage of Quinn Chapel AME Church, Lexington, Kentucky; and the rest is history. I pastored and completed my seminary education.
So where am I going with this? When I left the Philadelphia Annual Conference in 1966, there were folks who thought that my wife and I were crazy. One pastor told me, “You don’t trade the Philadelphia Annual Conference for the Kentucky Annual Conference; that’s going backwards.” It may have been a “backward move,” but it was the best “backward move” I ever made. I was like a young bird on its first flight. I took off, floundered a bit, and then began to fly with the Spirit of God beneath my wings. I was an itinerant.
What has happened to the itinerancy? Let me use the Second Episcopal District as an example. The applicants for ministry, especially the women, are pursuing their academic training with vigor. I believe that there are as many trained clergy in the Second Episcopal District as anywhere in the church. And, I suspect that the same demographic can be found in other Episcopal Districts.
So, we have trained clergy, but my casual observation tells me that a number of the trained clergy in the Second, and other Episcopal Districts, are not willing to trust the AME Church’s itinerant system. As a result we have highly trained Itinerant Elders who are willing to serve as assistant pastors and, in reality, are serving in a “local” relationship capacity. They do not want to risk losing their good jobs so they are satisfied with bi-vocational ministry. We have pastors who are more interested in setting up and nurturing a “nest egg” for retirement than risking and “giving up all to follow Jesus.”
The Itinerancy is a risk and it is not easy. It may be that some of our “best and brightest” are “bunched up” in large urban churches because they have gotten comfortable and acquired things and don’t want to risk losing their possessions. It might be that they are “waiting for their ship to come in,” in the district where they presently serve. It might be fear. And, it might be a lack of trust.
I can tell you from experience that the Itinerancy is a risk. When I arrived at Shorter Chapel AME Church in Paris, Kentucky in July 1966, it was a rude awakening. I was ready to go back to Bethel AME Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and be an assistant pastor for the rest of my ministry. I was ready to acknowledge that the people, who told me that I was crazy for trading the Philadelphia Annual Conference for the Kentucky Annual Conference, were right.
As bad as I thought that it was, it didn’t take me long to find out that God’s Grace was sufficient and I was in God’s favor. The people at Shorter Chapel and later at St. James AME Church, Danville Kentucky provided me an opportunity for ministry and growth that has carried me from then to now. The move from Philadelphia to Kentucky was blessing for me and my family.
So what’s the bottom-line? The African Methodist Episcopal Church needs inspired, Holy Spirit-filled, trained ministers all over the AME Church. Trust the system and, if you are an itinerant, be an itinerant in the fullest sense. If you want to finish your education, speak with a bishop and convince him or her that you are willing to move. It’s a faith venture and God still makes a way! “It doesn’t make sense, but God works it!”
2. LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Dear Editor: Thanks for calling to our attention the fact that some A.M.E. ministers were listed in the category of "Bishop" by a “Bishop” Robert L McKenzie who also claimed to be president of a "Grace Seminary" in Lubbock TX. A pastor from the Eighth District was included on that list. I called it to her attention and she acted on it immediately and with great integrity. I also think it is interesting that as soon as I (and the other bishops who took action) began to inquire about the site, it came down. To my knowledge, no other names from the Eighth District appeared on the site.
Again thanks for your timely action.
Bishop Henning
Editor’s Comment: You AME Bishops and General Officers took expeditious action against this intrusion by the Grace Ministries International Fellowship. The website http://www.graceseminary.org/ is dismantled.
Again, thanks to the Reverend Dr. Joseph Darby who had the presence of mind and the courage to expose this proselytizing agenda of Grace Ministries International Fellowship.
3. DEATH NOTICE:
We are sorry to report that our Episcopal Supervisor, Dr. Pam DeVeaux, the wife of Bishop William P. DeVeaux, lost her father, Mr. Jesse Morris, on Sunday March 27, 2005. He was 98 years old.
Condolences may be sent to:
Ms. Yvonne Simpson
601 Loyola Dr.
Carson, California
Dr. Pam will be staying with her sister in California, Ms. Yvonne Simpson, whose telephone number is (310) 719-9504.
Joanne Williams-Cooper, SED 1st VP
Shirley Taylor, SED President
Please remember the family in your prayers.
God Bless!Ora L. Easley
Email: Amespouses1@aol.com
Nashville, TN Contact: Phone: (615) 837-9736
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Memphis, TN Contact: (901) 578-4554 (Phone & Fax)
4. MEDICARE AND YOU: IMPORTANT 2005 DATES FOR YOU TO REMEMBER:
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 has many changes to the Medicare Program. Important dates for persons with Medicare to remember prior to implementation of the Prescription Drug Program in January of 2006 are:
January 1, 2005 – the Medicare Prevention and Screening Services offers a “Welcome to Medicare” physical examination to new persons with MedicareCholesterol, cardiovascular, and diabetes screening as preventive services are also offered.
March 31, 2005 – Persons desiring the full $600 technical assistance for 2005 with Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card must apply no later than March 31, 2005 for credit. Those applying between April 1 and June 30, 2005 will be eligible for $450 technical assistance. Those applying July 1 – September 1, 2005 are eligible for $300 credit, and those applying October 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005 are eligible for only $150 technical assistance.
October 2005 – persons with Medicare will also be receiving their “Medicare & You” handbook in the mail. Persons with retiree health benefits should, watch for information from their former employer or union.
October 13, 2005 - persons with Medicare will be able to compare the benefits of the various Medicare Prescription Drug Plans.
November 2005 – Starting November 15, 2005, persons with Medicare may Enroll in the Medicare Drug Plan that fits their needs.
For more information visit the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov or call: 1-800 Medicare (1-800-633-4227).
Teresa Zayas
Health Insurance SpecialistCMS Atlanta (404) 562-7220
5. CONN-M-SWAWO + PK'S CLERGY FAMILY EVENTS, WYNDHAM ANATOLE HOTEL, DALLAS, TEXAS:
Sunday, June 26, 2005
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: PK Forum
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.: .Election of Officers for 2005-2009,
Monday, June 27, 2005
7:00 - 9:00 a.m.: Clergy Family Awards and Installation Breakfast
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, President, CONN-M-SWAWO + PK’S
Dr. John Q. Owens, Director of Social Action
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Social Action Commission Chair
HOSTS:
Mrs. Verdene K. Austin, Episcopal M-SWAWO President
The Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall Ingram, Episcopal Supervisor
The Right Reverend Gregory G. M. Ingram, Presiding Bishop
6. UPDATE ON THE REVEREND DR. HENDERSON DAVIS, RETIRED GENERAL OFFICER (HISTORIOGRAPHER) OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH:
My father, the Reverend Dr. Henderson Davis, is a retired General Officer of the AME Church; he served as Historiographer from 1980 -1988. Prior to being elected a General Officer, he was a presiding elder and pastor mostly in the 4th district, but also pastored in the 3rd district and taught at Wilberforce University and was dean of the seminary at Allen University in the Seventh Episcopal District. He is 91 years old and had a pacemaker put in last month. After he got out of the hospital, he went to the rehabilitation center and was discharged this month.
He is home recuperating and I know there are many in the Church who still know and love him. I don't know how many more precious days he has left - hopefully many, many more! But I would like for him to “smell his flowers” while he is still here. I would like people to know that they can send him cards at his home in Indianapolis: Dr. Henderson Davis 3773 Manor Court Indianapolis, Indiana 46218 I think it would lift his spirits and be of comfort to him. I am his youngest daughter - and understand information and media as I have had a long career as V.P. at Johnson Publishing / EBONY/J ET and just recently started my own media, marketing and special events company. I've attached my info. Again, thank you for anything that you can do. God bless you!
Lydia Davis EadyPresident
Joy Communications
Cell:312-656-0305
mauilde@yahoo.com
Editor’s Comment: The letter above was sent to the Reverend Dr. Clement Fugh, General Secretary and CIO of the AME Church, who forwarded, and requested that it be published in The Christian Recorder. Let’s show Dr. Henderson Davis some AME love and inundate him with cards and best wishes. He was a superb Historiographer.
