Bishop Richard Franklin Norris - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
1. EDITORIAL – THIS IS 2009 AND WE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BEG…:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III,
The 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
Last June at the General Board Meeting on New Orleans, Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams extended and invitation for her friends, and anyone else who wanted to do so, to make a financial contribution in support of Wilberforce University. I wrote a check for $500 as a gift from my wife, Dr. Charlotte and me. I was feeling pretty good about our contribution when Dr. Johnny Barbour, the AME Publisher and my friend, came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and with a mischievous look, said, “I don’t mean to get in your business, but didn’t you meet your wife at Wilberforce University?” I responded that I had and proceeded to tell him the story of how we met and how the now, Rev. Dr. Rodger Reed was walking with me when I met Charlotte. Dr. Barbour interrupted me with a more mischievous look in his eye and said, “You met the love of your life at Wilberforce; it’s none of my business, but I just think that Wilberforce University should be worth more than a $500 donation; that should be worth a $1000 or more, but at least a $1000.” Dr. Barbour may have just been “messin’” with me, but it caused me to think and, I believe it surprised him that I immediately went back to Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams and increased our gift to $1000 and have since increased our contribution.
I was convicted by Dr. Barbour’s comment because I remember when I went to Wilberforce University with a little less than $200 and registered as a freshman. I hadn’t thought about buying books, but that was all the money I had. My mother told me that she couldn’t afford to send me to college, but the Rev. Jesse F. Owens, my pastor at Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway, New Jersey gave me a certificate for a scholarship to Wilberforce and I was on my way. The scholarship, as I recall, turned out to be a work-study grant-in-aid. I was enrolled and that was the important thing. I couldn’t have gone to a majority institution with less than $200 and been provided with tuition, room, board, and books. I know that I am not the only one with a Wilberforce University story like that. And I enjoyed Miss Beatty’s hamburgers too.
Tears well up in my eyes when I think about those days and the opportunity Wilberforce University gave me, but not only to me, but Wilberforce gave hope and opportunity to thousands of others. Some of our bishops and leading pastors attended Wilberforce and they were in a similar financial strain as I experienced. Can you imagine Bishop C. Garnett Henning, Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram, Dr. Floyd Alexander, Dr. Floyd Flake walking around in high water pants; that was the style in the sixties. Wilberforce University developed many of the leaders in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. And, not only ecclesiastical leaders, but Wilberforce University laid the foundation for leaders in medicine, law, education and the sciences.
Wilberforce University, Morris Brown College, Edward Waters College, Allen University, Paul Quinn College, Shorter College, Campbell College, AME University in Liberia, Wilberforce Community College and the R. R. Wright Theological Seminary in South Africa, Payne Theological Seminary, Turner Theological Seminary, our other AME institutions and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) jumped-started a lot of careers for a lot of us. Many of us are where we are because of our black institutions.
Now, let me get real and get to the point
We need to get better at supporting our AME academic institutions. Our AME institutions and other HBCUs have launched so many of us and we fail to give financial support to the institutions that nurtured us. HBCUs have to beg their graduates for financial support. Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, Rice, and Duke would be in the same predicament if their alums were as neglectful as our alums are. We AMEs graduate and disappear. We graduate with a “thank you Lord” and keep moving with little thought of giving back to institution that prepared us.
And, let me say here, that I am not just speaking to the AMEs here in America. Wilberforce nurtured our brothers and sisters from Africa and the Caribbean and they have a responsibility to give back. All of the members of the AME Church in Africa and in the Caribbean are not poor. We have embers there who can give back too. Wilberforce Community College and the R. R. Wright Theological Seminary in South Africa and AME University in Monrovia need financial response from their alums. We AMEs need to do a better job; all of us. We need to stop “crying poor.”
When the Church or a leader in our Zion makes a call to support Morris Brown College, Wilberforce or on of our other of our institutions, some clergy and laity complain about the relevance of our institutions and complain that they don’t know where all the money is going. In case they didn’t know, let me say that it takes big bucks, a lot of money to support an academic institution; and I know everybody knows that, which amazes me that people complain.
We need to do better, not only in supporting our academic institutions, but we also need to do better in supporting the local and connectional Church obligations. We go around talking about, “God is Good” while at the same time complaining about what we don’t have.
The first thing that we need to do is to approach stewardship with a more positive attitude. In the past, I have heard presiding elders and pastors couch a call for a connectional financial appeal with, “This is not coming from me, this is from the bishop and I don’t know why we need all of this money. I am just doing what I am told.” No wonder the parishioners give grudgingly. You want to know where the money is going; turn to page 658 in The Book of Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2008.
And, I am tired of seeing folks walk to the collection plate with their offering balled up. When you see a person put a rolled up or balled bill in the offering plate, you can be sure that the offering is not much. We, pastors and leaders, need reorient our minds from negativity to positivity, and we need to train our parishioners to take financial responsibility for the support of their local churches and our academic institutions.
We need to affirm and recognize the outstanding contributions of our academic institutions and stand up for them and support them with words and money! We should not have to beg for money. Last Saturday, I saw some “young men and women” from a local HBCU standing on a corner with a bucket asking, no begging, for contributions for their campus religious organization. I thought to myself, here are young people learning how to be beggars; they were not even offering to wash cars for donations; they just wanted people to give them money.
If all of us would give back to our academic institutions, because those institutions have already given to us, we wouldn’t have to beg for money and our institutions could get with the business of education instead of having to worry about money and keeping the doors open.
Many of our young people need our institutions; Wilberforce University and our other HBCUs are still relevant. I would hope that all of us will commit ourselves to a deeper level of support. I know that I am. Charlotte and I have put a contribution to Wilberforce University in our Wills. I have put out a call to find information about how to do a monthly debit from my checking account to Wilberforce University. I am determined that the Sydnor family will do its part and no one will have to beg me to make a contribution to the school I love.
I know that Wilberforce and our other academic institutions would love to receive thousands of dollars from individual donors, but consistent giving of whatever a person or a family can afford would be appreciated; the operative word is “consistent.” If we all did our part, consistently and regularly we can save our academic institutions – “Yes we can!”
Editor’s Note: The Editor will be attending the 11th Episcopal District Post Planning Convocation in Freeport, Grand Bahama November 19 – 22, 2009 and will be making a presentation on Technology, Media and Ministry and giving a meditation at the Even Song Service. The TCR office phone will be operative.
2. READER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL AND OTHER ISSUES:
- To the Editor:
RE: Editorial, I Hope President Obama Will Not Send Additional Troops to Afghanistan
I would just like to thank you for the outstanding editorial on sending troops to Afghanistan. I know you said that this was your own opinion. But I must say as a retired Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Army I am of the same opinion. Being a combat veteran of the Viet Nam War and the First Gulf War I feel that President Obama will do the right thing and not send anymore of our brave young men and women to that war zone. Again thanks for an outstanding OP AD and I applaud you for writing it. We have about twenty-four veterans that are members of my church and I will share this article with them.
“Airborne All The Way!”
Brother Jesse A. Hill/Retired US Army
Editor's Note: Brother Hill, thank you for your kind words and thank you for taking time to write. Each time I visit Fort Campbell Army Base and see injured soldiers my heard bleeds for the wounded young me and women.
On another note, twenty-four veterans! You probably don't have a list, but if you did, I would publish all of their names. I don't imagine there is another Church in the connection with twenty-four veterans.
"Airborne, All the Way!"
3. BROTHER JESSE HILL SENT THE LIST OF THE NAMES OF ALL OF THE VETERANS:
New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
4201 W. Columbia Street
Orlando, Florida 32811
The Right Reverend McKinley Young, Presiding Prelate
Reverend Hartford Lee, Presiding Elder/North Orlando District
Reverend Henry L. Postell, Pastor
Veterans of New Bethel A.M.E. Church in Orlando, Florida:
Brother Charles Betterson (Major) US Army Retired
Brother William Sims (Command Sergeant Major) US Army Retired
Brother Johnnie Smith (Chief Master Sergeant) US Air Force Retired
Brother Randolph Whitley (Master Sergeant) US Air Force
Brother Willie Thompson (Sergeant First Class) US Army Retired
Brother Jesse A. Hill (Staff Sergeant) US Army Retired
Brother Walter Johnson (Staff Sergeant) US Army
Brother Charles James (Staff Sergeant) US Air Force Retired
Brother Darrell Bowens (Petty Officer First Class) US Navy
Brother Willie Hull (Sergeant) US Army
Brother Vernon Carruthers (Sergeant) US Army
Brother Calvin White (Staff Sergeant) US Air Force
Brother James Connelly (Sergeant) US Army
Brother Tony Wallace (Sergeant) US Army
Brother Michael D. Jackson (Sergeant) US Army
Brother Russell Bingham (Sergeant) US Army/ Air Corp
Brother Nathaniel Solomon (Sergeant) US Marines
Sister Linda Lampkins (Sergeant) US Air Force
Brother Charles Thomas (Corporal) US Marines
Brother Charlie Cooper (Corporal) US Army
Brother Al Everett (Corporal) US Army
Brother James Scott (Specialist Fourth Class) US Army
In Memory of Our Unsung Heroes:
Sister Margaret Slaughter (Senior Chief Petty Officer) US Navy Retired
Brother George Wilson (Sergeant First Class) US Army Retired
Brother Burgess Merritt (Sergeant First Class) US Army Retired
Brother William Slaughter (Petty Officer First Class) US Navy Retired
Brother Amber Curry (Corporal) US Army
Brother Ernest Rutledge (Private) US Army
Brother George Leach (Sergeant) US Army
Reverend McKinley Tyler (Staff Sergeant) US Air Force
Brother Harvey Hill (Petty Officer Third Class) US Navy
4. ANOTHER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL – I HOPE PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT SEND ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN:
Mrs. Patrea Wilson-Carter
- To the Editor:
If I were to title my comments, it would be “…Come, Let us reason together…” I have a fresh cup of coffee in front of me and your article struck my intellect… Sir, you have a ton of valid concerns, all of which have been noted in my heart and in my head. But I will confess that I am going to respond with my head and it is my hope that you see the heart of the matter in which I propose.
You wrote:
The job of being the President is almost a “no-win” position because in every decision he makes, he pleases one segment of the population and angers another segment. I don’t believe that he can make a decision that would please 100 percent of the population; and if he did, chances are, he would anger other nations around the world. President Barack Obama is dealing with the war in Afghanistan…… But there is another landmine that worries me, and that is how the President will handle the War in Afghanistan.
Response: Our President did not run to “Win”, he ran for “Change.” Any change that is made on his watch will not be popular, but needed…Like medicine, we may not like it, but we take it…whether it tastes good or bad. In my opinion, I don’t see President Obama making decision to please anyone…in fact he has been careful to formulate committees and appoint person over those committees, to ensure that both sides of an issue are heard and then research the best approach , and then the decision is voted upon. It is this approach (one of many), that has lead to the winning of the Noble Peace Prize….America has far too long walked into the international community with it holster and gun and this has not been the case with President Obama. True Diplomacy warrants respect and an open mind and he has gotten just that. We have him to thank for cleaning up our tarnished international image.
You wrote:
Let me get to the point. I hope President Obama will not escalate the War in Afghanistan.
Response: President Obama or any other Allied Nation cannot escalate a situation that is already escalated since 2001 or so.
You Wrote:
Check with veterans’ groups, they don’t want to President to send more troops or escalate the War in Afghanistan. Check with the soldiers; check with the retirees, especially those who have been in combat, they don’t want more troops sent to Afghanistan. Americans are sick and tired of Iraq and Americans are sick and tired of the war in Afghanistan… If victory has been defined, I certainly haven’t seen it. So what does a “win the War in Afghanistan” look like? I am not sure that anyone knows. We didn’t win in Vietnam and we didn’t win in Somalia and I don’t think that we can win in Afghanistan; and a lot of Americans agree with me.
Response: Our wonderful first amendment grants the free exercise of speech and ‘to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’ Interesting that we can do that here in American, but in the countries that you stated, could and more than likely would bring terminal consequences. I am an American, and I am not quick to say that I am sick of any international situation. In fact, I am quite interested in the direction that the ‘war on Terror’ is going. Knowledge is most certainly power and the more we educate ourselves on the history of these conflicts the better we will be able to accept the fact that we are not there to win… but to formulate international cooperation and compliance with the rules and regulations set forth in the Geneva Convention, so as to stop the inhumane treatment of human beings and to monitor the threat of nuclear armament, among other things. Must quote the Rev. Dr. King, Jr. here: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere….
America’s past wars are learning points. We should not dwell on our past but learn from it. America was not prepared to fight jungle warfare. But we are a better military force because of it. America was not an urban warfare nation, but we use our experiences and After Action Reports to strengthen our forces and to make us better prepared to protect and defend our nation as well as our interests elsewhere in the world. A real question would be would we rather have multiple 911’s or work with the international community to corral such evils as dictatorships and terrorists?
You Wrote:
And, one more thing; those Americans, even the members in Congress who support sending additional troops and “giving the generals on the ground what they want” do not have the interests of the troops in mind and they certainly have not identified the national, vital or survival interests that would reinforce “giving the generals on the ground what they want.”
Response: I wasn’t going to comment on this one, but okay, I’ll bite again: I am prior service, enlisted to be noted…If a general says that more troops are needed, then more troops are needed. From a strategic point of view, I believe a ramp up would serve as a mask, for a pull out strategy. But what do I know, I just took orders to protect and defend the U.S. against all enemies, foreign and domestic….Please keep in mind also that America is not the only country involved. Hopefully, in the near future, I am looking for our President to help to re-establish the credibility and responsibility of the U.N. as vital and true peacekeeping force that it should be….then we should not see such a direct overload (from our country) in international affairs.
…Wow that was enjoyable…since my coffee is just about done…I will stop typing….
Happy Holidays….and thank you for your service!!!!
Mrs. Patrea Wilson- Carter
5. MIDWEST SOUTH AND MIDWEST NORTH DISTRICTS HOLD JOINT PLANNING MEETING:
*The Rev. V. Gordon Glenn III
“An Incredible Call to Serve – Influence.”
Kansas City, Kansas, November 14, 2009: At the geographical midpoint of the Midwest Conference of the Fifth Episcopal District, the newly formed Midwest South and Midwest North Presiding Elder Districts met on Saturday, November 14, 2009, to plan out the current Annual Conference year and hear reports from various components of ministry throughout the Conference.
What made this remarkable is that the Presiding Elders, the Rev. Steven A. Cousin Sr. of the South and the Rev. Donna F. Roberson of the North, decided to have it at the same time at the same location so that the Pastors, District Stewards, WMS, YPD, and Laity would all hear the same information at the same time.
To make this possible, the Elders secured meeting space at the Jack Reardon Convention Center in Kansas City, Kansas, which was the sight of the Midwest Annual Conference just a few months before.
The day started off with each Presiding Elder meeting separately with the pastors and District Stewards under their charge to go over matters germane to their respective Presiding Elder Districts including the calendar, financial matters, and introducing new transfers to the Conference.
At 10 a.m., the North and the South Districts came together for a plenary session where we received component reports from the Clergy Family Organization, The Women in Ministry, The Women’s Missionary Society, the Young People’s Division, the Lay Organization, Economic Development and the Sunday School Convention.
The meeting closed with a worship service. The preacher for the hour was recently superannuated Presiding Elder, the Rev. Theodore R. Evans, whose last charge as the supervisor of the former Omaha-Wichita District of the Midwest Conference. Rev. Evans preached from Luke 4:1-4, using as his topic “The Main Ingredient.” Rev. Evans reminded the assembled congregation that, “Whatever the church is or is not depends on us.”
The Jack Reardon Convention Center in downtown Kansas City, Kansas was transformed from merely a convention center into a sanctuary in the wake of the Midwest South and Midwest North Presiding Elder Districts having assembled there for their 2009-2010 planning meeting.
*The Rev. V. Gordon Glenn III is the Midwest South District Publicity Chair and Midwest Conference Co-Director of Public Relations
6. EVANGELISM AND CHURCH GROWTH:
By Charles Hallman, St. Paul-Minneapolis District Reporter
It takes more than the pastor, or any one person, to properly do evangelism, the Rev. Norris Jackson believes.
“For evangelism to work, it takes a team effort,” the pastor of Mayo AME Church (Matteson, Illinois) told the attendees at an evangelism workshop he facilitated at the Chicago Annual Conference in Bloomington, Minnesota, October 5th.
As the Chicago Conference Church Growth and Evangelism Director, Jackson said that the annual conference serves as an ideal time to talk about evangelism. “Oftentimes when I come to conferences, I would find that churches were not winning souls and weren’t going out,” he noted. “It wasn’t that they didn’t want to do it, but that they were not being effective.
“So what God led me to do was to pull together a teaching lesson in which I can help other churches to develop a (evangelism) team, and really do out into the community and win souls for Christ.”
But Jackson quickly adds that some think that evangelism is something that is done elsewhere. “Missions should no longer be seen as just being overseas,” he believes. “They could be in your backyard.”
Or even in your own congregation, he added: “You’ll be surprised to see how many are in the church that is not saved.”
His topic, “How to organize your evangelism team,” Jackson pointed out, “It is the church’s responsibility, but we put it off on one or two people.” He stressed that the overall goal is to become a community of Christ’s followers that is motivated by God’s grace and empowered by His spirit.
“You don’t live the Kingdom just on Sunday, but wherever you’re at,” Jackson continued. He offered the following Bible verses as examples: Luke 19:10; John 18:37; John 10:10; Luke 4:30 and Acts 20:29. “We should be following the example of Jesus,” Jackson noted.
According to Jackson, the church’s evangelism team must have four objectives:
First, “If you want things to change, (you must) call the church to prayer,” he says. Second, you must find “like-minded people” to include on your team.
Third, he suggests using Moses’ model in training leaders, but warned against selecting just anyone on your evangelism team: “Find people who are trustworthy,” he noted. And fourth, you must motivate your church.
“The important thing that I want people to leave here with is tools: that they have the power and ability to make it happen,” Jackson concludes. “If we trust God, and we allow God to lead and guide us, and we make our hearts sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we can go out and develop teams – to train them on how to be more efficient in winning souls for Christ.”
7. A TRIBUTE TO BISHOP JOHN BRYANT:
By Charles Hallman, St. Paul-Minneapolis District Reporter
The Fourth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is one of two Districts that include both areas of the United States and another country: it spans across seven states (Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota and Wisconsin) and three Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec).
“Sometimes people (in the U.S.) see Canada as ‘northern America’ but it’s not,” the Rt. Reverend John Richard Bryant, senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) points out.
Bryant earned a B.A. degree from Morgan State, a historically Black college in 1965, a Masters’ degree in theology from Boston University School of Theology in 1970, and a doctorate at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1975. After a successful career as a pastor, he was elected and consecrated the 106th Bishop of the AME Church at the 1988 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Chicago Conference “is the largest and most diverse because it actually covers Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa,” says Bishop John. It is one of five Conferences under his guidance: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Canada are the others.
According to the AMEC Senior Bishop, his ministry of meeting the people’s needs during these economic times, especially in the Michigan Conference which has “a heavily Black concentration,” along with the Indiana and Illinois Conferences is challenging, he adds.
“The Detroit area really suffers a great deal economically during this period of time, so a lot of my energy has to be in trying to encourage those congregations and those people who are losing jobs and homes. Those issues are not as prominent in the Chicago Conference.”
With churches in North America, Africa, the Caribbean, the AME Church now has 41 churches in India, Bryant says proudly. Having once served there,
“The way the West did missions (in the past) created a ‘beggar mentality’ so the churches there (in Africa) tended to wait for the bishop to come bring resources (from America),” observed Bryant. This isn’t the case in India, he points out. “In India, they are not a beggar people – they won’t ask me for money, and even though there is poverty there, they have a can-do attitude.”
Moreover, by establishing the AME Church in India, “the people (are like those) in the New Testament – to become Christians, they had to sell out and have a real commitment (to Jesus Christ) because they are surrounded by Hindu culture, family and everything,” the bishop explains. “They made a real decision and a real seriousness in the way they view the Gospel.”
Finally, Bryant believes that overall, the AME Church must be more involved in people’s total lives on a regular basis, and not just on Sunday mornings. “I think we are really being challenged as a Church to address the issues that are challenging our people in these times. I talk about our young people falling through the cracks, and the Church really isn’t addressing it. When the church becomes afraid of our youth (just) as the larger White society, that spells a breakdown. So my job as (bishop) is to motivate and inspire the pastors, so that they can go back and teach and inspire the congregation to be involved in the empowerment of our people.
“That deals with the economy and things that need to be adjusted,” concludes Bryant. “That deals with our schools, and other issues right now that are not being addressed. When you look at the breakdown that was already occurring was in the society, those issues still have to be addressed that deal with the quality of life of people. I am hoping that we will be about that in this District.”
8. PRESIDING ELDER NORMAN V. OSBORNE: LEADING THE “SOARING” SOUTH MICHIGAN DISTRICT IN A MAJOR WAY:
*The Reverend Dr. Michael C. Carson
“Presiding Elders are appointed by the Presiding Bishop. Presiding Elders superintend over the sub-districts of the Annual Conference.” The Book of Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2008
The Reverend Dr. Norman V. Osborne Presiding Elder of the Michigan Annual Conference “Soaring” South District has been quite busy in leading the work of the South Michigan District.
This has been a busy year for the “Soaring” South Michigan District, which began with the District Conference.
The “Soaring” South Michigan District Conference was held on April 13-15, 2009. It was an event filled with excellent teaching, preaching, fellowship, fun, and food that greatly blessed those present in our head and heart!
The District Conference was hosted by Saunders Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan where Reverend Dwayne A. Gary and Mrs. Faith Gary served as the host pastor and spouse.
The Rev. Dr. Robert Brumfield, “Soaring” South District administrative assistant and pastor of Oak Grove AME Church in Detroit, Michigan; the Reverend Andre’ L. Spivey, program assistant and pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Detroit, Michigan; Sister Betty J. Tuggle, Michigan Conference Lay President, and Member of Mount Zion AME Church in Battle Creek, Michigan, following Elder Osborne’s leadership, laid out a wonderful program for all attending the conference.
The membership of Saunders Memorial entertained and fed those that attended with such food and Christian kindness-My God!
There was anointed preaching by the Rev. H. Michael Lemmons, Michigan Annual Conference North District Presiding Elder; the Rev. Dr. James Perkins pastor of Greater Christ Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan; the Reverend Welton Smith, IV, pastor of New Life Family Church Detroit, Michigan, and the Reverend Kevin Cosby pastor of Connor-Mayo AME Church in Dowagiac, Michigan.
Dr. Alicia Alverez shared with the conference points of law regarding AME Church business.
The Rev. Dr. Cecelia Greenbar, Fourth Episcopal District Ministerial Retreat Director and pastor of Trinity AME Church in Detroit, Michigan spoke about on the Retreat that took place on May 11-14, 2009 at beautiful “five-star” Camp Baber in Cassopolis, Michigan.
Dr. Greenbar also blessed the conference by presenting on “Using Technology in Worship.” She taught on how to have great music in worship even when there is no musician on staff. She demonstrated how an iPod or MP3 Player along with a projector can enable worship to “not miss a beat” due to the absence of a musician.
The Reverend Bobette Hampton, Southwest Michigan AME Church Ministerial Alliance Vice-President and the Reverend Dr. Michael C. Carson, President of the Ministerial Alliance led a discussion on the hosting of the 123rd Session of the Michigan Annual Conference that took place August 19-23, 2009 at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
June 12-13, 2009 the Mount Zion AME Church in Battle Creek, Michigan was the host church for the “Soaring” South District’s Sunday School Convention. The Rev. Dr. Micheal Smith and Mrs. Micsha Smith serve as the host pastor and host First Lady. The theme of the conference was “Mission Possible” based on St. Luke 18:27.
The Reverend Jerry Hatter, Michigan South District Sunday School Superintendent and pastor of Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan and the Reverend Anna Higginbotham, Assistant Church School Director of Smith Chapel AME Church in Inkster, Michigan did a marvelous job of making sure that this meeting would be one to be remembered!
The Rev. Ernest J. Garrison, Fourth Episcopal District Director of Sunday School and pastor of Vernon Chapel AME Church in Flint, Michigan and Mrs. Joyce Keys Garrison, Fourth Episcopal District Women’s Missionary Society President were in attendance. Pastor Garrison presented on “The Mission of the Church School.”
After a major evening worship service highlighting various dance ministries of the South District the venue changed from the church to the Full Blast Recreation and Sports Center in Battle Creek for a wide complement of activities.
On Saturday there were a number of workshops addressing the use of technology in worship and public relations. Also there was invaluable information on how to guard against persons that use the internet for wrong reasons.
The membership and culinary staff of Mount Zion left no stone unturned concerning the entertaining of the Convention-excellent!
Presiding Elder Osborne and Dr. Pamela Osborne, Esq. served as the Host Presiding Elder and Spouse for the 123rd Session of the Michigan Annual Conference.
Truly Presiding Norman V. Osborne has been very busy leading the “Soaring” South Michigan District by example!
*The Reverend Dr. Michael C. Carson is the Fourth Episcopal District Director of Public Relations and pastor of Union Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He can be reached at carsonvision@acd.net
9. THE 16TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT 2010 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
The Right Reverend Sarah Francis Davis, Presiding Prelate
Mr. Claytie Davis, Jr., Episcopal Supervisor
February
03 Haiti WMS Annual Convention, Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti
04-07 Haiti Annual Conference, Mary Beckett AMEC, Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti
10 Dominican Republic WMS Convention, Impacto de Vida, La Romana, Dominican Republic
11-14 Dominican Republic Annual Conference, Impacto de Vida, La Romana, Dominican Republic
24-26 Global Development Council Executive Meeting, Lyon, France (16th District Hosting)
March
17 Guyana/Suriname WMS Convention, Franklin Talbot AMEC, Georgetown, Guyana
18-21 Guyana/Suriname Annual Conference, Franklin Talbot AMEC, Georgetown, Guyana
24-29 Invitation to Dialogue with Brazilian Black Methodist, Rio de Janeiro Brazil
April
07 Jamaica WMS Annual Convention, Selby’s Temple AMEC, Old Harbour, St. Catherine, Jamaica
08–11 Jamaica Annual Conference, Selby’s Temple AMEC, Old Harbour, St. Catherine, Jamaica
13 AMEC Connectional Day of Prayer
14 Windward Islands WMS Annual Convention, Fountain AMEC, Port of Spain, Trinidad
15-18 Windward Islands Annual Conference, Fountain AMEC, Port of Spain, Trinidad; Venue: Crown Hotel, 3rd Ave, Barataria Port of Spain, Trinidad
21 Virgin Islands WMS Annual Convention, Bethel AMEC, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
22-25 Virgin Islands Annual Conference, Bethel AMEC, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
May
05 European Conference WMS Annual Convention, The Netherlands, Holland
06-09 European Annual Conference, Grady’s Chapel AMEC, The Netherlands, Holland
July
13-17 16th District Christian Education Empowerment Conference,
St. Michaels, Barbados, Barbados Beach Club
10. EXCELLENT WEBSITE FOR PASTORS, CONNECTIONAL AND LOCAL CHURCH LEADERS:
The Albans Institute
http://www.alban.org/
11. MILLION DOLLAR GRANT MEANS FORMATIVE TRAINING FOR ASBURY STUDENTS:
WILMORE, KY (November 16, 2009) – Asbury Theological Seminary received a $1 million grant Thursday, Nov. 12, from the Lilly Endowment’s initiative on Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (PSALM). This grant continues programs begun in 2003 under the “Pastoral Seasons as Life and Ministry” project, which received a $2 million Lilly grant. Asbury Seminary was also awarded more than $50,000 from the Lilly Foundation in 1992-1994. At the core of the project is Seminarius, a program that invites students to participate in the rhythms of the Christian life in personal and communal practices. It parallels the seminary’s Christian Formation Plan, a measurable quality enhancement plan rooted in Asbury’s historic commitment to holistic spiritual formation.
Seminarius, overseen by vice president for community life J. D. Walt, calls Asbury to a journey in wholeness and holiness. “This $1 million grant extension from the Lilly Endowment enables us to better shape a learning experience that nourishes and forms the whole person,” Walt says. “It allows our faculty and staff to more richly participate in the shaping of our students (and vice-versa) beyond the essential curricular learning of the classroom. We are very thankful for the vision and generosity of the Lilly Endowment.”
12. CHECK IT AT THE DOOR:
*The Rev. N.T. Pitts
I love to watch western movies. In some of them I often saw signs that read “Check your weapons” and ‘No weapons allowed.” Sometimes there would be a deputy Sheriff who met strange cowboys at the entering of the town and demanded that they hand over their weapons and that they could pick them up when they were ready to leave.
Even in the saloons the barkeeper would take the weapons and put them under the bar until the cowboys got ready to leave.
I have also gone to night clubs and restaurants that provided a “check room for hats, coats and other accessories that one didn’t need while inside. Persons who checked items were given a claim check so that a person’s item could be identified and not confused with another person’s item. If you are wondering what my point is, it may well be good if the churches would adopt the idea of a “check room,” figuratively and physically speaking.
We are admonished to: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalms 100:4
This simply means that when we enter the place of worship we must leave every thing that would distract or prohibit us from worshipping in spirit and in truth, at the door. Some of us go to church with all kind of stuff with us that inhibit us from freely worshipping in Spirit and in truth. What we must do is to check our stuff at the door. And if you deem it necessary you can pick it up when you leave.
When we enter the house of worship and when we become members of a congregation, we are then brothers and sisters in Christ. During my ministry, I have had members who felt that it was an insult when I didn’t address them by their professional titles in church, and at other church meetings. One member left after he saw that I would not recognize and address him by his professional title.
I made it plain that I would recognize and address persons by their professional titles on the job or at any other gathering, but within the confines and activities of the church, I shared that I would address them as “brother” and “sister,” not, “doctor” or “attorney.”
Titles are not necessary in worship. People know who you are and what you do, so there is no need to address you by your title during worship.
What the church needs most are people with testimonies and not titles.
There is an exception and that is if an individual is a visitor he or she should be recognized by his or her title. But if they become members of the church, they become sister and brother. If I address one member by his or her professional title, then why shouldn’t I address the mechanic the clerk, the garbage collector and the hairstylist by their titles? They are just as important as the doctor, professor and politician in the sight of God.
Too many of us are “hung up” on titles. You may not realize it but those who are fortunate to have achieved degrees make some folk feel inferior and useless when they are around touting their titles. That is not what education supposed to do. Titles, in church, have no special privileges.
When we come to worship we should check our titles and professional status at the door. Check your attitude, check your cell phone and your Blackberry; leave them at the door.
And if, after worshipping, you find it necessary to pick them up when you leave, you may do so.
When we come to partake of the Holy Communion I don’t see titles I see souls refreshing their memories. I don’t see titles I see souls coming repenting for their sins. I don’t see titles I see souls who are heartily sorry for their misdoings. I don’t see titles I see souls coming in humble submission. I don’t see titles I see souls coming acknowledging that God is.
So the next time you go to worship why not stop by the “check” room figuratively and physically?
*The Rev. N.T. Pitts, author, teacher, counselor, and humorist is a retired Itinerant Elder who lives in Eatonville, Florida
Do you get it?
Two men were out fishing in a boat when a turbulent wind came up and overturned the boat and both of them were tossed into the water. One of them could swim but the other couldn’t. The swimmer swam to the bank, stood up and then jumped back into the water went and got his friend and brought him to shore. A curious bystander asked the man, why he didn’t bring the friend when he came out. The man said, "You see I had to save myself first."
13. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to share news of the passing of Mr. Altan L. Williams, the thirty-one year old nephew of the Reverend Bruce Butcher, president of the National Payne Theological Seminary Alumni Association and pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Akron, Ohio. Mr. Williams died this past weekend in a tragic car accident in Detroit, Michigan.
Service Arrangements for Mr. Altan L. Williams:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Viewing: 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET
Harold D Murdock Funeral Home
8033 Puritan Street
Detroit, Michigan 48238
(313) 345-8100
Friday, November 20, 2009
Family Hour: 10:30 a.m. ET
Funeral Service: 11:00 a.m. ET
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
23455 West Nine Mile Rd
Southfield, Michigan 48034
(248) 353-0675
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The family of Altan L. Williams c/o/ the Funeral home and church, addresses are listed above
Or expressions may be emailed to:
The Rev. Bruce Butcher: brucebutcher@earthlink.net
Or sent to:
The Rev. Bruce Butcher
St. Paul A.M.E. Church
1250 S. Hawkins Avenue
Akron, Ohio 44320
14. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of the Reverend Joseph J. Grant and Mrs. Lillie Mae Grant, parents of Dr. Jacquelyn Grant Collier, Presiding Elder Rosalyn G. Coleman, Reverend Dr. Debora F. Grant, Reverend Joseph H. Grant, Frank Grant, Patricia A. Smalls, and Dell Omega Grant. Mrs. Grant died on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 1:50 p.m. and the Reverend Joseph J. Grant died on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 12:50 a.m.
The following information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements for Reverend Joseph J. Grant and Mrs. Lillie Mae Grant:
Family Visitation Hour:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Wilds Funeral Home
130 Merriman Road
Georgetown, SC 29440
Phone: (843) 546-6901
Celebration of Life Service:
Friday, November 20, 2009
1:00 p.m.
Bethel AME Church
417 Broad Street
Georgetown, SC 29440
Phone: (843) 546-4898
The Rev. M. Charmaine Ragin-Whittleton, Pastor
Funeral Home:
Wilds Funeral Home
130 Merriman Road
Georgetown, SC 29440
Phone: (843) 546-6901
Fax: (843) 546-6719
Email: bhuell@aol.com
Expressions of Sympathy and Condolences may be sent to:
The Family of the Late Rev. Joseph J and the Late Mrs. Lillie Mae Grant
C/o Presiding Elder Rosalyn Grant Coleman
805 Palm Street
Georgetown, SC 29440
Phone: (843) 904-6486
Fax: (843) 904-6487
Email: RCOLEMAN003@sc.rr.com
15. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Joe Columbus Rischer, the father of Sister Carol McDonald and father-in-law of the Rev. Walter R. McDonald, Pastor of Baker Chapel AME Church in Fort Worth, Texas (Northwest Texas Conference).
The Funeral has been held.
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Walter and Sister Carol McDonald
7501 Sagehill Ct.
Fort Worth, Texas 76123
Phone: (817) 294-2002
16. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
The Clergy Family Information Center
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Email: Amespouses1@bellsouth.net
Phone: (615) 837-9736
Voice Mail: (615) 833-6936
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Cell: (615) 403-7751
17. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:
The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend Richard Franklin Norris; the Publisher, the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour and the Editor of The Christian Recorder, the Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III offer our condolences and prayers to those who have lost loved ones. We pray that the peace of Christ will be with you during this time of your bereavement.
Archive of The Christian Recorder Online from 2004-2016; Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
11/14/2009
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER ONLINE ENGLISH EDITION (11/12/09)
Bishop Richard Franklin Norris - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
1. EDITORIAL – I HOPE PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT SEND ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III,
The 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
This editorial is my personal opinion.
I love President Barack Obama. I love his wife and his two daughters. He is so presidential and he makes me proud each time I hear him give a speech. When he travels overseas, he represents the United States in the most excellent way. People around the world love him and that makes me proud. He carries himself and looks like the president; and he communicates like a world leader. He works hard and it is evident that he loves what he was elected to do, and I wonder when he has time for himself. I wonder when he relaxes; he is such a busy man. I love the man and I am proud to call him my President.
As U.S. presidents in the past, President Obama has an extremely busy schedule and he has so many issues that require his attention. He is dealing with the enormous task of being the President of the largest nation in the free world. He has to make decisions daily. The job of being the President is almost a “no-win” position because in every decision he makes, he pleases one segment of the population and angers another segment. I don’t believe that he can make a decision that would please 100 percent of the population; and if he did, chances are, he would anger other nations around the world. President Barack Obama is dealing with the war in Afghanistan and issues surrounding the withdrawal of troops from Iraq; Iraq is not a done deal. And then, there are the serious issues of the economy and healthcare; both of which are landmines. President Obama has got to deal with those issues and, in many ways those issues will define the legacy of his presidency.
But there is another landmine that worries me, and that is how the President will handle the War in Afghanistan. I was extremely happy when I heard the president, in his speech to the troops and their families at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska say that he would not send American troops into harms way unless it was in response to the nation’s vital interests. That was a significant statement and I hope that the president will “stick to his guns” as it relates to not sending our troops into harms way, unless it is to protect the nation’s “vital” or “survival” interests. There should never be a reason for going to war except to protect our “vital” and “survival” interests. Sometimes nations go to war to protect their national interests.
Let me get to the point. I hope President Obama will not escalate the War in Afghanistan.
General Stanley A. McChrystal’s call for 40,000 additional troops feels like Vietnam to me. I do not believe that the events in Afghanistan and Pakistan represent a threat to our national or vital interests; and certainly do not represent a threat to our survival interests.
McChrystal’s request for additional troops feel like Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, General William Westmoreland and the other generals’ misguided War in Vietnam.
There are 58,195 Names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and there are others Missing In Action (MIA); countless lives lost, families disrupted - and for what? Today, Vietnam is one of our leading trading partners in Southeast Asia; you would not know that there had been a war there. I remember those days; thousands and thousands of soldiers training and being sent to stop the expansion of Communism and McNamara and Westmoreland calling for more troops. We sent our young men and women who returned from the War in Vietnam without as much as a “Thank you.” We were not a grateful nation for the sacrifices of our soldiers; we were an ungrateful nation because the nation was tired of the war and did not see the rationale for being in Southeast Asia.
We have had almost seven years of the war in Iraq and over 4000 deaths; a war we should not have had. The War in Afghanistan has been going for eight years, since October 7, 2001. Soldiers have been sent on multiple deployments and they are tired.
Check with veterans’ groups, they don’t want to President to send more troops or escalate the War in Afghanistan. Check with the soldiers; check with the retirees, especially those who have been in combat, they don’t want more troops sent to Afghanistan.
Americans are sick and tired of Iraq and Americans are sick and tired of the war in Afghanistan. We are wearing out the military and I am afraid that if we keep on the same path, if there is trouble in the U.S., the military may not be prepared to adequately fulfill its duty to protect us on the home-front.
Many of the generals who led the soldiers in Iraq have retired safely in their homes; some have written books and appear on television news programs. They are not in harms way. McChrystal will be reassigned in the not too distant future and he will move on. If the President does what McChrystal’s request, President Obama will be dealing with Afghanistan long after McChrystal is reassigned or retired.
I hope President Obama will not send additional troops to Afghanistan.
If victory has been defined, I certainly haven’t seen it. So what does a “win the War in Afghanistan” look like? I am not sure that anyone knows. We didn’t win in Vietnam and we didn’t win in Somalia and I don’t think that we can win in Afghanistan; and a lot of Americans agree with me.
I hope that President will bring the troops home and that the nation will take care of our maimed and wounded soldiers and help them to mend their families and relationships.
And, one more thing; those Americans, even the members in Congress who support sending additional troops and “giving the generals on the ground what they want” do not have the interests of the troops in mind and they certainly have not identified the national, vital or survival interests that would reinforce “giving the generals on the ground what they want.”
I suspect some of them want to see the President fail and have no real love for the troops, but they say things that they hope will get them reelected. In other words, they are serving their own self-interests and not the interests of the nation, and certainly not the best interests of soldiers and their families.
I hope President Obama will not send additional troops to Afghanistan.
These words are my opinion and my opinion only.
Chaplain (Colonel) Calvin H. Sydnor III, United States Army-Retired;
a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) and the United States Army War College (Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania).
2. READER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL AND OTHER ISSUES:
- To the Editor:
RE: United Methodists Tackle Ineffective Clergy
I applaud your editorial; Bishop Adam J. Richardson and Bishop Leath's articles on the TCR Online in regard to the efficiency of pastors; they were right on-time.
A few General Conferences ago I submitted a piece of legislation that would have required ministers to go back to school every five years for refresher courses, dealing with relevant issues and public relations. It was “shot dead” before it got to the Revisions Committee.
People come into the ministry for different reasons. Some local churches recommend persons to the ministry based on how well they pray. Some recommend aspirants to the ministry based on their family influence. I am sure if the vote in the local church was done by secret ballot it would make a difference.
- To the Editor:
RE: Bishop Leath (19th Episcopal District) Transfers the Rev. Teboho Klaas to Allen AME Church in Meadowlands (Soweto), South Africa
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the African Methodist Episcopal Church for sending a man of Bishop Jeffrey N Leath's caliber to our shores. He has been a true leader who knows that he is here to serve rather than to be served. As the Secretary of the East Annual Conference I wish to declare that the Conference has been a spiritual and educational week for us; we have learned a lot.
I want to wish all the pastors and presiding elders who have been reassigned to new charges, the best for the new conference year. My prayer is that God will raise mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters for them.
We are heading to the Episcopal Plenary session that will be on the 21st November 2009 at Bonner Hall, Evaton (Republic of South Africa).
Best wishes to Bishop J. N Leath and Mother Susan Leath and the entire 19th Episcopal District. Congratulations to the Rev. T.G. Klaas for his new pastoral appointment.
The Rev. Ntiti Jacob Sefatsa
- To the Editor:
Over the last 4-5 years I have taught a health economics course at Florida A&M University. As an economist I have been following the current health reform debate very close because of the obvious economic implications of attempts at changing 1/6 of our Gross Domestic Product (health care spending in the US). As an AME member I am curious about two key issues associated with health care reform:
- Will the AMEC continue to support the health care reform bill if the public option is eliminated? The razor-thin margin of Yea votes suggests the Senate will offer a bill different from the House which could leave House-Senate conferees at a standstill. President Obama has indicated earlier that a public option is not a sine qua non for successful passage of a health reform bill.
- Will the AMEC continue to support the health care reform bill if Federal funds are allowed to be used for abortion? I'm not clear where our Zion stands on abortion. I have never heard any of our Episcopal leaders or itinerant elders address abortion. For me at least, based on my understanding of the Holy Writ, abortion is infanticide. As a church we talk quite freely about capitol punishment yet, we are basically reticent about abortion. This seems to me a good issue for the Social Action Commission to properly address.
Bill Dickens
3. OH WHAT A TIME:
The Rev. William Howard Smith
My wife, Sister Willa Smith and I were led to go and visit the St John AME Church family in Huntsville, Alabama last Sunday and Oh, what a time! The Rev. Homer McCall is somebody’s pastor!
In 1992, the Reverend, Dr., Homer McCall, St John’s pastor allowed me to impose on him to preach at the East Tennessee Annual Conference that was hosted at Campbell Chapel AMEC in Pulaski, Tennessee. The then First Lady, Mrs. Willa Smith and I worked hard in providing leadership as the then Presiding Bishop, the Right Rev. Vernon Randolph Byrd and Presiding Elder Charles A. Jones allowed us freedom to plan and execute a well-planned and organized Annual Conference.
St John on Huntsville is no stranger to the Smith family or to the leadership of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Pastor and Mrs. McCall, through the years, have invited and hosted preachers as, the Rev. Dr. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, who later became the first female elected and consecrated Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and the Reverend, Dr. William Watley, pastor of St James AME Church, Newark, New Jersey.
Last Sunday morning, I tried to sneak past Dr. McCall’s office trying to get to the restroom to refresh after an hour’s drive to Huntsville from our home in Tennessee. As I arrived at the church, there was a staff minister who told me to make way to the pastor’s office. First Lady, Sister Mabel McCall greeted me and demonstrated her ability to recall some of the things she remembered about me. She asked about Sister Willa and of course I asked to see the recent photograph of the Mc Call family. While we were talking, I heard this voice coming from a chair positioned at a desk. Dr. Mc Call greeted me and asked if I came prepared to preach. My response was that Mrs. Smith and I had come to St John to worship and to hear him preach. Dr. McCall has been a professor at Alabama A & M University for 37 years and is the beloved pastor, who is beginning his 39th year at St John, indicated that he had preached at the 8 a.m. service and for me to get prepared to preach at the 11 a.m. service.
I told Pastor McCall that it would be an honor to preach from St John’s pulpit. Dr. McCall is personally knowledgeable of the struggle for Civil Rights and the importance of Education. He has as earned degree from the highly respected Vanderbilt University. He is known and respected in the State of Alabama and throughout the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Recently, Bishop Sarah Davis and General Officer, the Rev., Dr., Calvin H. Sydnor, III preached from the St John’s pulpit. God knew I needed to pray!
God heard my prayer! St John’s Organist, percussionist and saxophonist played to the Glory of God. The Men’s Chorus sang and it proved to me, not only had these men rehearsed, but also they were serious about their part in the worship service.
I preached a sermon entitled, “When A person Knows God” from Job 42:1-5.
I’m grateful to have been alive and for the honor and privilege to have been at St John-Huntsville, Alabama. Oh what a time we had.
Editor’s Comment: I also preached at St. John AME Church in Huntsville, Alabama and what a time we had. The church, located in downtown Huntsville is beautiful. The worship service was spiritual, the Men’s Chorus was outstanding, the officers and members were welcoming and made me feel at home. I though to myself that St. John was the kind of church I could be a member of. Dr. McCall is a dynamic pastor, a spiritual man who loves his people. I saw him do a unique thing. As a part of the worship service that recognized the birthdays, he also had a short reaffirmation of marriage vows for those couples who were celebrating their wedding anniversaries. First Lady Mabel McCall is the epitome of a pastor’s wife. The McCall’s are a dynamic pastoral team. I suspect that the St. John AME Church parishioners can say after worship every Sunday, “Oh what a time we had.”
4. MOUNT ZION AME CHURCH, DOVER, DELAWARE CELEBRATED 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION:
By Mr. Edward Johnson and Ms. Maxine Lewis
Mount Zion AME Church in Dover, Delaware marked its 50th Anniversary at Queen and Fulton Streets (1959-2009) with a two-day celebration that began with a recognition banquet on Saturday, September 26 and culminated on Sunday, September 27 with a “Walk Down Memory Lane” and the church’s annual Family and Friends Day Service.
Highlights of the weekend celebration included the recognition banquet on Saturday which acknowledged several of Zion’s original members who marched from the site of the old church, 54 South Kirkwood Street to 101 North Queen Street on September 27, 1959. Mr. C. Wallace Hicks, who was among the original members, gave a glowing history and the progress of the church over the past 50 years.
The celebration on Sunday began with a “Walk Down Memory Lane” prior to the service. The same walk took place 50 years ago on September 27th 1959. Some of the original members along with family and friends marched from Kirkwood Street back to Queen and Fulton Street. Despite the rain, about 30 people participated in the march.
In its 50 year history, the pastors that served at Mount Zion included the Rev. Donald George Kenneth Ming – 1957; the Rev. Elmo Bean – 1960; the Rev. Rudolph Wesley Coleman – 1966; the Rev. Troy I. Thomas – 2001; the Rev. Wayne A. Johnson – 2004; and the Rev. Ellis B. Louden – 2008.
Following the march, Mount Zion held its annual Family and Friends Day Service with the church welcoming back its native son and guest speaker, the Rev. Reginald T. Jackson of St. Matthew AME Church in Orange, New Jersey. Rev. Jackson said that the “Grace of God, faith of the people, visions and dreams of its leaders”, were the main reasons Mount Zion’s ministry has been successful over the last 50 years. “You are the leaders and workers who made it possible and successful to move from there to here,” Jackson told the congregation.
Mrs. Geraldine Depp served as Chairperson of the Anniversary Committee. Ms. Carol Eichelberger-Parnell was the Co-Chairperson.
5. ASK THE LAWYER/ PASTOR:
Question: Is there is a legal entity that would use the Pastors’ Bill of Rights to force the African Methodist Church or any denomination to keep an incompetent or inefficient pastor, if documentation exists to substantiate the incompetence?
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor, III
Answer: I doubt it. The principle of separation of church and state embodied in The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and in some state constitutions generally prevents courts from deciding questions involving the African Methodist Episcopal Church or any denomination’s internal affairs in matters of theology, church discipline, or church governance. This would most likely include procedures involving incompetent or inefficient pastors.
This principle typically prevents a court from exercising jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical matter. Courts normally do not have jurisdiction or authority to resolve issues that require an impermissible intrusion or excessive entanglement into ecclesiastical matters such as matters involving inefficient or incompetent ministers.
Since the AME Church already has in place Judicial Administration procedures to handle differences, disputes, claims, controversies or contentions, it is most likely that courts or legal systems would remand or defer such cases back to the AME church to handle its internal affairs involving incompetent ministers. (Book of Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, pp. 282-318)
Finally, it is the intent of the Ministers’ Bill of Rights to affirm, declare and enact the basic rights of itinerant ministers who are in good and regular standing and/or who have not been found guilty under Judicial Administration. (p. 120) The Ministers’ Bill of Rights is not intended to shield or protect culpable incompetent ministers.
Email Ask the Lawyer / Pastor questions to: cornelius@ssscott.com
6. PASTOR WHAT WE CAN DO TO VISIT THE HISTORICAL MOTHER BETHEL AME CHURCH:
*The Rev Royd Mwandu
When I was in primary school, I learnt in Social Studies of a strong religious requirement for Muslims to visit their holy shrine in Arabia known as Mecca once in their lifetime. In the past nine years, I have been privileged to visit the USA from Africa three times. Two of these visits took me to Indiana Indianapolis and St Louis Missouri in 2004 and 2008 respectively. In both case I was attending the General Conferences of the AME Church. The first visit in 2001 took me to Fort Worth Texas to attend the convocation of the Christ Holy Sanctified Church. This was at the generous invitation of my mother of the Gospel, the Rev Alice E Gibson. I competently led a team of twenty one (21) delegates from Zambia. To sum up, the duration of my stay in my previous three visits has been one hundred and twenty days (120). I regret that in all three instances, I have not visited Philadelphia and Mother Bethel “the AME Church holy shrine” in particular.
“Pastor, what can we do to visit the historical mother bethel AME Church?” This is a wise question that came to me at an appropriate time from my son in the ministry, Matthews Sibanda Kafwebu. He has been a member of my pastoral charge, Downtown AME Church for slightly over one year.
His expression was made immediately following the church service having heard me mentioning the sublime courage of our illustrious founder the Right Reverend Richard Allen. He committed to memory quotable statement “Wait until prayer is over, I will leave your church and trouble you no more”. He marveled at what type of a person Bishop Allen was, who defied all odds at a time when the majority of the people in his situation chose to keep silent. I immediately sensed that brother Matthews had like me been injected with the AME Church injection of “liberation”.
In addressing his question, “Pastor, what can we do to visit the historic Mother Bethel AME Church?” I told him it would require careful planning and that it was a feat I had not given a thought for more than just first Lady Connie and I visiting. When he heard that, he insisted and said “Pastor, please extend your list to include me. During the weekly Bible class the majority members of Downtown AME Church requested that they be included on the list of potential visitors to Mother Bethel, Philadelphia. It is clear; brother Matthews and my church members have won. I have no option but to lead them to Philly within the next twenty four months. The good news is that the list has grown to twenty five (25).
The visit will finally see my strong delegation be at the site and venue of the 49th session of the General Conference. Honestly, this is a task that requires effective planning, networking and transparency in mobilization of funds. It is for this reason that I am requesting the global AME Churches and individuals for their generous help in seeing my team get to the states on this genuine mission trip. Each of us is without exception paying our round trip air fare of two thousand dollars (US$2000). In addition, ground transportation and lodging amounting to fifty thousand (US50000) will be required.
I thank God for Bishop Jeffrey Leath, the immediate former pastor of Mother Bethel with whom I discussed my intentions to visit his church before his election into Episcopal office. I appreciate God for the encouragement from first lady and the Rev Mark Tyler the current pastor of Mother Bethel with whom I had the opportunity to discuss historical issues. To firm up your support, link up with me on royd.mwandu@kcm.co.zm .
Remember to visit http://www.ourchurch.com/member/s/StThomasZambia
Greetings from the Downtown AME Church, Chingola of the Copperbelt West Presiding Elders’ District of the Southwest Zambia Conference of the 17th Episcopal District.
*The Rev Royd Mwandu – Senior Pastor Mobile Office +260-966-786-632
7. THE 7TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT 2009 PALMETTO ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
Mr. Benjamin Harrison
From Monday, August 24th to Friday, August 28th the 7th District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, (South Carolina), convened in Charleston for the first of its 2009 Annual Conferences entitled the Palmetto Annual Conference. This week long event was held at Greater St. Luke AME Church located at 78 Gordon Street in Charleston, SC, where Rev. L. T. Baker is pastor. The Palmetto Annual Conference is comprised of the Mount Pleasant, Kingstree and Georgetown Districts and with approximately 50,000 local members is the largest of six AME Conferences within the state of South Carolina. This was the 99th session of the Palmetto Annual Conference and the following article is derived from the resolution which was submitted by Rev. Barbara Chisolm, pastor of Jehovah AME Church in Cross, SC and the Palmetto Annual Conference Resolution Committee.
Tuesday, 8 a.m., the Rt. Rev. Dr. Preston W. Williams II, along with Episcopal Supervisor Mother Williams, called the 99th Session of the Palmetto Annual Conference in session. A spirit of harmony and tranquility filled the air as the members of the 7th District came from the four geographic regions of South Carolina in preparation for this Holy convocation. We came with grateful hearts and somber spirits in awe of God’s intrinsic power!
The opening worship service was a spiritually enlightening and transcending experience. Rev. Dr. Kylon Middleton, pastor of Hopewell AME Church, was the angel sent to proclaim the word for this occasion. His declaration was, “It’s time for us to come together!” Following his powerful preaching, and with great anticipation, we partook in a fellowship of Holy Communion.
Tuesday evening, the Women’s Missionary Society’s “Night in Mission” served as a catalyst for the convocation. The Palmetto Conference WMS, under the direction of Sis. Tanya Harper, sparkled radiantly as they responded to Rev. Melvin Coleman, pastor of St. Paul AME Church, Oat-land. Rev. Coleman delivered a message on “long-suffering,” explaining that suffering will undoubtedly come into all of our lives. However, through the suffering we must continue to encourage ourselves!
Wednesday’s “Hour of Power” was a continuum of the notion that “we must encourage ourselves when overcoming unexpected challenges.” Rev. Ronald Slaughter, Pastor of the 6th District’s Saint Paul AME Church, Macon GA, stated that, “Unexpected challenges will surely come!” He further explained that if you are humble and admit you need help, are willing to watch others be blessed without getting angered, and are willing to remove some folks out of your life, this will enable you to move to the next level in God’s ordained purpose.
Wednesday evening, the YPD’ers showed the Conference that the best way to deal with overcoming unexpected challenges is to give Him the praise! The youth and young adults presented song, dance, and drama ministries as reflections of their praises to God.
Thursday afternoon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Young, President of Allen University, joined the spiritual caravan by proclaiming, “It’s God’s business and all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His will.” Dr. Young admonished us to always remember, “It’s not your business, but God’s business!”
In a sermon later that day, the Rev. L.A. Gatewood, Presiding Elder of the 3rd Episcopal District’s Columbia Conference, posed the question, “What is that thing around your neck?” Elder Gatewood taught that the pastoral collar is symbolic of your commitment to God, and the image of the cross should remind you of the many things along this Christian journey which you must bear.
Friday morning, the Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry, Pastor of (FAME) First AME Church, Oakland, CA and Chairperson of the Connectional AME Church Episcopal Committee, preached a powerful closing worship experience. All in attendance thanked God for the Holy Spirit which touched our bodies, hearts and minds!
During this extraordinary week of learning and worship there were training sessions on sexual harassment presented by Latonia Liner of Elite Corp. The Church School was led by Mr. Samson Huger of St. Andrew AME Church, Kingstree District. There was also an open forum on Health Care presented by Dr. Thaddeus Bell, followed by updates on various health topics from the Palmetto Conference Health Director, Ms. Susie Myers.
Our special guests included retired Bishop Zedekiah Grady and Mrs. Grady, Dr. George Flowers, Executive Director, Global Witness and Ministry, Presiding Elder L.A. Gatewood, 3rd District’s Columbia Conference, Rev. Richard Yancey, Pastor, New Bethel AME Church, 6th District, Pastor Ronald Slaughter, Saint Paul AME Church, Macon, GA, Rev. Brenda Kneece, Executive Minister of the Christian Action Council, Latonia Liner, Elite Corp., Dr. Thaddeus Bell, and Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry, Chairperson of the AME Church’s Episcopal Committee.
This 99th Session of the South Carolina Palmetto Annual Conference was opened with a holy celebration of victory and triumph in reflection of another year of service in the ministry of Jesus Christ. This convocation challenged everyone to come together! As good stewards we are to watch over the health of our spirits, bodies, and souls and then we can bring forth fruit ready for the harvest into the kingdom of God. We must engage in ministry through tithing, community service, outreach programs, visitation, and creating new and innovative ways to reach all races and nationalities of people.
The Greater St. Luke AME Church family, where Rev. Lorenzo T. Baker is pastor, provided for this Conference a comfortable and cool environment with security, transportation and hospitality. This Palmetto Annual Conference has been spiritually empowering through teaching, preaching, and testimonies full of encouragement for those who intend to dedicate and recommit themselves to Christian service.
It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we celebrate our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Preston Warren Williams II, presiding prelate of the nation-state of South Carolina, for his spirited ecclesiastical leadership throughout this entire 99th Session of the Palmetto Annual Conference. Bishop and Mother Williams listened to the needs of the Conference and encouraged us all by building up the hearts and minds of the people of God. Thus, as we leave this sanctuary we shall never forget what our Bishop has taught us through the wisdom and knowledge that he has received from God.
Now let us in appreciation and with sincere gratitude stand and applaud Bishop and Mother Williams for having fellowshipped with us, so that we leave this place better equipped to exercise the divinity within us.
8. UPDATE FROM THE DOWNTOWN AME CHURCH:
Chingola of the Copperbelt West Presiding Elders’ District Of The
Southwest Zambia Conference of the 17th Episcopal District
Introduction
To the global AME Church community, our ministry partners and friends. As we approach the end of the year 2009, we at Downtown AME Church, Chingola, Zambia in the 17th Episcopal District want to share with you our experience of the goodness of the Lord upon us. We also would like to share with you outstanding activities for year 2009.
Good Seeds Certified Seeds
We recall that the certified seed for Downtown Church to grow as a Branch of
St Thomas AME Church was sown on 10th December 2005. By God’s own divine arrangement, in 2008 the South West Zambia Conference under the careful leadership of Bishop Paul Jones Mulenga Kawimbe of the 17th Episcopal District endorsed Downtown AME Church as a stand alone pastoral charge. The Rev Royd Mwandu who pioneered the branch was transferred from St Thomas to be assigned as the first pastor of Downtown AME Church.
Permanent Presence in Chingola
After 44 years of independence but absence of the AME Church, Downtown Church has since been on the ground firming up its presence in an area where only the minority “white" initiated churches thrived. In just 365 days, the church has grown in leaps and bounds with steady growth of membership and a "bee hive" of testimonies from old as well as new members.
Sample Testimony
A Pentecostal pastor and his flock closes church to join Downtown AME Church" This was in August 2009 immediately following their participating in the Preach-A-thon conference of Downtown AME Church. Then Pastor and now brother Absalom Zulu of Redeemed Christian Church, his family and members joined the Downtown family with joy. In his own words brother Zulu said that “he was prepared to forego the title of pastor for him to start from the grassroots as an ordinary member. He added that he had not known that the AME Church was such a good church until his interaction in the conference.” It is for this reason that on Saturday 14th November 2009, thirty six (36) members will be confirmed into full connection.
Year End Anniversary Prayer Fasting & Feasting Conference
Please join the Rev Royd Mwandu and the Downtown AME Church family in praying for the above stated gathering under the theme “A triumphant Life - It's Our Turn". If you cannot come please post a message of encouragement on to our visitors web site page by visiting: -http://www.ourchurch.com/member/s/StThomasZambia . Lined up are two guest speakers from Botswana, Pastor Gideon Upenyu and Evangelist Thadeaus Katuta. Bro Abshalom Zulu and Kalaba Bwalya will also be speaking. If you would like to partner with this growing church, do not hesitate to contact the undersigned. Once again thank you for your prayers. Attached is hand bill.
The Rev Royd Mwandu – Senior Pastor Mobile Office +260-966-786-632
Royd.mwandu@kcm.co.zm
9. THE 127TH SESSION OF THE CHICAGO ANNUAL CONFERENCE
By Charles Hallman, St. Paul-Minneapolis District Reporter
The Holy Spirit was present throughout the Holiday Inn Select in Bloomington, Minnesota, the site of the 127th Session of the Chicago Annual Conference October 7-11.
“We received word from a group that was here for three days, and they said it was the first Christian group they’ve ever seen that did the talk, and was living the walk,” host pastor Rev. Dr. Alphonse Reff, Sr. (Wayman, Minneapolis) pointed out. It was the first time that a Minneapolis church hosted the Chicago Conference since 1954.
“You grow up thinking that there is nothing like Chicago” when it comes to hosting such meetings, remarked the Rt. Rev. John Richard Bryant, Fourth Episcopal District presiding prelate and AMEC senior bishop. Spending a week in Minneapolis “has just been awesome . . . absolutely wonderful. It is shattering people’s preconceived notions (about the area), mine included,” he duly noted.
Bryant said he was especially impressed with the singing, especially from Wayman’s choir, who was in full attendance at the Hour of Power services.
“One of the pastors said to me when the choir was up singing, ‘Lord I shut my eyes and I think I am in Chicago,” Bishop John recalled. “This music is beyond Chicago. It is shattering people’s preconceived notions, mine included.”
“This has been the most Spirited-charged conference that we’ve had in a long time,” noted Milwaukee District Presiding Elder Walter Bauldrick. Moving it outside of Chicago helped “develop a closer relationship” within the Conference, he believed. “I’m positive that it was the Minnesota folks have done a great job in helping that to happen. It’s been very healthy for us to be here in Minneapolis.”
“Everyone has been overwhelmingly pleasant, friendly and with kindness,” including the hotel staff and personnel, says the Rev. Thomas M. Hughes, the South District’s presiding elder. “The Spirit has been exceptionally high in all of our worship services and the business sessions – yokes were broken. When you take time to be kind, God will bless us to become stronger.”
The Rev. Noah Smith (Wayman, Minneapolis) attended his first Conference in 1954, and has only missed only four ever since. At age 101, Smith was the Conference’s eldest attendee and is an active member of his church’s ministerial staff: “I’ve enjoyed my ministry so far, and the Lord keeps giving me something to do, and I do it,” he said proudly.
Along with the singing, the preaching also took all who attended this year’s Chicago Annual Conference to a higher level as well. Bryant encouraged a variety, ranging from pastors to students, to deliver the Word throughout the sessions: for example, the bishop invited three ministerial students to give five-minute sermons during the Conference second day’s Hour of Power service.
“If you are waiting for something, the only thing the Lord wants you to do is pray and just wait,” said Itinerate Deacon Renell Banks (Bethel, Milwaukee). Simply titled, “Just Wait,” she used Isaiah 40: 38-41 as her text: “Jesus is what we need,” she stressed. “He is the answer. Line up with God and just wait.”
After he read Joshua 6:2, third-year student Marlan Branch, Bethel, Evanston, Illinois asked, “How is Your Jericho? How can we conquer our Jericho? If you obey God and do his will, you will conquer your Jericho.”
Pointing to the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7: 54-60, Rev. Denise Spencer Stevens surmised that being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from persecution. “When you are doing what you supposed to be doing for God, you will be persecuted,” she said. “The stones are coming but be full of the Holy Ghost.”
“Three different people, three different styles – one Gospel,” Bryant said afterwards.
A second triumvirate was featured during the third day’s Hour of Power, which was led by the Chicago Conference’s Women In Ministry. “Pioneers,” said Bryant as he referred to the three pastors – each leads churches in the St. Paul Minneapolis District.
The Rev. Stacey Smith (St. Mark’s, Duluth, Minn.) spoke as she used Romans 14: 13-17, “You have to look up for the hook-up.”
“It is activated when you look up. When you look up, you can brave (anything). When you get down on your knees, you have to look up. (Then) you have to get up, so you can get set up to your Kingdom connection – the hook up.”
With Ecclesiastes 4:12, the Rev. Marchelle Hallman (St. James, Minneapolis) defined a cord as a strong rope that is used as a lifeline. She implored the congregation to use this rope whenever a crisis enters your life. “My prayer for you and I is that all is meaningless without God. We are not through throwing out the lifeline (enough) – a cord of three strands are not easily broken – let’s throw the rope.”
“Are you connected?,” asked the Rev. Denita Williams (Payne Memorial, Waterloo, Iowa) after she read Matthew 6:33. “We must first have a good connection to the power source. You can not be connected unless you are connected to the right power source. There is a connection in the Kingdom of God. When you have a Kingdom connection, we are following the will of God.”
“The women (pastors) today were extraordinarily anointed, and the Word of God went forward with power,” says Senior Episcopal Supervisor, the Rev. Dr. Cecilia Williams Bryant. “We are excited with the caliber of women that the Lord has raised up in the Fourth (Episcopal) District.”
Bishop Bryant preached at the closing service – his sermon text was Genesis 2:8. “God used Himself as the blueprint to make his human creation. When God made us, He had excellence in His mind. He was at His best when He made us.”
Don’t allow tough times stop you from doing God’s work, the bishop warned the Conference. Church folk often start talking “doom and gloom because they read the papers and watch CNN,” he noted. “I saw here this week and watched you meet your obligations – some of you raised more money and brought in more members.
“God always does His best work in the storm. Go back to your churches and make bricks out of straw. You can’t be defeated with God. We got the Holy Ghost salvation and the blood of the Lamb,” concluded Bryant.
Afterwards, several souls accepted the invitation to Christian discipleship.
“Our Bishop preached from his heart” was the highlight of the sessions, observed North District Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. Louis Toney. “That was the highlight of the Conference.”
The Chicago Annual Conference’s 128th session will return to Chicago in October 2010, but Bishop Bryant boldly pointed out that the hospitality and the smoothness the 127th Session exhibited will be hard pressed to match.
“It took us 10 months (of planning),” claimed planning committee chairwoman Robin Gonzales (Wayman, Minneapolis). “We had meetings every week, and some weeks we had meetings every day.”
Over 1,000 people, including clergy, delegates, youth and others attended “one of the largest attended conferences,” remarked the bishop.
As he thanked all those who were involved in the planning this year’s Chicago Annual Conference, “We are doing the business of the Lord,” concluded Reff, the St. Paul Minneapolis District presiding elder.
10. TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
The Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors
The Sixth Session of the Texas Annual Conference was held October 27 - 31 in Houston, Texas. with South Wesley A.M.E. church hosting the conference. It was a week of powerful preaching, terrific teaching and informative business sessions. Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram, the presiding prelate of the Tenth, announced a new theme for the district: Advancing the Ministry, Expanding the Church. It is the fourth in a series of themes announced by Bishop Ingram that uses the acronym A.M.E. Last year the district’s theme was Achieving More Everyday. Other themes were Anointed More than Ever, Always Moving toward Excellence and Aligned with Matters of Eternity. The themes are designed to give life and direction to our district.
“Every person in the body of Christ and member of a church, by virtue of his/her baptism, confession and belief in God, has a pivotal role to play to Advance the Ministry and Expand the Church,” Bishop Ingram said in his Episcopal message. “We need to move toward being a church which has the zeal of the first century believers by addressing the realities of the twentieth first century with the belief that we can transform the world.”
The Texas Annual Conference was the last in the series of annual conferences held in the Tenth Episcopal District.
The opening and the closing worship services were held at Wesley AME Church. The opening worship service started at 7:10 p.m. with the regal process of Bishop Ingram, Presiding Elders Johnny Jennings and Alfred Baker and members of the clergy dressed in white robes singing Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty. More than 30 stewardesses, including junior stewardesses, were on duty to serve Holy Communion to nearly 400 people.
The Rev. Robert Green, pastor of Jones AME Praise and Worship Center, preached the opening message. Green stirred the crowd at Wesley with his message simply titled: “Yes.” His sermon text was Psalm 77. Green said because Richard Allen said yes we now have the African Methodist Episcopal Church, however, he added that the work continues.
“You have to learn how to say yes Lord to your will and your way. You can’t say yes to the Bishop, the Presiding Elder or the Pastor until you say yes to the Lord. Preacher if you say yes you don’t have to worry about your enemies. God will take care of you.”
The Rev. Kevin Bullock Sr., pastor of South Wesley AME Church in Houston, hosted the annual conference. Daily Conference members were treated with South Wesley hospitality. The hospitality committee provided treats for attendees that included homemade teacakes. Guest preachers at the conference were the Rev. Dr. Harold R. Mayberry, The Rev. Dr. Raymond Bryant and the Rev. William Campbell. Texas State Rep. Alma A. Allen, District 131, was the speaker for Lay night.
During the conference two veteran pastors were retired. The retirees were the Rev. Roosevelt Owens, who retired after serving more than 30 years, and the Rev. Thomas J. Booker, who served the AME Church 23 years. Both retired due to health issues. The Rev. Thomas J. Booker said in his years of service to the AME Church as a pastor he only missed being in the pulpit four Sundays. It was an emotional time for both as they addressed the conference.
Bishop Ingram commended both retiring pastors for their service.
Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram delivered the closing sermon entitled: A Prayer, A Promise and God’s Presence with a secondary title of Three P’s for a Preacher. The text for the sermon was based on Exodus 33:13-23. Bishop Ingram warned the waiting congregation not to take their ministry assignment lightly. He reminded them of the sacredness of the office and its demands. Bishop Ingram said one who works in the ministry must be able to take criticism and rejection. He said not everyone can handle it.
“On every Sunday and everyday of the week in crowded cities, quiet villages, secluded suburbs and out in the country, there are men and women who stand behind this sacred desk to preach the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The moment you take the bold leap of faith is the moment you enter into a nonnegotiable contract. You can’t go through the ministry trying to plea bargain with God. You have to go through it on God’s terms. There’s no vocation like the ministry.”
“There will be times when you start questioning: Why Am I Here Lord? Is this what I signed up for? There will be times when you start wrestling with yourself. There will be times when you ask for an audience with God,” said Bishop Ingram.
However he said those who serve can expect divine compensation.
The conference ended with the district mass choir singing Go ye therefore and teach all nations as the Rev. Dr. Jessica Ingram, the Episcopal Supervisor, offered a prayer of encouragement for all the newly assigned pastors, who gathered at the altar with their spouses.
Preaching and Teaching at the conference:
The Texas Annual Conference featured a variety of preaching and teaching that both empowered and inspired believers.
YPD Conference: The Rev. Ricky Warren (Pastor Union Center- Conroe) preached: “God is Going to blow your Mind. 1 Chronicles 4:10
The Gathering of Women Praise and Worship Service: Rev. Dr. Jessica Ingram, the Episcopal Supervisor, “It’s Time to Go for Yourself” Genesis 12:1
WMS Night in White: The Rev. Kevin Hodge, Preparation Makes all the Difference (Esther 4:15-17/ 5:1-2.)
Ordination and Retirement Service: Rev. Dr. Harold R. Mayberry, Just Follow the Plan. Nehemiah 4:1-9
Presenters for the bible expository hour were: the Rev. Robert Riley and the Rev. Louise Fordham. Other individual workshop presenters were: the Reverends Brenda Payne, Salatheia Bryant-Honors, and Carol Echols.
11. THE ALLEGHENY SCRANTON DISTRICT 2009-2010 PLANNING MEETING:
Submitted by Miss Shelly Brown Allegheny Scranton District Administrative Assistant
On Saturday, November 7, 2009, clergy and laity of the Allegheny Scranton District met at New Life African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The host pastor Reverend Melva Hartzog.
The appointed pastor of New Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Reverend Dr. Helen M. Burton preached on the topic “God has a plan". The scripture for the topic was taken from Luke 15:11-14. You must plan the work and then work the plan. The plan is not what man has set forth it is what God has already planned and if we seek Him all things will be given.
This planning was again "green" as the Worship service as well as the Business Session was a PowerPoint presentation, “Moving toward Christian Excellence in Service” I Corinthians 12:31 is the 2009-2010 theme for the Allegheny Scranton District.
Dr. Brown introduced to some and presented to others the newest pastor appointed to the Allegheny Scranton District Reverend Peter Matthews, Ph.D., Greater Allen AME Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
12. THE HARDEST THING FOR SOME PEOPLE TO DO:
*The Rev. N. T. Pitts
There are many things that some of us find hard to do, such as waking up and getting up, being on time, keeping appointments, paying our bills on time, staying awake when we should, returning calls and keeping our mouth closed. The hardest thing I have observed is admitting that we have made a mistake.
As a child, in doing my homework, whenever I made a mistake I became frustrated with myself; my daddy used to tell me that’s why they put erasers on pencils. From the use of erasers to white-outs and now we use the Delete key whenever we make mistakes on computer documents.
Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I will show you a person who has never tried doing anything. There are those who won’t try anything because they are afraid of making mistakes.
I don’t know what it is that prevents some of us from accepting the fact that we make mistakes. Some of us will do and say anything to avoid admitting that we made a mistake. I have also noticed that some in the positions of leadership find it more difficult to admit their mistakes. I don’t know why.
It may be a false sense of pride and a fear of being questioned of our leadership capabilities. It is amazing, some of the things we do to avoid admitting our mistakes. Some would even lie, not realizing that it is impossible to tell one lie; and others try to rationalize by finding excuses.
In the field of sports, I have seen games lost because players made crucial mistakes. They admit their mistakes and try harder to make up for them. Surgeons make fatal mistakes in the operating room and refuse to admit that it was their fault. They try to rationalize the cause rather than admitting it was theirs. Innocent people have been convicted and executed by states and the states refuse to admit they made a mistake, and instead they try to place the blame on others.
People have been killed by mistaken identity. Sometime ago I was confronted by a man who thought I was the man who owed him money. He was set to do harm to me. He almost made a “grave” mistake. He said to me “you look like the guy I am looking for.” I hope there is no one out there who looks like me.
The Prodigal son made up his mind to go to his father and admit that he made a mistake by leaving home and taking and wasting all of his substance on good times. Luke 15:12-21
It takes a person with integrity and a desire to be honest to admit his or her mistakes. Admitting that you made a mistake does not render you weak, or questions your competence.
When was the last time you made a mistake and admitted it?
Are you too proud to admit your mistakes? Just keep in mind that it takes a person with integrity to accept the fact that they have erred.
I have had couples, while they were in counseling, admit that their marriage was a mistake and they wanted out, but there were others who tried to make the best of it. It is a sign of maturity to do that.
God forbid if we make the same mistake over and over again. Some have not made the same mistake twice.
The Rev. N.T. Pitts, author, teacher, counselor, and humorist, is a retired Itinerant Elder who lives in Eatonville, Florida. Ptaegar@AOL.Com
A bit of humor:
Two men were out in the woods hunting when all of a sudden they heard a frightening noise. When they looked back they saw a big black bear. They took off running and the bear was right on their heels. They ran and ran and the bear was gaining on them. One said to the other, man we can’t outrun that bear. And the other man said: I ain’t trying to outrun that bear, I am trying to outrun you.
13. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:
The Rev. Otis Lewis and Connie Dotey were married on Sunday, November 8, 2009. The Rev. Otis Lewis is the Presiding Elder of the Greater New Orleans-Greensburg District of the Louisiana Conference, Eighth Episcopal District. Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Presiding Prelate of the Eighth Episcopal District performed the ceremony. The wedding was held at Chisolm Mission A.M.E. Church in Summit, Mississippi; the Rev. Lamar McGilberry, pastor. During the wedding ceremony the male Presiding Elders of the Eighth Episcopal District stood as groomsmen and the two female Presiding Elders stood as bridesmaids.
Congratulatory messages can be sent to: OSLewis@bellsouth.net
14. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Thomas Lorenzo Dandridge, the father of the Reverend Debbie Bryant, the pastor of Shorter Chapel AME Church in Bridgetown, VA (Norfolk-Eastern Shore District).
Service Arrangements for Mr. Thomas Lorenzo Dandridge
Homegoing Service: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
New Bethel Baptist Church
3811 Big Bethel Road
Yorktown, VA
Professional services entrusted to:
W. J. Smith & Sons
210 Harpersville Road
Newport News, VA
757-596-6911
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Debbie Bryant
28 Doolittle Road
Hampton, VA 23669
757-7226216
Email: deblebryant@verizon.net
Please keep Rev. Bryant and her family in prayer.
15. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Brother Samuel T. Dyson, father of the Rev. Dr. Dianne D. Coles of the Washington Conference, Second Episcopal District. Rev. Coles serves on the ministerial staff at the New Liberation AME Church in Landover, Maryland; the Rev. Francis E. Sparkman, pastor.
Services held for Brother Samuel T. Dyson are as follows:
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wake: 9:00 a.m.
Funeral: 11:00 a.m.
Campbell AME Church
2562 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20020-5247
(202) 889-3006 (church)
The Rev. Dr. Rodger Hall Reid, Pastor
The Rev. Dr. Louis Charles Harvey, Presiding Elder
Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., Presiding Prelate
Second Episcopal District
Interment will be Monday, November 16, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Cheltenham Veterans' Cemetery, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, Maryland 20623.
Condolences may be sent to colesf8m@msn.com and/or:
The Rev. Dr. Dianne Coles
4103 Old Glendale Road
Mitchellville, Maryland 20720
16. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Vernon Charles Simons, the brother of the Reverend Linda A. Powell, the pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church in Ellendale, Delaware (Dover District). The following information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Funeral Service - 3:00 p.m.
St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church
Middleroad
Warwick, Bermuda WK09
Funeral arrangements entrusted to:
Amis Memorial Chapels
8 Khyber Pass
Warwick, Bermuda WK03
Phone: 441-236-0155
Fax: 441-236-4845
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Linda A. Powell
18110 Sharons Rd.
Ellendale, DE 19941
17. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It is with deep sadness that we inform you that the Reverend Dr. Marian J. Wood has made the transition from earth to her eternal home. Reverend Wood served on the Ministerial Staff of Hemingway Memorial AME Church in District Heights, Maryland (Washington Conference/Second Episcopal District). We praise God for her dedication and commitment to family, friends, church and community. In all she did, Reverend Wood exemplified a "spirit of passion and excellence" in serving the God she loved. We solicit your prayers for the family and for those whose lives she touched in a major way.
Service Arrangements for Reverend Wood:
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wake: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Homegoing Service: 11:00 a.m.
Hemingway Memorial AME Church
6330 Gateway Boulevard
District Heights, Maryland 20747
301-568-9127 (Church Office)
301-568-9136 (Church Fax)
Email: HemingwayOffice1@verizon.net
The Rev. Samuel E. Hayward, III, Pastor
Professional services entrusted to:
Pinckney Spangler Funeral Home
524 Eighth Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 544-7720
Condolences may be sent to:
The Wood Family
3005 Walters Lane
Forestville, Maryland 20747
18. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We are saddened to announce the passing of Ms. Brenda Shaw on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Ms. Brenda Shaw was the daughter of the late Presiding Elder, the Rev. Dr. W. D. Turner and Mrs. Martha Turner. She is also the sister of the Rev. Myra Turner-Billips and sister-in-law of the Rev. Eric Billips, co-pastors at Shiloh AME Church in Galveston, Texas (Texas Conference).
The following information has been shared regarding the Homegoing Celebration for Ms. Shaw:
Homegoing Celebration:
Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 2:30 P.M.
Mt. Zion AME Church
733 Hardeman Street
Italy, Texas 76651
Phone: (972) 483-6943
The Rev. Mittie Muse, Jr., Pastor
Ms. Shaw's final earthly care has been entrusted to:
Community Funeral Home
1412 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Waxahachie, Texas 75165
Phone: (972) 937-5350
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Martha Turner
P.O. Box 339
Italy, Texas 76651
Phone: (972) 483-0107
19. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Alene Maxwell on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Mrs. Maxwell was the mother of the Rev. Thelma Maxwell, Pastor of Woolridge Chapel AME Church, Houston, Texas (Texas Conference).
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held: Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 3:00 P.M.
St. Paul AME Church (Greenspoint)
1554 Gears Road
Houston, Texas 77067
Ph: (281) 537-3300
The Rev. Rodrick Dawson, pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Thelma Maxwell
234 Bizerte Street
Houston, Texas 77022
Ph: (713) 699-8455
20. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Loretta Powell on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Mrs. Powell was the mother of the Rev. Herman Powell, Pastor of Trinity AME Church, Houston, Texas.
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held: Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Mt. Olive Baptist Church
709 N. Lake Avenue
Eagle Lake, Texas 77434
Ph: (979) 234-3545
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Herman Powell
101 Oak Dale Ct.
Brazoria, Texas 77422
Ph: (970) 798-6929
21. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. James Arnold Coates. Mr. Coates was the son of the Rev. E. E. Coats, retired 10th Episcopal District Pastor (Texas Conference).
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held:
Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
3826 Wheeler Street
Houston, Texas 77004
Ph: (713) 748-5240
The Rev. Marcus D. Cosby, Pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. E. E. Coates
10730 Braes Forest Drive
Houston, Texas 77071
Ph: (713) 988-5314
22. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Johnnie Mae Hayes on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Mrs. Hayes was the grandmother of the Rev. Erwin Hodge, pastor of Stern AME Church, Bryan, Texas (North Texas Conference).
The following information regarding the Homegoing Celebration has been shared:
Viewing: Friday, November 13, 2009 prior to the Homegoing Celebration
Homegoing Celebration: Saturday, November 13, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Green Chapel AME Church
3318 Link Road
Houston, Texas 77022
Ph: (713) 864-5303
The Rev. Eddie G. Reed, Jr., Pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Erwin Hodge
10017 Genemaury
Houston, Texas 77088
Ph: (281) 727-9066
23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Bishop W. Williams. Mr. Williams was the husband of Mrs. Naomi F. Williams (Life member of the Women's Missionary Society); the father of the Rev. Brenda Williams-Waters, Assistant Pastor of Joy Tabernacle AME Church-Dallas, Texas and the grandfather of the Rev. Michael Waters, Pastor of Joy Tabernacle AME Church-Dallas, Texas.
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Wake: Friday, November 13, 2009 - 6:30 P.M.
St. Paul AME Church
400 Aycock Street
Marlin Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 883-6017
The Rev. Catline Swift, Pastor
Homegoing Celebration: Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 1:30 P.M.
Greater Providence Baptist Church
412 Commerce Street
Marlin, Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 883-6320
Mr. Williams’ final earthly care has been entrusted to:
Dorsey-Keatts Funeral Home
907 Live Oak Street
Marlin, Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 803-2586
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Naomi F. Williams
1003 Park Street
P. O. Box 269 (Mailing Address)
Marlin, Texas 76661
24. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
The Clergy Family Information Center
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Email: Amespouses1@bellsouth.net
Phone: (615) 837-9736
Voice Mail: (615) 833-6936
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Cell: (615) 403-7751
25. 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.
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
1. EDITORIAL – I HOPE PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT SEND ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN:
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III,
The 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder
This editorial is my personal opinion.
I love President Barack Obama. I love his wife and his two daughters. He is so presidential and he makes me proud each time I hear him give a speech. When he travels overseas, he represents the United States in the most excellent way. People around the world love him and that makes me proud. He carries himself and looks like the president; and he communicates like a world leader. He works hard and it is evident that he loves what he was elected to do, and I wonder when he has time for himself. I wonder when he relaxes; he is such a busy man. I love the man and I am proud to call him my President.
As U.S. presidents in the past, President Obama has an extremely busy schedule and he has so many issues that require his attention. He is dealing with the enormous task of being the President of the largest nation in the free world. He has to make decisions daily. The job of being the President is almost a “no-win” position because in every decision he makes, he pleases one segment of the population and angers another segment. I don’t believe that he can make a decision that would please 100 percent of the population; and if he did, chances are, he would anger other nations around the world. President Barack Obama is dealing with the war in Afghanistan and issues surrounding the withdrawal of troops from Iraq; Iraq is not a done deal. And then, there are the serious issues of the economy and healthcare; both of which are landmines. President Obama has got to deal with those issues and, in many ways those issues will define the legacy of his presidency.
But there is another landmine that worries me, and that is how the President will handle the War in Afghanistan. I was extremely happy when I heard the president, in his speech to the troops and their families at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska say that he would not send American troops into harms way unless it was in response to the nation’s vital interests. That was a significant statement and I hope that the president will “stick to his guns” as it relates to not sending our troops into harms way, unless it is to protect the nation’s “vital” or “survival” interests. There should never be a reason for going to war except to protect our “vital” and “survival” interests. Sometimes nations go to war to protect their national interests.
Let me get to the point. I hope President Obama will not escalate the War in Afghanistan.
General Stanley A. McChrystal’s call for 40,000 additional troops feels like Vietnam to me. I do not believe that the events in Afghanistan and Pakistan represent a threat to our national or vital interests; and certainly do not represent a threat to our survival interests.
McChrystal’s request for additional troops feel like Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, General William Westmoreland and the other generals’ misguided War in Vietnam.
There are 58,195 Names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and there are others Missing In Action (MIA); countless lives lost, families disrupted - and for what? Today, Vietnam is one of our leading trading partners in Southeast Asia; you would not know that there had been a war there. I remember those days; thousands and thousands of soldiers training and being sent to stop the expansion of Communism and McNamara and Westmoreland calling for more troops. We sent our young men and women who returned from the War in Vietnam without as much as a “Thank you.” We were not a grateful nation for the sacrifices of our soldiers; we were an ungrateful nation because the nation was tired of the war and did not see the rationale for being in Southeast Asia.
We have had almost seven years of the war in Iraq and over 4000 deaths; a war we should not have had. The War in Afghanistan has been going for eight years, since October 7, 2001. Soldiers have been sent on multiple deployments and they are tired.
Check with veterans’ groups, they don’t want to President to send more troops or escalate the War in Afghanistan. Check with the soldiers; check with the retirees, especially those who have been in combat, they don’t want more troops sent to Afghanistan.
Americans are sick and tired of Iraq and Americans are sick and tired of the war in Afghanistan. We are wearing out the military and I am afraid that if we keep on the same path, if there is trouble in the U.S., the military may not be prepared to adequately fulfill its duty to protect us on the home-front.
Many of the generals who led the soldiers in Iraq have retired safely in their homes; some have written books and appear on television news programs. They are not in harms way. McChrystal will be reassigned in the not too distant future and he will move on. If the President does what McChrystal’s request, President Obama will be dealing with Afghanistan long after McChrystal is reassigned or retired.
I hope President Obama will not send additional troops to Afghanistan.
If victory has been defined, I certainly haven’t seen it. So what does a “win the War in Afghanistan” look like? I am not sure that anyone knows. We didn’t win in Vietnam and we didn’t win in Somalia and I don’t think that we can win in Afghanistan; and a lot of Americans agree with me.
I hope that President will bring the troops home and that the nation will take care of our maimed and wounded soldiers and help them to mend their families and relationships.
And, one more thing; those Americans, even the members in Congress who support sending additional troops and “giving the generals on the ground what they want” do not have the interests of the troops in mind and they certainly have not identified the national, vital or survival interests that would reinforce “giving the generals on the ground what they want.”
I suspect some of them want to see the President fail and have no real love for the troops, but they say things that they hope will get them reelected. In other words, they are serving their own self-interests and not the interests of the nation, and certainly not the best interests of soldiers and their families.
I hope President Obama will not send additional troops to Afghanistan.
These words are my opinion and my opinion only.
Chaplain (Colonel) Calvin H. Sydnor III, United States Army-Retired;
a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) and the United States Army War College (Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania).
2. READER RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL AND OTHER ISSUES:
- To the Editor:
RE: United Methodists Tackle Ineffective Clergy
I applaud your editorial; Bishop Adam J. Richardson and Bishop Leath's articles on the TCR Online in regard to the efficiency of pastors; they were right on-time.
A few General Conferences ago I submitted a piece of legislation that would have required ministers to go back to school every five years for refresher courses, dealing with relevant issues and public relations. It was “shot dead” before it got to the Revisions Committee.
People come into the ministry for different reasons. Some local churches recommend persons to the ministry based on how well they pray. Some recommend aspirants to the ministry based on their family influence. I am sure if the vote in the local church was done by secret ballot it would make a difference.
- To the Editor:
RE: Bishop Leath (19th Episcopal District) Transfers the Rev. Teboho Klaas to Allen AME Church in Meadowlands (Soweto), South Africa
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the African Methodist Episcopal Church for sending a man of Bishop Jeffrey N Leath's caliber to our shores. He has been a true leader who knows that he is here to serve rather than to be served. As the Secretary of the East Annual Conference I wish to declare that the Conference has been a spiritual and educational week for us; we have learned a lot.
I want to wish all the pastors and presiding elders who have been reassigned to new charges, the best for the new conference year. My prayer is that God will raise mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters for them.
We are heading to the Episcopal Plenary session that will be on the 21st November 2009 at Bonner Hall, Evaton (Republic of South Africa).
Best wishes to Bishop J. N Leath and Mother Susan Leath and the entire 19th Episcopal District. Congratulations to the Rev. T.G. Klaas for his new pastoral appointment.
The Rev. Ntiti Jacob Sefatsa
- To the Editor:
Over the last 4-5 years I have taught a health economics course at Florida A&M University. As an economist I have been following the current health reform debate very close because of the obvious economic implications of attempts at changing 1/6 of our Gross Domestic Product (health care spending in the US). As an AME member I am curious about two key issues associated with health care reform:
- Will the AMEC continue to support the health care reform bill if the public option is eliminated? The razor-thin margin of Yea votes suggests the Senate will offer a bill different from the House which could leave House-Senate conferees at a standstill. President Obama has indicated earlier that a public option is not a sine qua non for successful passage of a health reform bill.
- Will the AMEC continue to support the health care reform bill if Federal funds are allowed to be used for abortion? I'm not clear where our Zion stands on abortion. I have never heard any of our Episcopal leaders or itinerant elders address abortion. For me at least, based on my understanding of the Holy Writ, abortion is infanticide. As a church we talk quite freely about capitol punishment yet, we are basically reticent about abortion. This seems to me a good issue for the Social Action Commission to properly address.
Bill Dickens
3. OH WHAT A TIME:
The Rev. William Howard Smith
My wife, Sister Willa Smith and I were led to go and visit the St John AME Church family in Huntsville, Alabama last Sunday and Oh, what a time! The Rev. Homer McCall is somebody’s pastor!
In 1992, the Reverend, Dr., Homer McCall, St John’s pastor allowed me to impose on him to preach at the East Tennessee Annual Conference that was hosted at Campbell Chapel AMEC in Pulaski, Tennessee. The then First Lady, Mrs. Willa Smith and I worked hard in providing leadership as the then Presiding Bishop, the Right Rev. Vernon Randolph Byrd and Presiding Elder Charles A. Jones allowed us freedom to plan and execute a well-planned and organized Annual Conference.
St John on Huntsville is no stranger to the Smith family or to the leadership of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Pastor and Mrs. McCall, through the years, have invited and hosted preachers as, the Rev. Dr. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, who later became the first female elected and consecrated Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and the Reverend, Dr. William Watley, pastor of St James AME Church, Newark, New Jersey.
Last Sunday morning, I tried to sneak past Dr. McCall’s office trying to get to the restroom to refresh after an hour’s drive to Huntsville from our home in Tennessee. As I arrived at the church, there was a staff minister who told me to make way to the pastor’s office. First Lady, Sister Mabel McCall greeted me and demonstrated her ability to recall some of the things she remembered about me. She asked about Sister Willa and of course I asked to see the recent photograph of the Mc Call family. While we were talking, I heard this voice coming from a chair positioned at a desk. Dr. Mc Call greeted me and asked if I came prepared to preach. My response was that Mrs. Smith and I had come to St John to worship and to hear him preach. Dr. McCall has been a professor at Alabama A & M University for 37 years and is the beloved pastor, who is beginning his 39th year at St John, indicated that he had preached at the 8 a.m. service and for me to get prepared to preach at the 11 a.m. service.
I told Pastor McCall that it would be an honor to preach from St John’s pulpit. Dr. McCall is personally knowledgeable of the struggle for Civil Rights and the importance of Education. He has as earned degree from the highly respected Vanderbilt University. He is known and respected in the State of Alabama and throughout the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Recently, Bishop Sarah Davis and General Officer, the Rev., Dr., Calvin H. Sydnor, III preached from the St John’s pulpit. God knew I needed to pray!
God heard my prayer! St John’s Organist, percussionist and saxophonist played to the Glory of God. The Men’s Chorus sang and it proved to me, not only had these men rehearsed, but also they were serious about their part in the worship service.
I preached a sermon entitled, “When A person Knows God” from Job 42:1-5.
I’m grateful to have been alive and for the honor and privilege to have been at St John-Huntsville, Alabama. Oh what a time we had.
Editor’s Comment: I also preached at St. John AME Church in Huntsville, Alabama and what a time we had. The church, located in downtown Huntsville is beautiful. The worship service was spiritual, the Men’s Chorus was outstanding, the officers and members were welcoming and made me feel at home. I though to myself that St. John was the kind of church I could be a member of. Dr. McCall is a dynamic pastor, a spiritual man who loves his people. I saw him do a unique thing. As a part of the worship service that recognized the birthdays, he also had a short reaffirmation of marriage vows for those couples who were celebrating their wedding anniversaries. First Lady Mabel McCall is the epitome of a pastor’s wife. The McCall’s are a dynamic pastoral team. I suspect that the St. John AME Church parishioners can say after worship every Sunday, “Oh what a time we had.”
4. MOUNT ZION AME CHURCH, DOVER, DELAWARE CELEBRATED 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION:
By Mr. Edward Johnson and Ms. Maxine Lewis
Mount Zion AME Church in Dover, Delaware marked its 50th Anniversary at Queen and Fulton Streets (1959-2009) with a two-day celebration that began with a recognition banquet on Saturday, September 26 and culminated on Sunday, September 27 with a “Walk Down Memory Lane” and the church’s annual Family and Friends Day Service.
Highlights of the weekend celebration included the recognition banquet on Saturday which acknowledged several of Zion’s original members who marched from the site of the old church, 54 South Kirkwood Street to 101 North Queen Street on September 27, 1959. Mr. C. Wallace Hicks, who was among the original members, gave a glowing history and the progress of the church over the past 50 years.
The celebration on Sunday began with a “Walk Down Memory Lane” prior to the service. The same walk took place 50 years ago on September 27th 1959. Some of the original members along with family and friends marched from Kirkwood Street back to Queen and Fulton Street. Despite the rain, about 30 people participated in the march.
In its 50 year history, the pastors that served at Mount Zion included the Rev. Donald George Kenneth Ming – 1957; the Rev. Elmo Bean – 1960; the Rev. Rudolph Wesley Coleman – 1966; the Rev. Troy I. Thomas – 2001; the Rev. Wayne A. Johnson – 2004; and the Rev. Ellis B. Louden – 2008.
Following the march, Mount Zion held its annual Family and Friends Day Service with the church welcoming back its native son and guest speaker, the Rev. Reginald T. Jackson of St. Matthew AME Church in Orange, New Jersey. Rev. Jackson said that the “Grace of God, faith of the people, visions and dreams of its leaders”, were the main reasons Mount Zion’s ministry has been successful over the last 50 years. “You are the leaders and workers who made it possible and successful to move from there to here,” Jackson told the congregation.
Mrs. Geraldine Depp served as Chairperson of the Anniversary Committee. Ms. Carol Eichelberger-Parnell was the Co-Chairperson.
5. ASK THE LAWYER/ PASTOR:
Question: Is there is a legal entity that would use the Pastors’ Bill of Rights to force the African Methodist Church or any denomination to keep an incompetent or inefficient pastor, if documentation exists to substantiate the incompetence?
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor, III
Answer: I doubt it. The principle of separation of church and state embodied in The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and in some state constitutions generally prevents courts from deciding questions involving the African Methodist Episcopal Church or any denomination’s internal affairs in matters of theology, church discipline, or church governance. This would most likely include procedures involving incompetent or inefficient pastors.
This principle typically prevents a court from exercising jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical matter. Courts normally do not have jurisdiction or authority to resolve issues that require an impermissible intrusion or excessive entanglement into ecclesiastical matters such as matters involving inefficient or incompetent ministers.
Since the AME Church already has in place Judicial Administration procedures to handle differences, disputes, claims, controversies or contentions, it is most likely that courts or legal systems would remand or defer such cases back to the AME church to handle its internal affairs involving incompetent ministers. (Book of Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, pp. 282-318)
Finally, it is the intent of the Ministers’ Bill of Rights to affirm, declare and enact the basic rights of itinerant ministers who are in good and regular standing and/or who have not been found guilty under Judicial Administration. (p. 120) The Ministers’ Bill of Rights is not intended to shield or protect culpable incompetent ministers.
Email Ask the Lawyer / Pastor questions to: cornelius@ssscott.com
6. PASTOR WHAT WE CAN DO TO VISIT THE HISTORICAL MOTHER BETHEL AME CHURCH:
*The Rev Royd Mwandu
When I was in primary school, I learnt in Social Studies of a strong religious requirement for Muslims to visit their holy shrine in Arabia known as Mecca once in their lifetime. In the past nine years, I have been privileged to visit the USA from Africa three times. Two of these visits took me to Indiana Indianapolis and St Louis Missouri in 2004 and 2008 respectively. In both case I was attending the General Conferences of the AME Church. The first visit in 2001 took me to Fort Worth Texas to attend the convocation of the Christ Holy Sanctified Church. This was at the generous invitation of my mother of the Gospel, the Rev Alice E Gibson. I competently led a team of twenty one (21) delegates from Zambia. To sum up, the duration of my stay in my previous three visits has been one hundred and twenty days (120). I regret that in all three instances, I have not visited Philadelphia and Mother Bethel “the AME Church holy shrine” in particular.
“Pastor, what can we do to visit the historical mother bethel AME Church?” This is a wise question that came to me at an appropriate time from my son in the ministry, Matthews Sibanda Kafwebu. He has been a member of my pastoral charge, Downtown AME Church for slightly over one year.
His expression was made immediately following the church service having heard me mentioning the sublime courage of our illustrious founder the Right Reverend Richard Allen. He committed to memory quotable statement “Wait until prayer is over, I will leave your church and trouble you no more”. He marveled at what type of a person Bishop Allen was, who defied all odds at a time when the majority of the people in his situation chose to keep silent. I immediately sensed that brother Matthews had like me been injected with the AME Church injection of “liberation”.
In addressing his question, “Pastor, what can we do to visit the historic Mother Bethel AME Church?” I told him it would require careful planning and that it was a feat I had not given a thought for more than just first Lady Connie and I visiting. When he heard that, he insisted and said “Pastor, please extend your list to include me. During the weekly Bible class the majority members of Downtown AME Church requested that they be included on the list of potential visitors to Mother Bethel, Philadelphia. It is clear; brother Matthews and my church members have won. I have no option but to lead them to Philly within the next twenty four months. The good news is that the list has grown to twenty five (25).
The visit will finally see my strong delegation be at the site and venue of the 49th session of the General Conference. Honestly, this is a task that requires effective planning, networking and transparency in mobilization of funds. It is for this reason that I am requesting the global AME Churches and individuals for their generous help in seeing my team get to the states on this genuine mission trip. Each of us is without exception paying our round trip air fare of two thousand dollars (US$2000). In addition, ground transportation and lodging amounting to fifty thousand (US50000) will be required.
I thank God for Bishop Jeffrey Leath, the immediate former pastor of Mother Bethel with whom I discussed my intentions to visit his church before his election into Episcopal office. I appreciate God for the encouragement from first lady and the Rev Mark Tyler the current pastor of Mother Bethel with whom I had the opportunity to discuss historical issues. To firm up your support, link up with me on royd.mwandu@kcm.co.zm .
Remember to visit http://www.ourchurch.com/member/s/StThomasZambia
Greetings from the Downtown AME Church, Chingola of the Copperbelt West Presiding Elders’ District of the Southwest Zambia Conference of the 17th Episcopal District.
*The Rev Royd Mwandu – Senior Pastor Mobile Office +260-966-786-632
7. THE 7TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT 2009 PALMETTO ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
Mr. Benjamin Harrison
From Monday, August 24th to Friday, August 28th the 7th District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, (South Carolina), convened in Charleston for the first of its 2009 Annual Conferences entitled the Palmetto Annual Conference. This week long event was held at Greater St. Luke AME Church located at 78 Gordon Street in Charleston, SC, where Rev. L. T. Baker is pastor. The Palmetto Annual Conference is comprised of the Mount Pleasant, Kingstree and Georgetown Districts and with approximately 50,000 local members is the largest of six AME Conferences within the state of South Carolina. This was the 99th session of the Palmetto Annual Conference and the following article is derived from the resolution which was submitted by Rev. Barbara Chisolm, pastor of Jehovah AME Church in Cross, SC and the Palmetto Annual Conference Resolution Committee.
Tuesday, 8 a.m., the Rt. Rev. Dr. Preston W. Williams II, along with Episcopal Supervisor Mother Williams, called the 99th Session of the Palmetto Annual Conference in session. A spirit of harmony and tranquility filled the air as the members of the 7th District came from the four geographic regions of South Carolina in preparation for this Holy convocation. We came with grateful hearts and somber spirits in awe of God’s intrinsic power!
The opening worship service was a spiritually enlightening and transcending experience. Rev. Dr. Kylon Middleton, pastor of Hopewell AME Church, was the angel sent to proclaim the word for this occasion. His declaration was, “It’s time for us to come together!” Following his powerful preaching, and with great anticipation, we partook in a fellowship of Holy Communion.
Tuesday evening, the Women’s Missionary Society’s “Night in Mission” served as a catalyst for the convocation. The Palmetto Conference WMS, under the direction of Sis. Tanya Harper, sparkled radiantly as they responded to Rev. Melvin Coleman, pastor of St. Paul AME Church, Oat-land. Rev. Coleman delivered a message on “long-suffering,” explaining that suffering will undoubtedly come into all of our lives. However, through the suffering we must continue to encourage ourselves!
Wednesday’s “Hour of Power” was a continuum of the notion that “we must encourage ourselves when overcoming unexpected challenges.” Rev. Ronald Slaughter, Pastor of the 6th District’s Saint Paul AME Church, Macon GA, stated that, “Unexpected challenges will surely come!” He further explained that if you are humble and admit you need help, are willing to watch others be blessed without getting angered, and are willing to remove some folks out of your life, this will enable you to move to the next level in God’s ordained purpose.
Wednesday evening, the YPD’ers showed the Conference that the best way to deal with overcoming unexpected challenges is to give Him the praise! The youth and young adults presented song, dance, and drama ministries as reflections of their praises to God.
Thursday afternoon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Young, President of Allen University, joined the spiritual caravan by proclaiming, “It’s God’s business and all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His will.” Dr. Young admonished us to always remember, “It’s not your business, but God’s business!”
In a sermon later that day, the Rev. L.A. Gatewood, Presiding Elder of the 3rd Episcopal District’s Columbia Conference, posed the question, “What is that thing around your neck?” Elder Gatewood taught that the pastoral collar is symbolic of your commitment to God, and the image of the cross should remind you of the many things along this Christian journey which you must bear.
Friday morning, the Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry, Pastor of (FAME) First AME Church, Oakland, CA and Chairperson of the Connectional AME Church Episcopal Committee, preached a powerful closing worship experience. All in attendance thanked God for the Holy Spirit which touched our bodies, hearts and minds!
During this extraordinary week of learning and worship there were training sessions on sexual harassment presented by Latonia Liner of Elite Corp. The Church School was led by Mr. Samson Huger of St. Andrew AME Church, Kingstree District. There was also an open forum on Health Care presented by Dr. Thaddeus Bell, followed by updates on various health topics from the Palmetto Conference Health Director, Ms. Susie Myers.
Our special guests included retired Bishop Zedekiah Grady and Mrs. Grady, Dr. George Flowers, Executive Director, Global Witness and Ministry, Presiding Elder L.A. Gatewood, 3rd District’s Columbia Conference, Rev. Richard Yancey, Pastor, New Bethel AME Church, 6th District, Pastor Ronald Slaughter, Saint Paul AME Church, Macon, GA, Rev. Brenda Kneece, Executive Minister of the Christian Action Council, Latonia Liner, Elite Corp., Dr. Thaddeus Bell, and Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry, Chairperson of the AME Church’s Episcopal Committee.
This 99th Session of the South Carolina Palmetto Annual Conference was opened with a holy celebration of victory and triumph in reflection of another year of service in the ministry of Jesus Christ. This convocation challenged everyone to come together! As good stewards we are to watch over the health of our spirits, bodies, and souls and then we can bring forth fruit ready for the harvest into the kingdom of God. We must engage in ministry through tithing, community service, outreach programs, visitation, and creating new and innovative ways to reach all races and nationalities of people.
The Greater St. Luke AME Church family, where Rev. Lorenzo T. Baker is pastor, provided for this Conference a comfortable and cool environment with security, transportation and hospitality. This Palmetto Annual Conference has been spiritually empowering through teaching, preaching, and testimonies full of encouragement for those who intend to dedicate and recommit themselves to Christian service.
It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we celebrate our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Preston Warren Williams II, presiding prelate of the nation-state of South Carolina, for his spirited ecclesiastical leadership throughout this entire 99th Session of the Palmetto Annual Conference. Bishop and Mother Williams listened to the needs of the Conference and encouraged us all by building up the hearts and minds of the people of God. Thus, as we leave this sanctuary we shall never forget what our Bishop has taught us through the wisdom and knowledge that he has received from God.
Now let us in appreciation and with sincere gratitude stand and applaud Bishop and Mother Williams for having fellowshipped with us, so that we leave this place better equipped to exercise the divinity within us.
8. UPDATE FROM THE DOWNTOWN AME CHURCH:
Chingola of the Copperbelt West Presiding Elders’ District Of The
Southwest Zambia Conference of the 17th Episcopal District
Introduction
To the global AME Church community, our ministry partners and friends. As we approach the end of the year 2009, we at Downtown AME Church, Chingola, Zambia in the 17th Episcopal District want to share with you our experience of the goodness of the Lord upon us. We also would like to share with you outstanding activities for year 2009.
Good Seeds Certified Seeds
We recall that the certified seed for Downtown Church to grow as a Branch of
St Thomas AME Church was sown on 10th December 2005. By God’s own divine arrangement, in 2008 the South West Zambia Conference under the careful leadership of Bishop Paul Jones Mulenga Kawimbe of the 17th Episcopal District endorsed Downtown AME Church as a stand alone pastoral charge. The Rev Royd Mwandu who pioneered the branch was transferred from St Thomas to be assigned as the first pastor of Downtown AME Church.
Permanent Presence in Chingola
After 44 years of independence but absence of the AME Church, Downtown Church has since been on the ground firming up its presence in an area where only the minority “white" initiated churches thrived. In just 365 days, the church has grown in leaps and bounds with steady growth of membership and a "bee hive" of testimonies from old as well as new members.
Sample Testimony
A Pentecostal pastor and his flock closes church to join Downtown AME Church" This was in August 2009 immediately following their participating in the Preach-A-thon conference of Downtown AME Church. Then Pastor and now brother Absalom Zulu of Redeemed Christian Church, his family and members joined the Downtown family with joy. In his own words brother Zulu said that “he was prepared to forego the title of pastor for him to start from the grassroots as an ordinary member. He added that he had not known that the AME Church was such a good church until his interaction in the conference.” It is for this reason that on Saturday 14th November 2009, thirty six (36) members will be confirmed into full connection.
Year End Anniversary Prayer Fasting & Feasting Conference
Please join the Rev Royd Mwandu and the Downtown AME Church family in praying for the above stated gathering under the theme “A triumphant Life - It's Our Turn". If you cannot come please post a message of encouragement on to our visitors web site page by visiting: -http://www.ourchurch.com/member/s/StThomasZambia . Lined up are two guest speakers from Botswana, Pastor Gideon Upenyu and Evangelist Thadeaus Katuta. Bro Abshalom Zulu and Kalaba Bwalya will also be speaking. If you would like to partner with this growing church, do not hesitate to contact the undersigned. Once again thank you for your prayers. Attached is hand bill.
The Rev Royd Mwandu – Senior Pastor Mobile Office +260-966-786-632
Royd.mwandu@kcm.co.zm
9. THE 127TH SESSION OF THE CHICAGO ANNUAL CONFERENCE
By Charles Hallman, St. Paul-Minneapolis District Reporter
The Holy Spirit was present throughout the Holiday Inn Select in Bloomington, Minnesota, the site of the 127th Session of the Chicago Annual Conference October 7-11.
“We received word from a group that was here for three days, and they said it was the first Christian group they’ve ever seen that did the talk, and was living the walk,” host pastor Rev. Dr. Alphonse Reff, Sr. (Wayman, Minneapolis) pointed out. It was the first time that a Minneapolis church hosted the Chicago Conference since 1954.
“You grow up thinking that there is nothing like Chicago” when it comes to hosting such meetings, remarked the Rt. Rev. John Richard Bryant, Fourth Episcopal District presiding prelate and AMEC senior bishop. Spending a week in Minneapolis “has just been awesome . . . absolutely wonderful. It is shattering people’s preconceived notions (about the area), mine included,” he duly noted.
Bryant said he was especially impressed with the singing, especially from Wayman’s choir, who was in full attendance at the Hour of Power services.
“One of the pastors said to me when the choir was up singing, ‘Lord I shut my eyes and I think I am in Chicago,” Bishop John recalled. “This music is beyond Chicago. It is shattering people’s preconceived notions, mine included.”
“This has been the most Spirited-charged conference that we’ve had in a long time,” noted Milwaukee District Presiding Elder Walter Bauldrick. Moving it outside of Chicago helped “develop a closer relationship” within the Conference, he believed. “I’m positive that it was the Minnesota folks have done a great job in helping that to happen. It’s been very healthy for us to be here in Minneapolis.”
“Everyone has been overwhelmingly pleasant, friendly and with kindness,” including the hotel staff and personnel, says the Rev. Thomas M. Hughes, the South District’s presiding elder. “The Spirit has been exceptionally high in all of our worship services and the business sessions – yokes were broken. When you take time to be kind, God will bless us to become stronger.”
The Rev. Noah Smith (Wayman, Minneapolis) attended his first Conference in 1954, and has only missed only four ever since. At age 101, Smith was the Conference’s eldest attendee and is an active member of his church’s ministerial staff: “I’ve enjoyed my ministry so far, and the Lord keeps giving me something to do, and I do it,” he said proudly.
Along with the singing, the preaching also took all who attended this year’s Chicago Annual Conference to a higher level as well. Bryant encouraged a variety, ranging from pastors to students, to deliver the Word throughout the sessions: for example, the bishop invited three ministerial students to give five-minute sermons during the Conference second day’s Hour of Power service.
“If you are waiting for something, the only thing the Lord wants you to do is pray and just wait,” said Itinerate Deacon Renell Banks (Bethel, Milwaukee). Simply titled, “Just Wait,” she used Isaiah 40: 38-41 as her text: “Jesus is what we need,” she stressed. “He is the answer. Line up with God and just wait.”
After he read Joshua 6:2, third-year student Marlan Branch, Bethel, Evanston, Illinois asked, “How is Your Jericho? How can we conquer our Jericho? If you obey God and do his will, you will conquer your Jericho.”
Pointing to the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7: 54-60, Rev. Denise Spencer Stevens surmised that being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from persecution. “When you are doing what you supposed to be doing for God, you will be persecuted,” she said. “The stones are coming but be full of the Holy Ghost.”
“Three different people, three different styles – one Gospel,” Bryant said afterwards.
A second triumvirate was featured during the third day’s Hour of Power, which was led by the Chicago Conference’s Women In Ministry. “Pioneers,” said Bryant as he referred to the three pastors – each leads churches in the St. Paul Minneapolis District.
The Rev. Stacey Smith (St. Mark’s, Duluth, Minn.) spoke as she used Romans 14: 13-17, “You have to look up for the hook-up.”
“It is activated when you look up. When you look up, you can brave (anything). When you get down on your knees, you have to look up. (Then) you have to get up, so you can get set up to your Kingdom connection – the hook up.”
With Ecclesiastes 4:12, the Rev. Marchelle Hallman (St. James, Minneapolis) defined a cord as a strong rope that is used as a lifeline. She implored the congregation to use this rope whenever a crisis enters your life. “My prayer for you and I is that all is meaningless without God. We are not through throwing out the lifeline (enough) – a cord of three strands are not easily broken – let’s throw the rope.”
“Are you connected?,” asked the Rev. Denita Williams (Payne Memorial, Waterloo, Iowa) after she read Matthew 6:33. “We must first have a good connection to the power source. You can not be connected unless you are connected to the right power source. There is a connection in the Kingdom of God. When you have a Kingdom connection, we are following the will of God.”
“The women (pastors) today were extraordinarily anointed, and the Word of God went forward with power,” says Senior Episcopal Supervisor, the Rev. Dr. Cecilia Williams Bryant. “We are excited with the caliber of women that the Lord has raised up in the Fourth (Episcopal) District.”
Bishop Bryant preached at the closing service – his sermon text was Genesis 2:8. “God used Himself as the blueprint to make his human creation. When God made us, He had excellence in His mind. He was at His best when He made us.”
Don’t allow tough times stop you from doing God’s work, the bishop warned the Conference. Church folk often start talking “doom and gloom because they read the papers and watch CNN,” he noted. “I saw here this week and watched you meet your obligations – some of you raised more money and brought in more members.
“God always does His best work in the storm. Go back to your churches and make bricks out of straw. You can’t be defeated with God. We got the Holy Ghost salvation and the blood of the Lamb,” concluded Bryant.
Afterwards, several souls accepted the invitation to Christian discipleship.
“Our Bishop preached from his heart” was the highlight of the sessions, observed North District Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. Louis Toney. “That was the highlight of the Conference.”
The Chicago Annual Conference’s 128th session will return to Chicago in October 2010, but Bishop Bryant boldly pointed out that the hospitality and the smoothness the 127th Session exhibited will be hard pressed to match.
“It took us 10 months (of planning),” claimed planning committee chairwoman Robin Gonzales (Wayman, Minneapolis). “We had meetings every week, and some weeks we had meetings every day.”
Over 1,000 people, including clergy, delegates, youth and others attended “one of the largest attended conferences,” remarked the bishop.
As he thanked all those who were involved in the planning this year’s Chicago Annual Conference, “We are doing the business of the Lord,” concluded Reff, the St. Paul Minneapolis District presiding elder.
10. TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
The Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors
The Sixth Session of the Texas Annual Conference was held October 27 - 31 in Houston, Texas. with South Wesley A.M.E. church hosting the conference. It was a week of powerful preaching, terrific teaching and informative business sessions. Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram, the presiding prelate of the Tenth, announced a new theme for the district: Advancing the Ministry, Expanding the Church. It is the fourth in a series of themes announced by Bishop Ingram that uses the acronym A.M.E. Last year the district’s theme was Achieving More Everyday. Other themes were Anointed More than Ever, Always Moving toward Excellence and Aligned with Matters of Eternity. The themes are designed to give life and direction to our district.
“Every person in the body of Christ and member of a church, by virtue of his/her baptism, confession and belief in God, has a pivotal role to play to Advance the Ministry and Expand the Church,” Bishop Ingram said in his Episcopal message. “We need to move toward being a church which has the zeal of the first century believers by addressing the realities of the twentieth first century with the belief that we can transform the world.”
The Texas Annual Conference was the last in the series of annual conferences held in the Tenth Episcopal District.
The opening and the closing worship services were held at Wesley AME Church. The opening worship service started at 7:10 p.m. with the regal process of Bishop Ingram, Presiding Elders Johnny Jennings and Alfred Baker and members of the clergy dressed in white robes singing Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty. More than 30 stewardesses, including junior stewardesses, were on duty to serve Holy Communion to nearly 400 people.
The Rev. Robert Green, pastor of Jones AME Praise and Worship Center, preached the opening message. Green stirred the crowd at Wesley with his message simply titled: “Yes.” His sermon text was Psalm 77. Green said because Richard Allen said yes we now have the African Methodist Episcopal Church, however, he added that the work continues.
“You have to learn how to say yes Lord to your will and your way. You can’t say yes to the Bishop, the Presiding Elder or the Pastor until you say yes to the Lord. Preacher if you say yes you don’t have to worry about your enemies. God will take care of you.”
The Rev. Kevin Bullock Sr., pastor of South Wesley AME Church in Houston, hosted the annual conference. Daily Conference members were treated with South Wesley hospitality. The hospitality committee provided treats for attendees that included homemade teacakes. Guest preachers at the conference were the Rev. Dr. Harold R. Mayberry, The Rev. Dr. Raymond Bryant and the Rev. William Campbell. Texas State Rep. Alma A. Allen, District 131, was the speaker for Lay night.
During the conference two veteran pastors were retired. The retirees were the Rev. Roosevelt Owens, who retired after serving more than 30 years, and the Rev. Thomas J. Booker, who served the AME Church 23 years. Both retired due to health issues. The Rev. Thomas J. Booker said in his years of service to the AME Church as a pastor he only missed being in the pulpit four Sundays. It was an emotional time for both as they addressed the conference.
Bishop Ingram commended both retiring pastors for their service.
Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram delivered the closing sermon entitled: A Prayer, A Promise and God’s Presence with a secondary title of Three P’s for a Preacher. The text for the sermon was based on Exodus 33:13-23. Bishop Ingram warned the waiting congregation not to take their ministry assignment lightly. He reminded them of the sacredness of the office and its demands. Bishop Ingram said one who works in the ministry must be able to take criticism and rejection. He said not everyone can handle it.
“On every Sunday and everyday of the week in crowded cities, quiet villages, secluded suburbs and out in the country, there are men and women who stand behind this sacred desk to preach the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The moment you take the bold leap of faith is the moment you enter into a nonnegotiable contract. You can’t go through the ministry trying to plea bargain with God. You have to go through it on God’s terms. There’s no vocation like the ministry.”
“There will be times when you start questioning: Why Am I Here Lord? Is this what I signed up for? There will be times when you start wrestling with yourself. There will be times when you ask for an audience with God,” said Bishop Ingram.
However he said those who serve can expect divine compensation.
The conference ended with the district mass choir singing Go ye therefore and teach all nations as the Rev. Dr. Jessica Ingram, the Episcopal Supervisor, offered a prayer of encouragement for all the newly assigned pastors, who gathered at the altar with their spouses.
Preaching and Teaching at the conference:
The Texas Annual Conference featured a variety of preaching and teaching that both empowered and inspired believers.
YPD Conference: The Rev. Ricky Warren (Pastor Union Center- Conroe) preached: “God is Going to blow your Mind. 1 Chronicles 4:10
The Gathering of Women Praise and Worship Service: Rev. Dr. Jessica Ingram, the Episcopal Supervisor, “It’s Time to Go for Yourself” Genesis 12:1
WMS Night in White: The Rev. Kevin Hodge, Preparation Makes all the Difference (Esther 4:15-17/ 5:1-2.)
Ordination and Retirement Service: Rev. Dr. Harold R. Mayberry, Just Follow the Plan. Nehemiah 4:1-9
Presenters for the bible expository hour were: the Rev. Robert Riley and the Rev. Louise Fordham. Other individual workshop presenters were: the Reverends Brenda Payne, Salatheia Bryant-Honors, and Carol Echols.
11. THE ALLEGHENY SCRANTON DISTRICT 2009-2010 PLANNING MEETING:
Submitted by Miss Shelly Brown Allegheny Scranton District Administrative Assistant
On Saturday, November 7, 2009, clergy and laity of the Allegheny Scranton District met at New Life African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The host pastor Reverend Melva Hartzog.
The appointed pastor of New Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Reverend Dr. Helen M. Burton preached on the topic “God has a plan". The scripture for the topic was taken from Luke 15:11-14. You must plan the work and then work the plan. The plan is not what man has set forth it is what God has already planned and if we seek Him all things will be given.
This planning was again "green" as the Worship service as well as the Business Session was a PowerPoint presentation, “Moving toward Christian Excellence in Service” I Corinthians 12:31 is the 2009-2010 theme for the Allegheny Scranton District.
Dr. Brown introduced to some and presented to others the newest pastor appointed to the Allegheny Scranton District Reverend Peter Matthews, Ph.D., Greater Allen AME Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
12. THE HARDEST THING FOR SOME PEOPLE TO DO:
*The Rev. N. T. Pitts
There are many things that some of us find hard to do, such as waking up and getting up, being on time, keeping appointments, paying our bills on time, staying awake when we should, returning calls and keeping our mouth closed. The hardest thing I have observed is admitting that we have made a mistake.
As a child, in doing my homework, whenever I made a mistake I became frustrated with myself; my daddy used to tell me that’s why they put erasers on pencils. From the use of erasers to white-outs and now we use the Delete key whenever we make mistakes on computer documents.
Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I will show you a person who has never tried doing anything. There are those who won’t try anything because they are afraid of making mistakes.
I don’t know what it is that prevents some of us from accepting the fact that we make mistakes. Some of us will do and say anything to avoid admitting that we made a mistake. I have also noticed that some in the positions of leadership find it more difficult to admit their mistakes. I don’t know why.
It may be a false sense of pride and a fear of being questioned of our leadership capabilities. It is amazing, some of the things we do to avoid admitting our mistakes. Some would even lie, not realizing that it is impossible to tell one lie; and others try to rationalize by finding excuses.
In the field of sports, I have seen games lost because players made crucial mistakes. They admit their mistakes and try harder to make up for them. Surgeons make fatal mistakes in the operating room and refuse to admit that it was their fault. They try to rationalize the cause rather than admitting it was theirs. Innocent people have been convicted and executed by states and the states refuse to admit they made a mistake, and instead they try to place the blame on others.
People have been killed by mistaken identity. Sometime ago I was confronted by a man who thought I was the man who owed him money. He was set to do harm to me. He almost made a “grave” mistake. He said to me “you look like the guy I am looking for.” I hope there is no one out there who looks like me.
The Prodigal son made up his mind to go to his father and admit that he made a mistake by leaving home and taking and wasting all of his substance on good times. Luke 15:12-21
It takes a person with integrity and a desire to be honest to admit his or her mistakes. Admitting that you made a mistake does not render you weak, or questions your competence.
When was the last time you made a mistake and admitted it?
Are you too proud to admit your mistakes? Just keep in mind that it takes a person with integrity to accept the fact that they have erred.
I have had couples, while they were in counseling, admit that their marriage was a mistake and they wanted out, but there were others who tried to make the best of it. It is a sign of maturity to do that.
God forbid if we make the same mistake over and over again. Some have not made the same mistake twice.
The Rev. N.T. Pitts, author, teacher, counselor, and humorist, is a retired Itinerant Elder who lives in Eatonville, Florida. Ptaegar@AOL.Com
A bit of humor:
Two men were out in the woods hunting when all of a sudden they heard a frightening noise. When they looked back they saw a big black bear. They took off running and the bear was right on their heels. They ran and ran and the bear was gaining on them. One said to the other, man we can’t outrun that bear. And the other man said: I ain’t trying to outrun that bear, I am trying to outrun you.
13. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:
The Rev. Otis Lewis and Connie Dotey were married on Sunday, November 8, 2009. The Rev. Otis Lewis is the Presiding Elder of the Greater New Orleans-Greensburg District of the Louisiana Conference, Eighth Episcopal District. Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Presiding Prelate of the Eighth Episcopal District performed the ceremony. The wedding was held at Chisolm Mission A.M.E. Church in Summit, Mississippi; the Rev. Lamar McGilberry, pastor. During the wedding ceremony the male Presiding Elders of the Eighth Episcopal District stood as groomsmen and the two female Presiding Elders stood as bridesmaids.
Congratulatory messages can be sent to: OSLewis@bellsouth.net
14. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Thomas Lorenzo Dandridge, the father of the Reverend Debbie Bryant, the pastor of Shorter Chapel AME Church in Bridgetown, VA (Norfolk-Eastern Shore District).
Service Arrangements for Mr. Thomas Lorenzo Dandridge
Homegoing Service: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
New Bethel Baptist Church
3811 Big Bethel Road
Yorktown, VA
Professional services entrusted to:
W. J. Smith & Sons
210 Harpersville Road
Newport News, VA
757-596-6911
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Debbie Bryant
28 Doolittle Road
Hampton, VA 23669
757-7226216
Email: deblebryant@verizon.net
Please keep Rev. Bryant and her family in prayer.
15. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Brother Samuel T. Dyson, father of the Rev. Dr. Dianne D. Coles of the Washington Conference, Second Episcopal District. Rev. Coles serves on the ministerial staff at the New Liberation AME Church in Landover, Maryland; the Rev. Francis E. Sparkman, pastor.
Services held for Brother Samuel T. Dyson are as follows:
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wake: 9:00 a.m.
Funeral: 11:00 a.m.
Campbell AME Church
2562 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20020-5247
(202) 889-3006 (church)
The Rev. Dr. Rodger Hall Reid, Pastor
The Rev. Dr. Louis Charles Harvey, Presiding Elder
Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., Presiding Prelate
Second Episcopal District
Interment will be Monday, November 16, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Cheltenham Veterans' Cemetery, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, Maryland 20623.
Condolences may be sent to colesf8m@msn.com and/or:
The Rev. Dr. Dianne Coles
4103 Old Glendale Road
Mitchellville, Maryland 20720
16. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Vernon Charles Simons, the brother of the Reverend Linda A. Powell, the pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church in Ellendale, Delaware (Dover District). The following information has been provided regarding funeral arrangements.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Funeral Service - 3:00 p.m.
St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church
Middleroad
Warwick, Bermuda WK09
Funeral arrangements entrusted to:
Amis Memorial Chapels
8 Khyber Pass
Warwick, Bermuda WK03
Phone: 441-236-0155
Fax: 441-236-4845
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
The Rev. Linda A. Powell
18110 Sharons Rd.
Ellendale, DE 19941
17. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
It is with deep sadness that we inform you that the Reverend Dr. Marian J. Wood has made the transition from earth to her eternal home. Reverend Wood served on the Ministerial Staff of Hemingway Memorial AME Church in District Heights, Maryland (Washington Conference/Second Episcopal District). We praise God for her dedication and commitment to family, friends, church and community. In all she did, Reverend Wood exemplified a "spirit of passion and excellence" in serving the God she loved. We solicit your prayers for the family and for those whose lives she touched in a major way.
Service Arrangements for Reverend Wood:
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wake: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Homegoing Service: 11:00 a.m.
Hemingway Memorial AME Church
6330 Gateway Boulevard
District Heights, Maryland 20747
301-568-9127 (Church Office)
301-568-9136 (Church Fax)
Email: HemingwayOffice1@verizon.net
The Rev. Samuel E. Hayward, III, Pastor
Professional services entrusted to:
Pinckney Spangler Funeral Home
524 Eighth Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 544-7720
Condolences may be sent to:
The Wood Family
3005 Walters Lane
Forestville, Maryland 20747
18. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We are saddened to announce the passing of Ms. Brenda Shaw on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Ms. Brenda Shaw was the daughter of the late Presiding Elder, the Rev. Dr. W. D. Turner and Mrs. Martha Turner. She is also the sister of the Rev. Myra Turner-Billips and sister-in-law of the Rev. Eric Billips, co-pastors at Shiloh AME Church in Galveston, Texas (Texas Conference).
The following information has been shared regarding the Homegoing Celebration for Ms. Shaw:
Homegoing Celebration:
Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 2:30 P.M.
Mt. Zion AME Church
733 Hardeman Street
Italy, Texas 76651
Phone: (972) 483-6943
The Rev. Mittie Muse, Jr., Pastor
Ms. Shaw's final earthly care has been entrusted to:
Community Funeral Home
1412 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Waxahachie, Texas 75165
Phone: (972) 937-5350
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Martha Turner
P.O. Box 339
Italy, Texas 76651
Phone: (972) 483-0107
19. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Alene Maxwell on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Mrs. Maxwell was the mother of the Rev. Thelma Maxwell, Pastor of Woolridge Chapel AME Church, Houston, Texas (Texas Conference).
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held: Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 3:00 P.M.
St. Paul AME Church (Greenspoint)
1554 Gears Road
Houston, Texas 77067
Ph: (281) 537-3300
The Rev. Rodrick Dawson, pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Thelma Maxwell
234 Bizerte Street
Houston, Texas 77022
Ph: (713) 699-8455
20. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Loretta Powell on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Mrs. Powell was the mother of the Rev. Herman Powell, Pastor of Trinity AME Church, Houston, Texas.
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held: Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Mt. Olive Baptist Church
709 N. Lake Avenue
Eagle Lake, Texas 77434
Ph: (979) 234-3545
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Herman Powell
101 Oak Dale Ct.
Brazoria, Texas 77422
Ph: (970) 798-6929
21. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. James Arnold Coates. Mr. Coates was the son of the Rev. E. E. Coats, retired 10th Episcopal District Pastor (Texas Conference).
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Homegoing Celebration held:
Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
3826 Wheeler Street
Houston, Texas 77004
Ph: (713) 748-5240
The Rev. Marcus D. Cosby, Pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. E. E. Coates
10730 Braes Forest Drive
Houston, Texas 77071
Ph: (713) 988-5314
22. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mrs. Johnnie Mae Hayes on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Mrs. Hayes was the grandmother of the Rev. Erwin Hodge, pastor of Stern AME Church, Bryan, Texas (North Texas Conference).
The following information regarding the Homegoing Celebration has been shared:
Viewing: Friday, November 13, 2009 prior to the Homegoing Celebration
Homegoing Celebration: Saturday, November 13, 2009 - 11:00 A.M.
Green Chapel AME Church
3318 Link Road
Houston, Texas 77022
Ph: (713) 864-5303
The Rev. Eddie G. Reed, Jr., Pastor
Condolences may be sent to:
The Rev. Erwin Hodge
10017 Genemaury
Houston, Texas 77088
Ph: (281) 727-9066
23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:
We regret to announce the passing of Mr. Bishop W. Williams. Mr. Williams was the husband of Mrs. Naomi F. Williams (Life member of the Women's Missionary Society); the father of the Rev. Brenda Williams-Waters, Assistant Pastor of Joy Tabernacle AME Church-Dallas, Texas and the grandfather of the Rev. Michael Waters, Pastor of Joy Tabernacle AME Church-Dallas, Texas.
The following Homegoing Celebration information has been shared:
Wake: Friday, November 13, 2009 - 6:30 P.M.
St. Paul AME Church
400 Aycock Street
Marlin Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 883-6017
The Rev. Catline Swift, Pastor
Homegoing Celebration: Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 1:30 P.M.
Greater Providence Baptist Church
412 Commerce Street
Marlin, Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 883-6320
Mr. Williams’ final earthly care has been entrusted to:
Dorsey-Keatts Funeral Home
907 Live Oak Street
Marlin, Texas 76661
Ph: (254) 803-2586
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Naomi F. Williams
1003 Park Street
P. O. Box 269 (Mailing Address)
Marlin, Texas 76661
24. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICES AND CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:
The Clergy Family Information Center
Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action
Mrs. Ora L. Easley, Administrator
AMEC Clergy Family Information Center
Email: Amespouses1@bellsouth.net
Phone: (615) 837-9736
Voice Mail: (615) 833-6936
Fax: (615) 833-3781
Cell: (615) 403-7751
25. 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.
