HONORING THE MOTHER OF THE JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY MOVEMENT

For 50 years, e Honorable Barbara Jordan was the only African American portrait hanging in the Senate Chambers. On February 10th, 2023, Mrs. Opal Lee was honored by the State of Texas to be the second Black Woman to have a portrait. HERstory is now a part of Texas History with the unveiled portrait of Mrs. Opal Lee. Mrs. Lee is considered the mother of the Juneteenth Movement. Without her determination, persistence, and unwavering commitment to ensuring that Juneteenth was recognized, celebrated, and understood, President Joseph R. Biden and the United States of America would not have o cially made Juneteenth a National Holiday in 2021. We salute Mother Opal Lee and thank her for preserving and becoming a part of Black History.

As God told Jeremiah, even when I was in my mother’s womb, I was destined and ordained to be a preacher.” ere are many things that come with being a Pastor, and Pastor Davis does not take for granted the call he answered in 1985. “I have been able to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and have tried to save as many souls as possible. God allowed me to be there on many occasions for God’s people in their time of need, providing them with the comfort they needed. My hope and prayer is that in some way, I’ve been an inspiration to many,” he said.

In addition, being a pastor does not come without its set of challenges. One challenge he mentioned was working with di erent personalities and trying to reach hundreds of people who are at di erent levels in their spirituality. Pastor Davis stated that Co- vid brought with it its own set of challenges. “Covid stabbed and wounded the church, and it has not recovered yet.” He discussed how this is not only a challenge for GMBC, but a challenge for churches all over the nation.

“It impacted the church in a big way and hindered a lot of people from actively attending church. Although we o er online streaming for service, being online is quite di erent from being in the sanctuary for praise and worship in person.”

Under the leadership of Pastor Davis, GMBC has reached sig- ni cant heights. In 1993, a new fellowship hall was built, which expanded the square footage of the church. e 15 year mortgage for the construction of the fellowship hall was paid o in four and a half years. e 30 year mortgage for this construction was paid in full in fourteen and a half years. e 30 year this construcin and a half years.

Over the years, GMBC grew even more with the construction of a 15,964 square feet, 860 seat sanctuary, which was completed on September 14, 2003.

A strong believer in supporting the community, Pastor Davis has overseen many community events at the church over the past several years. ese events include festivals, food giveaways, hurricane relief, vaccination and childhood immunization events, and the church has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to assist their youth in pursuing higher education. Pastor Davis stressed that none of this would have been possible without the help of his faithful members.

More recently the entire fellowship hall and bathroom areas have been renovated.

Pastor Davis has always stressed the importance of getting an education to his members, and has even been an example of what education can do. Education opens doors and provides better opportunities, but a lack of education can bring larger and more serious issues to the community.”

For more visit aframnews.com