September 2022 Edition of The Christian Recorder

SEPTEMBER 2022 $3.25

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VOLUME 171, NO. 12

SEPTEMBER 2022

AME Church of SC Hosts Aspire 2022 Convening In Greenville The Seventh Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church hosted its annual ASPIRE Christian Education & Leadership Congress and Theological Institute on August 3-6, 2022, in Greenville, South Carolina, highlighting social justice and community leaders making a difference in the Greenville community.

“This convening takes place at a critical time, and we are grateful for the opportunity to strategize, fellowship, and recognize leaders making a difference in our state,” said Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr., presiding bishop of the Seventh Episcopal District.

“As our communities continue to recover from the effects of COVID, we ...continued on p12

From a Basement to a Temple – Now Paid in Full Dr. Brandon A. A. J. Davis, Senior Associate Minister, Allen Temple AME Church

Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, as a worshipping body of God, was the first religious society organized among colored people in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was founded originally in the home of an enslaved man from Kentucky named James King. His master gave him a pass to cross the Ohio River into Ohio to serve as a minister for hired colored people.

Affectionately called “Father King,” James King led and organized this band of believers in his home at Broadway 218 and 220. They also met and worshipped at some point in Adam Brown’s basement. In 1824 Philip Brodie, along with King, led this group to be accepted into the African Methodist Episcopal Church connection by the Rev. Moses Freeman. The latter in 1823, was serving in Chillicothe, Ohio. After receiving this small group into the AME Church connection, Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne appointed the Rev. Philip Brodie as pastor; their society was officially organized on February 4, 1824. ...continued on p12

Inconvenient Life Truth We Walk by Faith and NOT by Sight – Mount Zion AME Church, Riverton, NJ Rev. Alfonso Wyatt, Columnist When the people of Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church of Riverton, New Jersey, decided to commemorate and celebrate 125 years of existence, they never thought that the energy and power would literally be sucked out of the church. They had no idea that a mighty sycamore tree from across the street would take away the electrical power to their edifice when they were thirty days away ...continued on p2

Adding Is Not the Solution.

Subtraction Is…

p3

God Gave Us Common Sense: We Should Use It … p7

Restoration and ReDedication of Mount Calvary Cemetery …

Al Gore narrated and wrote the screenplay for an Oscar-winning documentary on climate change titled An Inconvenient Truth. Unfortunately, most nations ignored his dire warnings. Unfortunately, an inconvenient truth is easier to ignore than to address. So why didn’t the “proper authorities” change their behavior and take action?

I want to move away from climate change and knock on the door of people dealing with Inconvenient Life Truths. Yes, there are life truths that are being ignored, repressed, or not believed because the truth conveyed is too hard to hear, harder to bear—yet easier to ignore—or is it? Here are some Inconvenient Life Truths that may play out in real-time in different ways. Before we proceed, it is important to say that no matter one’s ethnicity, belief system, education, ...continued on p14

p11

“Honk for Jesus” Provides an Uncomfortable Reflection of the Black Church… p14

What Bishops Must Do and Avoid in the S.E.Z.A.C. of the 17th E. D.… p23

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from celebrating a monumental moment with the entire community of Riverton.

But it happened; a large limb from that tree fell to the ground, pulling down the wires and separating the electrical box from the church. And the people of the church, along with their pastor, the Rev. Leslie Robin Harrison, praised the Lord because, in all things, these people give thanks. ...From We Walk p1

The history of Mount Zion is rich and filled with adversity and many calamities; however, the people still look to God, knowing that God is their supplier and ever-present help in their time

The Christian Recorder of need. The anniversary committee continued with their work, the dignitaries were invited, and for 45 days, the people prayed that electricity would be restored. The politics of restoration were incredible, but partial electricity was restored on that Friday before the church anniversary and the unveiling of the historical society’s marker.

Such a setback would appear to be a rare occasion to some, but to the people of Mt. Zion, history speaks for itself, and every time the Lord plays a huge part. Therefore, Mt. Zion keeps holding on to God’s unchanging hand, walking by faith and not by sight.

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Mt. Zion started as a station church supporting African American female domestic workers from Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. These young ladies were high school graduates who migrated to the Philadelphia area through an incredible network of contacts created decades before by Bishop Richard Allen and Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sis. Alice B. Taylor, the founder of Mt. Zion, would support these young ladies by acclimating them to the area and providing wise counsel and spiritual leadership as they worked in the homes of Riverton and Palmyra residents. ...continued on p3

Shawn Townsend Weds Symone Sanders in a Lavish Ceremony Shawn Townsend, member of Ward Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., weds Symone Sanders in a lavish ceremony.

Symone Sanders, the host of MSNBC’s show “Symone” and Shawn Townsend, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Night Life and Culture in the District of Columbia, were married on Friday, July 15, 2022 in a surprise ceremony held at the historic Larz Anderson House in DuPont Circle. The Reverend Dededrick O. Rivers, senior pastor – Ward Memorial AME, a close friend and advisor of the couple, officiated the ceremony.

Shawn is the chairman of Ward Memorial AME Church’s nonprofit, UpliftDC. He has been instrumental in promoting the ministries of Ward Memorial and securing necessary resources for the church and community.

After the ceremony, the couple were joined by more guests from across Washington, D.C., Nebraska, South Carolina, and New York City for

a celebration.

The newlyweds ended the night at an after party on the 4th floor of The Park, hosted by the Venue’s owner, Marc Barnes. About 80 close friends, family members, and colleagues came together from the mayor’s office, the White House, and Capital Hill…..the perfect way for the power couple to end their wedding night.

We encourage each of you to tune-in to the “Symone” show on Saturdays and Sundays at 4 p.m. on MSNBC and on Mondays and Tuesdays on Peacock’s streaming service. ❏ ❏ ❏

THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER: The Christian Recorder (ISSN 1050-6039, USPS 16880) is the ofϐicial organ of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a member of the Associated Church Press and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Founded in 1852, it is printed monthly by the AMEC Sunday School Union, 900 13th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville, TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Christian Recorder, 900 13th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Subscription price is $36 per year. Single issues are $3.25.

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Mt. Zion became a church in the African Methodist Episcopal connection in 1896. Sis. Taylor bought property on Penn Street for $1400, and by 1909 the present edifice was erected and occupied. Mt. Zion has always been at the forefront of the community, with many trailblazing members having served as everything from postmasters to military service personnel, from domestics to blacksmiths and builders. Mt. Zion also boasts members who were renowned opera singers, musicians, educators, and business owners.

The church’s rich history includes a visit from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Doctor King reportedly rearranged his schedule so he could travel to Riverton to pay his respects and offer comforting words to his friend, speech writer, and

The Christian Recorder lawyer, Clarence B. Jones, at the funeral of his father, Goldsborough B. Jones, a lifetime member of Mt. Zion.

A beacon of hope, Mt. Zion has provided for those seeking spiritual, emotional, financial, and at times physical refuge during the trying times of the Great Migration, the Great Depression, and most recently, the Coronavirus pandemic. During the power outage, the corner of Penn and Third would have been dark as the two crosses on the edifice would no longer shine. However, the streetlight that had never worked miraculously shines a dim yellow haze on the sidewalk, seemingly taking up the job of the crosses to ensure that light is on this neighborhood.

We had a wonderful celebration with the

Adding Is Not the Solution. Subtraction Is. Rev. Tashara S. Void, Contributing Writer

Can we have a difficult conversation? A while ago I was asked to help establish a program that would address the disengaged population of the church. They, like a lot of churches, were losing staples and pillars at a pretty rapid rate, but the membership was not replenishing as quickly. The natural instinct was to figure out what could be done, what could be added, what could be brought to the table to make the people return and/or be more engaged. But, something about that that did not sit well with me.

Many years ago, a group of people put together a structure for the AME Church that we, as a denomination, have gotten away from. The various ministries and organizations were built to work with and alongside each other. They were established to create a holistic spiritual experience that made space for individual and collective formation and discipleship. But, unfortunately, they are not functioning as designed.

Many organizations are operating in silo. Leaders are not collaborating, and the work is not in sync.

Each organization has a different focus and theme for the year, and none of it includes collaboration or working together to make development and growth more efficient for the broader church.

But, the church is a body, and each organization is a part of that body with a different function. Just like with the physical body, there is the head - the leaders - the “spiritual intellects.” Then there is the heart, the most important part of the body, the part responsible for keeping the body alive the Christian Education Department. Flowing from the Christian Education Department comes all the other “limbs” necessary for mobility and sustainability, which accounts for every single person - not the work, not the ministry, not the assignment - but the human being - the personal needs, wants, desires, gifts, talents, heart, and soul of the people.

Unfortunately, too many churches are proceeding with “business as usual,” taking what they did in

Letter to the Editor I thank the Council of Bishops of the AME Church for their action against Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram; this is only the beginning. He is not the victim in this story. The victims are the members of the churches impacted. Men and women who often sold dinners, who gave their last dollar to the congregation, who let their lights at home get turned off before they would let the lights at the church get turned off. They are the victims, and the denomination must prioritize them now and forever. So, if you must feel sorry

the physical church to a virtual platform. They have not taken advantage of the amazing opportunity given in the last year to reimagine church, redefine ministry, and restore God’s original purpose for the church. What would happen if all the leaders were brought together and asked to reimagine?

What would happen if we closely studied the ministry of Jesus and allowed ourselves to redefine ministry according to Jesus’ works, teachings, and example? What if we intently and intentionally looked at the skills one may have and place them in a position that gives way for their gifts, while simultaneously teaching and developing them along the way? What if we restored God’s idea of community as the church, where the focus was not on the building or an individual focus, but on a collective focus of collaboration towards the same for someone, feel sorry for them.

In order to prevent this from happening again, we must send a real message to future leaders 1. The General Conference (either an extra session or the 52nd) must take action to defrock Bishop Ingram to deter others from following the same path.

2. A full investigation into the sale of 3801 Market Street in Philadelphia (aka First District Headquarters) must happen to provide transparency. I would like to see that property returned from the University of Pennsylvania to the rightful owners, the members of the seven

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presiding elder of the Camden-Trenton District, the Reverend Dr. Robert C. Wade, bringing the message of hope. The celebration was historical, with the presence of Congressman Andy Kim, State Senator Troy Singleton, Burlington County council persons, Riverton Mayor Suzanne Cairns-Wells, and other notable dignitaries.

The community came together to celebrate the contributions of an African American church and her people. We, the members of Mt. Zion AME Church, look forward to the wonderful work that God is doing through this church in this community. The members of Mt. Zion AME Church will continue to “walk by faith and not by sight.

The link to the celebration is https://youtu.be/ iB30-_iOgfM. ❏ ❏ ❏ goal with each part fully functioning?

We do not need to add anything, for we already have EVERYTHING we need! God has equipped us with the resources and positioned us with authority and power.

We only have to do like the fishermen and see what’s in our hand, what’s around us, and how we can shift. This will require some tough decisions to be made, and not everyone will like it. Some people will have to be removed from positions, and others will come under a new authority. The option “to table” will be removed and strategic objectives will be created to complete unfinished tasks. Assessments and evaluations will be a regular part of the leadership’s responsibilities, giving, at minimum, a quarterly account. It will require more time, more thought, more energy, and a bigger sacrifice, so we will no longer pimp people for their time, treasures, and talents without tithing the same back into them.

To make this kind of bold move will require an entire culture shift. Mindsets have to be transformed, imaginations reawakened, resources redistributed according to necessity and not size, and some practices removed, requiring a divestment of certain luxuries. We do not need to add anything. We simply need to make better use of what we already have. Adding is not the solution. Subtracting is. ❏ ❏ ❏ annual conferences that comprise the First Episcopal District.

3. A full audit of all real estate and developer transactions in the seven Annual Conferences of the First Episcopal District during the tenure of Bishop Ingram must be completed.

4. A whistleblower protection program must be established that will allow persons to come forward to report their experiences of intimidation, threats of being removed as pastor for not “playing ball,” bullying, and other alleged offenses. ❏ ❏ ❏

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SEPTEMBER 2022

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Think About It: A Commentary

The Truth Is the Light

James A. Madison, Editor and Publisher, Florida Sun

Rev. Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., Senior Columnist

For those who call themselves Christian or for believers of any other religion that believes in the God spoken of in Genesis of the Bible, why would THIS God give so much power to women regarding the birth of a child if he intended others to exercise control over the woman’s choice to either abort or allow a birth? It’s not a matter of sanctity of life; instead, it is a belief in the God of creation, the God of the universe who created everything with a purpose and controls all facets of human endeavor. Society is not responsible for abortion. Only the individual woman who finds herself pregnant and wishes to terminate that pregnancy is responsible for the abortion. Some believe abortion is murder, but they do not wish to prosecute the woman; rather, they go after medical providers or others who assist in the abortion.

Based on Biblical Text: Matthew 10:31: Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

We are reminded constantly about grace, God’s unmerited favor. Grace comes from God, through Jesus Christ, and we need grace in order to inherit eternal life. However, we seldom talk about God’s careful attention to every detail of our lives through his grace. God’s grace is everywhere. It is impossible to miss, reject, or even hide from grace. The Bible says, God’s grace is sufficient for everything! He cares about every detail of our life and covers our lives with his grace.

Pro-life advocates often use Jeremiah 1:5 to justify their objections to a woman choosing to terminate a pregnancy. But what of Job’s cry to God in Job 3:10-11?

Or, what of King David, a man after God’s own heart in 2 Samuel 12:9; 12-18?

Church members: Which is the greater sin?

Pregnancy only happens to women of a certain age. It’s biological and can affect a woman’s health. I find it ironic that many who call themselves Christian stand so strongly against abortion when they make no effort to speak out against some of the root causes that would necessitate a woman to seek an abortion.

For example, according to the Bible, adultery is a sin. Former President Jimmy Carter admitted he had committed adultery “in his heart” because he had lusted after a woman who was not his wife. Yet, in actual physical adultery cases, many seek an abortion to avoid embarrassment or to save a marriage.

Another example is sexual impropriety which is rampant in society today.

According to the Bible, sex outside marriage is wrong; it is a sin. Should there be a law banning adultery or sex outside of marriage? At one time in this country, the government sought to ban alcohol but soon realized that America’s appetite for alcoholic beverages was too strong for a law prohibiting the use thereof.

Likewise, pregnancy is the vehicle by which the human species propagate.

Some pregnancies are intended, and some are not. Trying to ban abortion is like saying we are banning pregnancy. Sexual intercourse is the process that produces pregnancies. People will not stop having sex; if a pregnancy ensues unintentionally, the woman must decide. By God’s direction, the child is formed in the woman’s womb, not the man’s. Why? Now, the question is who gets to decide. Abortion cannot be banned because, as the woman has control, she can self-abort at any time. Moreover, the law, at least here in the United States, does not seek to prosecute a woman for terminating a pregnancy.

It just baffles me how so-called Christians claim they believe in the God of the Bible, yet consider God to sleep on the job when it comes to abortion. Has it donned to these people that God knew men and women would run amok when it came to sexual behavior, which invariably can lead to pregnancy? Yet, despite this, God still gave women of the species the power of life or death as it relates to a completed birth.

There is a talking point that “we,” meaning society as a whole, have killed 64 million babies. But, first, I’m not accepting blame for someone else’s decision.

Second, I fail to understand that if abortion is so egregious, why does God allow it to continue?

Some species lay eggs to produce offspring. In that case, others can exercise control if desired.

There are many religions observed in the world today that believe in the God of the Bible, Koran, etc. Although religions may vary somewhat in their beliefs, there is one constant, they all agree that each individual will have to answer to their God for their behavior here on earth, whether it be good or bad.

There are perhaps many theories as to why women of the human species were given this task, and society cannot control what the God of the universe has uniquely ordained as a woman’s choice, whether good or bad. Think about it. ❏ ❏ ❏

We can be sure that God really cares! He numbers our hairs. Jesus says, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” If God cares that much about our body, how much more he must care about our soul. There is nothing about our physical being that God is not keenly aware of.

God counts our steps. Job said, “Doth not [God] see my ways, and count all my steps?” God knows every step we take and he knows where those steps take us. God knows when we break his laws, but he also knows when we stay on the straight and narrow path!

God books our thoughts. Malachi 3:16 says, “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.” We cannot hide a single thought from God! We are admonished that God knows the thoughts that come from our carnal mind, but he also knows our thoughts that come from our heart. God knows the conflict raging inside us. Thus, his solution, “Think upon his name.”

God bottles our tears. David wrote, “Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” God knows every tear we shed and counts every tear precious. God knows when we are in pain, frightened, or disappointed. He sees our sorrow, and he harvests our tears and mixes them with the one’s Jesus shed. Yes, Jesus wept!

God takes our hands. When Israel feared that God had abandoned them, he told Isaiah to tell them, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” There is never a time when God withdraws his hand of protection from those who belong to him. There is no enemy he cannot conquer. When God takes our hand we are completely outfitted with the armor of God, thoroughly filled with the spirit of God, and properly anointed with the power of God. In other words, when God takes our hand, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper!”

Finally, God supplies our needs. When Paul wrote to the struggling church in Philippi, he said, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” What more assurance do we need that God really cares? If we trust him, no worry will weaken us, no trial will destroy us, and no challenge will frighten us.

The Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., is the pastor of James Chapel AME Church in Charleston, SC.

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Groundbreaking Held for South L.A. Affordable Housing Complex Cora Jackson-Fossett, L.A. Sentinel © Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

Published August 4, 2022 Unhoused individuals will have an opportunity to live in a residence when the new Bethel Manor Apartments open by 2024.

© Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

The supportive housing complex on 79th Street and Western Avenue in South Los Angeles will contain 53 single units with private bathrooms and kitchens. The development’s amenities include a recreational room, rooftop decks, a courtyard, a laundry room, and a bike storage room. © Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

Participating in the groundbreaking are L-R: Rev. Martin Porter, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Pastor Kelvin Calloway, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Bishop Clement Fugh, Deborah La Franchi, Councilmember Marqueece HarrisDawson, and Presiding Elder Roosevelt Lindsey. © Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

Mayor Garcetti and Congresswoman Bass.

The project resulted from an innovative partnership between Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the SDS Supportive Fund, which uses private capital to finance the construction of permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. Bethel Manor Apartments will be erected on church property, offering additional services to assist clients.

During a groundbreaking ceremony on July 28, Bethel Pastor Kelvin T. Calloway, Sr., explained that the ever-growing homelessness crisis moved him and his congregation into action to help resolve the problem. © Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

“We participated in the city of Los Angeles’ initial homeless counting and were made aware, firsthand, of the number of persons who were homeless and the problems they faced. As a result, we started having conversations, in both the private and public sectors, L-R: Dr. Moses McCutcheon, pro tem of regarding ways and resources needed to Bethel’s Trustee Board; Pastor Calloway, address the crises,” Calloway said. and Leon Taylor, pro tem of Bethel’s Steward Board.

According to officials with the SDS Supportive Housing Fund, the collaboration with Bethel AME Church marks the first alliance between a church and private capital investment to address the needs of the homeless A rendering of Bethel Manor Apartments. community. The “one-stop” model provides the sole source of funding for the project and reduces the cost per unit to $250,000, as opposed to the industry standard of $500,000 per unit.

© Rickey Brown/L.A. Sentinel

“I believe that the public/private model that we have developed in addressing this crisis is one that can be replicated by and beneficial to other churches in addressing community needs as well as providing financial stability and resources for other church ministries,” noted Calloway. “I advise other churches L-R: Councilmember Harris-Dawson, and nonprofits to consider housing developments because homes are the answer to homelessness. Bishop Fugh, Pastor Calloway, and Additionally, he added that supportive services of life skills, career guidance, mental health, substance Mayor Garcetti. abuse counseling, and case management help persons remain in permanent housing.”

Reflecting on how welcome the new development is in South Los Angeles, scores of faith and community leaders attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

In addition to Calloway, participants included Bishop Clement W. Fugh, presiding prelate of the AME Church, 5th Episcopal District; Deborah La Franchi, founder/CEO of SDS Capital Group and developer of the SDS Supportive Housing Fund; AME Presiding Elder Roosevelt Lindsey, and Bethel members.

Also on hand were Congresswoman Karen Bass, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, as well as Pastor Martin C. Porter, managing partner of LOGOS Faith Development, and Mark Casanova, executive director of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles (HHCLA).

Bethel Manor Apartments is the seventh Los Angeles project financed through SDS Supportive Fund for unhoused individuals. With a goal of building 1,800 units over the next two years for the homeless, SDS currently has 438 units under construction. ❏ ❏ ❏

Experiences of Racism Associated with Poor Memory, Increased Cognitive Decline Experiences of structural, interpersonal, and institutional racism are associated with lower memory scores and worse cognition in midlife and old age, especially among black individuals, according to studies reported today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC®) 2022 in San Diego and virtually.

Among the key findings reported at AAIC 2022 are:

❖ In a study of nearly 1,000 middle-aged community-dwelling adults (55% Latinx; 23% black; 19% white), exposure to interpersonal and institutional racism was associated with lower memory scores, and these associations were driven by Black individuals. Experiences of structural racism were associated with lower episodic memory among all racial and ethnic groups that were included in the study.

❖ In a study of 445 Asian, black, Latino, white, and multiracial people age 90 and above, individuals who experienced wide-ranging discrimination throughout life had lower semantic memory in late life compared to those who experienced little to no discrimination.

“In order to achieve health equity — as a step toward complete inclusion — individuals and society must identify and reduce racism and ...continued on p16

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Where Are the Church Folk?

Rev. Dr. Kent L. Poindexter, Contributing Writer

There’s an uncomfortable reality which most congregation leaders would prefer not to discuss publicly—people are not attending church. Sunday worship services and other in-person activities are not attracting the throngs of people who, prior to the COVID pandemic, would come to church if for no other reason out of habit. Pastors and church administrators who looked forward to the restart of in-person worship as a potential revival for their congregations are concerned about the lack of enthusiasm for returning to “normal.”

It’s easy to say, “Well, the pandemic isn’t quite over.” But sports stadiums and shopping malls are full of people; holiday family gatherings and summer festivals are back to normal. The return to normal is happening—except where the church is concerned. Why? Those whose job it is to understand and interpret trends like this have noted that the current reality was inevitable. While considering how to engage those who hadn’t been attending worship regularly, pastors quietly pondered how Sunday attendance would be affected by offering online worship opportunities. Offering web-based worship could be a boom or bust for their congregations, but they have wondered how to address those who encouraged the use of current technology to attract those who were not inclined to come to Sunday worship. Congregations were not prepared for what happened in 2020, when the government mandated the closure of houses of worship to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Suddenly online worship became a top priority. Sunday morning gatherings overwhelmed the internet and social media networks—every church that could figure out how to livestream or pull together a recording of worship services worked to ensure that they could still provide time and space for congregations to gather. The response was overwhelming and the faithful were grateful!

As the world moved beyond the devastation of the pandemic and congregations anticipated gathering in person, church leaders were confronted with a new reality—people had become accustomed to “watching” church services in the comfort of their homes. Why dress up and go to church when worship is available online? The new reality—how to get people to return to worship, Bible studies, and doing the real work they were called to do as faith communities.

The Christian church in 2022 finds itself at a crossroad-how to effectively carry out “the Great Commission” in the 21st Century. The pre-pandemic church was already concerned about reaching younger generations who express disdain with the lack of appeal of “traditional” church. Now that people have become comfortable with online worship, they have new concerns about what it will take to get people back on track with the mandate of Jesus Christ: “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” If “church” and worship become the latest offerings in the world of livestream television, how can the church do its work? The answer is another uncomfortable reality which congregations must take on—change!

Jesus was the original driver of revolutionary change. His ministry was not a plan to separate from his Jewish community, rather, he was on a mission to “stir up the people,” to move people toward what God intended. Change toward realizing the vitality of relationships. Being open to changing how we “serve God” through serving one another. Changing how we interpret what it means to be disciples of Christ. When the church understands the need for change in its approach, it will find the answer to the question—where are the church folk? ❏ ❏ ❏

Safeguarding Cash Assets and Church Records Cynthia Gordon-Floyd, C.P.A., C.F.E., Contributing Writer

There are many things we can learn from the changes we’ve had to make as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The safeguarding of church assets and records may be among the most critical.

Custody of Cash While many churches began online services during the pandemic, and carried out ministry remotely, there are some things that should not be handled remotely or on an individual basis. A church should never allow an individual to have sole responsibility for the financial management for the church; including collecting, counting, recording, depositing funds, or recording electronic donations received by the church. Even if there are only a few members, these responsibilities should not exclusively reside with one person. For volunteers who find themselves isolated in this position, they should insist that at least a second person is assigned to these important tasks. This ensures proper stewardship, accountability, and acts as a safeguard against intentional or unintentional mishandling. These measures not only protect the church, but they protect the volunteer as well. Additionally, it is important to note that the second person should not be a family member of the first volunteer.

The church cannot afford to become lax on the proper handling and maintaining of cash assets, even in a situation where volunteer efforts are slim.

Custody of the Church Records In my profession, it has been remarkable to witness how many churches allow their financial records to reside at someone’s home. I have needed to assist many churches in recovering their financial

records after someone has become disgruntled and refused to give the church the records that were in their personal possession. I also knew of a volunteer who managed all the financial affairs of their church (including maintaining the church’s

records and checkbook) at their home. When the volunteer passed unexpectedly, the family refused to give the church the records that this volunteer maintained. The church had to open new accounts and start all over again. Their saving grace was that another church member was a signer on the existing account or they would have lost their money too!

While it may be convenient to operate as much as possible from home, all church records (invoices, bills, bank statements, vouchers, deposits, etc.) should be returned permanently to the church office. Ideally, it would be wise to setup electronic storage and file maintenance, but let’s start with the paper files and move to electronic files after all of these are sufficiently managed, maintained, and organized.

Cynthia Gordon-Floyd is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. She is the founder of Willing Steward Ministries, LLC. Willing Steward Ministries (www.willingsteward.com) is a financial consulting and accounting firm for churches and other faith-based nonprofits, specializing in Bible-focused financial practices, pastoral compensation issues, IRS compliance, and other financial needs specific to churches. Cynthia is a graduate of Lake Forest College and holds her MBA in accounting from DePaul University. She is a steward and the financial secretary at the First AME Church of Manassas in Manassas, Virginia.

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Do You Know Him? Rev. Dr. Maxine Thomas, Columnist

“Then he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’” Luke 9:20 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:1,14a). My sister, Jesus is the living Word of the Father. He is Emmanuel, which is God with us. He is the Incarnate God. Jesus is God. Father, Son, Holy Spirit--three in one, God! Nevertheless, many misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misrepresentations of Jesus the Christ of God exist. For some, he is just another name listed in Who’s Who Among the World’s Greatest Prophets.

For others, he’s just a good man who went around doing good things.

For many, the mention of his name brings back childhood memories of pastel-colored paintings of a shepherd with a long cane walking amidst woolly lamb and sheep. For others, Jesus is still just a pretty little baby who was born on Christmas morning.

Beloved, God loves you and me so much that he gave Jesus, who is really himself, to die on the cross so that we might have a right to the tree of life.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). My friend, when love is strong, sacrifice is great. That’s why love will cause a mother to sacrifice her coat so that her child may be warm. When you love somebody, you’ll burn the midnight oil and pray until the break of day if you have to. When you

love somebody, you’ll take the back seat; you’ll walk two miles instead of one. Have you loved anybody lately?

Yes, Jesus died the ignominious (shameful) death of the cross. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus died for you and me as he hung on the cross, stretched between the skies of the heavens and the earth beneath. Jesus had you on his mind. He knew that 2000 years later, you would need a Savior.

God, the Ancient of Days, looked down 20 and 20 generations and saw and loved you just as you are! Hallelujah! I believe he said, “I’ve got love on my mind.” I believe he said, “Lean on me.” I believe he said, “That’s how long I’m gonna love you, forever.” I feel like shouting for joy! If God saved your soul, then you ought to praise him! My friend, who do you say Jesus is? Is he real in your life today?

Exhale

On this day, I choose to walk in the newness of life. I exhale the guilt and shame of my past as I determine to run this Christian race. ❏ ❏ ❏

God Gave Us Common Sense: We Should Use It Rev. Monica C. Jones, Columnist

He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. Proverbs 2:7 (NLT) Today, as I witness another rise in COVID-19 infections in our community, I am surprised to see how many are willing to follow the advice of unwise people. It was certainly unwise for any judge to declare that it was all right for us to remove our masks on airplanes. It was unwise, and I don’t say this lightly, for the current administration to discontinue mask mandates so early in this country. It was unwise for CDC to lower its prevention protocols against COVID viruses.

Yet, because it was inconvenient -- (I don’t have time to be standing in lines), uncomfortable (these masks are too hot), or in some cases, non-conforming (the others aren’t doing it; we’re going to look silly) -- we were very ready to go back to business as usual. As a result, infections are on the rise, communities are experiencing death again among its families, and we are reminded of the horror of a year ago.

God always hears our prayers; God always responds to our pleas for mercy. Still, God always expects

us to use the common sense that we were given at the time of our formation. It is common sense to know that if we come to church, sit side by side, unmasked, with no protocols in place, that we will begin to see infections again. The same will happen at work, at conventions, and in other environments and venues.

Those of us in the pulpit must use that forum to educate and illuminate. Surely, our purpose is to bring the people to salvation; but as Christians who care about justice and the survival of our community, our purpose must be complemented by teaching those things that are plainly for our self-preservation. I am glad that at my church, our senior pastor, Dr. John Foster, has seen fit to maintain our protocol today, as from the beginning of the pandemic. I pray that the majority of the churches in our beloved connection are doing the same. Before he taught them, Jesus fed them and took care of the people’s hunger. Jesus understood the critical need to put food in their stomachs before putting the preached Word in their spirits.

Let us use the common sense God gave us: Warn--the people not to fall into the temptation

of letting go of our very important protections.

We cannot afford to take risks in our community where other health challenges already attack our bodies and healthcare inequities destroy our families.

Welcome--those persons who are well informed and who have resources to help us take care of ourselves and others.

Win--souls for Christ, but do not ignore their bodies. Be certain that their primary concerns are taken care of and their needs met.

This advice in the second chapter of Proverbs is well taken. It is one that we should obey. Because when we walk in integrity, even when we are in the minority, God will see us through. Yes, in addition to salvation and redemption, and in addition to our gifts, talents, and abilities, God gave us common sense. It is that common sense that God expects us to use, not ignore. For if our pews are empty, to whom shall we preach?

The Reverend Monica C. Jones, Ph.D., is director of Christian Education Ministries at Big Bethel in Atlanta.

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Bethel AME Church Senior Receives Scholarship Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) of the Third Episcopal District has awarded a scholarship to one of its graduating high school seniors. Under the leadership of pastor, the Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, Sr., Presiding Elder Alton Dillard, and Bishop Errenous E. McCloud, Jr., the scholarship committee awarded life-long Bethel AME Church member Kari Holt a scholarship for $8,050.00. Kari will attend a Historically Black College and University, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), as a computer science major. Florida A & M University is also the alma mater of her parents, the Rev. Carmen Holt and Leonard Holt; they serve at Bethel as associate minister and director of Music, respectively.

Kari Holt is celebrated as a young Christian woman who is the product of her church and family. As indicated by her accomplishments, Kari has been active and excelled in her endeavors as a faithful church member, high school student, and athlete. The Bethel AME Church family prays for Kari’s success and development as she enters her next phase of life in college.

Kari’s church engagement includes: Young People’s Division (financial recording secretary); Youth Excited to Serve (Y.E.S.) and Youth Mime Group; youth usher; acolyte; Media and Sound Ministry. While at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kari earned the following: High Honor Roll student, 9th-12th grades; National Honor Society (NHS); Nation Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS); Society of Torch and Laurel Honor

Society; National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists Leaders 2019; WPIAL All Section Award, girls soccer 202; g i r l s varsity soccer team – voted Defensive Player of the Year 9th, 11th, and 12th grades; girls varsity soccer team, 4-year Letter winner. Civically, Kari is a member of Beadling East Elite U17 Girls Soccer Cup and Century U15 Girls Soccer Cup teams. ❏ ❏ ❏

Supreme Court vs. the Right to Life Itinerant Elder (Retired) Roger Sawtelle

The Supreme Court vs. the God Given Right to Life. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them, being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The Declaration of Independence clearly says that all human beings (“men” in the old parlance) receive from God basic inalienable rights, including the right to life. Therefore, there is no need for a new absolute right to life to be created by humans to protect life in the womb from abortion.

Indeed, when we look at the definition of the new “right to life,” the Roman Catholic Church says that life in the womb should be regarded as the human being from conception instead of birth.

“Abortion 2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the time of conception.

From the moment of its existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent person to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Doubleday, April 1995, pp. 605-6.)

Following the Doctrine of Original Sin, no human being is truly innocent. We are all sinners. In other words, the bestowal of an absolute right to life on the life in the womb is not a traditional concept but a new interpretation of what it means to be human and what human rights are. Right to Life advocates invented it to justify making abortion illegal. But, here is why the right to life found in the Declaration of Independence is superior, and the new right is an ill-conceived effort to improve on God’s law.

1. The Declaration of Independence’s right to life is God-given, while the new right is the product of faulty human thinking. God gives all humans rights because they are human, not earned or deserved. Rights can be lost or limited if they are abused only by a court of law.

2. The right to life applies equally to all humans,

concept is to treat a lie as the truth.

3. The rights found in the Declaration of Independence are relational. My rights end where yours begin. The thought that the new right is absolute to protect the fetus is a human invention outside of God’s Word and Christian morality.

while the new right gives the needs of one

4. God made the family the primary protector

kind of “person” absolute preference over

of the right to life of a prospective child.

others. The new made-up right declares that

Instead, the new right treats the prospective

the fetus/embryo must be treated as a person

mother as an adversary and gives the state the

from conception, even though it is not. This

final word.

5. The human rights in the Declaration of Independence are rooted in God’s creation of all human beings, male and female, in God’s image. Since all are created in God’s image, we are all equal, but that does not mean we are all the same. We are all different, but we can all love one another; we are equal and like God, because God is love.

6. Pregnant women are created in the image of God and created equal and endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If that is the case, how can we say that they have no choice regarding abortion?

7. Right to life is not true because it is in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bible. It is true because it is evident now and in history. It is not just a theory but a demonstrable fact. The new right is unsound theory that has never been confirmed as true.

8. Even if we do not like the thought of abortion and think that it is almost always wrong, we must keep all our rights rooted in the fact that all persons are created equal and in the image of God. ❏ ❏ ❏

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How the Role and Visibility of Chaplains Changed Over the Past Century

By Wendy Cagle and Michael Skaggs, The Conversation

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new attention to the work of chaplains.

Before the pandemic, as an article in The New York Times put it, the place of the hospital chaplain was “at the bedside, holding a patient’s hand, counseling them and their family members, singing with them, crying with them, hugging them, offering the eucharist, or a prayer for healing.”

As the pandemic unfolded, the work of chaplains – increasingly called spiritual care providers – changed. Some were declared essential employees and continued to work in person, but they were not allowed into rooms with COVID-19 patients. Instead, they offered words of encouragement and solace through baby monitors and posters taped to patients’ doors.

COVID-19 also shifted the work of hospital chaplains from focusing primarily on patients to bridging the gap between dying patients and their distanced family members. Many helped family members at home connect to hospitalized loved ones by phone, FaceTime, Zoom, and other technologies.

Some chaplains started rolling carts of treats and pick-me-ups for hospital staff to promote self-care and prevent burnout.

A national survey conducted in 2019 found that 21% of the American public had contact with a chaplain in the past two years. Of those encounters, 57% took place in a health care setting. Other encounters happened in places like the military, higher education, and more.

As scholars of American religion and spirituality, we know that chaplains have long histories in health care organizations and have been visible over time to varying degrees.

The Origins of Modern Spiritual Care Chaplaincy emerged as a professional field in the mid-20th century out of Protestant efforts to reform theological education. Concerned about the growing influence of psychology and psychiatry in matters previously understood only as spiritual, Protestant theological leaders in the 1920s sought to get students out of classrooms and into real-life situations where they would learn to respond to the challenges and struggles people face in their daily lives.

Before the 1920s, chaplains were retired or volunteer clergy with no special training in hospital settings. They visited patients in their religious traditions alongside other volunteers. Religiously founded hospitals also frequently had priests, ministers, or rabbis in service, reflecting the hospital’s religious affiliation.

Many nurses offered religious support at the bedside, rooted in their own religious commitments. In the mid-19th century, Florence Nightingale rose to prominence from her service to soldiers in the Crimean War and saw both to patients’ spiritual and physical needs.

Training in the Field As theological educators worked to reform Protestant theological education in the 1920s, they formalized Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Initially pioneered by a leading chaplain, Anton Boisen, and supported by Richard Cabot, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, CPE students completed internships in hospitals that supplemented their classroom training. Boisen viewed patients as “living human documents” from which to learn. As a result, CPE students in later years wrote “verbatims,” or reports of conversations they had with patients.

While most people who completed units of CPE did not go on to become chaplains, a few did. By the 1940s, those who wanted to work in hospitals based on their CPE training started to organize themselves as a distinct professional group.

Reprinted with permission.

Unlike retired clergy, who mostly made short visits and offered rituals, CPE-trained clergy worked from referrals and connections with hospital staff, made care plans based on the severity of a patient’s illness, documented their visits, and were accountable to someone within the hospital.

Data collected by the American Hospital Association suggested that two-thirds of American hospitals had a chaplain by the mid-1950s; it is unclear how many were CPEtrained.

The development of chaplaincy as a profession distinct from that of local clergy was also supported by the extensive work of military chaplains on the front lines during World War II and their subsequent memorialization in American public life, such as Chaplains Hill at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chaplains in military settings rose to such prominence in the American mind that one who served in the Korean War, Emil Kapaun, is now being considered for sainthood in the Catholic Church for his service to fellow prisoners of war. The priest died in the Pyoktong POW camp in May 1951.

Initially, almost all white Protestant men were chaplains, but the demographics changed slowly through the 20th century. The National Association of Catholic Chaplains was founded in 1965, and the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, now known as Neshama, in 1990. In addition, growing numbers of women and people of color entered the field toward the end of the 20th century, and more health care providers began to pay attention to the role of religion and spirituality in patients’ experiences.

About two-thirds of hospitals have chaplains today, which include growing numbers of Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, and other nonChristian chaplains. In the 1990s, theological schools began to develop specific degree programs in chaplaincy and spiritual care,

rather than expecting chaplains to train for congregational service and then figure out how to apply their training to other settings.

More than a quarter of theological or rabbinical schools currently have such programs, with some designed specifically for Buddhists, Muslims, and people from other non-Christian religious backgrounds.

All chaplains today need basic training in caring for people, including understanding how individuals make meaning, the interpersonal skills necessary to care for people from different backgrounds, and navigating the complexity of the organizations in which they work.

What Chaplains Really Do Health care chaplains talk a lot about presence when describing their work, which is increasingly based on the results of empirical research.

Presence means everything from a casual conversation with patients and families to mediating conflicts between patients, families, and care teams. It can also mean offering prayer or other explicitly religious services and listening to patients’ deepest fears, religious or otherwise.

Research about the effects of chaplains’ work has expanded significantly in recent years. For example, it shows that individuals who chaplains visit are more satisfied with their hospital stays and often have improved outcomes.

Many chaplains reported serving expanding roles during the pandemic and finding increased visibility among hospital staff. Some noted a greater appreciation and knowledge among the staff of what chaplains do.

Chaplains aim to continue the care of hospital staff through educational programs, among others.

As religious demographics continue to shift in the United States and growing numbers of people are not religiously affiliated, the work of health care chaplains will continue to change.

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New Jersey’s First Mobile Hygiene Shower Trailer with Ancillary Services to Launch in Essex County, New Jersey POWER CHANGES LIVES INC® is pleased to announce the official deployment of LavaLove®. The 29-foot custom-designed, all-weather, mobile hygiene shower trailer, the first of its kind in New Jersey, is equipped with three shower-sink-toilets, a washing machine, and a dryer with an ancillary services room for medical, dental, optometry, and mental health services. They provide over 8,000 hot showers per year to the sheltered and unsheltered homeless and to our “neighbors in need.”

LavaLove® will deploy in Essex County, New Jersey, offering its services three days per week, between 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. debuting at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at its Orange, New Jersey trailer site partner St. Matthew AME Church and co-sponsored by Mayor Dwayne D. Warren, city of Orange, New Jersey.

St. Matthew AME Church 336 Oakwood Ave. Orange, New Jersey 07050 Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Volunteer Signup: https://signup.com/go/ mAfRxim Israel Memorial AME Church 54 Lincoln St. Newark, New Jersey 07103 Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.* Volunteer signup: https://signup.com/go/ xZSnFsa * Deployment date scheduled: Friday, September 9, 2022

has had a long-standing commitment to providing critical services to their community of Orange, New Jersey, and surrounding areas. Recently, St. Matthew answered the call to housing Orange residents displaced during a fire, where LavaLove® was able to supplement their work by providing showers – only proving why they were the right choice when selecting a site partner and location for LavaLove®,” said Lopez.

POWER® is also thankful for the support of Mayor Warren and the city of Orange for providing their support and resources as the pilot deployment city. LavaLove® expansion plans include a shower trailer in each of the twenty-one New Jersey counties by 2024.

Volunteers and community organizations are also invited to sign-up for the event or any weekday service at the trailer site, where they will gain invaluable lessons in helping those underserved within their community through their acts of service.

“The right to hot, clean water, a meal, and access to basic services are fundamental human rights that many of the homeless are denied or lack daily. LavaLove® and our partnership with the St. Matthew AME Church and the city of Orange will begin the healing process, helping those on their journey to wholeness,” said Penelope Lopez, president and CEO.

Volunteer service areas include: guest registration, shower cleaning, clothing table assistants, food distribution, and trailer set-up/cleanup.

POWER CHANGES LIVES INC® invites those in need and the public to the upcoming ribboncutting event where there will be hot showers, food, music, and community providers onsite such as addiction and recovery, free phones, medical screenings, housing, re-entry, and barbering services. Each week, over 30 diverse community partners will rotate services at the trailer site bringing services directly to those in need who otherwise would not have access or the means of transportation to receive them. “POWER is proud to partner with Pastor Melvin E. Wilson and St. Matthew AME Church, who for years

Community partner service areas include: addiction and recovery services, barber/stylist, career and employment training, case management, chiropractor, clothing, communications (phone, tablet), dental services, disability services, department of motor vehicles support, donations (in-kind supplies), drop-in centers, financial assistance, food pantries and soup kitchens, HIV/AIDS services, housing assistance, hygiene services, immigration services, legal services, LGBTQIA+ services, massage therapy, medical services, mental health, optometry (vision) services, pet therapy, re-entry services, shelters (New Jersey), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) foodstamp/healthcare coverage, street outreach, utility assistance, vaccines, and Veterans Affairs services. ❏ ❏ ❏

Encourage Yourself and Others… Focus on Good News Judy Rose Weaver, 8th Episcopal District

Growing up in New Orleans, I remember radio station WYLD as a famous media source for African American communities that spread the good news and spiritual blessings on Sunday mornings. Recently, I read with interest about the history of Atlanta’s first broadcast station, WERD, broadcasting from Atlanta’s Big Bethel Church in 1953. An article from The AME Church Review notes that the Rev. Harold I. Bearden started a Sunday morning worship service as an “inspirational gospel feast” for sick and shut-in church members.

Apparently, Pastor Beardon had to find a way to minister to those who were homebound.

The article immediately reminded me of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and about the current situation

of having to set up virtual connections due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Ecclesiastes 1:9 affirms that history repeats itself time after time: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” Seventy years later, although the technology is different, there is a need to reach family and friends effectively. We must strengthen ourselves and others by sharing encouraging and inspirational messages while we all are journeying through these challenging times.

At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, businesses, government, and schools instantly found solutions to connect to their audiences, while some churches lagged, resisting embracing online worship.

Using technology in the church was not acceptable

as a rule of discipline. Now, we have been forced to accept some form of technology to reach our church members.

Technology will be everchanging, and we must prepare to change. We have moved from the transistor radio in a listen-only mode to web-based audio/video services. We must continually stay abreast of communications technology changes to meet our church communities’ spiritual needs.

Additionally, we must work to meet our leaders’ and members’ health and wellness. We are reminded in Colossians 3:16 of teaching and admonishing one another to, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude ...continued on p11

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Restoration and Re-Dedication of Mount Calvary Cemetery Rev. Dr. Aliston Thomas, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, M. Div.

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the Rev. Aliston Thomas, pastor, and Cliff Wise, a trustee of Allen African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania, met with Mr. James Salve and his son, Mason Salve, to begin planning the restoration of Mount Calvary Century as part of Mason’s Eagle Scout project. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

But thanks to God’s strength, grace, and mercy, a little over two years later, lots of hard work, teamwork, and support, Mount Calvary Century has been fully restored. It was recently re-dedicated on Sunday, July 24, 2022. The re-dedication involved prayers, singing of hymns, including Negro spirituals, and words of thanks, encouragement, and affirmation.

Mount Calvary AME Church was erected on Bethel Road in 1852 and is one of the oldest churches in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Like most churches at the time, particularly those where the dominant population was African American, a cemetery (Mount Calvary Cemetery) was built adjacent to the building.

The Reverend Henry Jones donated the land on which Mount Calvary AME Church and cemetery were established. The only remaining evidence of Mount Calvary AME Church today is the cemetery, where members still visit their loved ones. An article in the Oxford Press commemorating the church’s 151st anniversary stated that Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne dedicated the church and appointed Presiding Elder Rev. Herbert of the Baltimore District its first pastor. At that time, the membership consisted of 23 members.

The congregation relocated from lower Oxford to East Market Street, where the cornerstone was laid on August 8, 1884. Mount Calvary AME Church then became Allen AME Church in honor of the first bishop of the AME Church, Bishop Richard Allen.

On May 23, 1935, tragedy struck a blow to all members as the second building was destroyed by fire. A new edifice was erected at Eighth and Market Streets (788 Market Street, Oxford, Pennsylvania) and dedicated

by Bishop Henry Sims in the fall of 1935.

Buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery are Civil War, World War I, and World War II colored troops and veterans. Dale Hardy from Shiloh Presbyterian Church (Oxford, Pennsylvania) also remembered his ancestors on his father’s and mother’s side.

He remembered the Wolse and the Jones families.

“When I was a teenager, I remember coming with my mom and dad and Shiloh Church members to clean up the cemetery and visit the graves of my ancestors,” he said. “I am overwhelmed to see what was done here today. It seemed like people were slowly forgetting. I appreciate the work Mason Salve

Mount Calvary Cemetery is truly a treasure in Oxford, Chester County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United States of America.

We thank newly minted Eagle Scout Mason Salve, his father, Mr. James Salve, the Boy Scouts of America (Troop 13), Shiloh Presbyterian

Rev. Aliston Thomas serves as God’s servant as pastor at Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania.

in [our] hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” Isolation is not good for our mental or physical health, but it can be disastrous for people who are accustomed to being socially active. We also know Artificial Intelligence (AI), including social media, texting, and any computer-based communications, do not always satisfy the need to be in person with others. Absolutely, there are risks lurking everywhere, even in our homes. Still, we must continue to meet our Connectional church family’s communication and spiritual needs using the best available communications technology.

Along with setting up an effective communication

plan at your church, think about adding motivational and inspirational messages of encouragement. We must let our family and friends know through all these worldly challenges, we can give difficult issues to the Lord. John 14:27 comforts us with these words, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Let’s admit it; we have all been in a “Sick & Shutin” mode at some point since early 2020 due to the pandemic. Knowing we are a Connectional church family, historically, we are also known to be “socially needy.” As the bad news continues to escalate, let’s

take special care to encourage ourselves and go out of our way to inspire someone else.

My virtual Sunday school class and family members expect to get encouraging text messages from me.

The intent is to let them know that they are not alone and that I am thinking about them. As children of God, we are the best ones equipped to shine the light on someone’s moment or day, or maybe we can help make someone’s life better during these challenging times, even if it has to be on a virtual platform.

...From Encourage p10

put in here. I’ll be back and bring my family. My mom’s family dates back to the 1700s. They would be pleased to see this.”

Church, and many others who contributed to the restoration of this treasure.

The next step is to partner with a local educational institution to pursue a National Historic Landmark Designation for Mount Calvary Cemetery.

To God be the glory!

Connect with Zoom Host Judy Rose Weaver at Jefferson Chapel AME Church Circuit in Natchez, Mississippi 39120.

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...From AME Church p1

approach another election, and we prepare for a new legislative session in the South Carolina State House; we convene to ensure we are on one accord and able to hold our elected leaders accountable.”

Jaheim President, president of Young People and Children’s Division, said: “Many media outlets have reported on Gen Z’s lack of engagement and commitment within faith institutions. This conference proves that there are individuals within Gen Z who are engaged not only with the church but also as change agents for social justice in the community.”

The ASPIRE convening kicked off on August 3, 2022, with an all-black reception. Representative Chandra Dillard brought greetings, and the church recognized Visit Greenville SC, Greenville Convention Center, Little Steps, United Way of Greenville, and Harvest Hope Food Bank for their work in the Greenville community.

Thursday’s program included a youth learning lab and adult learning, featuring STEM and financial wellness courses for youth. Friday’s program included a blood drive and a basketball tournament. Saturday’s program included a college and career workshop facilitated by the SC Commission on Higher Education and the Seventh District’s Lay Organization.

Participants experienced the multi-learning modal space, ASPIRE Zone, filled with exhibits and presentations from the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, Scaly Adventures, Compassion International, and Gospelogy. It also included a main stage for a daily block party, teen talent, and a fashion show.

The Clergy Institute addressed issues concerning the decline in churches and cultural shifts that require adaptive leadership methods.

Throughout the week, members and attendees had an opportunity to sign a petition to urge state lawmakers to draft legislation supporting the tenets of the Jubilee Justice Agenda, a black policy agenda committed to improving the quality of life and life outcomes of Black South Carolinians.

ASPIRE’s purpose is to inspire a movement within individuals to pursue dreams beyond what they can see and to change the narrative of our communities through critical thought, imagination, and collaboration.

For more information on the Seventh Episcopal District of the AME Church or its ASPIRE conference, visit ame7.church. ❏ ❏ ❏ ...From From a Basement p1

Throughout its 198-year history, the church expanded from Father King’s house, and Adam Brown’s basement, to the home of the Rev. Philip Brodie.

Since its founding, the church was known as “the Little Red Church on the Green” (North Street near New), “Lime House” (Seventh Street east of Broadway), “The Old Bethel” (Sixth Street east of Broadway), “Allen Chapel” (1856-1873), and today Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Allen Temple AME Church remains a staple of community life among people everywhere. Specifically speaking, the church continues to play a pivotal role throughout the city of Cincinnati, which several major church ministries call the “city of seven hills” home. One of those churches has now found itself in a unique position that allows it to live out its denominational mission less encumbered by paying off its $2.4 million mortgage. Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church

is the oldest AME congregation west of the Alleghenies and, subsequently, the oldest black church in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. The current edifice was built in 2004 under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Donald H. Jordan, Sr., a man synonymous with church life and the funeral industry in Cincinnati. Quinn Chapel AME Church, Forest Park, and Allen Temple AME Church on Reading Road stand to his legacy.

In the fall of 2007, Bishop Robert V.

Webster, the then presiding prelate of the 3rd Episcopal District (Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania), appointed the Rev. Dr. Alphonse Allen, Jr., to serve as the 65th senior pastor of the district’s flagship church.

Over the past 15 years, Pastor Allen has sought to make Allen Temple a church home for everyone, from the upper echelon to the lowest and often ignored by society; Allen Temple has remained committed to reaching the city one soul at a time. ...continued on p13

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The Things We Preserve and the Sacredness of Place Rev. Dr. Darryn Hewson, Contributing Writer

Encounters with God in nature can be transformative experiences. The top of a mountain, a quiet beach listening to the ocean waves, sunlight filtered through the forest canopy– these are incredible places that God created and shared with us, so no wonder we can feel God there. The idea of nature preserves and national parks is theoretically to preserve the natural beauty of creation (there is, however, a troubling history here to share, perhaps for a different article), but what about the sacred buildings that we create to honor God? We say that worship is not about buildings, it’s about the people, but if you have ever been in buildings like St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or the “Duomo” in Milan, Swayambhunath (a 2500-year-old Buddhist temple near Kathmandu), Changu Narayan (a 1600-year-old Hindu temple in Nepal), Al Aqsa Mosque, or the many other architectural majesties across the globe dedicated to the glory of God, there is something to be said for the buildings themselves. Regardless of your religion, if you allow yourself to experience these places as places of worship, you cannot help but feel the sacred energy of the place. Even the local church, mosque, temple, or synagogue can evoke similar

feelings for those that gather in them.

On a recent trip to Turkey and Palestine, surrounded by ancient places of worship, this thought struck me about what it is we are preserving. The feeling of the divine resides or is perhaps more easily touched in these sacred places. The history of worship passed down,

and the intention of their creators built them as a symbol of their devotion and love for God. Perhaps the most well-known structure in Turkey is the Hagia Sophia, an ancient building that has been a church, a mosque, a museum, and now a mosque because people realized it needed to be a place of worship. Standing shoulder to shoulder with a thousand plus worshipers at the Hagia Sophia calling out to the greatness of God is an awe-inspiring experience.

Similarly, praying at Al Aqsa with 5000 others

or any other buildings I have mentioned, you cannot help but be moved. These buildings are incredible, and some carry the echoes of millennia of prayers and worshipers. All of these sacred places have been renovated or even rebuilt many times because people feel their significance.

By the same token, on a hike through a valley in Hebron, Palestine, we came across an ancient church, or what was left of one. There was a spring coming out of the mountain and a stone-lined cave built into it that local history tells us was a place of baptism. A few years ago, someone tore down much of what remained of the church, but the spring and place of baptism remain a sacred place to stop and drink pure refreshing water. It is both God-made and human-made/dedicated, and it retains a sense of sacredness even after being torn down, and that sacredness goes beyond any one religion. The building was not preserved, but the sacredness lives on.

As we examine our current practices of worship, there is a lesson in these places about what it is that is worth preserving. It is a feeling of touching the divine that cannot be torn down. That is what we need to discover, create, and hold on to—the sacredness of place. ❏ ❏ ❏

As a historic black church following the pathways of other churches throughout this country, Allen Temple has on numerous occasions contributed its part to the storied legacy of black people in America. From serving as a waystation along the Underground Railroad to hosting the 1893 National Colored Convention, also known as Turner’s Convention, founded by Bishop Henry McNeil Turner, the first black postmaster general in the United States. Allen Temple has produced legendary Cincinnatians like Judge William McClain, Dr. George S. Hale, Sr., Dr. Chester Pryor, Oscar “The Big O” Robertson, Judge Deborah Gains, Police Lt. Donna Hurst-Robinson, and former Municipal Court Judge Fanon Rucker. Before 1835 the black people coming to Cincinnati began their religious experience at what became Allen Temple. Today, Cincinnati’s historical black Baptist churches can trace their roots to this historical church: Union Baptist Church (February 7, 1835), Zion Baptist Church (1845), Plum Street Baptist Church (July 31, 1867), Cummingsville Baptist Church, Walnut Hills Baptist Church, and Mt. Zion Baptist Church (May 28, 1873).

...From From a Basement p12

The significance of this historic congregation goes beyond paying off a $2.4 million mortgage; it is the testament of a people who have viewed themselves not as an entity unto themselves but of the people. Dr. Allen and the leadership of Allen Temple AME Church have seen fit to rid itself of a financial responsibility that frees them to expand their reach to those in need, one soul at a time. Join the Allen Temple family for a weeklong celebration beginning August 10-14, 2022, as we give thanks for what only God could have done. ❏ ❏ ❏

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ECUMENICAL NEWS

“Honk for Jesus” Provides an Uncomfortable Reflection of the Black Church (Commentary) Candice Marie Benbow, Religion News Service

(RNS) — “If you can’t say ‘amen,’ then say ‘ouch.’”

If you’ve spent any considerable length of time in a traditional Black Church context, you’ve heard this. It’s usually said by a preacher when they know a sermon is hitting a little too close to home and the typical “Preach, bishop!” or “Take your time, pastor!” call-and-response has gone silent. “It’s tight but it’s right,” many would say as they watch parishioners shift in their seats while hearing, “Thus saith the Lord.”

When “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” premiered in theaters and on Peacock on Friday (Sept. 2), many had no choice but to say “ouch.” The dark comedy, starring Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown, is supposed to be satirical in its depiction of a megachurch pastor and his wife as they attempt to resurrect themselves after a fall from grace. Yet the greatest strength of this “mockumentary” is that it’s not parody at all — rather, it’s one of the most accurate depictions of contemporary Black Church culture I’ve seen.

Written and directed by freshman filmmaker Adamma Ebo, “Honk for Jesus” chronicles the efforts of Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown) and his wife, Trinitie (Hall), as they work to restore Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church to its former glory. A sexual misconduct scandal has forced the thriving institution, which once boasted 25,000 members, to shut its doors. Believing the people need to see their miraculous restoration, Lee-Curtis enlists a documentary film crew to follow them as they journey toward an Easter Sunday reopening.

With Ebo as writer-director and Daniel Kaluuya as producer, the film is executive produced by Jordan Peele, known for his films “Get Out” (which starred Kaluuya), “Us,” and this summer’s “Nope.” “Honk for Jesus” continues in the same vein of Peele’s social commentary and critique. Prosperity gospel, ego, and manipulation have become prominent ministries in black churches, leaving congregants further impoverished while the pastor and his family seem to be the only ones prospering.

Everything about the first family must reinforce God’s favor because, if they are blessed, then their socioeconomic status, political party affiliation (or lack of the same), gender, or age, no one is spared from dealing with an Inconvenient Life Truth. With that said, let’s take a look at the following scenarios. ...From Inconvenient p1

❖ There will come a time as family members age when a child/children must become the parent, and the parent becomes the child. This shift is not always recognized, welcomed, or handled well. If the adult child accepts the reality that he or she is now the parent, there is increased

congregation is blessed too. The continuous flow of material wealth isn’t by chance; the first family hustles incredibly hard for it. Hence, the opening credits are punctuated with Lee-Curtis preaching about how he is the personification of God’s goodness while Three 6 Mafia raps, “Ever since I can remember, I’ve been working these h*es and they better put my money in my hand.”

It doesn’t take much time to recognize that LeeCurtis’ plight is eerily similar to that of the late Bishop Eddie Long, a megachurch pastor who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2010 and died in 2017. But “Honk for Jesus” isn’t about Long as much as it uses the scandal as the backdrop to explore what’s happening in today’s church. That’s why we don’t just see him in the film. We see so many black men, pastoring congregations of all sizes, who believe their own hype and will stop at nothing to maintain some semblance of power.

And we see their wives, women who believe it is their calling to make themselves smaller so their husbands can appear bigger.

The Childses have lost everything and it’s unclear why. Sexual misconduct? Seriously? Pastors cheat every day. Like rappers, professional athletes, and other celebrities, no one really expects a black man with wealth and prestige to be faithful — even if he is preaching the gospel. So what would make the members of Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church any different? As “Honk for Jesus” moves along, it becomes apparent Pastor Childs’ sexuality is in question. Now it all makes sense. Wander to Greater Paths’ members don’t find refuge in Heaven’s House Baptist Church, with pastors Keon and Shakura Sumpter — played by Conphidance and Nicole Beharie — without reason. They left in droves because, for many, homophobia is still one of a black Christian’s greatest virtues.

And even though he’s lost it all, there remains a remnant who believes the wrong Lee-Curtis has done can be overlooked because he has done so much right. After all, those boys were “grown enough,” no criminal charges have been filed and souls have been saved thanks to Pastor Childs.

While the devoted flock’s forgiveness of Lee-Curtis and the community’s disregard for his victims are what perpetuate cycles of abuse and violence, it is important to note he never apologizes. Do pastors responsibility and decisions to be made that some find easier to shun than accept. There is also a parallel loss of autonomy experienced by the parent who ran the household and now is “reduced” to being a voyeur gazing on his or her life. When these two forces collide, it may cause isolation, stress, worry, guilt, and family dissension. ❖ Person A had an unhappy marriage with Person B. Person A resolved that Person B would never be granted a divorce and upheld

even do that anymore or do they simply dismiss any form of accountability as hate and the devil conspiring against them?

Lee-Curtis Childs is exactly who we think he is: A broken man hoping the façade he hides behind will one day make him happy. But he is not happy and neither is his wife, who is perhaps the most important person here. The hoops Trinitie Childs jumps through and the ways she contorts herself to protect her husband from destructive forces, including himself, make her both victim and accomplice. Trinitie is complicated, wanting to be fully seen for the totality of her sacrifices to ensure her husband’s — and by extension, her — success.

We don’t know all that Trinitie knows but we do know she knows enough to make a different decision — one that prioritizes her dignity and selfworth. She goes without respect, recognition, and intimacy as Lee-Curtis so recklessly mishandles what they have built together. In her documentary confessional moments, Trinitie tells a painful truth: It does take a lot to be a first lady. Perhaps more of us should start asking why.

A quick scroll of social media timelines provides vastly different reviews of “Honk for Jesus.” Over on Twitter and Instagram, where many black Christians who are farther along on their deconstructionist and progressive faith journeys reside, the film is being praised for its accuracy, candor and truth-telling.

On Facebook, the predominant home of older Christians and those who believe in preserving the image of the institution, the film is being blasted for making the church look bad.

And both camps are right, which is what makes “Honk for Jesus” so great. In many ways, its satire is a mirror — a hilarious and horrific one. Throughout the film and especially in the final scene, today’s black church sees itself in all of its conflicting glory.

The ugly can no longer be hidden. We all see it. If the church looks bad, maybe that’s because it is.

Ouch.

Candice Marie Benbow is a public theologian and the author of “Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service. this chosen edict for years, ignoring the Inconvenient Life Truth that while separated, they were still married. Person A thought not seeking a formal divorce was the best way to exact revenge on Person B. Person A got sick after a short debilitating illness. Person B did not have much in life—until the probate court awarded Person A’s social security, ownership of a place to live, bank savings, life insurance, and the like. Not making one’s expression known in writing through a will or trust can be costly. ...continued on p24

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Celebrating Black August and Climate Justice Wisdom to End Hunger Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith

“I am black and beautiful … the sun hath looked upon me ….” Song of Solomon 1:5a & 6a (New Revised Standard Version) In approximately 1010 B.C.E., Solomon became the tenth son of King David (the second king of ancient, united Israel) and the second son of Bathsheba. Scholars of blacks in the Bible trace her genealogy through her grandfather Ahithophel, David’s African counselor (II Samuel 11:3), and argue that Solomon was black.

At the same time, scholars’ debate if Song of Solomon 1:5a & 6a is referring to Solomon or his bride. Still others query whether the reference is meant to be a mockery of being black or a celebration of it, depending on the translation.

While these debates are quite important to debunking untruths or misunderstandings about blackness and African heritage in the Bible, the lessons of leadership from persons like Solomon are also significant as we celebrate Black August 2022.

Like King Saul and King David, King Solomon reigned for 40 years in one of the highest and most prosperous periods in Israel’s history. Some scholars call it the “Golden Age” of Israel. Solomon’s leadership is credited for his ability to be wise, compassionate, people-oriented, diplomatic, creative, and innovative.

Black August provides an opportunity to remember and foster ancient and contemporary leadership like this.

Black August is a season for uplifting the legacy of these gifts by and for people of Africa and of African descent.

Black August also includes the celebration of these gifts on the International Day of People of African Descent. This year this day is complemented by the official launch of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent in December.

This will happen after the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP 27, which will be held from 6-18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. This will be a timely moment when we consider climate change as a major cause of hunger and acknowledgement

that Africa is dramatically and disproportionately affected by climate change.

People of Africa and of African descent will have a key role in the leadership and participation at COP 27, as they have in the past. They will bring proposals of successful practices of adaptive strategies to climate. This includes the wise and results-driven practice of agroecology. Agroecology is an approach that focuses on ecological farm management using low-cost, low-input methods that rely on a diversity of crops to improve soils

and diets. Governments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal are working alongside farmer organizations to promote agroecology, including the subsidization of biofertilizers and other natural inputs as alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.

Bread for the World is and will be listening for more proposals like these as we seek to deepen our relationships with African faith leaders and European partners and learn from wise and innovative methods like these to advance our advocacy agenda together. Learn more at www.bread.org.

Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World.

First Episcopal District Women In Ministry Create the Diane Nash Community Award Rev. Dr. Jacquita Wright-Henderson, 1st Episcopal District

It was a normal day in the lives of the Delaware State University’s women’s lacrosse team as they returned home from matches in Florida and Georgia until sheriff’s deputies stopped their bus in Georgia. It was April 2022, and 25 athletes, two coaches, and an athletic trainer followed instructions as, without cause, the deputies searched their belongings. This experience resulted in Delaware State University, one of only three historically black institutions with a women’s lacrosse team, filing a Civil Rights complaint on behalf of the students.

The First District African Methodist Episcopal Women In Ministry (AME WIM) unanimously decided that Coach Pamella Jenkins and the 2021-2022 women’s lacrosse team would be the first recipients of the newly created Diane Nash Community Award because of their courage, poise, and commitment to raising the consciousness of unjust practices in our country.

AME WIM created this award to address its objective of “raising the consciousness of the AME Church on issues important to women.”

These students are extraordinary examples of the power of students to create change. Coach Jenkins was grateful for the recognition and responded, “It is an honor which definitely means a lot because it came from women of faith, and faith is what got us through this situation.”

The First District AME WIM named the award for Diane Nash, a member of the influential Freedom Riders and one of the most prominent student leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Diane Nash helped start the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was one of the leaders of the Selma Voting Rights Movement.

The inaugural award was presented on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, during the AME WIM Fellowship Luncheon at the First Episcopal District’s Christian Education Congress under the leadership of the Right Rev. Julius H. McAllister, Sr., presiding prelate; the Rev. Dr. Jay Broadnax, executive director; and the Rev. Lashonna Smith, chairperson.

During the luncheon, AME WIM Connectional president, the Rev. Dr. Erika D. Crawford, joined the First Episcopal District AME WIM president, the Rev. Dr. Jacquita WrightHenderson, as she presented the university’s women’s lacrosse team and Coach Pamella Jenkins with the first Diane Nash Community Award. ❏ ❏ ❏

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other forms of discrimination,” said Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We must create a society in which the underserved, disproportionately affected, and underrepresented are safe, cared for, and valued.” ...From Experiences p5

According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, blacks are about twice as likely and Hispanic/Latinos are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

The various types and experiences of structural racism and discrimination contribute to systemic inequities, including lower socioeconomic status; lower quality early life education; and less access to healthy food and proper health care. Individually and cumulatively, these factors impact brain health over the life course in Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and other communities.

“These systemic disparities are related to less access to important health-protecting resources such as high-quality care and social networks that provide valuable health information and support,” said the Rev. Miriam J. Burnett, M.D., M.Div., MPH, medical director, African Methodist Episcopal Church International Health Commission. “The consistent and pervasive lack of resources, as well as social and environmental factors, lead to disparities in other health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which increase the risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said Adriana Perez, Ph.D., CRNP, ANP-BC, FAAN, FGSA, assistant professor of nursing at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

Multilevel racism associated with lower memory scores Research suggests interpersonal and structural racism are contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in cognitive aging. However, there’s little understanding of how multilevel racism influences cognition throughout the life course. To address this gap in knowledge, Dominika Šeblová, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher in the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in health equity, assessed experiences of interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism among 942 middle-aged adults (mean age=55; 64% women; 55% Latinx; 23% non-Latinx black; 19% non-Latinx white).

Black participants were most exposed to racism at all levels. They were more likely to grow up and live in segregated areas that are known to be resource-deprived due to institutional disinvestment in black neighborhoods. Black participants experienced on average six civil rights violations in their lifetime and were exposed to interpersonal discrimination at least once per week. These exposures were associated with lower memory scores, and the magnitude of the association corresponded to 1-3 years of chronological age. Structural racism was associated with lower episodic memory in the full sample.

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“Chronic exposure to racism and interpersonal discrimination among marginalized communities leads to stress that affects the body and influences physiological health, and likely contributes to the development of cognitive decline,” said Jennifer Manly, Ph.D., professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the senior author of this work. “Overall, our findings indicate that racism impacts brain health and contributes to the unfair burden of Alzheimer’s disease in marginalized groups.”

Poorer cognition among oldest old is linked to experiences of discrimination Discrimination is a fundamental cause of health inequities. However, it is unknown whether discrimination contributes to disparities in cognitive aging among the oldest old, a group sometimes referred to as super agers.

To answer this question, Kristen George, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences at University of California, Davis and colleagues examined the relationship of lifetime experiences of major discrimination with cognitive function and decline among a diverse cohort of Asian, black, white, Latino and multiracial participants of the Life After 90 (LA90) Study.

Among 468 participants (20.5% Asian; 21.8% black; 14.5% Latino; 35.7% white; 7.5% multiracial), the average age at enrollment was 93. Participants completed three cognitive assessments over an average of 1.2 years. Participants reported experiences of major lifetime discrimination via questionnaire and were grouped based on their responses. ❖ Group 1 reported workplace discrimination (i.e., unfairly fired, not hired, not given a promotion) and was comprised of mostly white men. ❖ Group 2 reported little to no discrimination over their lifetime and consisted of white women and Asian, black, and Latino older adults. ❖ Group 3 reported experiencing discrimination across several domains (workplace, financial, housing, etc.) and all participants of this group were nonwhite.

The researchers found that participants in Group 1 (workplace discrimination) had higher levels of baseline cognition in domains of executive function and semantic memory compared to Group 2 (no discrimination). Group 3 (wideranging discrimination) had worse semantic memory at baseline compared to Group 2. Across the groups, there were no differences in cognitive decline over time. “These findings highlight that among the oldest old, inequities in cognitive function persist after accounting for experiences of major lifetime discrimination,” said George. “Despite the incredible longevity of this group, discrimination has an indelible impact on cognitive health, and oldest old adults still stand to benefit from efforts to eliminate and redress health disparities.” ❏ ❏ ❏

The Beloit Coalition of Churches Gives Away Free Backpacks and School Supplies Destin Howard, WREX

Thirteen different churches came together for a back to school health and resource fair.

Pastor Dr. Norris Jackson formed the Beloit coalition of churches to help create Saturday’s Back to School Health and Resource Fair.

During this event, the churches and other community sponsors provided hundreds of children with the supplies they needed to start the school year.

“It’s about coming together as a body of Christ, coming together as a community to help a community, “said Jackson. The pastor continued to say, “What we’re doing is the goal was to put one thousand book bags into the hands of our children, not just book bags but book bags with items in them, so we wanted to give them the things that they would need to learn,” said Jackson.

The 13 churches also partnered with the Beloit School District to provide supplies and give parents information about the upcoming school, which will be fully in-person. School district officials say

they are excited to get a head start.

“I think kids are looking forward to coming back.

I know the parents and families are definitely looking forward to their kids coming back to school; going to be in person; lots of information; it’s again been about registration opens up next week,” said Theresa Morateck, the executive director of Teaching Learning and Equity.

The event was filled with local vendors and hiring opportunities for those in need of employment.

In addition, local community service groups and volunteers supported those efforts.

“So being part of this community and seeing how I’m able to give back, it’s just a signifier of the elders that are passing the torch; the work that is happening is going to continue,” said Joshua Wright, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated president and volunteer.

The first day of class for the Beloit School District is September 1, 2022. ❏ ❏ ❏

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Black Voters Matter Expands Its Partnership with the AME Church to Support Voter Engagement Efforts ATLANTA – On September 12, Black Voters Matter announced an expansion of its partnership with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) in which it will invest $600K in grants to be dispersed in nine Episcopal districts across 13 states in support of church-led GOTV efforts throughout the South.

Participating AME churches will use the grant to activate community outreach to friends and family of church members, conduct street canvassing, literature drops, polling place parties, and rides to the polls.

Of the allotted funds for the expansion, $150K will support a special project in Georgia, for the work of the 6th Episcopal District.

This partnership speaks directly to the deep ties that African Methodist Episcopal churches have had in black communities for 235 years spanning centuries. The AME Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), established in Philadelphia in 1787, that directly addressed discrimination based on race and practices in the Methodist Episcopal churches. The AME denomination has led and nurtured every effort of black people in search of freedom in America, the continent of Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, with a presence in 39 countries on 5 continents, and claims a membership of 2.5 million. Its Episcopal Salutation states, “that working with the poor and disenfranchised is NOT an addendum to an already crowded agenda. It is the very essence of who we are and what we must be about.”

There is no social ill that will go unnoticed, no injustice that will be tolerated, and no opportunity to model love – service – and ministry to empower the people that will be ignored nor any efforts to mute its voices that will be tolerated. Its strong roots in the Southern region of the US makes the AME Church a likely partner in any effort regarding freedom and social justice, equity and inclusion, and ensuring that all people are included in solutions for the good of humankind.

“Our partnership with the AME Church is very special because of the deep-rooted history the church has had in the voting rights movement in America. Freedom is our faith, and our faith has always been embedded in our fight for the right to vote and justice,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. “There have been ongoing efforts from the right-wing to roll back progress on voting rights with conservative churches embracing voter suppression rhetoric that supports restricting ballot access for millions of Americans. This partnership reflects our outlook to use our faith not as a tool to divide, but a tool to bring folks together and inspire our community to show up and show out at the polls once again for the issues and causes that matter to us.”

“We hope that our partnership with the AME Church will encourage our community to raise their voices and use their political power,” said Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter. “We know the powerful role the church has had in our community throughout history, and we believe our partnership today will continue this rich history and inspire a new generation to use their voice and vote.”

In addition to Georgia, the grant will be extended to include AME churches in the following states: Arizona, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin– all key battleground states in the upcoming general election.

As chair of the Social Action Commission of the AME Church, Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield said, “Partnerships are our recognition that we are ‘called’ to serve all the people. Our AME V-Alert effort, in its 23-year history, has created mini-villages with pockets of activism. In 2022, our work with Black Voters Matter formalizes an informal relationship in ways that empower all the people. We look forward to a 100% voter turnout of those reached and impact beyond our wildest expectations.” ❏ ❏ ❏

CONNECTIONAL NEWS

What Conservative States Should Learn from Kansas Quardricos Bernard Driskell, Columnist

Our country will continue to deal with the consequences of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The effects of overturning the 50-year-old precedent in Roe v. Wade have been profound and swift.

Some states have outright banned abortions; others are close to doing so.

But recently, Kansas voters decided to keep abortion legal, rejecting an amendment to outlaw abortion altogether. Conservative Kansas, corn-filled Kansas has de facto settled this debate on an issue that has plagued families and communities for generations - that fundamentally, women should still have ownership over their health.

In 2004, Thomas Frank wrote a book entitled, What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, which detailed how the current populist, anti-liberal, anti-elitist conservative movement has shaped America. Frank used his home state of Kansas as the focal point. It was a roadmap on how explosive cultural issues, such as gay marriage, LGBTQI rights, and abortion highjacked economic and fiscal concerns of classic conservatism. Against this backdrop, he posed the question – what is the matter with Kansas? And so, in a state that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump by nearly 15 percentage points in 2020, to Frank’s interrogative, given the recent vote, apparently not much.

Be clear – abortion in Kansas is still rare. The state has only four clinics where abortions remain available, mainly in the Wichita and Kansas City metro areas. Kansas’ abortion restrictions include limiting abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy to cases where the pregnant person’s life is in danger, and the state requires an ultrasound before a procedure.

But could a state like Kansas, where access to abortion remains limited, serve as a model for other conservative states in America-harkening back to an aged-old political adage echoed by both conservative, pro-life Democrats and pro-choice moderate Republicans, made famous by President Bill Clinton in 1992 – of making abortions safe, legal, and rare?

This phrase transcended Clinton and others into the inchoate sentiments of millions of Americans that it became consequentially – especially for those who did not fall so dogmatically on either side’s position on abortion – a basis for acceptable compromise and practice.

Republican activists would say Kansans did what is in the best interest of Kansas, espousing the states’ rights mantra - a refrain dating back to enslavement in the United States positing that somehow protecting fundamental human and individual rights should be decided by individual states rather than a universal national decision. That

is, to say, protections should be optional, depending on the nuanced sensibilities of wisdom at more local levels – revealing yet again that elections at the state and municipal levels are equally important.

Kansas has demonstrated that even in the deepest politically red states, abortion can remain legal. Moreover, it provides hope to abortionrights supporters betting on ballot initiatives in other conservative states to restore or maintain access to the procedure.

After all, this is the home of the late statesmen Robert Dole. Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), a World War II hero ...continued on p18

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“We Have Been Away Too Long”

Robert Barton, Scout Master Troop 487 and 3347

We have been away too long AAMES needs to take a plane load of AME scouts back to Africa. Back in 1998 BSA Troop 487 chartered by Ebenezer AME Church in Ft. Washington, Maryland.

Notes from Scout Master Robert Barton…. Kings and palaces, lions and island prisons. Sounds like a fairy tale, but for one troop, it was a trip of a lifetime. So said S.M. Bob Barton and C.O.R. Clarence Crayton who led a group of 16 boy scouts and 17 adults on a 17-day trip. The trip was conceived as an educational and ancestral visit by parents of Boy Scout Troop 487, a 60-member troop sponsored by Ebenezer AME Church in Ft. Washington, MD. Beginning in January, the scouts and parents raised money by hosting church concerts, selling various goods, and soliciting contributions. They collected about half of the money needed to pay for the trip, with the remainder paid for by the parents.

Ebenezer’s African Liberation president, Sis. Nomvula Cook, a native South African, arranged personalized visits and accompanied the group on the trip. The group was hosted by the American ambassador to Lesotho, AME churches, and South African Scout Troops.

Within two days of their departure from Washington, D.C., the scouts and parents found themselves on a safari in a game preserve near Kruger National Park. Rhinos, lions and elephants roamed freely past the expedition’s land rovers. Perhaps a little too freely, I thought, when our jeep had to back off from a bull elephant that wasn’t interested in any visitors.

The troop also visited several African villages, where the scouts were able to mingle with locals

and participate in tribal dances and songs.

and served 15 years.

We were hosted by the mayor of Pretoria, the king of Bafokeng (who attended Howard University), and the Queen of Lesotho, a country inside South Africa that remained free from white colonists during the apartheid period. Apartheid remained evident in South Africa, even years after the fall of the white government. The segregation was mainly economic, rather than legal, but it was clear in the delineation of housing in the country.

The scouts were surprised by the country’s emphasis on education and discipline.

Fine manors and estates gave way to government housing and eventually shantytowns that had no electricity or running water. These sights had an adverse impact on the scouts.

The most moving part of the trip for me was a visit to Robbens Island, which housed the prison in which President Nelson Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner.

Ex-inmates served as tour guides. One told the scouts not to be afraid of him because he was not a criminal, but a political prisoner. He had been arrested while lobbying for voting rights for blacks

who rose to be majority leader of the U.S. Senate, championed expanding the federal food stamp program, bringing awareness to disabilities, and sending U.S. troops to foreign conflicts. One rooted in classic Republicanism, one that said in his 1996 presidential acceptance speech at the Republican National Committee Convention: “If there’s anyone who has mistakenly attached themselves to our party in the belief that we are not open to citizens of every race and religion, then let me remind you, tonight this hall belongs to the party of Lincoln.” Senator Dole, who also

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They were impressed by the student’s conduct in the classrooms, and how they were serious about schoolwork and did not play around. Ebenezer AME Church and Troop 487 was able to repay some of the hospitality shown in South Africa.

The mayor of Pretoria and her assistant visited Washington, D.C. Parents and scouts gave them a tour of of the city and hosted them at a Sunday service at Ebenezer and a brunch afterwards.

To learn how to start a Girl Scout or Boy Scout unit at your church, please email Michele Neal at Michele@amescouts.org for Girl Scouts. Contact Missiouri McPhee at Info@amescouts.org for Boy Scouts.

Go the AME Christian Education Dept. WEB Site www.AMECED.COM. Also, please visit us on Facebook at AAMES Scouting Connection. ❏ ❏ ❏

during his presidential run called for adding a “declaration for tolerance” to the Republican Party’s platform, declared that the tolerance language should be directly added to the platform’s language on abortion.

Senator Dole was a pro-life Republican, but he, like these Kansans voters on abortion, also understood what the current GOP seems to have conveniently ignored. Maybe the GOP and other red states should follow the example of Kansas because, in this case, they got it right.

Quardricos Bernard Driskell is an adjunct professor of legislative politics, where he teaches religion, race, public policy, and politics at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Follow him on Twitter @q_driskell4.

New Dean at Gammon Theological Seminary Turner Theological Seminary congratulates Dr. Candace Lewis, presidentdean of Gammon Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Seminary (ITC), Atlanta, Georgia.

fellowships that educate students to commit to practicing justice and peace through a liberating and transforming spirituality to become leaders in the church and local/global communities.

On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, Dr. Lewis was elected by her colleagues and became the first woman to lead The Deans’ Council at the ITC.

Dr. Lewis said one of her primary duties as the president of the Deans’ Council would be to facilitate the work of the deans by collaborating with the ITC on items relevant to the success of the institution’s goals through liberating and transforming pathways. ❏ ❏ ❏

The ITC is a Christian Afrocentric ecumenical consortium of seminaries and

Connectional Health Commission: Clergy and Clergy Family Wellness Rev. Dr. Natalie Mitchem, Ed.D., RDN, Executive Director

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2 NIV August is Clergy and Clergy Family Wellness month, and July was Faith-Based Health, Wellness, Nutrition, and Fitness Month. Each of these months were established by the International Health Commission (IHC) of the AME

Church to promote wellness in the faith-based community. Clergy and Clergy Family Wellness in the month of August is a time to focus on “physical and mental health, manage stress, encourage sabbatical (at home or away from home), and clergy self-care” (www.AMEChealth.org). IHC is celebrating 30 years of service and we invite everyone to take a 30-Day Culinary RX AME ...continued on p22

The Christian Recorder

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CONGRATULATORY Listings

The Right Reverend Carolyn Tyler-Guidry, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was the first woman appointed to be a presiding elder in the Fifth Episcopal District of the AME Church and the second woman to become a bishop in the denomination.

Bishop Guidry was born on August 25, 1937, in Jackson, Mississippi. Tyler-Guidry attended J.P. Campbell College in Jackson and received an Associate of Arts Degree in Business and Secretarial Science. She then began working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Tyler-Guidry held the women’s voter registration chair. In 1964, she was hired by the Security Pacific Bank in California where she worked for twelve years.

In 1977, she attended the Los Angeles Bible School to pursue the path of ministry, and was ordained as an itinerant elder that year. She then served as the pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Indio, California, where she oversaw renovations to the church and parsonage, and the creation of a day care center. In 1983, she was appointed to the Cain Memorial AME Church in Bakersfield, California, where she served for five years. Cary B. Tyler, her first husband, died in 1988.

In 1989, she became the first female to be appointed to a major metropolitan church when she was appointed to the Walker Temple AME Church, with 600 members, in Los Angeles.

In 1994, she became the first female appointed to presiding elder in the Fifth Episcopal District. In this role she oversaw 19 churches in Los Angeles.

She ran for election for bishop in 1996 and 2000; while her first two efforts were unsuccessful, her willingness to stand for election helped raise visibility for women clergy. In 2000, Vashti Murphy McKenzie became the first woman elected bishop in the A.M.E. Church. In July 2004, she became the second woman to be elected as bishop in the AME Church. That same year, she received her master’s of theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Upon her election as bishop, she was appointed to serve as the presiding prelate of the 16th Episcopal District of the AME Church, comprising Suriname, Guyana, the Windward Islands, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and London, England. Not long after she was appointed, Hurricane Ivan caused severe damage in the region, especially in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, which made her first months in office very hectic. In 2008, at the 48th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the AME Church, she was appointed to serve as bishop of the 8th Episcopal District,

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AUGUST 2022

*Purple font connotes Episcopal Family; Red font, General Officers; and Blue font, Connectional Officers.

The Right Reverend Carolyn Tyler-Guidry 122nd Elected and Consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Celebrates 85th Birthday August 25, 2022

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which comprises the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. She retired in 2012. Bishop Carolyn Tyler-Guidry served an unprecedented two terms as the Social Action Commission chair, 2004-2012.

Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Calvin Herbert Sydnor III, retired 20th editor of The Christian Recorder, and the Rev. Dr. Charlotte Ann Blake Sydnor - Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary!

In addition to her ministry in the church, she has been actively involved in charitable and non-profit organizations. Tyler-Guidry served as the secretary on the board of the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Indio, president of the Riverside County Board of Mental Health, and treasurer of the national board of One Church One Child. She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

They were married on August 18, 1962 at St. James AME Church in Danville, Kentucky.

Bishop Guidry is the widow of Donovan Guidry, a retired officer in the United States Army, who died in June 2007 after a lengthy illness. She is the mother of six children, grandmother of thirteen, and great-grandmother of eleven.

Congratulatory responses can be emailed to: Girlbishop122@aol.com.

Congratulations to John Thomas III, editor of The Christian Recorder on his appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Political Science Department at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina as of August 15, 2022 John Thomas III joined the Department of Political Science in August 2022. His research interests include comparative race politics, social movements, democratic consolidation, minority rights, and public policy with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. John’s dissertation examined the evolution of the social movements of black activists in Peru and Ecuador from 1980 to 2016 and their impacts on state institutions and the broader society. He has received funding from several entities to conduct his research including the University of Chicago Division of Social Sciences, the Tinker Foundation, the Fulbright Commission, TIAA-CREF, and the U.S. Department of Education. He is also an American Political Science Association Diversity Fellow.

John has consulted on issues of Afro-Latinx social inclusion for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the governments of Honduras and Peru. He has served as a teaching consultant at the Chicago Center for Teaching, taught Political Science courses at Chicago State University, and was a presidential fellow at Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio through the Gift of Black Theology Collaborative.

Congratulatory messages can be sent to: editor@ thechristianrecorder.com.

Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, 20th Editor, AMEC, The Christian Recorder, and the Rev. Dr. Charlotte Ann Blake Sydnor Celebrates 60th Wedding Anniversary ANOTHER YEAR’S JOURNEY AND I AM GLAD ABOUT IT!

August 18th is a memorable day each year for Calvin, Charlotte, the Blake and Sydnor families, as it has been for the last 60 years!

August 18th is also the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Charlotte Ann Blake Sydnor. August 18, 1962 was on a Saturday and she wanted a Sunday wedding, but many of the wedding guests had traveled long distances to attend the wedding and her parents thought Saturday would be a more convenient day to allow wedding guests to attend the wedding and return home and to work on the following Monday.

Down through the years, several people have asked us for the “key” to our long marriage. One thing we know is that it wasn’t luck!

I feel blessed to have married such a wonderful woman. I knew she was going to be my wife shortly after meeting and getting to know her; that was in September 1961 at Wilberforce University. I met her and her friends in front of Shorter Hall. I was with my friend and roommate, Rodger Reed!

Long before I arrived at Wilberforce, I had decided that I would only marry an AME, and I believe that decision was a good one and got us off to a good start in our relationship and marriage.

Congratulatory messages can be sent to: chsydnor@ bellsouth.net.

Happy 95th Birthday to Mrs. Melanie Frances Jones Thibodeaux, widow of the Rev. Dr. G.H.J. Thibodeaux (AME General Officer) Mrs. Melanie Frances Jones Thibodeaux is the widow of the Rev. Dr. G.H.J. Thibodeaux (AME General Officer and the Mother of Mrs. Roslyn Thibodeaux Goodall). She will celebrate her 95th birthday on Saturday, August 27, 2022. A lifelong resident of Shreveport, LA, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas and additional hours in Special Education instruction from Grambling College. Mrs. Thibodeaux is a 1945 graduate of Central Colored High School in Shreveport.

Mrs. Thibodeaux has been a faithful member of St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church for more than 70 years, where she has the distinction of being the oldest member. Over those years, she served as a steward, president and vice president of the Women’s Missionary Society, director of the Young People’s department, Sunday school teacher, chair of Founder’s Day, co-chair of the church’s anniversary, and ...continued on p21

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The Christian Recorder

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NECROLOGY Listings

AUGUST 2022

*Purple font connotes Episcopal Family; Red font, General Officers; and Blue font, Connectional Officers.

Retired Episcopal Supervisor, Dr. Barbara Jeanne Wooten Chappelle, age 83, widow of the late the Right Reverend Richard Allen Chappelle, Sr., the 108th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, mother of Kristen Nicole, grandmother of Micah Jeremiah and Travis Richard, and great-grandmother of Micah II Mr. Richard Herndon, the brother of the Reverend Dr. J. Wayne Rogers, pastor of Bethel AME Church, Hope, Arkansas, Twelfth Episcopal District The Reverend Dr. Ida V. James was one of the founding members of AME Women in Ministry and the founding pastor of Faith Temple AME Church located on the West Side of Chicago, Chicago Conference, Fourth Episcopal District Dr. J. B. Flowers, Jr., a former member of the Judicial Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a member of Mt. Herman AME Church, Grenada, Mississippi in the Eighth Episcopal District Presiding Elder Vernon Ivan Fitzgerald Lowe served for many years in the First Episcopal District with distinction; he is the father of the Reverend Robert R. Lowe, pastor of Mount Moriah AME Church, Cambria Heights, NY, New York Annual Conference Mr. Herloia Lee “Hercules” Anthony, the father of the Reverend Octavius L. Smith, pastor of Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sanford, FL and member of the Board of Examiner’s of the

Central Annual Conference, Eleventh Episcopal District Sis. Helen Jean Key, age 77, mother of the Reverend Linda Ann Key Evans, pastor of St. Paul AME Church, Memphis, TN in the West Tennessee Conference of the Thirteenth Episcopal District Mr. Edward “Buster” Billips, the father of the Reverend Dr. Eric Billips, Sr., pastor of North Stelton AME Church, Piscataway, NJ, New Jersey Annual Conference and the father-in-law of the Reverend Dr. Myra Billips, First Episcopal District The Reverend Hoover Footman, a retired itinerant elder in the Seventh Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; his last pastoral assignment was Adams AME (North Charleston), Charleston District, South Carolina Annual Conference The Reverend Laura Mae Holloway, retired pastor of the Marianna District, Eleventh Episcopal District, the beloved, dedicated mother of the Reverend Calvin E. Holloway, pastor of Mt. Olive AME Church, Monticello, and the beloved mother-in-love of Sister Patricia Holloway Sister Valarie Graves, the spouse of the Reverend Frederick Graves, pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (Sumter), Sumter District, Northeast Annual Conference of the Seventh Episcopal District of the AME Church The Reverend Michael William Battle, a local deacon at St. Matthew AME Church

(Hamer), of the Florence-Dillon District of the Northeast South Carolina Annual Conference of the Seventh Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Garden, Florida, Daytona Beach District, Central Annual Conference, Eleventh Episcopal District, husband of Linda Massey and father of daughter, Hope Massey

The Reverend Martina Dorothy Thomas Madden, a retired local elder from the Second Episcopal District, residing in the Tenth Episcopal District; the Reverend Madden was the mother of the Reverend Janis Madden Barnes, pastor of Payne Chapel AME Church, Sherman, Texas, Tenth Episcopal District

Mrs. Frances Rankin, the aunt of Mr. Bobby Rankin, chief of protocol of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Mother Elnor Harvin Edmonds, the beloved mother of the Reverend Raymond F. Edmonds, Jr., senior pastor, Union Bethel, Randallstown, MD, mother-in-love of the Reverend Jerri Edmonds; the mother of Mrs. Sherry Clemons, a member of Union Bethel AME Church, Brandywine, MD, and Mrs. Trina Brickhouse a member of Reid Temple AME Church, Glenn Dale, MD; she and her late husband were longtime members of New Mt. Olive AME Church, Chesapeake, VA Retired Presiding Elder Alexander Stephans, who served for many years in the First Episcopal District with distinction Presiding Elder Percy Robert Tate, retired, Youngstown District, Third Episcopal District, husband of Mrs. Geraldine Tate, a former president of the Third Episcopal District M-SWAWO + PK’S The Reverend Frankie Lee Massey, the beloved pastor of Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Winter

The Reverend Florance Marie Mcelroy, presiding elder of Blue Mountain District and the beloved pastor of Chapel of Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church, Kingston in the Jamaica Conference, Sixteenth Episcopal District The Reverend Johnnie L. Edison, Jr, the pastor of St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church, Oxmoor, West Birmingham Ensley Greensboro District, Ninth Episcopal District Mrs. Dorothy Harris, 96, the widow of the late Reverend David F. Harris, who preceded her in death; they were married twenty-five years and served many churches in Texas; their last assignment was at Metropolitan AME in Austin, Southwest Texas Conference The Reverend Donald White, who along with the love of his life, Sis. Mary E. White, pastored many churches faithfully until his retirement from the ministry at St. Phillip AME Church in Nashville, NC; in his role as a superannuated minister at Greater Bethel AME Church, he gladly performed any task given by pastor, serving gladly until his health failed

Condolences to the bereaved are expressed on behalf of Publications Commission chair Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., president/publisher of the AMEC Publishing House (Sunday School Union) the Rev. Roderick D. Belin, and editor of The Christian Recorder, Mr. John Thomas III.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NRSV) To share or receive information about Connectional clergy family bereavements and congratulations, please contact the AME Church Clergy Family Information Center. Mrs. Ora L. Easley, administrator • 5981 Hitching Post Lane • Nashville, TN 37211 • 615.833.6936 (CFIC Office) • amecfic.org • facebook.com/AMECFIC

THECHRISTIANRECORDER.COM ...From Congratulatory p19

in many other capacities.

To this day, she regularly attends church service, via the church’s conference line. She also attends conference and Connectional church meetings that are conducted via a virtual platform. The Rev. Dr. Glenell Lee-Pruitt is her pastor and Bishop and Supervisor Stafford J. N. Wicker are her Episcopal leaders.

Mrs. Thibodeaux became a life member of the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS) of the AME Church in 1984 and has faithfully served on the local, conference, and Connectional levels. She currently serves as life member coordinator for the Central North Louisiana Conference of the 8th District. Mrs. Thibodeaux served as chair of the Budget and Financial Estimates Committee under the administration of then International WMS president, Mrs. Delores Kennedy Williams. She has also served as president of the Clergy Spouses organization of the 8th Episcopal District of the AME Church. She and her committees planned and executed many fun and informative retreats.

Mrs. Thibodeaux served as the office manager for her late husband during his service to the AME Church as director of Evangelism and Worship.

She began her early classroom career as a substitute teacher at the Milam Street Special Education School. She was later hired as a special education teacher at Linear High School. When Green Oaks High School was built in 1972, she and her students became the first Special Education class there. While at Greek Oaks, Mrs. Thibodeaux was sponsor of the 4-H Club and a sponsor of the senior classes. She retired from Green Oaks High School in 1990.

Mrs. Thibodeaux pledged Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Paul Quinn College as a member of the Tau Beta Chapter. She transferred her membership to Beta Epsilon Zeta Chapter in 1955 and has enjoyed uninterrupted service in this organization for 67 years. Mrs. Thibodeaux is a past president of Beta Epsilon Zeta Chapter. She was the sponsor when Psi Sigma Chapter was chartered at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. She has served in many chapter and regional offices, in the sorority. Through her guidance and example, her daughter also pledged Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Prior to its dissolution, Mrs. Thibodeaux was an active member of the Shreveport-Bossier chapter of Church Women United where she served as president and vice president. Through her service, she was honored, by the chapter, as a Woman of Valor.

Mrs. Thibodeaux has a caring heart and always thinks of others. A great example of this is how she reached out to her family, friends, and business associates to collect funds to purchase items for 8th Episcopal District members who were displaced because of Hurricane Katrina.

Her outreach provided more than four families with bedding, household goods, clothing, and finances. Partnering with her daughter, she was able to provide jobs for the adult members who relocated to Dallas.

The Christian Recorder Mrs. Melanie Thibodeaux loves people and has left an indelible mark on the lives of many.

She is known for leaving places better than she finds them. Happy 95th birthday to Mrs. Melanie Thibodeaux.

Congratulatory expressions may be sent to: Mrs. Melanie Jones Thibodeaux, c/o 4830 Line Ave., Suite 141, Shreveport, LA 71106 or melaniethibodeaux723@gmail.com.

Caleb Akil Dickens Was Born to Pastor Conitras Dicken and the Rev. Akil Dickens.

On July 28, 2022, Caleb Akil Dickens was born to Pastor Conitras and the Rev. Akil Dickens. Caleb is their firstborn weighing 6 lbs., 6 oz. Pastor Conitras Houston Dickens is the senior pastor of DuPage AME Church in Lisle, IL and the special assistant to chief information officer/general secretary, Dr. Jeffery Cooper. Rev. Akil Dickens serves alongside his wife as the executive pastor of DuPage AME Church.

Congratulatory messages can be sent to: revcmhouston@gmail.com.

Presiding Elder Ralph and Mrs. Pat Johnson Will Celebrate Their 45th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, August 27, 2022 Presiding Elder Ralph and Mrs. Pat Johnson will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary on Saturday, August 27, 2022. The Rev. Dr. Johnson serves as the presiding elder of the North District of the Tennessee Annual Conference and as the very proud pastor of St. Paul Oakwood, TN. Presiding Elder Johnson says, “We have shared and experienced so much during our wonderful years together, and God has blessed us through it all. We will celebrate with our children and grandchildren with fine-dining at an elegant restaurant in Nashville.”

You may send congratulatory messages to: ameomega@bellsouth.net.

The Rev. A. J. Holman, Sr. Appointed the Grand Historian of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World Congratulations to the Reverend A. J. Holman, Sr., pastor of Bethel AME Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee for being appointed the grand historian of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the world. He is a professional genealogist serving several families. The Reverend Holman serves as an assistant grand chaplain of the same order as well as state chaplain and historian of the Tennessee Association of Elks of which he wrote its history. He has written the history of his local lodge, Armistice Lodge #440, Chattanooga, TN. He is a product of Bishop College (now Paul Quinn College), Dallas, TX and Turner Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Seminary, Atlanta, GA. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in history at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA. The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World is a 501©(8) fraternal organization established 125 years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio by Benjamin Franklin Howard and Arthur James Riggs, promoting charity, justice, brotherly, fidelity, and

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sisterly love. The organization claims descent from the Free African Society, our parent body in history. It is currently led by Grand Exalted Ruler Leonard J. Polk, Jr., Esquire.

Congratulatory email messages can be emailed to: ajholmansr@gmail.com.

The Rev. Walt “Baby” Love, Longtime Radio Host and Personality, Elected to the Radio Hall of Fame Congratulations to the Rev. Walt “Baby” Love, longtime radio host and personality, on his election to the Radio Hall of Fame! The Reverend Walter L. Shaw, Jr., better known as Walt “Baby” Love, has been consistent in lending his unique blend of Christian faith, motivational and inspirational personal experiences to millions of listeners each week for over forty-nine years.

He has been the host of four uplifting radio programs; The Countdown with Walt “Baby” Love aired for an unprecedented twenty nine years from August 1982 thru August 2011; Gospel Traxx with Walt “Baby” Love for twenty two years (and still going strong); The Urban AC Countdown for fifteen years; and the short form vignette program African American Making It Happen for seven years. Walt has been heard on hundreds of radio stations around the world throughout his career and his “brand” is associated with excellence.

The Rev. Love, an ordained elder on the staff at FAME (Los Angeles), previously won the Billboard Music Award for Best Syndicated Show and the Stellar Award for Best Gospel Radio Personality.

The Rev. Walt is married to the Rev. Patricia Shaw, associate minister at Bethel AME (Oxnard).

Information on the induction ceremony (November 1 in Chicago) is available at Radio Hall of Fame. https://www.radiohalloffame.com/.

The Rev. Mindy L. Mayes Pastor of Bethel AME Church, Noblesville, IN, Elected the First African American President of the Rotary Club of Wabash, Indiana The Rev. Mindy L. Mayes, MPH, M.Div. was elected the first African American president of the Rotary Club of Wabash, IN. She is the pastor of Bethel AME Church - Noblesville, IN. Mindy has served as the pastor of Bethel-Noblesville for the last 4 years. Secularly she serves as a health and human sciences extension educator with Purdue Extension Wabash County. In her position as president of the Wabash Rotary Club Mindy looks forward to taking action in the change of the world, improving the lives of citizens within Wabash County and beyond.

Congratulations to Master Jacob Cuthbert, III on His Graduation from the Federal Teen Academy Congratulations to Master Jacob Cuthbert III on his graduation from the Federal Teen Academy. The Tampa Federal Teen Academy was held August 3rd and 4th at the FBI Tampa Field Office. The Federal Teen Academy allows high school students (14-to-17year old’s) an opportunity to get a comprehensive look into the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau ...continued on p22

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of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Attorney’s Office-Middle District of Florida (USAO), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

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Participants were provided with several presentations on topics such as terrorism, drugs, cyber-crime, cybersecurity, human trafficking, gangs, guns, explosives, evidence response, surveillance techniques, SWAT, and the dayto-day operations of a federal agency. Participants were also afforded the

THECHRISTIANRECORDER.COM

opportunity to learn from special agents, intelligence analysts, language specialists, and professional staff about investigative tactics that include gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses assisting with cases.

Master Jacob is a member of Saint Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orlando, FL and is the son of the Rev. Dr. Missiouri L. McPhee (connectional director of Boys Scouts).

Congratulatory messages can be sent to Jacob at Missiouri.McPhee@gmail.com.

On behalf of Publications Commission chair Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., president/publisher of the AMEC Publishing House (Sunday School Union) the Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, and editor of The Christian Recorder Mr. John Thomas III, we celebrate and applaud your achievements.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) To share or receive information about Connectional clergy family bereavements and congratulations, please contact the AME Church Clergy Family Information Center: Mrs. Ora L. Easley, administrator • 5981 Hitching Post Lane • Nashville, TN 37211 • 615.833.6936 (CFIC Office) • amecfic.org • facebook.com/AMECFIC. and Lifestyle Medicine Challenge/Journey to assist clergy and clergy families in taking steps towards improved health, disease prevention, and wellness.

Culinary RX AME explains how healthy food choices can help prevent and fight disease (i.e., diabetes type 2, heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure, and more) through informative short videos and hands-on cooking experiences.

The IHC 30-day challenge also incorporates evidenced-based lifestyle medicine principles to promote overall wellness for the mind, body, and spirit. Visit the survey monkey link and take the 30-day challenge/journey with us, and we pray you experience blessings, health, and wellness every day in Jesus’ name.

Survey Monkey Link - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R78MDDR 1. Faith In Action/Prayer – Pray first about all important life decisions 2. Enroll in Culinary RX- AME – www.ame-church.rouxbe.com – One-time fee $49.99 for lifetime access 3. Nutrition – Try Meatless Monday, eat more fresh foods naturally low in sodium and read nutrition facts labels. Use the Harvard Healthy Eating ...From Connectional p18

Plate or Diabetes Plate Method for a guide (https://www.hsph.harvard. edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/, https://www.diabetes.org/ healthy-living/recipes-nutrition/eating-well). Plant a church garden.

4. Manage Stress – List how you will manage stress 5. Daily Fitness – Choose an activity of your choice and participate for 60 minutes 6. Healthy Relationships – Galatians 5:18 – 26, take a healthy look at your relationships 7. Self-Care – List healthy choices you will make over the next 30 days 8. Rest/Sleep – Make time for rest and a minimum of 7 hours of sleep 9. Laughter/Joy – Find or do something that makes you laugh and/or puts a smile on your face 10. No Smoking/No Menthol – Find a smoking cessation program (www. centerforblackhealth.org) 11. Limit Alcohol – If you drink alcohol, limit and/or no more than one alcoholic beverage for 30 days ❏ ❏ ❏

Juneteenth Celebration at First AME Church – Athens, Georgia June 20, 2022, marked the first official recognition of Juneteenth as a national federal holiday. Since in Galveston, Texas, Reedy African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is the historical site of the first Juneteenth celebration, it seems appropriate for First AME Church to be a part of the inaugural Juneteenth weekend celebration in Athens, Georgia.

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, Bishop

Reginald T. Jackson, the effective presiding prelate of the 6th Episcopal District, proclaimed a powerful and persuasive message titled “Possess or Possessed,” stating if we are to possess the land, we must 1) pass down our faith, 2) take God’s Word seriously, and 3) never forget that we are children of God. Cognizant that it was also Father’s Day, he took the time to encourage all fathers.

Bishop Jackson was accompanied by the charismatic and always

encouraging Episcopal Supervisor Christy Davis Jackson, Esq. Also in attendance were Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz, Magistrate Judge (Morris Brown alumni) Donarell Green, City Commissioner of District #5 Dexter Fisher, and other members and friends. Vice chair of the Steward Board, Sis. Freda Giles, gave remarks of commendation and thanks.

Engaging the youth of the community in the spirit of Juneteenth, the

celebration continued Monday, June 20, 2022, with an oratorical contest for middle school students centered around the thought, “What Freedom Means to Me.” Micah Taylor, an 8th grader at Oconee County Middle School, received the top prize of $300. Sister Patricia Clifton, steward at FAME, coordinated this activity which will be an annual event. The entire celebration was fun, inspirational, and educational. ❏❏❏

First AME Church Juneteenth Celebration First AME Church Juneteenth Celebration Supervisor Christy Davis Jackson, Esq. with Bro. Tommy Valentine (Ex. Director, Athensmembers of the FAME WMS Clarke Heritage Foundation), Pastor B.A. Hart, Sis. Aurelia Scott, Sis. Retia Cornelius, Serenity Southwell (Honorable Mention), Mayor Kelly Girtz (Athens-Clarke County), Supervisor Christy Davis Jackson, Esq., Richard Burton (Honorable Mention), Sis. Bishop Reginald T. Jackson (Presiding Prelate, Sis. Donna Wilkins (WMS President), Sis. Patricia Clifton (Steward and Coordinator), 6th Episcopal District), Commissioner Dexter Mariah Burton (3rd Place Winner), Pastor B.A. Fisher (District #5 Athens-Clarke County), Wilhelmina Bowles (L-R) Hart, Joseph Micah Taylor (1st Place Winner), Judge Donarell Green (Magistrate Court of Jordan Adams (2nd Place Winner) (L-R) Athens-Clarke County) (L-R) First AME Church Juneteenth Oratorical Contest Participants

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Bethel AME Church Senior Receives Scholarship Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) of the Third Episcopal District has awarded a scholarship to one of its graduating high school seniors. Under the leadership of pastor, the Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, Sr., Presiding Elder Alton Dillard, and Bishop Errenous E. McCloud, Jr., the scholarship committee awarded life-long Bethel AME Church member Kari Holt a scholarship for $8,050.00. Kari will attend a Historically Black College and University, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), as a computer science major. Florida A & M University is also the alma mater of her parents, the Rev. Carmen Holt and Leonard Holt; they serve at Bethel as

associate minister and director of Music, respectively.

Kari Holt is celebrated as a young Christian woman who is the product of her church and family. As indicated by her accomplishments, Kari has been active and excelled in her endeavors as a faithful church member, high school student, and athlete.

The Bethel AME Church family prays for Kari’s success and development as she enters her next phase of life in college.

Kari’s church engagement includes: Young People’s Division (financial recording secretary); Youth Excited to Serve (Y.E.S.) and Youth Mime Group; youth usher; acolyte; Media and Sound Ministry.

While at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kari earned the following: High Honor Roll student, 9th-12th grades; National Honor Society (NHS); Nation Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS); Society of Torch and Laurel Honor Society; National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists Leaders 2019; WPIAL All Section Award, girls soccer 202; girls varsity soccer team – voted Defensive Player of the Year 9th, 11th, and 12th grades; girls varsity soccer team, 4-year Letter winner. Civically, Kari is a member of Beadling East Elite U17 Girls Soccer Cup and Century U15 Girls Soccer Cup teams. ❏❏❏

What Bishops Must Do and Avoid in the S.E.Z.A.C. of the 17th E.D. Bro. Pride Sipopa Gamakwenda (PK, “The Voice in the Wilderness”), 17th Episcopal District

1. Do not inherit “enemies” of your predecessors as the case is going. You are chief executive officers of the church and custodians of our law, at the apex, hence, ensure Christ’s love, justice, and reconciliation becomes a way of life.

denominational law fairly especially when reports or complaints clearly indicate maladministration and hatred were at the fore in disposing of judicial matters.

2. All of the Episcopal conferences need God-fearing persons who shall put their life on the line to ensure justice and fairness are virtues thereby producing healing to those broken right now as a result of assumptions and injustices slapped on them. That has become a trend in the 17th Episcopal District were selective justice is being nurtured.

5. Justice is a human and fundamental right to every member whom Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and the Free African Society liberated from all sorts of injustices, through a law suite that was filed in the Philadelphia Supreme Court in 1807 against St. George Methodist Episcopal Church until the AME Church attained its democracy in 1816.

3. Do not be arrogant! Have big ears and a small mouth thereby creating an inclusive administration and management of this great institution, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Some of the pastors that you find in the 17th Episcopal District South East Zambia Annual Conference are liars and haters hence capable of landing you in problems as they pursue a different agenda. Evidence is available. Learn to listen to both parties in cases of disputes and never be one-sided.

4. The AME Church has a well laid judicial administrative process, enshrined in its Discipline (2016), that requires you to uphold, enforce, and apply

6. Rule of law should first be seen sprouting in the AME Church walls before it’s spotted in the secular world. I refuse to remain mute amidst unholiness going on!

7. Always remember that the second coming of Christ to get those who are upright isn’t a fairytale but an assurance that shall soon be fulfilled. It’s not a Santa Clause story on Christmas Eve! Will Christ find us ready for him or still in support of hatred and injustice? Our genuine response to this question is key. ❏ ❏ ❏

Two Trillion in Relief for Businesses Financially Devastated by COVID Debra Thomas

Although it is not well-publicized, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun accepting applications for The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program. These resources are earmarked for small businesses that suffered financial losses as a result of the pandemic.

Black businesses have suffered irreparable harm due to the ongoing disruption. Sadly, many of these businesses were shut out of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and had to close permanently.

During the second round of funding in 2020, $60 billion was set aside for minorities and underserved borrowers. Once again, our community was unable to gain significant access to those resources. Funding was depleted in record time as well-resourced companies, with the help of their bankers, muscled their way to the front of the line at the expense of smaller, more vulnerable businesses. Black-owned businesses received 1.9% of loans, while white-owned businesses received 83%.

The ERTC program is a refundable tax credit for business owners in operation 2020-2021. Start-up businesses that began operations after February 15, 2020, can take the third and fourth quarters of 2021.

Credits are available to business entities, non-profits, and start-ups. Any business structure with 5 W-2 fulltime employees in 2020-2021 can potentially qualify.

Businesses forced to temporarily or permanently close during this window of time qualify.

The ERTC rewards businesses that were able to stay open and pay wages and health insurance costs

during the pandemic. ERTC refunds a percentage of wages paid each quarter a business has qualified.

The credits are paid in the form of a check.

NO RESTRICTIONS ON USE, NO REPAYMENT! THIS IS NOT A LOAN! Businesses that applied for and received PPP funds can now also claim ERTC credits.

The IRS is a slow paymaster. It is important to submit ALL of the required documents at one time to receive a refund.

It was initially estimated that ERTC funds would be available for three years. However, there are no guarantees with the increasing number of applications processed.

For additional information or to receive an estimate of your rebate, visit www.debuddmarketing.com.

Debra Thomas, founder and CEO of Debudd Marketing, is helping thousands of blackowned businesses better understand and take advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program.

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...From Inconvenient Life Truth p14

❖ It may seem counter-intuitive to prepare for your old age while you are young, still on your grind, and want to have fun. However, the Inconvenient Life Truth is that you will be older a lot longer than you will be young, so you must be resolved to find the best ways to save money for a time when you cannot generate the same income level. Furthermore, there is a chance that social security may not be available for the next generation of workers. That is why it is important to own something that will appreciate in value. If living your best life now leaves no room for considering the implications of living your best life later, you may be forced to survive on scant resources in your “golden” years. ❖ People are always waiting for the right time to begin an endeavor or take a particular action that may have economic, educational, or health consequences. Yet, here is an Inconvenient Life Truth—There is no right time to start. There is a better time, but the right time (hear–perfect time) is nonexistent. Meanwhile, while you are waiting (procrastinating?), there may come a time when there is not enough time to prevent your dream for yourself and your family from turning into a nightmare. Know that time is no respecter of person or situation. Time is always moving with you, around you, for you, against you, or over you; the choice is yours.

Beloved, as stated, what makes an Inconvenient Life Truth inconvenient is the belief that avoiding a problem is easier than addressing it. We see the mess the world is in because of the powers that do not want to address the long-term implications of climate change. So, the closing question is, how should you handle an inconvenient life truth? Know that doing nothing is actually doing something.

“For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, foreigners would devour it.” Hosea 8:7. ❏ ❏ ❏

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SEPTEMBER 2022

The Christian Recorder

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EDITORIAL

It’s the Ethics for Me John Thomas III, Editor

The Black Church as an institution has been such a pivotal part of the African American community because of the respect and trust accorded to its leaders.

One AME pastor who is also a lawyer commented in an interview, “Being a pastor has benefited me in the law for several reasons. [One way is that it] has heightened my sense of integrity.” This response is not surprising because those who are set apart and charged to serve God’s flock take on additional responsibility for the spiritual and temporal well-being of those in their care. Laypersons trust the spiritual visions of their pastors. Clergy trust the godly judgment of the presiding elders and bishops who supervise them.

So, what happens when that trust is shattered?

Within the last year, revelations of financial misconduct have shaken the AME Church to its core. Chiefly, the ongoing saga with the Department of Retirement Services and the millions of dollars that have been siphoned off from the retirement accounts of clergy and church employees has left us in shock. Even though the AME Church has made clear its intentions to “make participants whole,” the current class action lawsuits in the United States District Court of Western Tennessee speak to the broken trust and betrayal felt by the servants of the church.

Taking a longer view, since 2016, no less than three AME clergypersons have pled guilty to federal financial crimes, including bribery, tax evasion, and wire fraud. Additionally, a settlement with the New York State Attorney General’s Office concerning property deals led by AME leadership in the New York Annual Conference that impacted five AME congregations was recently revealed to the Connectional AME Church. The persons who have committed these actions are those we trusted and who occupied positions of trust in the denomination. We have fellowshipped and prayed with them. These are our family–which makes their situation even more heartbreaking and complex.

In an earlier editorial this year, I talked about the culture of silence and acquiescence that has contributed to these and other unethical practices. The time has passed for us to have the hard conversations that we need to have and understand that there is something very wrong with an AME Church culture that has clearly privileged personal gain over the uplift of our community. This is not a clergy problem or a lay problem but an AME problem. We must repent for allowing the commercialized world to influence so much of who we are and talk about ways that we can help ourselves to be more accountable together.

The Doctrine and Discipline already contains clear provisions to protect the assets and property of congregations, to discipline and hold accountable clergy and laity, and to govern the departments of the Connectional Church. AMEs are great at establishing sound policies—our failing is human. We have been involved in crises before generated by personal greed or lack of accountability. And the system prevailed because clergy and laity were willing to stand together for fairness. Do

we trust those who are responsible for administering our system now to be fair and find not for the best interests of their friends, but for the best interest of the church?

An immediate and urgent need for AME leadership at all levels is continuing education in ethics. Most professional entities require a formal course on ethics, which includes objectives in honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity. The same enthusiasm and energy the denomination John Thomas III had to implement the “Sexual Misconduct 21st Editor of The Christian Recorder Policy” must be applied to mandatory ethics training. With any level of financial responsibility and access, one needs to know how to handle finances in a godly and upright way.

We must also make a cultural shift in what is expected and tolerated in our financial practices. It’s one thing to financially bless someone with an unsolicited gift but quite another to run a shakedown racket with payoffs. In some areas of our denomination, it has sadly become difficult to tell the difference between the two. We have laughed off anecdotes of Annual Conference counting rooms and envelopes at meetings.

But the time for shrugging and saying, “That’s just the culture,” must end if we are to survive as a denomination. Small graft when unchecked eventually leads to the massive situation that we are facing today.

For the AME Church to have the prophetic voice it needs to have to continue to proclaim God’s Word, we must show that we have the capacity to deal with our own failings and to do better. Matthew 7:3-5 speaks to us more clearly than ever before.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Our prophetic witness is choked and our ability to lead suffers when we do not deal with the sins of our own house. We cannot call out the flaws in other churches and entities when our own issues are staring us squarely in the mirror.

It remains the ethics for me—for us.

Editor’s Note: As the official periodical of the AME Church, commentary regarding the class action lawsuits concerning the Department of Retirement Services was not made in the initial stages of the legal proceedings due to the sensitive nature of the litigation. The legal case has progressed to a stage where public writings will not impact the legal posture of the denomination which is why this editorial is being published now.❏ ❏ ❏

Monkeypox, COVID, and Your Vote Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

Well, Monkeypox is the latest distraction, right after COVID. As serious as both of these are in the pandemic arena, they can be distractions from many of the everyday issues we contend with, like food, housing, employment, and health care. But in the midst of all these issues, let us not forget that how we vote has much to do with the quality of life we experience in all the areas mentioned here and many more.

We are only about 90 days from this nation’s midterm elections, which take place on the first Tuesday in November. It is no accident that we are not seeing much, if any, local media discussion other than our own. Unfortunately, we don’t have many choices.

While the Democrats, under President Biden, have not delivered on The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act or The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement

Act, Biden and the Democratic control of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate remain better alternatives than the Republican Trump-supporting candidates running for office in just about all states.

We must start a voter registration drive right here where we live. This effort must become as important to us as putting food on the table and a roof over our heads. Let us not forget what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his famous “Give Us the Ballot” speech on May 17, 1957: Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights; Give us the ballot, and we will transform the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens;

Give us the ballot, and we will fill our legislative halls with men of goodwill and send to the sacred halls of Congress men who will not sign a “Southern Manifesto” because of their devotion to a manifesto of justice; Give us the ballot, and we will place judges on the benches of the South who will do justly and love mercy, and we will place at the head of southern states governors who will have felt not only the tang of the human but the glow of the divine.

Well, we have been given the ballot for more than 50 years, and many of us appear to have forgotten the price we paid for the right to vote, a right many seek to suppress or eliminate. So, yes, let’s deal with Monkeypox, COVID, hate crimes, and everything else they are throwing at us today, but above all, let’s get registered and prepare to VOTE. ❏ ❏ ❏