Mount Enon Missionary Baptist Church 1501 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way Dayton, OH 45402 Pastor Cory J. Pruitt Website www.mtenonbaptistlive.org Sunday School – 8:30 A.M. Sunday Morning Worship – 10:00 A.M. Mount Enon Youth Church – 9:30 A.M. Daily Prayer Line – 7:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. (Dial 937-265-4344 – Ext. 101, Enter Code 502801253#) Listen to Mount Enon Every Sunday 12-12:30 PM on WGNZ – Soul of Dayton – 98.7 Watch Dayton Spiritual TV, Digital Channel 992 Tuesdays at 3:30 PM and Saturdays at 6:30 AM Weekly Prayer Meeting Wednesday at 9:30 AM and 5:45 PM Weekly Bible Study Wednesday – 11 AM and 6:30 PM MT ENON MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH | THE VOICE 2.0
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Saturday – 11 AM MT. ENON’S VISION STATEMENT
MOTTO Our motto is "Because We Care, We Share". We share our love, resources, and faith with all. We are a Christian family and invite all to become children of God in the fullest way by receiving the teachings and gift of salvation. MISSION Our Mission is to maintain the general design of the Church as outlined in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. To extol and magnify Christ and His teachings: To promote the spiritual and moral welfare of its members. To advance the Christian faith and religion: To enforce good order: To aid the needy and suffering within the sphere of its influence both within the congregation and
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The vision of Mount Enon Missionary Baptist Church is to: EXALT the Lord through worship, EVANGELIZE the Lost through relationships, EDIFY, EDUCATE and EMPOWER the Laity through discipleship and to ENCOURAGE the Laborers through fellowship. Because we are a striving congregation in Dayton, Ohio, which has been called and commissioned to become a group of believers in whom the Lord will be well pleased by developing each member as true disciples of Jesus Christ: We will LOVE the Lord according to Deuteronomy 30:1516 We will LEARN the Word according to Deuteronomy 17:18-20 We will LIVE the Word according to Joshua 1:8 and We will LEAD the World through the Word according to Acts 1:8 We are challenged today, to get involved, and take responsibility, and we must understand that we are ambassadors of Christ and of Mt. Enon Missionary Baptist Church. We decree and order that all Mt. Enon Missionary Baptist Church would experience a greater move of God in their lives because they submit to live by God’s biblical order to win Lives to Christ. “God can do anything; you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” (Ephesians 3:20) Pastor Cory Pruitt
MT ENON MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH | THE VOICE 2.0
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THE VOICE 2.0
Contents
Volume I, Issue 4 February 2019
From the Editor
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Scriptures of Love
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Youth Voice- Johnnie Freeman 6 Voice – Lois Foy Community Voice
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Editors-in-Chief – Pastor Cory J. Pruitt – Andrea Foy Managing Editor – Lois Foy Contributors –
Member Voice – Andrea Foy 11
❖ Sis. Andrea Foy
Fun and Games
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❖ Sis. Lois Foy
Calendar Days
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❖ Sis. Glennia Gilyot ❖ Bro. Johnnie Freeman
The Mt. Enon Magazine is produced monthly.
Pastor Pruitt, “Our Shephard” MT ENON MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH | THE VOICE 2.0
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FROM THE EDITOR
Materials for inclusion are due on the 15th of each month and are subject to approval by the Editorial Board. Not all submissions are guaranteed to be included.
Publishing Schedule Next Deadline Feb 15th,
Uploaded Online – Mar, 1st
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Youth Voice
Boy Scouts Scouting is a family affair at Mt Enon
By: Johnnie Freeman There’s been a lot of discussion about the BSA changing their name and offering girls/young women the opportunity to join. The Boy Scouts of American is becoming “Scouts BSA” in February 2019 to reflect the decision to allow young women to become Scouts. The Cub Scouts program opened its door last year to girls; however, it was not the first opportunity girls were allowed in scouting. An outdoor adventure program called Venturing – were already open to girls in 1998. This now allows girls to attain the highest rank in the BSA of Eagle Scout. We want to assure the congregation that Mt Enon’s Scout leaders are not requesting girls to join. Mt Enon already has a well-established Girl Scouts program. If you want your son to experience the scouting program, we offer strong values and character from Cub Scouts’ Lion (Kindergarten) through Boy Scouts. The Scouting program at Mt Enon wants to thank everyone for their support as we sold all of our popcorn last year. We want you all involved in our activities, so we have listed some below: • The Cub Scouts are getting cars ready for Pine-Wood Derby Race Saturday, February 2nd. • Sunday, February 10th we will have our Scouting Sunday • Monday, February 25th at 5:00pm we will have our 1st Blue and Gold Banquet. Please let us know if you’re interested in attending. All Scout BSA programs occur on every 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 6:00pm-7:00pm (unless moved/canceled due to Holiday/increment weather).
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Pack 75 Scouts and family having fun at Christmas party playing “Prize Ball.”
Pack 75 attending a Harlem Globetrotters game (December 31, 2018) L to R (back) Latisha Porter, Catherine Head, Johnnie Freeman, L to R (front) Robert Hurt, Deshawn Tucker, Rayvon Liddell, Daniel Hill
❖ Find out more about the Scouts, follow and support them by liking their Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/SCOUTS75/ Keith Johnson, MD 75Scoutmaster@gmail.com
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Voices Historical Perspective – How Christians And the Blues People Learned to Cope with Racism In Bearden, Arkansas By James H. Cone James Cone describes the origin and development of his theological perspective of religion growing up in Bearden, Arkansas. Cone remembers Bearden because it is the community where he first discovered himself as black and Christian, living through the era of Jim Crow (ix). Cone stated, “I attended segregated schools, drank water from “colored” fountains, saw movies from balconies, and when absolutely necessary greeted white adults at the back doors of their homes.” The Christian part of my identity was shaped primarily at Macedonia A.M. E. Church. Every Sunday and sometimes on weeknights I encountered Jesus through rousing sermons, fervent prayers, spirited gospel songs, and the passionate testimonies of the people. Jesus was the dominant reality at Macedonia and in black life in Bearden. The people walked with him and told him about their troubles as if he were a trusted friend who understood their trials and tribulations in this unfriendly world. They called Jesus “the Lily of the Valley and the Bright and Morning Star, “the Rose of Sharon and the Lord of Life, a “very present help in the time of trouble.” “Church people often shouted and danced, clapped their hands and stamped their feet as they bore witness to the power of Jesus’ Spirit in their midst. Building them up where they were torn down and propping them up on every leaning side.” Jesus became a significant presence in my life. At home, church, and school, at play and at work, Jesus was always there, giving it meaning and purpose and bestowing hope and faith in the ultimate justice of things. Jesus was that reality who empowered black people to know that they were not the worthless human beings that white people said they were. Not all people in Bearden were Christians. The bluespeople in Bearden drank corn whiskey and boogied slowly and sensually to the deep guttural sound of the raunchy music at the jook joints every Friday and Saturday night. The sounds of Bessie Smith, Muddy Walters, and Howling’ Wolf took center stage as they belted out the lowdown dirty blues in songs like “I Used to Be your Sweet Mama, and Hoochie Coochie Man, and Somebody in my Home.” Unlike the church people, the bluespeople found the Sunday religion of Jesus inadequate for coping with their personal problems and the social contradictions they experienced during the week. As church people soothed their souls with the song “Lord, I want to Be a Christian in My Heart,” the people at the honky-tonk transcended their agony by facing it with stoic defiance or as James Baldwin called it, “ironic tenancy, I got the blues, but I’m too dammed mean to cry. ” Sometimes sharp tensions emerged between the celebrants of Saturday night and those of Sunday morning. But each group respected the other, because both knew that they were seeking, each in its own way to cope with the same troubles of life.
Lois E. Foy, Historian, and Educator.
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2019 - WHY WE CAN’T WAIT, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it is demanded by the oppressed.” - Dr. Martin Luther King In his letter from the Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963, as Dr. Martin Luther King led the struggle for CiviI Right; he argued: “Why We can’t Wait.” In 2016, We are experiencing racial division and hate speech coming from the highest political offices, in the land including the White House. Is his question and arguments he made in 1963 still relevant today? We have just witnessed the longest Government Shutdown in history which left millions with no income, and many who were forced to show up to work and receive no pay. Earlier this spring and summer, we witnessed hundreds of children separated from parents at the American Border in Texas, and the sound of infant children crying for their mothers, and anguished confused teenagers peering through fences waiting for parents or word of where their families were and when or if they would be united. A Jewish Synagogue was attacked earlier this spring killing several innocent victims. Voting rights are still a challenge in some African American communities today. Are we again facing the question “Why We Can’t Wait”! In 1963, Dr. King debated with Presidents and politicians about the unfair and unequal status of African Americans. He stated that it may be because he does not feel that we should be expected to be grateful for the halting and inadequate attempts of this society to catch up with the basis right we ought to have inherited automatically centuries ago. Another argument Dr. Martin Luther King addressed in 1963, was the concept of “Not Enough!” In 2019 It may be that after all of the gains we have experienced, electing the first African American President in 2008, regaining congress in 2018, we are still faced with the president wanting to build a wall separating people of color and preventing them from legally coming into our country. Is it fair to find ourselves still arguing “Not Enough”! President Kennedy stated on June 11th, 1963,” “We are confronting primarily with a moral issue, it is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are afforded equal rights and equal opportunities…. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.” As we experience this Black History Month 2019 and face the division and anger generated from our leaders, we must remember; It was the people who moved their leaders, not the leaders who moved the people. Dr. Martin Luther King. Lois E. Foy, Managing Editor of the Voice 2.0
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Community Voice
(photo courtesy of http://www.i-riderta.org)
The Mt Enon Missionary Baptist Church has partnered with The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, formerly known as the Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of Dayton to bring more transportation opportunities to the Dayton
community through Project Mobility. As a “safety-net” and for eligible riders who have a disability that prevents them from making some or all of their trips on fixed route buses, the RTA offers a shared-ride, door to door (origin-to-destination) service called Project Mobility. Project Mobility service operates in the same areas and during the same days and hours as the fixed route bus. (iriderta.org.) Pastor Cory J. Pruitt announced the partnership to the congregation in December. The church will receive a new vehicle sometime in the summer of 2019. While many entities apply each year to partner with RTA and most of those other partnerships, include rehab centers, healthcare centers, etc. Mt Enon was the only church in Dayton to receive this opportunity for 2018. Former Dayton City Commissioner, Idotha Bootsie Neal, who is a member of Mt Enon, is spearheading the mission says, “This give us thousands of opportunities to be a part of a team that is changing lives, 1 ride at a time.” Stay tuned to THE VOICE 2.0 for more information as we prepare for a new opportunity to serve the Dayton community! Andrea Foy Editor
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Member Voice
Bobbie ‘Nell Brookshire’ Gordon Mount Enon member performed with Duke Ellington. Dayton Daily News coverage of Jazz Bobbie Nell Brookshire Gordon Bobbie Nell Brookshire Gordon, a Dayton native who toured the world in the early 1970s with Duke Ellington, died Saturday in Washington, D.C. She was 64. Mrs. Gordon featured as "Nell Brookshire" with Ellington on the cover of the Sept. 16, 1971, Jet magazine, said in the article that before landing jobs as a singer, she attempted to keep her marriage alive by working as an elevator operator, salesgirl and "several other honest occupations." She and her husband, who she later divorced, had four children. Locally, Mrs. Gordon was discovered in 1961 at the Owl's Club, a bar on West Fifth Street where black musicians gathered to sing and jam. "She was a real beauty," Leroy Rodgers of Dayton, now 72, said. Rodgers and others who knew Mrs. Gordon are quoted in a recently released book, The Betty Greenwood Story, by Susie McLaughlin. Rodgers introduced Mrs. Gordon to Greenwood, a pianist, and organist who had a reputation for showcasing talent at her Salem Avenue supper club called the Cascades. A local newspaper described Mrs. Gordon, who attended Roosevelt High School, as "the Brown Bombshell." Mrs. Gordon recalled for the book her first meeting with Greenwood. "It was 1961, and I had only one nice dress," she said. "It was black, and I put it on with black silk stockings, high heels, and red lipstick." The nightclub was packed. "There was nothing but white faces in the room, except for Leroy, Eddie Herring, and me." Rodgers said something to Greenwood, "and the next thing I knew, I was on the stage," Mrs. Gordon said in the book. "Although my lifetime of singing in church had prepared me for audiences, I felt that I needed God's help at that moment."
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Greenwood asked her what she wanted to sing, and Mrs. Gordon said, Bye, Bye Blackbird. She was hired as a singer and waitress, Rodgers said. "She was a very, very talented, beautiful girl," Greenwood said. "She had such an outgoing personality. Everybody loved her." Ellington heard about her and wanted her to sign a contract. "She had a contract with me, but I said, if it meant you touring with Duke Ellington, I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that." She toured from 1970 to 1974 with Ellington. A newly released DVD of a 1971 performance, Live at Tivoli Gardens, includes Mrs. Gordon singing Love You Madly and One More Time. Mrs. Gordon was honored in Dayton, along with saxophone player Norris Turney, during the 1999 Women in Jazz Festival. Etue said Mrs. Gordon asked her to help raise her children. She had her first when she was 14. "I had known her since she started at the Cascades when she was in her early 20s. I thought she had a future and I was willing to try to help her with that. I was secretary, travel agent, keeper of the kids, whatever she needed to get her on the road and keep her on the road." Etue said her friend named her children in order of the alphabet: Angela, Barron, Crystal, Darryl, and Ellington. The last child, who is 28, was named for the legendary musician and band leader. "She really was a very loving mother and a very devoted friend," Etue said. Mrs. Gordon's eldest son, Barron, lives in Dayton; while Angela, Crystal, and Darryl live in the Maryland area. Ellington lives in Florida. Etue said services for Mrs. Gordon, which will be in Dayton, are pending. Etue said it was Duke Ellington who decided to call her Bobbie Nell Brookshire, which was her maiden name. "He thought it sounded elite," Etue said. "They were touring in Russia, and he decided to call her that. And the way he said it was absolutely fantastic." -Cathy Mong It used to be fun to sit in Betty Greenwood's Cascades most any night of the week (except Sunday) and listen to the music. But it was especially enjoyable when Bobbie Gordon was up there singing and, many times, doing a little dancing. As a performer, she was good with a capital G. Last Saturday in Washington D.C., after a lengthy illness, Gordon died. Her voice is stilled; her smile is gone. The pleasure that was Bobbie Gordon is gone. Her official name at that time was Nell Brookshire, and she was a cousin to one of the area's outstanding bass players, Eddie Brookshire. 12
She was formerly married to Johnny Gordon, but the couple divorced. Gordon first started at Betty Greenwood's Cascades in 1961. She was there for nine years and built up a terrific following. She performed with an exceptional group of musicians, led by singers Nancy Raffel Hillard, Eddie Herring, LeRoy Rodgers and, from time to time, Big Red. On the keyboards were performers such as Greenwood herself, Huey Hughes from WHIO, Johnny Spicer and Cawood Greene, better known as Woody, who was with Greenwood for seven years. Meanwhile, one of the world's top jazzmen, Duke Ellington, heard of Gordon. He hired her to join his band as a singer. Gordon often told how in the three years she toured the country and the world with the Ellington band; she would massage Ellington's hands and feet, especially after long jazz sessions. She said `The Duke' would enjoy hearing the stories she told. Eventually, Gordon returned to Dayton, where she became busy in her church, the Mount Enon Baptist Church, at 1501 W. Third St. She performed in three Women in Jazz Festivals, but the most notable was on June 27, 1999, when she was honored as a Daytonian who had been a member of the Ellington band. Also honored that day was the late Norris Turney, a saxophone player. Greenwood interviewed Gordon for her autobiography, The Betty Greenwood Story, written by Susie McLaughlin, and Gordon was invited to the book-release party on Dec. 8. Unfortunately, illness stopped her from making the trip from Washington. But she had one chance to join the Greenwood group during its engagements at the Trolley Stop, her only gig at the Oregon District. Gordon had five children. `She was a loving mother and a devoted friend,' said Doris Etue, who now lives in Florida. When Gordon was on the road, Etue was a secretary, travel agent and a keeper of the kids. The eldest son, Baron, lives in Dayton. Angela, Crystal, and Darryl are in the Maryland area. The youngest of the five, Ellington, named for the legendary musician and band leader, lives in Florida. If you would like to hear Gordon sing again, Gem City Records, 318 E. Fifth St., has a recently released DVD of a 1971 record of her featured with the Ellington band, Live at Tivoli Garden. Maybe you can sit and reminisce about her old days at the Cascades. It's a part of Dayton's music history that is getting harder to remember. Contact Jim Nichols at 225-2333 or by e-mail at jnichols@DaytonDailyNews.com. COPYRIGHT 2007 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest LLC. 13
Fun and Games
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Daily Bizarre and Unique Calendar Holidays - February 2019 Month: • • • • • • • • • •
American Heart Month An Affair to Remember Month Black History Month Canned Food Month Creative Romance Month Great American Pie Month National Cherry Month National Children’s Dental Health Month National Grapefruit Month National Weddings Month
Weekly Celebrations:
4 Stuffed Mushroom Day
3rd Week International Flirting Week
4 Thank a Mailman Day
February 2019 Daily Holidays, Special and Wacky Days:
5 Chinese New Years - date varies 5 National Weatherman's Day
1 Bubble Gum Day - first Friday of the month 6 Lame Duck Day 1 National Freedom Day 6 National Chopsticks Day 1. No Politics Day 7 Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day 2 Candlemas 2 Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day - first Saturday of month
7 Send a Card to a Friend Day - obviously created by a card company
2 Ground Hog Day
8 Boy Scout Day - celebrates the birthday of scouting
3 Feed the Birds Day
8 Kite Flying Day - in the middle of winter!?!
3 Superbowl Sunday - Superbowl 53, date varies
9 National Pizza Day
3 The Day the Music Died - Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in 1959.
9 Toothache Day 10 Umbrella Day
4 Create a Vacuum Day 15
11 Clean out Your Computer Day - second Monday of Month
20 Cherry Pie Day 20 Hoodie Hoo Day
11 Don't Cry over Spilled Milk Day 20 Love Your Pet Day 11 Make a Friend Day 21 Card Reading Day 11 National Inventors Day 22 George Washington's Birthday 11 White T-Shirt Day 22 Be Humble Day 12 Abraham Lincoln's Birthday 22 International World Thinking Day 12 National Lost Penny Day 22 National Margarita Day 12 Plum Pudding Day 22 Walking the Dog Day 13 Get a Different Name Day 23 International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day 14 Ferris Wheel Day 23 Open That Bottle Night - last Saturday of month 14 National Organ Donor Day 23 Tennis Day 14 Valentine's Day 24 National Tortilla Chip Day 15 Candlemas - on the Julian Calendar 24 Oscar Night - date varies 15 National Gum Drop Day 25 Pistol Patent Day 15 Singles Awareness Day 25 Winter Olympics end, Closing Ceremony 15 Susan B Anthony Day 26 Carnival Day 16 Do a Grouch a Favor Day 26 National Pistachio Day - it's a nutty day! 17 Random Acts of Kindness Day 26 Tell a Fairy Tale Day 18 National Battery Day 27 Polar Bear Day 18 National Drink Wine Day 27 No Brainer Day - this day is for me! 18 President's Day - third Monday of month 28 Floral Design Day 19 National Chocolate Mint Day 28 Public Sleeping Day 16
1501 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way Dayton, OH 45402 Website www.mtenonbaptist.org 937-222-0867 Pastor Cory J. Pruitt
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