The Christian Index - July 2021

The Christian Index The Official Organ of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church • July 2021

Votercade participants in Atlanta, Georgia, lift banner expressing complaint - p28

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX

The Official Publication Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Copyright © 2021 Offices are Housed in The International Headquarters Memphis, Tennessee Contact the Editor at (901) 515-6510 E-mail: ChristianIndex@thecmechurch.org 1700 Whisperwood Street, Albany GA 31721 Contact Circulations/Subscriptions Office at (901) 396-5400 EDITOR

Dr. Ore L. Spragin, Jr. PUBLISHER Dr. Roderick D. Lewis, Sr. EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman Bishop Sylvester Williams, Sr. PUBLISHING BOARD Chairman Bishop Henry Williamson, Sr.

THE CHRISTIAN INDEX (0744-4060; USPS 0108320) is published monthly by The CME Publishing House.

Periodicals Postage is paid at Memphis, Tennessee, and at additional entry offices. Postal records are maintained at: The CME Department of Publications, Dr. Roderick D. Lewis, Sr. General Secretary, 4466 Elvis Presley Blvd., Suite 153, Memphis, Tennessee 38116. POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to The CME Publishing House, P. O. Box 16035, Memphis, TN 38186. THE SUBSCRIPTION RATE IS $30 for one year.

Subscriptions should be sent to Office of the Publisher: The Christian Index, P. O. Box 16035, Memphis, TN 38186. The Publisher’s telephone number is (901) 396-5400. ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION should be sent to Dr. Ore L. Spragin, Jr., Editor, THE CHRISTIAN INDEX, 1700 Whisperwood Street, Albany, GA 31721 or to: ChristianIndex@thecmechurch.org.

The Editor's office number is (901) 515-6510. COST FOR REPRODUCTION OF PICTURES is $20 per photo; payment (to Department of Publications) must accompany mailed article, and pictures will not be returned. Members and friends of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church are encouraged to submit articles for possible publication in THE CHRISTIAN INDEX, the Official Publication of the CME Church.

No compensation is made for articles published and no articles will be considered that have been submitted simultaneously to another publication or published by any other publication. Articles submitted will not be returned. Articles submitted and printed will become the property of THE CHRISTIAN INDEX with all rights assigned to the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. THE CHRISTIAN INDEX was established in 1867 and has been in continuous publication since. It is the Official Organ of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, a member magazine of the Associated Church Press, and a subscriber to Religion News Service. Views expressed by the editor and/or other writers are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

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Inside The Christian Index "Getting Back to Basics As We Envision Our Way Forward in Taking Care of God's Business"

Volume 154, Number 7

July 2021

Connectional Interests Episcopacy

A Mighty Stream 5

Dept. of Finance and Investments 6

Board of Personnel Services 9

Dept. of Evangelism and Missions 10

Dept. of Christian Education and Formation 11

Department of Lay Ministry 12

Ministers' Spouses, Widows/Widowers 16

CME-Affiliated Schools

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CME Calendar of Events 19 Submissions

Coming Back to Freedom 20

The Black Church and Disabilities 26

Philadelphia District Holds Conference 27

Making Good Trouble in Votercade 28

MPCO Places Third in Bowl 30

Dr. James "Eddie" Black Honored 30 Children/Youth

Youth Address Wage Disparity 31 Ecumenical News

The Pain of Racism 39 Obituaries - Joining the Great Cloud 40 Connectional Directory 43

Cover: Making Good Trouble Votercade in Atlanta, Georgia.

Photographs: Photos are by contributors to The Christian Index and Index staff.

Submitted to the Publisher: June 17, 2021

Editorial

Let Freedom Ring!

As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, the term "freedom" comes to mind.

July 4th celebrates the achievement of our nation's freedom from what was perceived as a tyrannical oversight of the United States by Great Britain. This freedom was won through military efforts and the loss of many lives. Yet since winning our freedom as a country, this country has not ceased to seek to deprive various sectors of its citizens civil rights the Rev. Dr. Ore L. Spragin, Jr., likes of which are similar in nature to those for which we sought our own independence Editor over 200 years ago.

For this cause Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington and toned in his "I Have a Dream" speech, "Let freedom ring!" He was calling for a freedom from the disenfranchisement and civil abuse of blacks and other minority groups by persons in the majority white political and social structure of this country. We still need that kind of freedom today.

But there is a fundamental freedom that undergirds all other freedoms. It is spiritual freedom: the spiritual freedom that is found ultimately and only through faith in and obedience to Jesus the Christ. This is not the religious freedom named in any Constitutional document; rather it is the relational freedom that comes naturally when one chooses the Christian faith (again, not religion). Jesus calls us to faith in himself and to the freedom that he alone can and does give when we respond to him with faith. What then is this freedom to which we have been called? In some ways it is beyond definition, and I will not try to give one here, but it certainly is not beyond description.

1. It is freedom from guilt over old sins to a state of joy in forgiveness and victory in overcoming sins.

It is the freedom to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us. It is freedom from sin the "can't help its" - as Presiding Elder J.Y. Trice was known to say - to a new, willing and developing "second-nature" obedience to the commands of Christ. (Hebrews 12:1) 2. It is freedom to live a more abundant, fulfilling, guided life instead of a life of emptiness and selfseeking-fulfillment. (John 10:10)(Mary's joy in learning contrasted with Martha's obligatory household duties, Luke 10:38-42) 3. It is freedom to spend time with God away from cares (Mary vs. Martha in Luke 10:38-42) or busyness (2nd Timothy 2:15). But it is not freedom from business. (Paul in Acts 18:1-4) 4. It is freedom from anxiety and freedom to trust God. (be anxious for nothing, Philippians 4:6; Psalm 23; the lilies of the field, Matthew 6:25-34) 5. It is freedom from fear and to have peace (be of good cheer, John 16:33; the many "fear nots" of scripture, including Matthew 10:28; and the peace that only Jesus can give, John 14:27) 6. It is freedom from the wages of sin which is death and freedom to receive the gift of eternal life in the face of sin (Romans 6:22-23) 7. It is freedom from selfishness and freedom to love. (1 John 3:17) 8. It is freedom from hiding because of what you have done and freedom to fellowship and sharing because of what he has done. (Genesis 3:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Acts1:8; 2:14;Romans 1:16)

Let freedom ring in the church, throughout the land, and in all the world. Not the freedom that comes from earthly governments but that which comes from the rule of our Lord and Savior, the King of kings on whose shoulders sit all the governments of the world. Let it ring in our hearts from this day forth and even for evermore.

As simple as it sounds, this is the freedom that will change our hearts, change our leaders, change our governments, change our lives, and change our world. Let freedom ring!

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Submissions

COMING BACK TO FREEDOM:

The Underground Railroad and the Historical Significance of Cincinnati Hosting the 40th General Conference for the CME Church Submitted by Reverend Darvin A. Adams I, Ph.D. Theology and Ethics Pastor of the Lane Tabernacle CME Church Hopkinsville, Kentucky Dean of the Evansville-Hopkinsville District of the Kentucky Region Conference Scholar in-Residence of the Second Episcopal District

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

An Introduction Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where there the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

Ever the awakening visionary of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas Sr. had one of his patented theological moments in the Spirit realm. During a zoom planning meeting with a select group of organizational leaders, Bishop Thomas prophetically reminded us of the historical significance of the city of Cincinnati and the Second Episcopal District hosting the 2022 General Conference of the CME Church. Thankfully, Bishop Thomas' historical reflections helped us all to wrap our 'second to none' minds around the fact that the 39Th Convening and the 40th General Conference was making its way to the Queen City of Cincinnati. Due to the fact that the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a southern-based church, most of our General Conferences are hosted in various cities throughout the southern hemisphere of the country. Even as the General Conference of the CME Church took place in Louisville, Kentucky in 1930, this will be the first time that this important Conference will convene on the geographical soil of the Second Episcopal District for the purposes of taking care of the Church's business and electing new Bishops. The Second Episcopal District is comprised of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and parts of Pennsylvania. Cultural critics and political pundits in the United States refer to the state of Ohio as the 'New South'.

The 2022 General Conference is not the CME Church's first interaction with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. In 2004, the then Presiding Prelate of the Second Episcopal District, the late Bishop E. Lynn Brown, called a press conference with the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Together, Bishop Brown and Reverend Shuttlesworth spoke out against the lack of Black developers in the National Underground Freedom Center project. In 2003, Bishop Brown was appointed by Mayor Charlie Luken to serve on the Electoral Reform Commission. The good majority of Bishop Brown's work with the ERC revolved around the growth and modernization of the National Underground Freedom Center. Bishop Brown was convinced that the Black folk in Cincinnati needed to be brought up to speed, information-wise, on the cultural significance of the

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Submissions National Underground Railroad and how the project would impact the city of Cincinnati in the present context.

Due to its location on the Ohio River, Cincinnati was a border town in a free state, across from Kentucky 1, which was a slave state. Residents of Cincinnati played a major role in abolitionism. Many fugitive slaves used the Ohio River at Cincinnati to escape to the North. Cincinnati had numerous stations on the Underground Railroad.

Given its Southern Ohio location, Cincinnati had also attracted settlers from the Upper South, who traveled along the Ohio River into the territory. There were also runaway slave catchers active in the city, who put escaped slaves at risk of recapture. During the late 1820s and early 1830s Anti-abolitionists attacked blacks in the city in a wave of destruction that resulted in 1,200 blacks leaving the city and the country; they resettled in Canada. 2 Cincinnati, being on the heartland plain, depended on trade with the slave states south of the Ohio River at a time when thousands of black people were settling in the free state of Ohio. Most of them came after the Civil War and were from Kentucky and Virginia, many of them being fugitives who sought freedom and work in the North. In the antebellum years, the majority of native-born whites in the city came from northern states, primarily Pennsylvania. Though 57 percent of whites migrated from free states, 26 percent were from southern states and they retained their cultural support from slavery. This quickly led to tensions between pro-slavery residents and those in favor of abolitionism and lifting restrictions on free people of color, as codified in the “Black Code” of 1804. 3 Many of the slave catchers could not comprehend how the slave routes to the various underground stations ran from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky...through the wagon-catching state of Ohio.

They thought that the majority of the routes were coming from Kentucky and running through Southern Ohio.

Concomitantly, most of those “freedom roads” either led into the city of Cincinnati or they led the slave out of the northern outskirts of the city. From the city of Cincinnati, many slave families found their way into various parts of Canada.

Located within the borders of Hamilton County, Cincinnati is a city that has “cultural kinships rooted throughout the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana tri-state and deeper into the states of Pennsylvania and Michigan. The first Methodist class [was established] in 1798, the city residents for years [having been] inspired by the Methodist circuit preachers; among Methodist institutes were the Christ Hospital as well as projects of the German Methodist Church.” 4 In a letter to Lewis Tappan in February 1837, James G. Birney, publisher of the abolitionist newspaper The Philanthropist, wrote that, “the Slaves are escaping in great numbers through Ohio to Canada...Such matters are almost uniformly managed by the colored people. I know nothing of them generally till they are past.” 5 In Cincinnati, there were three local black churches that provided a safe haven for those who were seeking freedom. These religious institutions were Allen Temple AME Church, Union Baptist Church and Zion Baptist Church. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church officially arrived in the city of Cincinnati with the establishment of the Metropolitan CME Church in 1919.

1

2 3 4 5

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is considered a Jim Crow state. Jim Crow laws existed in Kentucky from 1866 to 1960. Of the 41 total laws that were passed under the rule of Jim Crow in Kentucky, 11 of them focused on the education of school-aged children. The main idea behind the passing these educational laws in Kentucky was that the children of white and colored races committed to reform schools shall be kept separate from each other.

Carter G. Woodson and Charles Harris Wesley, The Negro in Our History (Washington, DC: Associated Publishers, 1922), 140.

Digitized from original document at the University of Michigan Library; Retrieved October 1, 2013.

Wikipedia: Cincinnati, Ohio Ibid.

Library.cincymuseum.org

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Submissions

The Black Church and People with Disabilities Submitted by Rev. Darrien Fann Patton Memorial CME Church Staff Cleveland, Ohio

Many of us have posted in the days following the airing of the PBS documentary, The Black Church, with Dr. Henry Louis Gates. However, I paused to reflect, which is why I am just now sharing my thoughts. Unlike several of the posts in the immediate week following the broadcast and continuing until now, I want to focus on an area of the black church that many of us overlook. We overlooked this issue not only in the black church but also in the church in general. I am speaking of the portion of the black church narrative that highlights the contributions of those individuals with disabilities in the black church, especially those individuals with disabilities who serve as clergy in the black church and in the African American context.

At the end of the second trimester, I was born into this world having cerebral palsy. During a surgical procedure at the age of three, I had a vision of a man dressed in white in an aura of light who I immediately recognized as Jesus, and who spoke to me the words of Isaiah 6:8 as a call to the preaching ministry. I was wheeled into recovery with my right hand raised above my head and singing the song Amazing Grace. July 9, 2021, will mark my 24th year in this gospel ministry.

Though I have served on occasion as a pastor, my overall purpose in ministry is to serve as an inspiration to all people but especially to those with disabilities.

As such, I speak to or identify with a marginalized [subset] within the larger marginalized group [known as] the black church.

On November 23, 2007, at the age of 11, I received my local preachers license at the hands of then Presiding Elder Grover Mitchell. This was just a few months shy of my twelfth birthday. Local Deacons Orders were granted July 31, 2009, by the late Bishop E. Lynn Brown and Local Elders Orders on July 31, 2014, at the age of 19, by Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas, current bishop of the Second Episcopal District. I am not yet in Full Connection. Not disparaging any of these achievements, I stand not on 26

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the merit of my ministry or my ordination but on the merits of my call by Jesus and of my obedience to that call.

My public ministry has been received with mixed results: by some with enthusiasm; by others, with hesitation. A lot of times people are afraid of what they know little about. In some ways I feel I have had to prove myself. I have never missed a session of any of the annual, district, or quarterly conferences, and I have shown this dedication from the time I was first licensed, when some doubted whether a teenager such as I could be sincere to the call. I do feel I have been held back somewhat because of my disability but let me quickly ask that you not misunderstand what I am saying here. I am very thankful for the opportunities that have been provided and afforded me to become a model to the world and other denominations in how the church can administer a person as a pastor who has a disability. But in the CME Church, as in other mainline denominations, the presence of persons with disabilities in ministry is glaringly absent.

The question needs to be raised and answered, “What should our clergy look like?” The societal norm sees us more as a liability than an asset because no one is really dealing with the question of what any given church needs to provide so that this person may be able to serve as a pastor, whether it be equipment, or a helper or co-pastor. The question of adaptive liturgy must also be addressed. What adaptations need to be allowed for persons who are limited in mobility or other function? Remember, people with disabilities do not all have the same level of disability or mental capacity though they may have the same appearance of disability. This is why I use the term “disability” rather

Submissions than “physically challenged.” I am in a wheelchair, but my disability only targets one end of the spectrum. It does not cover other disabilities such as blindness, deafness, ALS, etc. Everybody brings something to the ministry; the church’s responsibility is to uncover and to use those gifts.

The black church is my story. The black church has empowered me to hold my head up and to be able to face society for the better and not to hold my head down.

You use my voice in spite of my disability and societal norms. You help me to hold my head up and to make a difference. The black church has not only shaped my perspective about my disability, but it has also shaped my overall view of life in general. The pulpit of the black church has allowed me and afforded me the opportunity to sound the trumpet for the salvation of men and women everywhere so that they may be spiritually holy and socially conscious. Through the pulpit of the black church, I bring consciousness to disability awareness. I am here,

I am present, I am not going anywhere. When people see me, it makes people think, just as it does when I open my mouth and preach the inspired word of God. I want people to not pay attention to my physical condition.

That won’t save them. But paying attention to the words coming out of my mouth WILL.

The failure to highlight disabled African American clergy in any subsequent study through any media format, not only does the black church a disservice but also the entire Christian church because there is no cookie-cutter form or format for the ministry. Philippians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, and I add, and the ability to do greater things for the kingdom of God.

I am the Reverend Darrien Fann. I use, rather than lean on, my disability to bring salvation to others.

I am unapologetically black, and unapologetically Christian. And I am a product of the black church.

Philadelphia District Holds District Conference Sumitted by Bruce Benson Philadelphia District Lay Leader

The Philadelphia District held its District Conference, April 9-10, 2021, with the Rev. Kevin Agee presiding.

Our opening night, Friday, April 9, 2021, commenced with a spiritual communion service with Rev. Queen Dickey serving as our inspirational Worship Leader. Rev. David Wynn led us to the throne of grace followed by the written word (Acts 20:7-12) read by Rev. Aaron Donnelly. After the hymn of preparation, Rev. George Dix, Pastor of Calvary CME Church, Jersey City, New Jersey, preached from the topic, “Awaken Before We Die.” What an inspirational message given by Rev. Dix. Presiding Elder Agee was the Chief Celebrant for the communion service followed by the benediction given by Rev. William Irons.

On Saturday, April 10, 2021, the session opened with devotion led by Rev. Joseph Fairley, followed by Rev. Kevin Agee, Presiding Elder, who gave the welcome and greetings. The business session included receiving the pastoral and organizational (ministries) reports. The Missionary Society, represented by Sis. Paulette O’Neil, solicited the support of the district for the annual missionary march to be held during the annual conference and for the Bread for the World campaign. We were honored to have Sis. Sandra Chambers, President of the New York-Washington Region Missionary Society and Sis. Nellie B. King, Treasurer of the Women’s Missionary Council of the CME Church in our presence. Both sisters gave greetings representing their respective offices. Rev. John Dillard and Sis. G. Bernice Richardson presented, “Preparation for the General Conference” and shared the processes and procedures for submitting resolutions to the General Conference. This information was especially important and enlightening even for those not attending the General Conference.

Rev. Dale Dennis, Rev. Johnathan Dickey, and Rev. Dr. Tiggs Washington presented, “Technology in the Pandemic and Beyond.” These presenters shared the future survival of the church through technology. Go and preach throughout the world; well, through technology we can reach areas never touched. Through technology outreach has lifted the word to places such as Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and the State of Texas. Rev. Donnelly shared with us the good news from the White House. St. Paul was on the list of places to be visited by President Biden. Although schedules changed, St. Paul was still blessed with an announcement of funding for a building for their Food Bank Ministry!!!

At the conclusion of the District Conference, it is believed that the attendees left with a new sense of service to our church community. After the announcements and closing remarks by Presiding Elder Agee, Rev. Marshall Jenifer gave the benediction and closing prayer.

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