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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The Christian Index • July 2021

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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Mission Statement of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church The mission of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is to be disciples of Jesus the Christ by serving individuals, communities and the world as the representative, loving presence of God and as witnesses to God’s salvation and grace.

Vision Statement of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church The vision of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is to be a transforming church for Jesus the Christ within a changing world.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Unity Summit 2020 Rescheduled In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Unity Summit, scheduled to be held in Dallas, Texas, August 31-Sept. 4, 2020, has been rescheduled for the year 2021. The official dates for the Unity Summit 2021, which will convene in Dallas Texas, are August 28 - September 3, 2021 (inclusive of the Connectional Lay Institute).

Bishop Sylvester Williams, Sr., General Chair, Unity Summit Bishop Lawrence Reddick, Senior Bishop June 2, 2020 CORRECTION ON UNITY SUMMIT 2021 OPENING DATE: Please note that the “opening date” of the 2021 Unity Summit will be Saturday, August 28th, which is the first day of the Connectional Lay Institute.

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The Christian Index • July 2021

Connectional Interests

Episcopacy

From: NEWSletter, EquaSion, Cincinnati, June 2021

Thomas and Zola leading EquaSion's A Mighty Stream program for Racial Justice Submitted by Bishop Marvin Thomas

Bishop Marvin F. Thomas, Sr.

Rabbi Gary P. Zola, Ph.D.

Bishop Marvin F. Thomas, Sr., Presiding Bishop, Second Episcopal District of the CME Church and Rabbi Gary P. Zola, Ph.D., Executive Director, the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion are co-chairing EquaSion's newest program. The program, titled A Mighty Stream: An Interfaith Community of Sacred Activists for Racial Justice, is an effort to mobilize Cincinnati's diverse communities of faith into a moral force that will take action, individually and collectively, privately and publicly, spiritually and materially, to advance the cause of racial justice through sacred activism, including education, dialogue, community-building and advocacy for policies and legislation which remediate systemic racial inequities. The program has just completed its planning phase.

For the past six months more than two dozen area faith leaders of diverse traditions have been meeting to plan A Mighty Stream. The foundation of this unprecedented program is a set of five resolutions or pledges to address racial injustice in our spheres of influence that all "AMS" Participants must embrace.

AMS launched its community education programming this past March by sponsoring two webinar series: one devoted to promoting public awareness of the racial inequities in our various quality-of-life systems (e.g., criminal legal system and healthcare systems); the other featuring faith leaders of our diverse traditions examining race, racism and racial justice from their spiritual perspective. Just recently, AMS issued the first of its "Sacred Activism Alerts" urging its "Participants" to consider involving their members and parishioners in taking an advocacy position on a public policy matter.

Rabbi Zola and Bishop Thomas have been leading the AMS organizing efforts and going forward will preside over its Advisory Board whose members include community leaders Jan Armstrong Cobb, Rev. Dr. John Ivey, James Buchanan Ph.D., Aasees Kaur, Rev. Melanie Slane, Geneva Blackmer, Tammy Bennett, Andrew Musgrave, Samina Sohail M.D., and Rev. Lynn Felts.

In just its internal planning phase, AMS has already attracted the commitments of 28 faith-based entities, among them our community's leading denominational bodies, individual congregations, interfaith groups, and faith-based nonprofits, all together representing 8 world religions and 10 Christian denominations. EquaSion will invite all members of Cincinnati's interfaith community to participate in AMS starting in July.

To learn more about EquaSion and A Mighty Stream, in particular, visit: https://www.equasion.org/a-mightystream-an-interfaith-initiative-for-racial-justice/.

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Connectional Interests

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The Christian Index • July 2021

Department of Finance and Investments

Connectional Interests

Department of Finance and Investments

How to Submit Material to The Christian Index

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Articles and pictures may be sent via email to the Editor at: ChristianIndex@thecmechurch.org .

Format for text may be either MSWord or PDF. Format for pictures may be JPEG, BMP, TIFF, or PNG. Typed submissions are much easier to process than handwritten manuscripts.

There is no charge for submissions that DO NOT contain pictures. There IS a charge for pictures.

Payments for pictures ($20.00 per picture) should be sent at the same time as submissions. If you are sending the article by email, a PayPal invoice will be sent to you by the Editor.

Mailed payments should be made payable to "Department of Publications" and sent to the Editor at: 1700 Whisperwood Street, Albany GA 31721.

Payments will be submitted to the Department of Publications by the Editor.

Please do not submit dated material that is more than three months old. The Editor is making every attempt to keep the magazine filled with relevant information.

For questions or concerns regarding the content of The Christian Index, please contact the Editor.

For all other concerns, you should contact the Publisher.

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Connectional Interests

Department of Finance and Investments

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE & INVESTMENTS (DFI) – ‘Investing for Success’ During the past twenty years there has been enormous growth in access to investment markets as never before seen. There is a cell phone application to execute almost any transaction you would like to create.

This includes sending and receiving cash at home and/or abroad, as well as buying assets to build up your nest egg.

Bank savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money markets, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and the relatively new consideration, cryptocurrencies, are examples of investment opportunities.

However, first things first. How do you establish a plan to generate savings in the first place? Studies show most Americans struggle to come up with even a few hundred dollars in an emergency situation.

Your DFI is initiating partnerships with national vendors to help to remedy the issue of building savings and wealth.

Our plan is to create accessibility to financial planning for our members on an on-going basis in a manner that is sustainable, effective, personal, and transparent.

When you enroll in one of these programs you will have the option of directly interacting with a planner to organize your finances. The objective will be to identify funds you may have available and if not, create funds you can begin to save and subsequently invest for your success.

Further, it is our goal to anonymously measure the results achieved by this programming. We believe the opportunity is not a small one. In fact, 1,000 families each setting aside $100,000 total over 10 years’ time would result in some one hundred million dollars in wealth creation. If that sounds far-fetched, just think, that sum of money ($100,000) might pay for only two years enrollment at Howard University at that time.

Clearly, this is an age that demands this type of programming become reality.

The CME Church must advance in leadership in financial literacy. ****************************************** Journey on Entourage with the DFI this August 10 returning August 22 to the GREAT MOTHERLAND of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria & Ghana. Details to follow (passport/VISA required).

"If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection."

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The Christian Index • July 2021

--Stacey Capers

Connectional Interests

Board of Personnel Services

“From Where I Sit …”

It Bears Repeating …

12% Retirement Contributions are Reimbursed to “Retired” Supply Pastors It bears repeating that two years ago a CME Retirement Plan policy change had been announced in the May 2019 issue of the Christian Index. The previous policy did not permit retired ministers who continued to receive an appointment from also receiving the 12% retirement contribution paid by their church because their account with the Plan had been closed at retirement. The new policy now permits the retired pastor to receive these payments annually as they are being paid in.

This new policy was approved by the Board of Trustees of the CME Retirement Plan as a response to the increasing number of retired ministers being called back into pastoral service by their Bishops. The intent of the policy was to provide a “legal” and reportable means by which these pastors could receive and account for these contributions.

Over the past two years more and more of our retired pastors have taken advantage of this policy revision and are encouraging their congregations to report through the CME Retirement Plan the 12% of their salaries with the understanding that when it is refunded to them the following year, it has been property submitted, refunded, and reported.

And so, it bears repeating… “Because the law states that each church shall pay an amount equal to 12% and because the account of a retired pastor would have been closed at his/her retirement; effective in 2019, our Board will refund to any retired pastor the 12% contribution paid into the Plan for that pastor (less the 20% withheld for taxes).

Such a process permits applicable churches to continue the practice of paying 12% rather than having to start anew when an “active” pastor is assigned.

It also allows the pastor a more appropriate and legitimate means to receive the 12% intentionally set aside for the benefit of the pastor.”

The times in which we live, and the circumstances of our administrations have changed.

As such and, where practical, our policies will also continue to change as we seek to address our mission and our purpose for being. Or at least that’s the way it looks to me…

“From Where I Sit”

Tyrone T. Davis, D.Min, is the General Secretary of the Board of Personnel Services (Copies of earlier articles may be found on the Personnel Services Webpage of the CME Website at www.thecmechurch.org)

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Connectional Interests

Department of Evangelism and Missions

Getting Back to Basics as “We Envision Our Way Forward Taking Care of God’s Business” Can I Get a Witness?

We are preparing to reenter the foyers, naves, and pulpits. What is the expectation of the post-pandemic church? Over the last year, we have been tested and tried, but God has brought us through. Yes, we have some scars, and yes, we have unresolved issues lingering in our society, but we must become better, not bitter. How has the pandemic developed, challenged, and shifted us for the work of ministry to advance the Kingdom and the Body of Christ?

Can I get a witness? Have you considered the place where this question is normally asked?

Have you heard the pastor/preacher/proclaimer ask this question, “Can I get a witness?” It is usually during the sermonic discourse. The response from the congregation can be heard as saying amen, hallelujah, or even preach preacher. This may strengthen the sermonic exhortation, but it is not enough. The call and response must not be the full extent of our witnessing. This question, although relevant, needs to be revisited with more intentionality in the post pandemic church. Let me suggest a different question not in the sermonic disclosure, but in the life and witness of every blood washed believer of Jesus Christ. How can we become greater witnesses? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Consecrate your life to the Lord.

2. Pray for people.

3. Be assured that being saved is the only qualification needed.

4. Speak about experiences of Jesus Christ.

5. Practice speaking to people.

6. Tell people about Jesus in different ways.

How can we become greater witnesses? We must be vigilant witnesses of the Lord, being bold enough to declare the reign of God. Our voice is needed, our voice is necessary, and we cannot be silent in this season. How can we become greater witnesses? We must impact the communities with relevant mission projects both home and abroad. We can start with the personal question, “How can I become a greater witness for the Lord? In answering, we may find ourselves witnessing about the cares of the world, but how much more should we witness in the name of the Lord? Our witness is not perfect, and we are flawed beings, but made perfect in the Lord Jesus.

It might be possible that our failure to witness about Christ is a relationship issue. Do we romanticize our walk with Christ to help ourselves fit into certain circles, groups, or clicks? No, we must be willing to share our vulnerability, struggles, hurts, and pains to witness to those who we meet. Are we comfortable becoming an authentic witness to help all people see the need for salvation? Someone shared Jesus with you and because you know Jesus, you must then share Jesus with others.

We are The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church recognizing the importance of Christ in our daily lives.

Leon C. Moore, Jr. General Secretary of Evangelism and Mission Pleasant Hill CME, Conyers, GA 10

The Christian Index • July 2021

Connectional Interests

Department of Christian Education and Formation

Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Involves Prayer Rev. Carmichael D. Crutchfield, D.Min., Ph.D. General Secretary of the Department

Spiritual Formation and Discipleship involves prayer, planning and the support of the congregation. The deceased CME Pastor and my friend, Dr. Jerome McNeil, was instrumental in helping me to understand the importance of prayer. He encouraged me to look at church from a more spiritual point of view. He was not a Docetic, believing there is no connection with spirit and flesh or denying the full humanity of Jesus, but Dr. McNeil helped people to see how we sometimes allow our humanness to prevent us from seeing God work in our lives. This is why it is important for Christian Educators to develop strong prayer lives.

In addition to prayer, planning is needed and essential for Boards of Christian Education and Formation to make Spiritual Formation and Discipleship to happen. Finally, local Boards are challenged to help solicit support from the other members of the congregation. Experience has shown that a small percentage of people who attend worship on Sundays involve themselves in Christian education, especially bible study; therefore, the challenge is great.

I have seen how bible study transforms people into disciples. In doing so, people become more responsive in their giving, more inclined to do ministry and more loving of God and neighbor. Bible study gives people the information and motivation to practice spiritual disciplines. This insight has caused me to take some personal steps in my own spiritual journey and discipleship. These include taking a new look at issues of justice and looking to be more disciplined in life.

One of the challenges to being a disciple is balancing our lives. Sometimes we equate being busy with “church work” as being a disciple. Yes, we need time for prayer, worship, fasting, giving our tithes, participating in the sacraments and bible study, but we also need time for fellowship and fun with friends, giving service to the needs of the world and taking time to rest so that we can be refreshed and re-created.

Beyond this, disciple makers/leaders have to be particularly careful to spend time in prayer, to give more time to preparing to preach and lead worship, and to being more effective in listening. People tend to fill in our time for us. If we are not careful, we will get pulled into the notion that we must always be busy.

Listening through study is just as important to the disciple leader as it is to the one who serves on boards or committees in one’s community. It is important for all those being spiritually formed and/or involved in discipleship to listen to history, including that of the family, church, and the denomination. As we listen, we discover the richness of our heritage. We become stronger disciples as we are not only being formed in our walk with Christ, but in our walk with our brothers and sisters that we see and those we overlook. This helps us to become more disciplined in our spiritual lives and overflows to all areas of our lives. We can become better keepers of our bodies as we pay more attention to our diet and exercise routines. We become better users of our minds as we begin to read more frequently and engage in healthy conversations with our peers.

We begin to see people differently and recognize that all people are created in the image of God.

It has been through listening in all of these ways that I have found value in old traditions that may need re-traditioning. Study helps us appreciate our songs of the church, even hymns. I recall one of the most helpful bible studies that I participated in as a young adult was learning about the history and meaning of some of the hymns.

Spiritual Formation and Discipleship are at the heart of ministry of Christian education. These things require prayer, planning and the support of the congregation.

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Connectional Interests

Department of Lay Ministry

THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF LAY MINISTRY

Helping Hands Bulletin – July 2021 CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Dr. Clifford L. Harris, General Secretary

“Reaching, Teaching, and Ministering to All Generations, Equipping Them for Greater Works and Service for Him”

CREATING A SPIRIT OF RENEWAL AND BUILDING UNITY FOR ALL GENERATIONS: IT’S AN INSIDE JOB – Part II

In my June 2021 Helping Hands submission, Creating A Spirit Of Renewal and Building Unity For All Generations: It’s An Inside Job – Part I, I stated that, “If true renewal is to take place within an organization, large or small, renewal must take place on the inside of individuals!” (If you have not read Part I, please do). Remember that to renew is to recapture the essence of an organization’s life and identity, while expressing that life in a way that is relevant to the needs of its members and community today. Also remember, the focus should not be that our organizations have been wrong all these years and, therefore, need renewal, but that they must be revitalized or renewed, to be right for the era in which we now live and serve.

The article concluded with five (5) elements that should be included in the quest for renewal and unity: (1) Value personal renewal as the route to organizational renewal; (2) Value the individual and the organization simultaneously; (3) Simultaneously push for renewal while allowing self-learning to unfold and help create a culture of renewal for others and also invest in oneself; (4) Make detailed plans while preparing for a journey of uncertainty; (5) See challenges as opportunities for creative resolutions. (Find further explanation for these five (5) elements in the June 2021 Index).

So, what are the possible results of organizational renewal and building unity? In no particular order, here are five (5) possibilities: (1) Creating A Spirit Of Renewal and Building Unity For All Generations can serve as a conduit for individual and collective efforts in making a new commitment in helping lead others to Christ! If our actions are sincere and our motives are pure, it will show in what we say to those who do not have a relationship with Christ; (2) Creating A Spirit Of Renewal and Building Unity For All Generations can influence a new commitment to serving and carrying out ministry efforts by all members. . . Consistent and sincere efforts by both members and leaders can spawn a spirit of unity and togetherness; (3) Creating A Spirit Of Renewal and Building Unity For All Generations can lead to new and rekindled passion for the work of one’s ministry. There are times that the passion to serve and do the work suffers, and simply needs to be revitalized by a together we can attitude; (4) Creating A Spirit Of Renewal and Building Unity For All Generations can cause leaders to develop a sense of urgency about growing new leaders. . . When an entity is stagnant and not going anywhere, who wants to get on board or step up to the plate and lead? Generally, no one! But, if renewal efforts are effective, the emergence of new leaders will follow; (5) Last in this short list of possible results from organizational renewal and building unity is a new boldness in vision. We are all aware that the leader is to cast the vision, therefore, if the leader sees and can make plain the path of renewal and revitalization, the organization has a great chance for renewal and operating in a spirit of unity. So, in our efforts we must remember that what people are not up on (understand), they are subject to be down on!

Who Are We and What is our Purpose? - “We are the unordained people of God, furthering the mission of the church in the world” Dr. Clifford L. Harris - Email – mrcliffharris@yahoo.com - Telephone: 918.519.4233

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The Christian Index • July 2021

Connectional Interests

Department of Lay Ministry

GRAHAM-WEBB-KENNEDY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

APPLICATION YEAR 2021

DEPARTMENT OF LAY MINISTRY CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH “Reaching, Teaching, and Ministering to All Generations, Equipping Them for Greater Works and Service for Him”

APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC CRITERIA/REQUIRMENTS:     

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Be a member of a Local CME Church congregation.

BE A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WHO WILL GRADUATE DURING THE 2020-2021 ACADEMIC YEAR. Meet entrance requirements of the post-secondary institution of higher learning of which he/she plans to enroll.

Submit a typed 300-400 word essay entitled “Why Advanced Education Is Critical to My Future.”

Be enrolled or planning to enroll, as a freshman in a full-time program of study at an accredited institution of higher learning, vocational, or technical school for the 2020-2021 academic school year.

Submit three current reference letters, (other than relatives or students) one of which must be from the applicant’s current pastor (if the applicant is related to the pastor, an active officer of the local church must write the letter).

Submit your high school transcript inclusive of the first semester grades (or first two (2) trimesters if applicable) for the 2020-2021 school year. Important Note: Applicants who are chosen as winners must submit a final certified transcript bearing the school’s official seal.

Submit a complete Scholarship Application. (Fill in all blanks/lines or insert N/A if the question or requested information does not apply to you).

INTERESTED STUDENTS ARE URGED TO APPLY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. APPLICATIONS MUST BE POST MARKED BEFORE OR BY JULY 30, 2021.

IMPORTANT NOTE: EMAILED OR FAXED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Read and follow these instructions very carefully and use as your personal checklist in completing the application. FILL IN ALL BLANKS and IF A QUESTION OR BLANK IS “NOT APPLICABLE” STATE (N/A).  

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___ Please neatly print or type all information. ___ Include your high school transcript inclusive of the first semester grades (or first two (2) trimesters if applicable) for the 2020-2021 school year. Note: Applicants who are chosen as winners will be required to submit a final certified transcript with school seal. __ Provide three (3) current reference letters. Note: One of the three letters of reference must be from current pastor; if you are related to the pastor, an active officer of the local church must write the letter. ___ Neatly type or word-process your essay. ___ Be sure that your application is POST MARKED BEFORE OR BY JULY 30, 2021. ___ Make sure that your contact information (telephone number(s), street address, email) are current and correct. ___ Be sure that you have signed your application.

RETURN THE COMPLETED APPLICATION ALONG WITH OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS TO: MS. YVONNE PETERS, CHAIR GRAHAM-WEBB-KENNEDY SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE DEPARTMENT OF LAY MINISTRY 550 FALCON DR. FLORISSANT, MO 63031-2110

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Connectional Interests

Department of Lay Ministry

GRAHAM-WEBB-KENNEDY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

APPLICATION YEAR 2021

DEPARTMENT OF LAY MINISTRY CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH “Reaching, Teaching, and Ministering to All Generations, Equipping Them for Greater Works and Service for Him”

Please print or type, use black ink, and follow the directions listed at the bottom of Page 2 STUDENT INFORMATION

DATE ________________________

Name______________________________________________________________________________________ Permanent Address___________________________________________________________________________ City __________________________________________________State ______________Zip ________________ Date of Birth __________________________________ Home Telephone ( Cell Number (

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) ____________________________ Email address _____________________________________

Member of ___________________________________________________________ CME Church (Name of Church)

City _______________________________ State __________ Pastor’s Name _______________________________ Are you related to your Pastor? Yes ( ); No (

). If yes what is the relationship? ___________________________

Local Lay Leader’s Name ________________________________________ Episcopal District ______ Region_______________________ Bishop’s Name ______________________________ ACTIVITIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND AWARDS List and or/describe the activities and organizations you have actively participated in during the past three and one-half years. In addition, please include any awards that you have received. (Use an additional sheet if needed) A. School ________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ B.

Church _______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

C. Community ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ What educational program or college major do you plan to enroll in? ____________________________________ Expected completion date __________________________________________________ Name and location of institution you will be attending ________________________________________________

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The Christian Index • July 2021

Connectional Interests

Department of Lay Ministry

Are you presently employed? _______ Will you be employed while in school? ______ Number of persons residing in your household _________ Fill in the blanks to indicate the amount of financial assistance you will receive from other resources while in school. Please indicate whether annual or monthly by circling A for annual or M for monthly.

Amt. $ __________A / M Current Salary (if applicable) Amt. $__________ A / M Veterans Benefits Amt. $__________ A / M Social Security Benefits Amt. $__________ A / M Vocational Rehabilitation Amt. $__________ A / M Scholarships Amt. $__________ A / M Pell Grant Amt. $__________ A / M Loans Amt. $__________ A / M Other Grants Amt. $__________ A / M Other _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ I certify that all of the information on this application is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. If requested, I agree to provide proof of the information that I have provided on this form.

Applicant’s signature ____________________________________________ Date __________________________

(Absolutely Required)

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REMEMBER: (A) Provide three (3) current reference letters (other than relatives). Note: One of the three letters of reference must be from your current pastor; if you are related to the pastor, an active officer of the local church must write the letter; (B) Submit a neatly typed or word-processed 300-400 word essay entitled “Why Advanced Education Is Critical to My Future”; (C) Be sure that your application is post marked before or BY JULY 30, 2021; (D) Make sure that your contact information (telephone number(s), street address, email) are current and correct; (E) Be sure that you have signed your application; (E) Submit your high school transcript inclusive of the first semester grades (or first two (2) trimesters if applicable) for the 2020-2021 school year. Important Note: Applicants who are chosen as winners, must submit a final certified transcript bearing the school’s official seal.

Selection of the Scholarship recipients will be based on: membership in the CME Church, academic achievement, financial need, strength of references, and a 300-400 word essay.

Completed applications MUST BE POSTMARKED no later than JULY 30, 2021.

PLEASE NOTE: Emailed Or Faxed Applications Will Not Be Accepted Under Any Circumstances.

AN IMPARTIAL COMMITTEE OF EDUCATORS WILL REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS AND RECOMMEND A WINNER FROM EACH UNITED STATES EPISCOPAL DISTRICT.

3 July 2021 • The Christian Index

15

Connectional Interests

Ministers' Spouses, Widows/Widowers

The 7th Episcopal District Minister's Spouses, Widows and Widowers Covid-19 Leisure "Party" Submitted by Lady Annette Dillard Connectional Minister's Spouses, Widows and Widowers Department (MSWWD) Assistant Secretary 7th Episcopal District Representative After having several discussions with Leading Lady Delois Walker our Episcopal Advisor, we sought to plan a 7th Episcopal District Minister's Spouses, Widows and Widowers Retreat to help form closer bonds of relationship between the Carolina and New York - Washington Regions. However, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic made it impossible to carry out these plans. As with others during this pandemic, many of our MSWWD members experienced emotions such as low-grade depression, isolation, deaths of family members and friends, mental health challenges, loss of employment, financial insecurity, and even concerns about our mortality. Despite this, our spouses remained rooted in their support of the ministry of their own spouses.

In light of all of these challenges, we felt that it was vitally important to find a way in which our members in both the Carolina and New York - Washington Regions could share together during this conference year. Subsequently, both regional presidents, Lady Lorraine Brown (Carolina Region) and Lady Denise Cummings-Clay (New York - Washington Region) provided the leadership to help make this vision come to fruition. A planning team was assembled consisting of minister's spouses, widows and widowers from both regions. As a result, the members of the MSWWD from the Carolina and New York - Washington Regions came together on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 12 noon as we shared together for a "Leisure Party".

In preparation for this event, members were asked to email photos of themselves as children. The "Leisure Party" began with MSWWD members introducing themselves. A game of trivia ensued, with some of the trivia questions requiring responses related to the color green, due to the event's proximity to St. Patrick's Day. The purse game was played, with persons getting points if they had the named item in their purse or pocketbook. At the conclusion of the purse game, the person with the most points won, and prizes were given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Last, but not least, the child pictures of our members were shown in a PowerPoint presentation, where we had to guess who the individual was. We laughed and were able to get to know each other a little better, as we put faces and names together. This event allowed our members to have fun, releasing built-up tension, stress, and anxiety. We were able to experience a sense of wholeness and completeness. Hopefully, we will be able to have our Seventh Episcopal District Minister's Spouses, Widows and Widowers Retreat next conference year!

Leading Lady, Mrs. Delois Walker!

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The Christian Index • July 2021

CME-Affiliated Schools

“A Valuable Lesson” Submitted by Dr. Paul L. Brown, Sr., President-Dean

Typically, when I sit down to put pen to paper it is usually within the context of some deep theological construct or issue that necessitates conversation and or explanation or, some paper that might in the future lead to a book that I write. However, on a recent weekend, during the funeral of one of my former Presiding Elders, I saw something that I felt needed to be shared with a larger audience. Indeed, perhaps both laity and clergy could benefit from the experience I had and thus the genesis of this particular article.

First, the funeral. For those who may not know, I began my journey for theological enlightenment and education by enrolling in Phillips School of Theology back in August of 1988. A young, hyper, excited traveling Elder who understood the call to ministry is a call to preparation, I packed my family up, left my first appointment in Springfield, Massachusetts, and headed South with a wife and two small children.

The late Oree Broomfield had assigned me a small church to pastor as a means of additional income while enrolled in school. My Presiding Elder would be Will Earl Chambers, a quiet, soft spoken educator who had a passion for the church and the preachers under his charge. Back in those days, it was quite common to move your entire family to Atlanta and find housing either on campus or, with the help of Elder Jerry Woodfork, you could find a place close to the Seminary. In my case, I was blessed to have a parsonage in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and I traveled back and forth to Atlanta from there. It was a difficult time: finances were low, expenses were high, and having a young wife and two small children in tow was no small task. And there were many, many low points of which time and space won’t allow me to elaborate.

However, there was this man, Elder Chambers, whose thoughtful leadership led him to take me under his wings and help me to learn the “Ways of the South.” [Extremely valuable were] the lessons I learned from this quiet man. Never once did he tell me himself that he was the one who created the Logo which had been adopted by the Church as the official logo back in the late 50’s/ early 60’s. He was just that type of person and when I heard of his passing there was no question as to whether or not I would attend. I must say here that Dr. Chambers retired from active ministry back in

Phillips School of Theology 2000 and had moved to Easton, Maryland (MD), which is on the Eastern Shore, a beautiful area of Maryland surrounded by corn fields, fruit and vegetable stands, and all the crab and seafood you could ever want!

It was the perfect place to retire … for this man. Indeed, the town matched his personality: laid back and quiet. He and his lovely wife had joined a United Methodist Church there because the closest CME Church would be in Capital Heights, MD, a 90-minute drive back and too far for a retired couple to muster. As a result, many in the church who had known Dr. Chambers had lost touch with him and his wife and thus, when I heard of his passing, it had come as a shock.

Now for the lesson. One of the things I try to teach the preachers and students who come to Phillips at the ITC (Interdenominational Theological Center) is that being a Pastor is more about understanding and managing people and personalities rather than the proclamation of the gospel, not to diminish one or the other. I say that by way of introduction to my next thought. And allow me to also say that the individuals I will mention did not ask to be a part of this article, nor did they know they would be, and no doubt will find out whenever this is published. But I thought it valuable to include because what I saw from these two Episcopal leaders is worth sharing! Let me also say that too often our Episcopal leaders become the brunt of criticisms and are often blamed when people feel there is “Something wrong with the church.” True leadership understands this will happen, and I’m sure many of the members of the College of Bishops understand this as well. However, often very little is shared when you see something that they do that is noteworthy and thus my point in this article. When I set foot in that small Funeral home in Easton, MD to attend the homegoing services for this quiet Presiding Elder whom the Lord had blessed to see almost 90 years, I saw Bishop James Walker, not sitting on the roster, not on program to bring remarks, but sitting right behind the family providing the ministry of Presence!

July 2021 • The Christian Index

17

CME-Affiliated Schools

Phillips School of Theology

I thought, “Wow, what a blessing! This man did not have to be at that funeral, and I’m sure the family would have understood, given the fact that their husband/father had retired from the CME Church for over 20 years and were now members of another Communion! But there he was! Saying “Amen, Yes, Thank you” while the Pastor delivered the Eulogy. Then, after the service was over and the packed crowd of 25 persons began filing out, I went to greet Mrs. Chambers, and lo and behold, the Senior Bishop! I was literally floored! Bishop Walker, I understood. He’s the Presiding Prelate of the Seventh Episcopal District which covers the State of MD, so I understood his presence. But to see the Senior Bishop, blocked from my view because he too was sitting in a chair very close to the family. These two Reverend Fathers of our great Church were doing ordinary ministry of the church and I felt so proud! I thought that was worthy of print. I thought that was worthy to share as a valuable lesson because too often ministry is taken for granted by some in this so called “Post Modern” age. But then there comes a James Walker and a Lawrence Reddick III, who remind me that true ministry is not about hearing your name called; or being on the program to speak, or even being recognized because of the color shirt you wear. True ministry is and will always be about serving the people of God; a real valuable lesson!

"Beautiful faces are everywhere, but beautiful faces are hard to find."

--Okima Havis

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

The Christian Index . . . ONLINE issuu.com/OreSpragin

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The Christian Index • July 2021

• Issues available from March 2020 for online viewing only • Cost: $5.00 per issue • Profit shared equally by the Department of Publications and the Department of The Christian Index

In case of unknown or unforeseen changes and circumstances, verification and additional information may be obtained by contacting the office of the presiding bishop of the particular episcopal district or annual conference.

June 30 - July 2 - Virtual Connectional Youth and Young Adult Conference July 5 - Louisiana Annual Conference; Mt. Zion CME Church, Minden, Louisiana; 8 a.m. - 12 noon, and 2 - 6 p.m.

July 6-7 - South Georgia Region Annual Conference; Clifford temple CME Church, 2007 Smith Avenue, Thomasville, Georgia 31792 July 8-9 - West Georgia Region Annual Conference; Holsey Chapel CME Church, 718 8th Street, Columbus, Georgia 31901 July 10 - East Texas Annual Conference via Zoom; 9a.m.

July 10-14 - North Central Alabama Region Annual Conference via Zoom (11th-12th, 6-8p.m.; 13th-14th, 6-9p.m.)

July 17 - Central Texas Annual Conference via Zoom; 9a.m.

July 19 - MS South Annual Conference; Lynch Street CME Church, Jackson, Mississippi; 8 a.m. - 12 noon, and 2 - 6 p.m.

July 19-20 - Central Georgia Region Annual Conference; Bethel CME Church, 1668 Pio Nono Avenue, Macon, Georgia 31204 July 21 - Arkansas Region Annual Conference; 10a.m. - 1p.m.

July 21-23 - Kentucky Region Annual Conference; Brown Memorial CME Church, Louisville, Kentucky 40202 July 22 - East Tennessee Region Annual Conference; 10a.m. - 1p.m.

July 23 - West Tennessee Region Annual Conference; 10a.m. - 1p.m.

July 23-24 - Georgia North Region Annual Conference; Trinity CME Church, 241 W. Franklin Street, Toccoa, Georgia 30577 July 24 - Southeast Texas Annual Conference via Zoom; 9a.m.

July 24-28 - Birmingham and Southeast Alabama Region Annual Conferences via Zoom (25th-26th, 6-8p.m.; 27th-28th, 6-9p.m.)

July 25 - Connectional Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) Day July 2021 • The Christian Index

19

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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The Christian Index • July 2021

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

Continued on next page July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Submissions Continued from previous page A Theo-Historical Framing Out of my distress I called upon the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.

Psalm 118:5

Whereas Cincinnati's hosting of the CME Church's General Conference is considered to be a once in a lifetime experience, a historical analysis is still needed. Based upon my read of CME Church history, Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas Sr., the Second Episcopal District and the city of Cincinnati are on the brink of history.

Not only will this mark the first time the Second Episcopal District hosts the General Conference in over 90 years, but it also marks the first time that the city of Cincinnati will host the General Conference for the CME Church. Cincinnati is one of the keynote cities in the Second Episcopal District. For as long as I can remember, Cincinnati is where the Presiding Prelate of the Second Episcopal District resides. But in addition to the geographical importance of Cincinnati being a place where slaves found their way to freedom, there are stories that are related to the Underground Railroad, the CME Church and the bordering states of Kentucky and Indiana.

Stories that need to be told. Dr. Eric R. Jackson's article, “The Stories of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati remain a dominant and important piece of history in Ohio” is helpful. Jackson posits that, “The Underground Railroad remains a dominant and important image in the minds and hearts of thousands of Americans today. There are thousands of first-hand accounts that have survived over the centuries.” 6 As a Scholar in-Residence for the Second Episcopal District, I will attempt to bring a few of those stories to life.

The earliest mention of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati came in 1831 when a slave named Tice Davids escaped from Kentucky into Ohio and his owner blamed an “underground railroad” for helping David to freedom. 7 In keeping with the theme of escaping or moving to freedom, Jackson tells the story that, “On the cloudy night in 1842, John P. Parker slowly boarded a ship that was docked in the harbor in New Orleans, Louisiana. Parker knew that his days as an enslaved African American were numbered. It was just a matter of time, at least in his mind, before he would gain his freedom. This objective (freedom) had fostered in his mind for many years.” 8 Along the way, young John enjoyed the scenery as if he were a passenger on an ocean cruise to the Caribbean Islands. The reality was that this was merely the latest attempt at gaining freedom by Parker, which eventually brought him to New Albany, Indiana, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, and eventually to Ripley, Ohio. Once in Ripley, he along with the white radical, abolitionist, Reverend John Rankin, began several decades of “illegal” activities that helped thousands of enslaved African Americans gain their freedom. 9 According to Stuart Seely Sprague, professor emeritus of History at Morehead State University in Kentucky, “To reach Ripley, fugitives often followed the Maysville road, which connected the slave-rich bluegrass region centered in Lexington, Kentucky with the Ohio River. Mayesville, the largest town in northeastern Kentucky, had an early anti-slavery society. On the other side of the river, a few miles north of Ripley, lay the town of Red Oak, where Rev. James Gilliland and his congregation formed the core of the largest concentration of Underground Railroad conductors in Ohio.” 10 Subsequently, Sprague mentions Robert Newman as a successful civil-rights attorney in Cincinnati.

Newman's first acquaintance with John Parker's name came by accident, while he was researching and writing a paper on John Rankin, an early [abolitionist] who had moved to Ripley after being asked to leave Kentucky for 6

Eric R. Jackson, “The Stories of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati remain a dominant and important piece of history in Ohio” 7 History.com editors Underground Railroad Updated February 8, 2019 Original October 29, 2009 8 Eric R. Jackson, “The Stories of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati remain a dominant and important piece of history in Ohio” 9 Ibid.

10 Stuart Seely Sprague, Ed. His Promise Land: The Autobiography of JOHN P. PARKER, Former Slave and Conductor on the Underground Railroad (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996), 8.

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Submissions teaching blacks to read. 11 As the story goes, “a number of Black fugitives had miscalculated the time or wandered from their route so that they arrived at the river just about daylight, too late to be ferried across.” 12 Life-threatening trouble was on the horizon and “everything would have gone along in the normal way had not Rev. Rankin arrived at the Collins house after daylight and seen with his own eyes the group of fugitives standing at the water's edge on the Kentucky shore helplessly, and as it proved hopelessly, waiting for someone to rescue them.” 13 Seven years earlier than Parker, Henry Bibb made his first escape attempt when he was hired out to Mr. Vines, who lived on a nearby farm in Newcastle, Kentucky. The determination of Bibb to ultimately gain his freedom was temporarily halted when he began to date and subsequently married an enslaved African American woman named Malinda, who resided in a nearby plantation in Oldham County, Kentucky. However, the hardship of being a husband and father whose wife and child were owned by a white man soon reignited Bibb's aspiration to escape again. As a result, and with a promise to his wife to return to them after he was completely free, Bibb absconded from Kentucky on Christmas Day in 1837. 14 When he had reached Cincinnati, Ohio, with the help of several local African Americans, Bibb was introduced to a group of abolitionists who helped him travel further North through the Underground Railroad of Cincinnati to Perrysburg, Ohio. When Bibb reunited with his family in Kentucky, he began to develop a plan to help them escape by steamship that reached the Ohio River. 15 After being caught again by the local slave catchers and shipped to Louisville, Kentucky, Bibb and his family, along with several hundred enslaved African Americans, were placed on a steamship that left Louisville, bound for Vicksburg, Tennessee, and eventually New Orleans, Louisiana. Bibb and his family were then sold to local gamblers and Bibb was purchased by a Native American. 16 He later traveled to the Mississippi River, and then secretly climbed aboard a steamboat that was en route to Portsmouth, Ohio, where Bibb ultimately found his freedom.

During the same decade, several individuals engaged in numerous Underground Railroad activities in other parts of the Bluegrass state (Kentucky). For example, Delia Webster and Calvin Fairbanks emerged as fiery abolitionists as well as Underground Railroad activists. Webster was born in Vermont in 1817, studied briefly at Oberlin College in Ohio, and moved to Kentucky in 1942, while Fairbanks was born in New York in 1816, studied for several years at Oberlin College, and eventually became a Methodist minister. Although Webster and Fairbanks went to Oberlin, they did not know each other until their Underground Railroad activities crossed paths in Kentucky. 17 It was in Kentucky where Fairbanks helped an enslaved African American family to escape the system of human bondage of institutional slavery. In need of some additional funds for the venture, Fairbanks solicited funds and the assistance of Webster. At the same time, Webster introduced Fairbanks to Lewis Hayden, an enslaved African American waiter who desired to gain his freedom in any way possible. Eventually, Fairbanks and Webster did help Hayden obtain his freedom via the Underground Railroad. 18 During this same period of time, in Southeastern Indiana, a group of individuals spent many years helping enslaved African Americans gain their freedom. More specifically, the Bell family, Virginia-born whites from Brandenburg, Kentucky, was suspected by residents of being abolitionists and thus aiding hundreds of Black folk in gaining their freedom. For example, on a rainy day in 1857, Charles Bell, one of his sons, and a former slave named Oswald Wright, aided a group of runaway Black Americans in the quest for freedom

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Ibid., 152-153.

Ibid., 118.

Ibid., 119.

Eric R. Jackson, “The Stories of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati remain a dominant and important piece of history in Ohio” Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Continued on next page July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Submissions Continued from previous page weaving themselves in the history of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati. 19 The journeys, activities, and comments of individuals like Parker, Bibb, Del Webster, Calvin Fairbanks, and the Bells are just a few examples of the experiences of thousands of enslaved Black people who decided to emancipate themselves from the horrible system of human bondage. For many Black Americans, the path to freedom was hard. But it was worth it for those who were willing to try to escape and those who aided them to the freedom that they dreamed about for so long.

Ruth Wright's article, “Charting the Underground Railroad”, speaks to the historical connection between the Black Church and the Underground Railroad. In commenting on the slave activities in and around Madison, Indiana, Wright claims, “Also documented in the district have been the former home of Elijah Anderson at 624 Walnut St., the former home of William J. Anderson at 713 Walnut St., and the former Colored Methodist Episcopal Church at 711 Walnut St. All three buildings are currently private residences.” 20 According to Wright, both Elijah and William J. Anderson were free blacks who lived in Madison, around the mid-1800s. A blacksmith, Elijah Anderson was tried for his involvement in helping runaway slaves and was imprisoned in Frankfort, Kentucky, where he eventually died. William J. Anderson, who was born free and became enslaved, escaped in 1836 to Madison, where he helped found and build the CME Church next door to his Walnut Street home. He died in Madison and is believed to be buried in Springdale Cemetery. Both Elijah and William J. Anderson were nationally known Underground Railroad conductors. 21 Like many of the abolitionists throughout the South and other parts of Ohio, the Andersons believed that their mission from God was to bring as many enslaved Blacks as possible to full freedom. With the category of human freedom in mind, Stuart Sprague describes the plight of a slave named Anderson: “Arousing myself from my exhausted stupor, I stirred myself to activity when I discovered I was hard aground in Kentucky, the last place I wanted to be. As the oars had been lost, I pulled off a slat. Using it as a paddle, I slowly and painfully made my way to the Ohio shore and safety.” 22 Polly Jackson was another key figure in the Underground Railroad movement. During the nineteenth century, the migration of fugitives from the Deep and Upper South to the North accelerated. Many slaves, like Polly Jackson, traveled to Ohio to gain their freedom. According to legend, she fought off slave catchers with a kettle full of hot water and a butcher knife. It was difficult for women to defend themselves against male pursuers, and this sometimes discouraged them from running away. However, women driven to the end of their limits would flee and defend themselves in any manner that they could. As a fugitive, Jackson joined a community of free blacks in the settlement of Africa, Ohio. Many of the local black residents served as conductors on the Underground Railroad.

Jackson is the great, great aunt of Minister Amber Dudley, who serves as a local preacher at the Beebe Chapel CME Church in Ripley, Ohio. Beebe Chapel was the first of its kind to be built in Ohio and has been serving the Village of Ripley since 1893. One of the people who helped build Beebe Chapel was former slave Joseph Settles, who spent much of his life helping other slaves through the Underground Railroad. Long-time pastor of Beebe Chapel, Reverend James Settles, is the great grandson of Joseph Settles who died in 1923.

These liberating stories give theological credence to the power of God's freedom in the life of Black people.

They also give substantive reasoning as to why it is important for the CME Church to explore the past, celebrate the present and look toward the future; all of which are founded in God.

19 20 21 22

24

Ibid.

Ruth Wright, “Charting the Underground Railroad” RoundAbout February 2004, Madison, Indiana.

Ibid.

Stuart Seely Sprague, His Promised Land, 136.

The Christian Index • July 2021

Submissions The Task of Freedom That Is Before The CME Church For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Galatians 5:13

Very similar to the CME Church's genesis in Jackson, Tennessee, and other places in the South, the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati, Ohio, was actively involved in freeing thousands of Black slaves. Just as it was necessary for the newly-freed, southern slaves to have their own church establishment within the collaborative Methodist denomination, it was necessary for the Black slaves to have their own freedom away from the bondage of institutional slavery in the Jim Crow South. God saw fit for both realities, the founding of the CME Church and the functioning of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati, to be the bright lights of freedom in the darkness of Black dehumanization and cultural oppression. The Underground Railroad of Cincinnati has been described as the way forward, so to speak, for those whose dying soul had no directional compass toward freedom. Just as the city of Cincinnati played host to the risky business of freeing thousands of southern slaves during the eras of slavery and reconstruction, this same Queen City has been given the task of hosting the CME Church, a Black Methodist denomination of the South. Former Bishop of the Second Episcopal District, Othal Hawthorne Lakey, frequently reminds the Church of the historical currency that is associated with the CME Church being a 'slave church' and a 'slavery church' of the South. The CME Church is the oldest Black Church of the South. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Black Church was birthed and created in slavery. The Black religious experience not only helped to free the slave spiritually, but it also helped to liberate Black folk from the institutional bondage of slavery in the United States.

In addition to electing three new episcopal leaders within the completing of the executive, legislative, and judicial processes of the CME Church, the 2022 General Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, will carry forth the risky business of proclaiming God as the God of (Black) history. Here the historical significance of Black existential freedom within the notion of spiritual liberation in the context of social, political, economic and educational subjugation is what makes the Black Church the one essential institution that the Black community cannot do without. Geographically speaking, what is so interesting to me is how Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania (the very states that make up the Second Episcopal District of the CME Church) are connected to the stories of the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati. In the CME Church's coming back to the place where thousands of slaves traveled to participate in their own general conference of freedom, let us be reminded that freedom is the goal of the Underground Railroad and the Black Christian Church. Both institutions played a substantive role in helping Black Americans to be freed from slavery and to achieve freedom in the areas of educational advancement and economic self-sufficiency.

The Underground Railroad and the CME Church came to the city of Cincinnati because it was necessary. It is now necessary for the Church to come back to Cincinnati by way of coming back to freedom. From June 30th to July 6th in the year of our Lord and Savior 2021, Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas Sr. and the Second Episcopal District of the CME Church will be hosting the greatest conference of our Church. In the spirit of abolitionism and liberation, and with the help of the Lord, Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas Sr. has brought the Second Episcopal District to the brink of a historic milestone. As the CME Church travels to Cincinnati for the historic 2022 General Conference, let us be deeply mindful of the Church's coming back to the place where freedom was granted to thousands of Black people. Let us be aware of our coming back to the place where God-fearing slaves came in search of freedom for themselves and their respective families. And let us not forget that the Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church actively participated in the perilous struggles of African Americans from the Reconstruction Era to the Civil Rights Movement. As the CME Church […] makes its way to the city that is called 'The Athens (Greece) of the West' and 'Little Paris', may we know in our feeble hearts that every Second counts. May we all take to heart the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he concluded the historic March on Washington speech with these poignant words: “Let Freedom Ring...Free at Last. Free at Last. Thank God Almighty. We are free at last.” And now as the Church comes back to the freedom of God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, may God continue to abundantly bless the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church of these United States and parts of Africa [and the Caribbean].

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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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.

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Submissions

Making Good Trouble: Driving in the Votercade Activating the Words and memory of Congressman John Lewis Submitted by Dr. Barbara Campbell, Connectional Lay Ministry President

In May 2021, there was a national call to participate in a Votercade to oppose Voter Suppression! Nationwide means that wherever we have a CME Church, there was a call to participate. Over 100 organizations signed up for the votercade which included the NAACP, National Education Association and members of the divine nine.

As the Chair of Social Concerns at Shy Temple CME, it was a call to action and we responded. In my role as Chair of the African American Caucus for Georgia, I was designated a coordinator and received buttons, posters and a large banner for the votercade.

We arrived at the designated site joining about 50 cars and we decorated our cars with posters, streamers and balloons to prepare for the votercade. The votercade didn't have a police [escort] so we had to drive close together and run red lights while blowing our horns. I know I went through 6-8 red lights praying that the cars would stop. With the signs in the window they knew we were on a mission and driving through neighborhoods, people waved and cheered as we went by.

[The Georgia State Legislature] passed HB 202 in this last session which was specifically designed to impact Blacks and minority voters. The Secretary of State will no longer chair the State Election Board, becoming instead a non­voting ex-officio member. The new chair [is to] be nonpartisan but appointed by a majority of the

Pictured in the group with the banner are Rev. Leon Moore, General Secretary of Evangelism and Missions; Dr. James Clements, Pastor of Shy Temple CME; and Rev. William Oliver, Associate Pastor.

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Submissions state House and Senate. The chair [is not] allowed to have been a candidate, participated in a political party organization or campaign, or made campaign contributions for two years prior to being appointed. Ironically, the governor who signed this legislation was the former Secretary of State, and he did everything as Secretary of State that he is now opposing.

The voting rights of America's Voters of Color and Youth Voters are under attack nationally by state legislators who are introducing and passing laws to suppress their participation in elections. Meanwhile, big business and billionaires are able to spend unlimited amounts of funding to buy our elections.

When you heard about the votercade what did you do? A call to action must be answered and right now 47 states are proposing voter suppression bills. What's going on in your state? Do you know, and, if not, are you trying to find out?

Voters across America can still encourage people to call Georgia state Legislators to repeal Senate Bill 202, which shortens the absentee ballot request period, requires proof of identification when sending in absentee ballots, and more.

Over 150 John Lewis "Good Trouble" "votercades" were held across the country on Saturday, May 8, 2021. I am so glad to say that Georgia was in that number!

I receive the word from different candidates such as the word for Wednesday or Marvelous Monday, however I really would like to see a call to action that the candidate is actively participating in that accompanies the scripture. I believe I read that faith without works is dead. I am thankful to have a pastor who is always willing to participate in a call to social justice. You will agree that leaders lead!

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Submissions

MPCO Places Third in Bowl Submitted by Minister John L. Johnson, Christian Index Correspondent, and Sis. Elma Holmes-Glaze, Director of BOCE

Under the leadership of Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton, Prelate of the Fifth Episcopal District; Southeast Alabama Region; Rev. James Q. Smith, Presiding Elder of the Montgomery, Phenix City, Opelika (MPCO) District; and Rev. Daniel Todd, Pastor of St. Mark CME Church, Smith Station, Alabama, the One Church One School (OCOS) of the 5th Episcopal District held its 3rd Annual "MLK Dream Keepers" workshop, January 16, 2021, via Zoom. This was an event geared toward the Region's youth and young adults, ages 12 through 18. Bowl participant§ were from various churches in the 5th Episcopal District Southeast Region. Special thanks to Rev. Bridgett Houston and team for a splendid job. Also, gratitude to the judges who served during the Bowl. The primary aim of the Bowl was to keep Dr. King's legacy alive. Further, it helps to remind our youth how ­we got to where we are today. Hopefully, the participants will have a positive dream and pursue that dream.

The contestants were reminded of Dr. King's legacy by reading the book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Practice for the final competition was done after the preliminary bowl, December 19, 2020. Meanwhile, others were recruited to participate from various churches. Of course, this prompted Sierra Chambers to enter, and she won Third Place. Congratulations, Sierra!!!

Sierra, an eighth-grade student at Smiths Station Junior High School, is the lovely daughter of Mrs. Kathy Chambers. Further, she is an active and loyal member of Smith Station, Alabama. Rev.Daniel Todd is her pastor, and Rev. James Q. Smith, Sr. is her presiding elder. Additionally, Sierra is courageous, energetic, and warm-spirited. The Board of Christian Education (BOCE) at St. Mark highly recommends her for any chore. Certainly, she is a delight to work with. The MPCO again congratulates Sierra and we are proud of her accomplishments.

Dr. James "Eddie" Black Honored Submitted by Ore L. Spragin, Jr. Pastor,Hines Memorial CME Church, Albany, Georgia

In February 2021, Dr. James "Eddie" Black was named by Phoebe Putney Health System as a "Physician of the Year" for 2020 for his role in helping to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is to share the honor with Dr. Kristin Collier. A native resident of Albany, Georgia, and a member of Hines Memorial CME Church, Dr. Black is committed to the health and wellness of the people of south Georgia and is known to be compassionate in his care. Spend any length of time in the emergency department and you will inevitably hear his name come up in good ways by those seeking care.

Dr. Black serves as an emergency physician and is Medical Director for Emergency Services. According to a story written by Alan Mauldin in the Albany Herald, "He has often been the face of the health system at regular novel coronavi­ rus news conferences with other medi­cal and elected officials since the pan­demic struck the community in March 2020. Black also has spoken at com­munity town hall meetings and been interviewed by national and interna­tional news outlets." In a statement disseminated through the Phoebe Health media center, Phoebe Physicians CEO Suresh Lakhanpal said of the two doctors, "They certainly represent all that we want our physicians to strive to be. I thank them for their service and congratulate them on earning this honor."

In recognition of his outstanding service to the community, Hines Memorial Stewards in a regular meeting, moved unanimously to present Dr. Black with a clock (l-r): Dr. James Black with his plaque for the service and dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic. One thousand mother, Mrs. Helen Black, and dollars was also given to Phoebe Foundation in his honor. Congratulations and sister, Dr. Marla Black Morgan. blessings on your medical ministry, Dr. Black!

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Children/Youth

Cleaves Memorial and St. Luke Youth Address Wage Disparity Submitted by Rev. Anthony C. Hill April 1, 2021 Dear Editor: We, the combined Cleaves Memorial CME Church and St Luke CME Church Youth Sunday School Class and Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) h ave just completed a joint project where we expressed our concerns to the United States Senate about passing the Minimum Wage proposal that was submitted by President Biden. Each of the seven of us shared in constructing and calculating the tabulations on the attached charts.

We invite youth across the connection to join our effort to promote change in our state and national condition. We noticed this week that the state of Tennessee passed some anti-women legislation. What are the youth of the connection attempting to say about the state government’s actions? Are the youth across Georgia going to contest the new Georgia voting law? Two of us will celebrate our 18th birthdays in the year 2022 and, therefore will be eligible to vote in 2022. As future voters, we are learning and exercising some adult civic responsibilities. Youth of Texas, surely you are concerned about some of the voting and human rights in your state!

Copies of our letter to the United Senate and salary comparison charts are submitted for your consideration. Our combined group is small (7), but we are committed.

Yours in Christ,

The Youth of Cleaves & St. Luke CME Churches, Denver, Colorado

Minnie Storey Cullins Minnie Storey Cullins, Sunday School Teacher

Traci Cullins-Clark Traci Cullins-Clark, Ph.D. CYF Director

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Children/Youth Continued from previous page

March 21, 2021 The Honorable Charles E. Schumer 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Dear Senator Schumer: Our Sunday School lesson based on Acts 16:11-40 and 1 Corinthians 1:1-30 triggered discussions about President Biden’s proposed budget, especially raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. We became alarmed when we read excerpts from “Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief.” We decided to do a combined Sunday School and Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) project especially after we heard such negative Republican responses to the proposal.

We compiled a brief partial Personal Budget for a family of four living in Colorado Springs, Aurora, or Denver CO with (1) income compared with hourly pay rates of $7.25; $10; $12; $15 while the beginning salary for a US Senator is $174,000 plus numerous benefits. We want to hear dissenting senators explain their sense of fairness and justice for the people who voted them into office in light of their inconsideration for Americans who financially support them. Where will parents get money to purchase school uniforms, sports fees, school insurance, field trips, laptop or tablet repair, software updates, or other school activities? During debates, we request that the Senators listed below address our questions.. ● Senator Mitch McConnell, in your numerous years as a senator of a Southern state, please explain during your objection to the $15 or more minimum wage what you have done for descendants of former Slave families of Kentucky in order to help them rise above the poverty level. In your concern for equity and human rights, how does $15 per hour threaten the American economy in comparison with $174,000 plus all allowable allowances that you earn yearly? Sir, please explain your joy in declaring yourself the “Grim Reaper” against numerous previous attempts to pass needed legislation. ● Senator Lindsey Graham, please explain the joy you expressed in disallowing legislation that could have helped millions of poor people. Sir, why do you hate working people so much? How do you think that justice and equality should be awarded to Native Americans whose ancestors inhabited America before European settlers took the land from them? Did your ancestors own slaves? What have you done or are you planning to do in order to bring descendants of South Carolina Slaves up to an equal level with the

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Children/Youth

descendants of Slave owners? Sir, why do you want to filibuster against every American being allowed equal voting rights? ● Senator Tim Scott: What is your justification for disagreeing with increasing the minimum wage to $15 or more per hour in light of US Senator Salaries of $174,000 plus all allowable allowances permitted yearly? How do you think justice and equity should be awarded to families of Slave Americans whose ancestors built plantations and empires in South Carolina? ● Senator Ted Cruz: You really insulted all working Americans when you left Texas and went to Mexico while your voters suffered without electricity, heat, and drinkable water.

Do you have any idea how offended it made people feel to hear you bragging about how nice Cancun was , while in Orlando, FL while many of your fellow Texans were still without heat,water,or electricity? Do you care anything about the Texans you took an oath to represent? Why should the minimum wage for the working American be less than $25 per hour? Could our parents take us on a Cancun vacation at $25 an hour or less? We plead and ask that the next time you make a decision like this that you think of the less fortunate.

Respectfully, The Youth of Cleaves & St. Luke CME Churches, Denver, Colorado

Minnie Storey Cullins Minnie Storey Cullins, Sunday School Teacher

Traci Cullins-Clark Traci Cullins-Clark, Ph.D. CYF Director

Cc: Senator Michael Bennett, CO Cc: Senator John Hickenlooper, CO Cc: Senator Mitch McConnell, KY Cc: Senator Elizabeth Warren, MA Cc: Senator Lindsey Graham, SC Cc: Senator Tim Scott, SC Cc: Senator Ted Cruz, TX Cc: MSNBC News Cc: The Christian Index

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Children/Youth Continued from previous page

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Children/Youth

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Children/Youth Continued from previous page

Subscribe to The Christian Index Only $30.00 per Year Call Rev. Dr. Roderick Lewis, Sr., Publisher, at 901-396-5400

Directors of Children and Youth Work YOU ARE ENCOURAGED to submit articles from your Children and Youth to The Christian Index.

These may be thoughts on their Christian journey, reports on church or school trips, and even book reports or original poems and essays.

Email to: ChristianIndex@thecmechurch.org 36

The Christian Index • July 2021

Children/Youth

Wordsearch Puzzle for July John 8:31-36

JESUS BELIEVED CONTINUE WORD DISCIPLES FREE INDEED KNOW

TRUTH MAKE ANSWERED ABRAHAM SEED NEVER BONDAGE VERILY

WHOSOEVER COMMITTETH SIN SERVANT ABIDETH HOUSE SON THEREFORE

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Children/Youth Answers to Puzzle

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The Christian Index • July 2021

Ecumenical News From: https://www.thechristianrecorder.com/the-pain-of-racism-through-the-lens-of-calvary/?utm_source=The+Christian+Recor der&utm_campaign=2cd7e13365-NEW%21%21%21+AME+News+Digest+1203..2017_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_ term=0_1b584cea2e-2cd7e13365-47390849. Accessed 6-17-2021.

The Pain of Racism Through the Lens of Calvary

By Rev. Dr. Versey Williams, Contributing Writer to The Christian Recorder John Thomas III, Editor

Navigating racism in the 21st century means Eastertide 2021 holds an even deeper significance for me. Termed “Jim Crow 2.O,” I have always known God grieves when we are marginalized, ridiculed, and murdered at the hearts and hands of those who live out Satan’s decree to kill, steal, and destroy. God Incarnate, in the person of Jesus, gives us hope.

Although it is difficult to stomach, racism has gotten better for us as a people. However, better is not good enough. We deserve to be valued and respected for who we are. We are good enough and lacking nothing in our personhood. Racism is evil personified to destroy us (John 10).

I heard only a few minutes of the trial for the police officer who murdered the late Mr. George Floyd. I became so angry! When I was a little girl, I recall traveling to Mississippi with my parents. It was a somber trip. I learned someone was lynched. When I saw, again, the picture flash on the television with the officer’s knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck, I wanted to scream! Yet I know those who kill us could care no less about my cries.

As I cried out, this time was different. I know that by Jesus’ strips I and we are healed. This time, God opened my eyes with deeper meaning and purpose. My insight brings me no joy or excitement, only the assurance that the person killed was held in the heart of a loving God. God knew people of African descent, and others, would suffer at the hands of evil. Every time Jesus was beaten, spit upon, ridiculed, stripped naked, and ultimately killed, God was bearing the unbearable for us.

If I had another message to black men and women, it would be that God has not forgotten us. God could have opted a means to bear the unbearable another way but God chose Calvary. God gives us free will and we have a human responsibility to be good stewards of our life. Maybe that’s where justice comes in. We judge each other but Calvary welcomes our brokenness. He bore our iniquities, grief, and sorrows. Yet, the fact remains that life has been cut off.

I remember feeling so broken that I became bitter. I was faithful but someone hurt me beyond what I could bear.

I felt hopeless but I also trusted God. That night and several months after, I prayed a psalm. The same psalm might help others as they live with injustice. As people of God, we must trust God; and within our integrity, we must seek change. We are God’s righteousness and our prayers avail much.

Vengeance indeed belongs to God. I get it. Sometimes the pain makes us react in unhealthy ways. God wants us to ask for God’s help. I leave you with the 137th Psalm.

"Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong!"

--Janice Palmer July 2021 • The Christian Index

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Obituaries

Joining the Great Cloud

Patricia Dancy Redds

Patricia Dancy Redds was born on August 1, 1931, in Shuqualak, Mississippi.

She was the second of three daughters born to Eddie and Annie Dancy. The family moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, where she was educated in the East St. Louis school system graduating with honors from Lincoln High School.

After graduating high school, Mrs. Redds attended Texas College in Tyler, Texas. While at Texas College, she was active with the drama club, gospel choir and became a member of the Alpha Tau Chapter of her beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in 1951. She graduated magna cum laude earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science in 1953.

She later attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, earning a Master of Science in Sociology and Minor in Guidance Counseling. Mrs. Redds' professional career included educator, counselor, and Founder and Director of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Street Academy. As principal of an alternative educational school in Flint, Michigan, she was responsible for reclaiming hundreds of young boys and girls from the streets and helping them graduate from high school. The students affectionately called her "Mama Redds."

Mrs. Redds loved the Lord God with all of her heart, mind and soul. As a young girl she became a missionary. She was very active with Sunday School, the music department, Christian Education, and Christian Youth Fellowship. It was no surprise when Mrs. Redds married her late husband, Presiding Elder Harry Lee Redds, Sr., and moved to Flint, Michigan, to join her husband as First Lady of Dozier Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. They were assigned to two additional churches in Flint: St. James CME and St. Peter CME. Mrs. Redds continued to be active with the Women's Missionary Society, choirs and Christian education with each church.

In 1979, Elder Redds and Mrs. Redds were appointed Presiding Elder and First Lady in the Third Episcopal District, serving the Michigan-Indiana Region. In 1994, they relocated to California and were assigned to the Ninth Episcopal District, serving the Northern California Region. While serving 40

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as Presiding Elder and First Lady, they served at Amos Temple, Lewis Memorial, St. Stephen, Beebe Memorial Cathedral and Century Chapel. Mrs. Redds continued to be active with the Women's Missionary Society, frequently conducting training classes and workshops. She enjoyed public speaking and was often invited to speak at churches, or as some would say, "to preach."

Organized in 1994, Mrs. Redds served as the first Connectional President of the Connectional Ministers' Spouses Widows/Widowers Department of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. She led this newly organized department in developing and adopting bylaws, formulating reporting procedures and raising funds in support of its platform. Mrs. Redds was recognized for her service with the Connectional Ministers' Spouses Widows/Widowers Department of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the March 2021 edition of The Christian Index, the official publication of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mrs. Redds departed this life on March 25, 2021. She is preceded in death by her husband, Presiding Elder Harry Lee Redds, Sr.; parents, Eddie and Annie Dancy; sister, Mineva Foley; and sons-inlaw, Charles Fair, Sr. and John Carradine, Sr. She is survived by her sister, Dorothie Jean Crim; children, Portia Bearyman Fair, Johnice Redds Carradine, Patrice (Leo) Bell, Harry Redds, Jr., Patrick (Sonya) Redds, and Eddie Redds; grandchildren, Jamel (Ebony) Bearyman, Alandra (Jeremiah) Towner, Jessica Fair, Samillia Washington, G. Tiffany Crawford, Micha Goudeau, Bernadette Martin, Carren Redds, Kyle Thomason, Shaun Thomason, Tenajah Redds, Elijah Redds, Christopher Redds, Victoria Redds and Kennedy Redds; and a host of greatgrandchildren and dear friends.

BUILD A FRIENDSHIP BEFORE MARRYING SOMEONE. MARRY YOUR BEST FRIEND --Ida M. Freeman

Announcing the 2021-2022 Connectional Clinical Pastoral Education (CCPE) program Connectional Clinical Pastoral Education Program, an educational experience for ministers and laypersons of all denominations to enhance their professional pastoral skills and personal development but are unable to be in a traditional CPE program due to time or other restrictions. It also enables probationary ministers in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) to meet the requirement of one unit of CPE for full connection clergy membership. This unique program brings ministers from across the country together and in small groups for interactive, reflective learning using their own community and place of ministry as the context.

2021-2022 Program Dates We will be offering two separate groups during the upcoming year.

FALL 2021

Deadline for Applications……..July 1, 2021 Orientation (Virtual)…….Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 19, 20, 21, 2021 Monthly meetings via Zoom – TWO TIMES PER MONTH IN SEPT, OCT, NOV, DEC 2021 Final Evaluations (Face-to-Face, Pastor’s Conference, Atlanta)…….Mon-Tues, January 10-11, 2022 Graduation, Atlanta, GA…..Wed, January 12, 2022

SPRING 2022

Deadline for Applications……..November 1, 2021 Orientation (In person, Pastor’s Conf, Atlanta)…….Wed, Thurs, Fri, January 12, 13, 14, 2022 Monthly meetings via Zoom – TWO TIMES PER MONTH IN FEB, MARCH, APRIL, MAY 2022 Final Evaluations (Format and location TBD)…….Th, Fr, Sat, June 16, 17, 18, 2022 Graduation, Cincinnati, OH (Gen Conf site)….Friday, June 24, 2022 The student is responsible for all of his/her travel, lodging and food costs at the in-person educational sessions.

The focus of this CPE program is on ministry in the congregation. Participants must have an approved place of ministry in order to complete the required hours in ministry each month of the program. The recommendation of a presiding bishop or supervising pastor is required as well. In addition to the ministry hours, attendance at all sessions is required.

There will be written assignments, readings and some internet-based assignments. The program operates under the auspices of the Academy for Public Theology of the Fifth Episcopal District of the CME Church. The faculty is comprised of certified CPE Supervisors and certified professional chaplains.

TUITION is $500, which includes $50 non-refundable application fee, a $100 deposit once accepted into the program and a balance of $350 payable before the program begins. The tuition includes the required books. There is currently no scholarship program, however a payment plan can be arranged.

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HOW TO APPLY FOR CONNECTIONAL CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION The electronic application packet is available at http://academyforpublictheology.com/programs/connectional-clinical-pastoral-education/ or at https://thecmechurch.org/clinical-pastoral-education/

The application includes several forms as well as essay questions. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Space is limited in each group, so apply early!

For more information, send an email to: info@AcademyForPublicTheology.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------Released by Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton CME Endorsing Agent for Chaplaincy and CPE Program Coordinator Send applications and fees payable to “Academy for Public Theology” to: Connectional CPE Program Academy for Public Theology P. O. Box 13383 Birmingham, AL 35202 or Email to: info@AcademyForPublicTheology.com

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CME Connectional Directory THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS

Senior Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick - 8th Episcopal District - 1616 E. Illinois Ave., Dallas TX 75216; 214-372-9073 (office); email: llreddick3@yahoo.com Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr. - 1st Episcopal District, Suite 222, 4466 Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis TN 38116; 901-345-4114 (office) and 901-345-4115 (fax) Bishop Thomas L. Brown, Sr. - 6th Episcopal District, 680 Beckwith Street SW, Atlanta GA 30314; 404-963-6652 (office); 404-963-6656 (fax); 6thDistrictCME@gmail.com Bishop Kenneth Wayne Carter - 11th Episcopal District, P.O. Box 174084, Arlington TX 76003-4084; 817-938-3747; KWCarter8@gmail.com.

Bishop James B. Walker - 7th Episcopal District, 6524 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012; seventhhq@yahoo.com Bishop Sylvester Williams, Sr. - 3rd Episcopal District, Post Office Box 211237, Normandy MO 63121; 314-381-3111 (office); 314-381-2060 (fax); email: sw58cme@aol.com

Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton - 5th Episcopal District CME Church, P.O. Box 13383, Birmingham AL 35202; office: 205-929-1145 (office); 205-929-1190 (fax); email: cmec35203@yahoo.com; Web site: www.cmefifthdistrict.org; office located at 4901 Lloyd Nolan Parkway, Fairfield Al. 35064 (do not send mail to the office address)

Bishop Godwin Umoette - 10th Episcopal District, P.O. Box 4312, UYO, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria; email: godwin.umoette@yahoo.com; phone: 08024086495

Bishop Bobby R. Best (DECEASED) - 9th Episcopal District, 3844 W. Slauson Ave., Suite 1, Los Angeles CA 90043; 323-294-3830; email: ninthhq@SBCglobal.net;

Website: ninthdistrictcme.org

Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas - 2nd Episcopal District, P. O. Box 36455, Cincinnati OH 45236; 513-827-6651(office); email: marvinthomas671@gmail.com Bishop C. James King - 4th Episcopal District - 5417 Robinson Road Extension, Jackson MS 39204; 769-251-0531 (office); 769-251-0758 (fax); 502-494-5366 (cell); email: kingcmep1@aol.com

Dr. Carmichael Crutchfield - General Secretary, Department of Christian Education & Formation - Suite 300, 4466 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis TN 38116-7100; 901345-4109 (office); 901-261-3289 (fax); basiz1@aol.com; also 1119 Linksview Lane West, Cordova TN 38018.

Dr. Tyrone T. Davis - General Secretary, General Board of Personnel Services - P.O. Box 74 - Memphis TN 38101-0074; 901-345-4100; FAX 901-345-4107; email: tyrone.t.davis@comcast.net

Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart - 9th Episcopal Disrict - 8145 Summerwood Circle, Olive Branch MS 38654-7060; email: bishoppstewart@aol.com; phone: 662-890-0021 Bishop E. Lynn Brown, Retired (DECEASED) - 4250 Thunderstone Circle, W., Memphis TN 38125; 901-729-7476 Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham, Retired (DECEASED) - 200 Big Bend Drive, Desoto TX 75115; Cell 901-337-7138 Bishop Othal H. Lakey, Retired - 4441 Magnolia Path Pl., Buford GA 30518; 678-482-7066 (h) Bishop William H. Graves, Sr., Retired (DECEASED) - 1089 Oakridge Dr., Memphis TN 38111; ph. 901-452-3399 Bishop Marshall Gilmore, Retired - 683 Beacontree Court, Concord NC 28027; 704-786-3226

THE GENERAL OFFICERS

Dr. Leo Pinkett - General Secretary, Ministry to Men, 2850 Shoreland Dr., S.W., Atlanta GA 30331; 404-349-1722; email: lpinkettace@yahoo.com

Dr. Clifford Harris - General Secretary of Lay Ministry, 15485 Prairie Bell Rd., Okmulgee OK 74447-8690; 918-519-4233 (c);918-304-1999 (h); MrCliffHarris@yahoo.com

Dr. Roderick D. Lewis, Sr. - General Secretary, Department of Publications, P.O. Box 161212, Memphis TN 38186-1212; 901-396-5400; rdlsr@aol.com Dr. Ore L. Spragin, Jr. - Editor, The Christian Index, 1700 Whisperwood Street, Albany GA 31721; 901-515-6510 (office); email: ChristianIndex@thecmechurch.org

Dr. Victor Taylor - General Secretary of Finance & CFO, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church - Dept. of Finance and Investments, 1101 Davis St. - Suite 5224, Evanston IL 60204; 847274-0182 (main); 312-648-5232 (work); 240-359-6272 (fax); finance@thecmechurch.org; https://www.hightail.com/u/cmefinance (securely upload confidential documents here) Dr. Pene' G. Woods - Executive Secretary, Post Office Box 1536, Cordova TN 38088; Email: cmeexecutivesecretary4@gmail.com; Nationwide Mobile Office: (901) 489-9253.

Rev. Leon C. Moore, Jr. - General Secretary of Evangelism and Missions, 50 Sunset Ave NW, Unit # 92763, Atlanta GA 30314; 678-362-7549.

Ms. Jacqueline I. Scott - President, Women's Missionary Council, 7255 Richmond Road, Memphis, TN 38125; 901-737-7675; scottjacqueline210@yahoo.com

Dr. Joseph C. Neal, Jr. - General Secretary, Emeritus, Dept. of Finance, P.O. Box 75085, Los Angeles CA 90075; 323-233-5050, Fax: 323-233-2797.

Dr. William George - General Secretary, Emeritus, Dept. of Publications, 535 Harwood Dr., Memphis TN 38120; 901-683-7833; email;weg38@aol.com.

Dr. N. Charles Thomas (DECEASED) - General Secretary, Emeritus, Dept. of Personnel Services, 308 Henry Street, Hot Springs AR 71901-6364; 501-318-6991.

Dr. Jeanette Bouknight - Executive Secretary, Retired, P.O. Box 27408, Detroit MI 48227-0408; 313-433-7207; email: cmeexecutivesecretary3@yahoo.com.

THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL

Rev. Dr. Jerry D. Woodfork, Sr., President (Class of 2018), 1315 Heatherland Drive SW, Atlanta GA 30331; 404-629-0055; jerrywoodfork@comcast.net.

Judge Bertina Lampkin, Vice President (Class of 2018), 3200 N. Lake Shore Drive, Unit 2308, Chicago IL 60657; 773-750-7203; lampkin506@aol.com, Attorney Bernard Snell, Clerk (Class of 2018), 136 Myrick Drive, Macon GA 31220; 478-731-1897; 478-935-3188; bernard.xsnell@usdoj.gov.

Mrs. Barbara Nichols, Immediate Past President (Class of 2018), 1937 Fawn Drive, Glenside PA 19038; 215-572-5516;frebargroup@aol.com.

Rev. Roland Johnson Jr., Member (Class of 2014), 4945 Bradfield Run, Memphis TN 38125; 901-497-9588; revrjohns@aol.com.

Rev. Kwame Lawson Adjei, Member (Class of 2018), P. O. Box AN 7639, Accra, Ghana, West Africa; 011-233-244-630267; rev.adjei@hotmail.com.

Attorney Shirley C. Byers, Member (Class of 2018), P. O. Box 5008, Holly Springs MS 38634; 662-252-6530 or 662-820-2763; scbjudge@gmail.com.

Dr. Lynda Brown-Wright, Member (Class of 2018), 3157 Dale Hollow Drive, Lexington KY 40515; 859-433-3396; Lynda.brownwright@gmail.com.

Rev. Russell Fuller, Member (Class of 2018), 647 Shadyway, Dallas TX 75232; 214-793-1945; fwdistrict@yahoo.com.

Rev. James Smith - Coordinator, Chaplain Services; 493 Robin Song Ct., Blythewood SC 29016; 803-800-9788; SmithJEJR@aol.com Atty. Ouida Brown - General Counsel - P.O. Box 587, Tuscombia AL 35674; 256-383-9620; fax: 256-383-9933 Mrs. Claudette Nichols Branch - President, CME Historical Society; 1511 Brownwood Avenue, Memphis TN 38116-4403 Rev. Cassandry Keys - President of the Ministers' and Laymen's Council - P.O. Box 170703, Spartanburg SC 29301; 251-689-7969; email: cassandry@att.net Mrs. Carolyn Hassell - President, Connectional Ministers' Spouses, Widows and Widowers, 1030 N Park Avenue, Brownsville TN 38012; 901-907-9427;

carolynhassell68@gmail.com; website: www.cme-spouses.org Rev. Carole E. Richardson - President, Connectional Christian Educators’ Council - 822 Marietta Pl., N.W. - Washington, DC 20011; 202-291-8566

OTHER CONNECTIONAL OFFICERS

Ms. Barbara Christian Campbell - President, Connectional Lay Council - 4819 Eagles Ridge Loop, Lithonia GA 30038; or 2012 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta GA 30317; dstbc@bellsouth.net; 404-587-8311 or 678-641-9745

Rev. Amina McIntyre - President, Connectional Young Adult Ministry; email: aminacyam@gmail.com Rev. Dr. Earl J. Griffin, Sr. - President, Presiding Elders’ Council; P.O. Box 612, Grambling LA 71245; 318-245-2743; email: earlgrffn2@gmail.com

Ms. Jolinda Dugger - President, Connectional Stewardesses, 110 Montclair Dr., Jackson TN 38301; 731-736-0961 (h); 731-394-7504 (cell); email: Jmdugger810@aol.com

Rev. Dr. Denise Anders-Modest - Coordinator, Commission on the Concerns of Women in the Ministry, 19 Scattered Oaks Drive, Byhalia MS 38611; 318-348-8982; email: dmodest1990@yahoo.com Mr. Freddie McKnight - President, Connectional Stewards, 24 Canton Street; West Haven CT 06516; 203-933-7230 (h); 203-500-6377 (cell) Ms. Diana Winton - President of Connectional Ushers, 729 West 155 Street; Gardena CA 90247; 310-415-4336; email: ladydicme@aol.com Dr. Theresa Duhart - President, CIT Connectional Dept., 1907 Willow Lane West, University Place WA 98466, 253-376-6361 (cell); 253-830-9512 (fax); email: theresaduhart@thecmechurch.org Rev. Jermaine Marshall, PhD - General Conference Secretary; 2239 Adam Clayton Powell Jr.Blvd., New York NY 10027; 904-422-1627; jermmar25@gmail.com Rev. Valencia Edner - Coordinator, Connectional Music and Arts Ministry - 17206 Atascocita Bend Dr., Humble TX 77396; 936-465-7284;Pastorvee522@yahoo.com

HEADS OF CONNECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Rev. Dr. William E. George - Administrator, Collins Chapel Health Center, 409 Ayers St., Memphis TN 38105; 901-683-7883; email: weg38@aol.com Dr. Paul Brown - President and Dean, Phillips School of Theology, Atlanta GA; 404-527-7768 Dr. Logan C. Hampton - President, Lane College, 545 Lane Ave., Jackson TN 38301; 731-426-7595 (office); 731-427-3987 (fax) Ms. Bobbie Knight - President, Miles College, P. O. Box 39800, Birmingham AL 35208; 205-929-1428; 205-929-1448; 205-929-1429; 205-929-1426 (fax) Dr. Dwight Fennell - President, Texas College, 2404 N. Grand Ave., Tyler TX 75702; 903-593-8311; 903-593-0588 (fax) Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones - Office of the President, Paine College, 1235 Fifteenth St., Augusta GA 30901-3182; 706-821-8230 (office); 706-821-8320 (Admissions)

July 2021 • The Christian Index

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