Richmond Free Press
B4 February 25-27, 2016
Faith News/Directory
Area churches collecting water for Flint relief The Baptist General Convention of Virginia’s Social Concerns Commission and Health Ministry has organized a “Fresh Water for Flint” drive to aid residents of the Michigan city in the ongoing water contamination crisis. Donations of bottled water are being accepted on weekdays at three Richmond churches through Tuesday, March 1.
Those churches are Fourth Baptist Church, 2800 P St. in the East End; First African Baptist Church, 2700 Hanes Ave. in North Side; and Fifth Baptist Church, 1415 W. Cary St. in the West End. Donations are being accepted at First African and Fourth Baptist churches from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at
Fifth Baptist from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The donations are to be shipped for distribution via Flint-based Hand of God Ministries. “As compassionate citizens, we have a great opportunity to assist families in need of help by coming together in this effort,” said Fourth Baptist Pastor Emory Berry Jr., co-chair of
the Baptist General Convention of Virginia’s Social Concerns Commission. “We realize that none of us are immune to misfortune and it is our responsibility to help where we can,” Dr. Berry added. For more information on the water drive: call Dr. J. Elisha Burke at (804) 228-2421 or Dr. Berry at (804) 644-1013.
At African-American churches
Fellowship with heaps of food By Frederick H. Lowe Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com
After the Fourth Sunday of Advent Service in December, members and guests of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, a mostly African-American church on Chicago’s West Side, celebrated by hosting a special Advent brunch. And special it was. Spread out on two long tables in a second-floor room between the kitchen and the pastor’s office were big aluminum pans of ham, turkey, fried chicken, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, gravy, slices of white bread, salad, salad dressings and collard greens. For dessert, there was peach cobbler and several varieties of cookies, along with hot coffee, tea, sodas and water. Church members sat in folding chairs, balancing their plates on their laps, eating, talking and laughing, often going for seconds. Some members ate in a back room where there was a table. Father Christopher Griffin, St. Martin’s pastor, held a plate overflowing with food in one hand. His stomach sticks out well over his belt buckle. When asked if he was concerned This plate is loaded with the typical tasty, high-calorie comfort food served about his weight, he said, “Sure, I’d like to American churches. lose weight. Doesn’t every American?” The gathering went on for several hours before members, at the University of Michigan, during a seminar at Novemwho also include Asians, Hispanics and white people, washed ber’s Gerontological Society of America conference held in the plates, pots and pans before cleaning the kitchen to go Orlando, Fla. home. He explained that even middleclass or wealthy AfricanThere was so much food, church members saved the leftovers Americans suffer from daily microaggressions — subtle or for the dinner that would be served after the Christmas Eve not so subtle racist insults — in which they are unjustly viewed as thieves or suspected criminals because of their skin color. Women clutch their purses in fear when they see black men. Armed security guards follow black male shoppers throughout stores believing black men may be there to steal, not to shop. A cop in a retail store gripping the butt of his gun at the sight of a black man who is minding his own business sends an unambiguous message of threat. Security guards at the former Marshall Field’s Department Store on Chicago’s State Street called black men “88s.” That’s a white supremacist term for “Heil Hitler,” a black security guard said. “The letter “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet; thus the term“88.” “Many black Americans live in chronically precarious and difficult environments,” according to the study “Race and Unhealthy Behaviors: Chronic Stress, the HPA [hypothalamic pituitary adrenalcortical] Axis and Physical and Mental Health Disparities Over the Life Course.” Dr. Jackson and co-authors Dr. Katherine M. Knight and Dr. Jane A. Rafferty wrote, “These environments produce stressful Father Christopher Griffin, left, of St. Martin’s Episcopal living conditions, and often the most accessible options for adChurch in Chicago talks with church members and guests dressing stress are various unhealthy behaviors, e.g., smoking, during a brunch after Advent service. drinking, drug use and so on.” service. In addition to the special meals, there’s coffee hour, They continue, “These unhealthy behaviors may have a saluwhich is held most Sundays. Large amounts of food are also brious effect by helping stave off mental health disorders among served at coffee hour. some race groups.” But, they found, those behaviors combined with stressful living “create large physical disparities that are unfavorable to Blacks.” High obesity rate Dinners served after church services have been used by some to explain the high obesity rates among black people. At Women seek comfort; men, the gym the same time, the calorie-laden dinners also provide fellowBlack women often reduce stress by overeating comfort foods, ship for African-Americans, a sense of easy community they beginning at an early age, largely because they are encouraged may not experience elsewhere during the week, particularly to do so by their mothers, female relatives and friends. given the prevalence of racially motivated slights, the tense “Overeating is an effective, early, well-learned response to anticipation of slights, or worse, the possibility of violent chronic environmental stressors that only strengthens over the physical assault. life course,” Dr. Jackson said. African-American men and women who eat high-fat comAfrican-American women may not exercise because they don’t fort foods, such as macaroni and cheese, register higher rates want to mess up their hair. It is expensive to have it straightened of obesity than most other groups in the United States. These and styled with a hot curling iron. White women, on the other men and women, however, took different paths on the road to hand, can wash and blow-dry their hair daily and usually do this excessive girth. In both cases, many African-Americans end up without the assistance or the expense of a hair stylist. suffering from such debilitating physical ailments as diabetes, African-American men, however, begin exercising at a young high blood pressure and heart disease that shorten their lives age to maintain their strength and weight. If they become competicompared with other racial and ethnic groups. tive athletes, they have opportunities to win college scholarships and possibly play professional sports. Eating to reduce stress However, when they reach middle age, they gain weight African-Americans eat high-fat foods as a way to reduce because their bodies begin to break down, making exercise stress, which comes from living in poverty and residing in much more difficult. Unable to exercise as they did when they neighborhoods with inadequate housing and high crime rates, were younger to reduce stress, the men smoke cigarettes, drink said Dr. James S. Jackson of the Institute for Social Research alcohol and self medicate with illegal drugs.
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Low-income white women on drugs Middleage black men are not the only ones who are smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs in growing numbers. These behaviors are occurring with much greater frequency with lowerclass white women, especially in rural areas, because they have been pushed out of traditional low-wage jobs that require little to no education, Dr. Jackson explained. Those jobs often go to cheaper migrant labor. The Sentencing Project, a Washingtonbased think tank concerned with judicial reform, reported that the numbers of white women sentenced to prison rose 48 percent from 2000 to 2009. In Ohio, for example, white women, many from the state’s rural areas, are the fastestgrowing population in Ohio prisons, according to state records. “There’s high meth use in rural white areas,” Dr. Jackson said. The growth in the use of methamphetamines and opioids has gotten the attention of Congress, which at one time wanted to at many African- lock up inmates and throw away the key when most, if not all, were black men. With hard drug use spreading now among the white middle class and in rural areas, congressional support is growing for declaring drug abuse a health issue. “This shows you how policy blinds you to what is going on in front of your face,” Dr. Jackson said. Nearly 40 percent of black men, 60 percent of black women obese According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.9 percent of black men age 20 and older were obese from 2009 to 2012, compared with 57.6 percent of black women during the same time period. Obesity, a medical term, is characterized by excess body fat. It is calculated based on a person’s height and weight, according to the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jackson said. Dr. Jackson “This is a very complicated issue,” he explained. “You have the perfect storm factors. You have gender and cultural issues. Girls learn this behavior from their mothers who often eat big meals following Sunday church service or even daily. In so doing, mothers signal to their daughters it’s OK to be overweight.” African-American men also encourage black women to be obese. “Being skinny isn’t valued,” Dr. Jackson said. In the critically acclaimed 2014 movie “Top Five,” starring comedian Chris Rock, the character “Silk,” played by actor J. B. Smoove, constantly hits on heavyset black women. Silk, who complains that women who are trim are too skinny for him, even targets a policewoman, whom he suggestively urges to lock him up. When Silk sees another obese black woman, he says, “Ooh. I love a big girl. You move with a lot of confidence.” A big smile lights up her face. Such incidents are taken from real life and inevitably make their way into reel life. Church dinners provide food and fellowship Sunday church dinners provide fellowship for AfricanAmericans, refuge from a world where feeling accepted is not always possible. A half-century after the Civil Rights Movement sit-ins, African-Americans may not be served in Chicago restaurants or may receive poor service to discourage their return. This Chicago-based reporter was turned away from a local restaurant, even though there were plenty of empty tables. And I was placed in a seating area with no waitress service at another restaurant. The hostess wanted me to leave. I did. But black churches, along with their big meals, provide a place for fellowship, a custom that began in slavery. People are welcomed. “Sunday was the only day blacks were free. At church, black people were somebody. They held positions in the church, such as deacon. They were honored and welcomed,” Father Griffin said. “They then sat down to eat and enjoy their day.”
Zion Baptist Church, Petersburg, VA Minister of Music
Zion Baptist Church, Petersburg, VA is seeking a Minister of Music to provide leadership to a music ministry which is known throughout the area. The Pastor of Zion Baptist Church is Pastor Michael E. Shannon, Sr. The Minister of Music, in collaboration with the Pastor, plans and administers music for all worship services, including funerals, special services and church programs. Plays the organ and piano. Provides leadership and supervision to a comprehensive music ministry that includes multiple choirs/ensembles, intergenerational volunteers of various musical styles and abilities. Provides leadership and supervision for the accompanying musicians, volunteers and singers and for a Praise and Worship team. Average of 29 hours per week. Hourly $13.93 - $15.92, ($21K-$24K). The Minister of Music position at Zion Baptist Church is open until filled. Applications will be evaluated when received; however, the position will remain open until an individual has been chosen for the position. For more information and to apply, please visit www.zionbaptistpetersburgva.org.