The Historic Ebenezer A.M.E. Church

Bishop Richard Franklin Norris - Chair, Commission on Publications

The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher

The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder

1. EDITORIAL – I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE, WHO DON’T READ OUR PERIODICALS, ALSO FAIL TO READ THE BIBLE:

Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III

The 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder

I had an interesting, but disturbing experience in Columbia, South Carolina while attending The Great Gathering. The Great Gathering was a wonderful experience.

I was getting ready to return to Nashville and was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for a ride to the airport. I sat down next across from a young lady started small talk; it just seemed like the right thing to do since we were sitting in the same space. I said, “Good morning! My name is Calvin Sydnor and I am getting ready to fly back to Nashville.” She responded, “I am Reverend Mary Evans (not her real name, I can’t remember her name).

I asked, “Are you a pastor? Are you AME CME or AME Zion?” She responded that she was an AME, but she was not pastoring.

I asked if she enjoyed The Great Gathering and she responded that she had enjoyed the meeting.

I asked her if she were an itinerant deacon or elder and she responded that she was an itinerant elder and served on the staff of a church in South Carolina. I told her that I was the editor of The Christian Recorder, but that didn’t seem to strike a normal response like, ”Oh, yeah, I have seen your picture” or give a compliment or a criticism.

I asked her if she read The Christian Recorder and she responded that she hadn’t gotten a subscription to The Christian Recorder yet. I then asked if she read The Christian Recorder Online. She responded that she had not read The Christian Recorder Online.

By this time I am flabbergasted, ready to lose my cool. I asked her if she read The A.M.E. Church Review and again she answered in the negative. I asked about The Journal of Religious Education, The Missionary Magazine and the other AME periodicals and again the answer was that she didn’t read them. By that time, I wanted to get cynical and ask if she read the Bible, but I “didn’t go there” because I didn’t want her to lie.

I wonder how many other preachers we have who are not interested in keeping abreast of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I really wanted to ask that young lady which books and periodicals did she regularly read.

I was disturbed by that conversation and I guess that I don’t have to worry about the young lady reading this editorial. I was disturbed because she may be indicative of other AME clergy and laity; people who are not connected with the Church because they fail to read the periodicals of the AME Church.

A couple of weeks ago, I received the Gazette. I bet that young lady has no idea about the Gazette. I would bet at this point there are many of you reading this editorial, up to this point, have no idea about the Gazette. The YPD Gazette is the Young People’s Department periodical. It is absolutely a wonderful magazine, outstanding articles, engaging graphics, a lot of stories by and about young people, news from the various episcopal districts, a Questions and Answers’ column, and a lot of news for young people. I wonder how many young people are subscribed to it. I wonder how many pastors are subscribed to it.

The AME Church Periodicals

The Journal of Christian Education has outstanding articles that would assist pastors and religious educators in the local church. I wonder how many people read it.

The Voice of Missions is another outstanding AME periodical that has thought-provoking articles, news about Districts 14-20, and observations from the Executive Director and the Editor give clear statement about the AME Church’s mission ministry overseas. I wonder how many people read it.

The Women’s Missionary Magazine is a premier periodical with informative articles. It ranks, with the other AME periodicals, at the top of denominational periodicals. The AME Church periodicals can stand with the best. . I wonder how many people read it.

The Connectional Lay Organization Magazine is a must–read periodical for the AME laity and clergy should read it too. I wonder how many people read it.

The AME devotional periodical, The Secret Chamber with its inspirational vignettes brings joy to those who read it, but I wonder how many people read it.

I wonder how many of our clergy and laity read our periodicals. I know that we have a lot of subscribers, but I am also certain that we have a lot more clergy and laity who are not subscribed to our periodicals.

The Book of Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2008 on page 172, gives preachers and laity the option, and thus an excuse, beyond a mandatory subscription to The Christian Recorder, not to subscribe to all of the AME periodicals. The Discipline simply says, “All traveling preachers in the Connection are required to subscribe to The Christian Recorder, or The Voice of Missions or The A.M.E. Church Review or The Journal of Christian Education. Presiding elders, at their Quarterly Conferences, shall require all local preachers to subscribe to at least one of the Church periodical.”

The Discipline makes one thing clear. All “traveling preachers” are required to follow the rule set forth in The Discipline.” Traveling preachers are itinerant deacons and itinerant elders. I suspect that some people read “traveling preachers” to mean only pastors. All ordained itinerant deacons and elders are “traveling preachers,” even those clergy without pastoral appointments.

Putting the laity aside, we minimize the standards and expectations of our clergy.

If we valued the content of our AME periodicals, the expectation should be that every clergy person read and be knowledgeable about the information in all of the AME periodicals. When we extend minimum standards, as in subscribe to this periodical or to that periodical, people will almost always take the “road of least resistance” and do what is minimally required and, in the long run, the denomination suffers.

In the case of the subscription options on page 172, most preachers will opt for two subscriptions, except in the case where presiding bishops insists that all pastors subscribe to all AME periodicals. Bishops should not have to “tell” professionals that they have to subscribe to the organization’s periodicals. Professionals should want to know what’s going on in every segment of the organization.

As I have said before, every person coming into the AME ministry should want to subscribe to all of the AME periodicals. They should not have to be told to subscribe to the AME periodicals. Church officers who are serious about being officers in the AME Church should subscribe to all of the AME Church periodicals.

The young preacher I met in Columbia who precipitated this editorial is the classic example of an ordained AME clergy person who is not concerned with incorporating the full spectrum of African Methodism into the totality of ministry.

Sermons are more than Bible stories, more than what happened in biblical history. Effective sermons address contemporary issues and the African Methodist Episcopal Church is a connectional church, our ministries “touch each other” and the way we find out about what’s going on in the AME Church can be discovered by reading our periodicals.

It is in our periodicals that we learn about the past, the present and what we hope for in the future. It is in our periodical that we learn what others are doing and what has worked for others and hopefully capture ideas for ministry. Our periodicals allow us to share ideas and ministry initiatives. Our periodicals should inspire ministry and spark evangelism.

But how can these things be if we fail to read our periodicals. If the AME Church periodicals are not in your possession, you can’t read them.

If we love the African Methodist Episcopal Church we should want to be as knowledgeable as we can about our Church, and the most effective way that we can be knowledgeable about our Church is to subscribe to the African Methodist Episcopal church periodicals and read them.

I wonder how many people read our periodicals.

Did you know?

There are no parables in the Gospel of John.

There are only seven miracles in the Gospel of John.

I wonder how many people, who don’t read our periodicals, also fail to read the Bible.

The article appended below can be accessed from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-c-gregory-mdiv-phd/the-black-church-alive-an_b_565411.html

Joel C. Gregory, M.Div., Ph.D., is professor of preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, a Distinguished Fellow of Georgetown College, and founder and president of Joel Gregory Ministries. Recently he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International College of Preachers, which recognizes those who embody the principles of peace, justice, and reconciliation.

The Black Church: Alive and Well

The past decade has afforded me an opportunity rarely found in recent American church culture. For a complex of reasons I have become a white preacher in black churches. I have spoken before more than 200 African American congregations, conferences, and conventions in more than twenty states each year. From coast to coast and border to border, in urban centers and small towns, I have preached in America's black churches. These include not only black Baptist congregations but African Methodist Episcopal, Church of God in Christ, and other historically black denominations.

From that experience, I am at a loss for an explanation of Dr. Glaude's statement that the black church is dead. If it is, I do not know who signed the death certificate or notified the next of kin. In every way I can measure vitality, the black church is energetic, living, and flourishing.

As a professor of preaching, I know well that preaching itself thrives in the black church as in no other culture I have experienced. The moment of preaching in the black church is an electric moment. The people anticipate that God will speak through the sermon with a word for them, right in their current existence and in that very venue. The Bible in black preaching is not an ancient story but a personal reality of their human existence now. For instance, every Sunday Rev. Dr. Ralph D. West stands in front of more than 10,000 persons in five services in Houston at The Church Without Walls. He started the church in his home 22 years ago. Through Dr. West's consistent, honest preaching, God has filled the church. In far too many white churches, the sermon is a pill to be swallowed; in the black church, preaching is a meal to relish.

The vitality of worship in the black church has not waned. Warmth, freedom, expressiveness, liberty of voice and movement, spontaneity and response all stamp black worship. It is in every sense alive. The community gathers every week in a celebration of the grace of God that carried them through the previous week and will see them through the week to come. The sense of hope is tangible in black churches.

Social justice concerns still mark the life of every black church I visit. It is a short distance from the church's fellowship hall to city hall or state house. My friend of the decades, Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr., has only to suggest that he has a concern in Oakland, California, and a thousand will people will march with him to the seats of power. When Dr Smith recently retired, the Republican governor of the state, Arnold Schwarzenegger, came to his retirement banquet, sat through the entire dinner, and lauded Dr. Smith as one of California's greatest sources for good and justice.

Community service reigns in the black church with insistent vitality. Care for the latch-key kids, the elderly, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the forgotten is a daily practice for every black church I know. Black churches do not hire somebody else to do it. The lay folks do it, freely and with love.

A high regard for education marks the vital black church. In state after state I have watched pastors call students to the platform at the end of a Sunday morning service and recognize those who have made the A and B honor roll, in elementary school as well as in high school and college. The entire congregation celebrates every report card, every academic admission, and graduation and every credentialing. The intentional affirmation of academic achievement in the black church is a cornerstone of the community's educational advancement.

Empowerment happens in the black church. My friend Rev. Joe Carter serves the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. That city has as many challenges as any. He takes the poorest from the streets, feeds them lunch, dries them out, sobers them up, counsels them vocationally, teaches them how to write a résumé, and reclaims them for society. New Hope is not alone among black congregations offering such earthy empowerment. Computer labs and church credit unions, job fairs and school fairs, job training and financial workshops for credit repair and budget planning -- these are all happening in the black churches I visit.

Where is the obituary? I do not see it. I do not know any organization in America today that has the vitality of the black church. Lodges are dying, civic clubs are filled with octogenarians, volunteer organizations are languishing, and even the academy has to prove the worth of a degree. The government is divided, the schoolroom has become a war zone, mainline denominations are staggering, and evangelical megachurch juggernauts are showing signs of lagging. Above all of this entropy stands one institution that is more vital than ever: the praising, preaching, and empowering black church.

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Value the gift of you!

Character is a lovely personality shinning through everything we say and everything we do. Character is made by what you stand for, reputation is made by what you fall for.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

To God Be The Glory!

Rev. Gwen Davis

Young Adult Minister

Ebenezer AME Church

313-535-8946-H

313-820-4525-Cell

revgwen@yahoo.com

www.thebigeonline.com

For G.G.P's(God's Great People),

Stretch Words for Lent!

S alvation,

Psalm 27: 1

The LORD is my light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

T rust

Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

R edeemed

 Isaiah 44:22

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have Redeemed you."

E nriched

1 Corinthians 1:5

For in him you have been Enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—

T riumph

Psalm 118:7

The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in Triumph on my enemies.

C are

Deuteronomy 7:11

Therefore, take Care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

H ope

Romans 15:13

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pursuing His Presence Prayer Luncheon Kicks off Women’s Month

On Saturday, April 4, the Women of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Detroit will host “Pursuing His Presence” Prayer Luncheon as the first event in the Women’s Month Celebration.

Reverend Sharon D. Moore, Assistant Pastor of Ebenezer (where her husband Reverend Byron C. Moore is Pastor) says that the Prayer Luncheon will be a breakthrough for all women in every aspect of life.
“Many of us are hurting and lacking – in our relationships, our finances and our health. We are not seeing a change or breakthrough or reaping the benefits because we are not talking to the One who can give us the change that will make a difference in our lives. In Pursuing His Presence, not only will we have dynamic and anointed women praying for women, but we will teach you how to pray, and how to utilize prayer in order to see the breakthrough!”

Reverend Moore has identified seven areas that will be lifted in prayer:

• Prayers for Single Women – Led by Reverend Vivian Clarington of Allen Temple A.M.E. Church

• Prayers for Divorced Women led by Pastor Mattie Thomas of New Grace Community Church

• Prayers for Married Women led by Minister Rhonda Smith of Evangel Ministries

• Prayers for Women leaders led by Reverend Anita McCants of Visitors Chapel A.M.E. Church

• Prayers for Women in their Golden Years led by Minister Florence Moore of Messiah Missionary Baptist Church

• Prayers for Women who have lost their jobs led by Reverend Twylla Lucas of Oak Grove A.M.E. Church

• Prayers for women facing illness led by Dr. Valerie Abbott, MD

The keynote speaker is Reverend Dr. Velva Burley, Minister of Community relations at 3rd New Hope Baptist Church. “The Luncheon is all inclusive for all women – no matter what stage of life you are in and what challenges you are facing. We are breaking all barriers – racial, economic, marital status, educational, church affiliation – because prayer is the thread that unites us and prayer is the gift we all have at our disposal. Our goal is to offer women the tools they need to pray and actually see a breakthrough with prayer. We want women to leave the luncheon empowered with the connection of prayer and the knowledge of using the tools of prayer everyday and in every way. This is why we all calling the Prayer Luncheon, and the entire Woman’s Month celebration “Pursuing His Presence”.

The Luncheon will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 3 – 5 P.m. at Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 5151 West Chicago Blvd. in Detroit. Tickets are $25.00 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. For ticket information and group sales, call Tina Stephens at (313) 345-4216. Email: tinastalking@comcast.net

The Election Results at the 48th Quadrennial Session General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that was held in St. Louis, Missouri

BISHOPS

The Right Rev. Jeffrey N. Leath, 128th elected bishop

The Right Rev. Julius H. McAllister Sr., 129th elected bishop

The Right Rev. John F. White, 130th elected bishop

GENERAL SECRETARY

Dr. Clement W. Fugh

CHAIR OF EPISCOPAL COMMITTEE

Dr. Harold R. Mayberry

SECRETARY-TREASURER, SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION

Dr. Johnny Barbour Jr.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GLOBAL WITNESS & MINISTRY

Dr. George F. Flowers

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ANNUITY INVESTMENTS AND INSURANCE

Dr. Jerome V. Harris

TREASURER/CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Dr. Richard Allen Lewis

EDITOR, THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER

Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III

JUDICIAL COUNCIL

Benjamin F. Edwards (layperson)

Priscilla J. Green (layperson)

Rosemarie Rhodes-Miller (layperson)

Patricia M. Mayberry (layperson)

Francine A. Brookins (clergy)

Granville W. Reed III (clergy)

JUDICIAL COUNCIL ALTERNATE

James T. Golden

Thursday Evening ? The General Officers? Installation Service

The Installation Service for the reelected General Officers was conducted on Thursday evening.  The service was well-attended and a spiritually enriched worship service.

The Christian Recorder Daily Report: Friday, Day 8, July 11, 2008

The Consecration Service was held.  The following persons were elected bishops and this date consecrated as bishops in the African Methodist Episcopal Church:

Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath

Bishop Julius H. McAllister, Sr.

Bishop John F. White

Business Session XIV

Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry was the chair of the Friday morning business session.

The Strategic Planning Meeting Report as delivered and received by the General Conference.

The Rev. Sarah Pedinny, Presiding Elder for AME-India was presented to the General Conference.  Rev. Pedinny addressed the General Conference and was well-received by the GC.

Bishop McCloud introduced the Rev. Cristalene Whalen as the most newly endorsed military chaplain.

Bishop McKenzie announced that the AME delegates and visitors had 16,000 room nights in St. Louis .  The AME Church received $485,000 in sponsorship and in kind sponsorship donations of $125,000.  Bishop and Dr. McCloud; the Rev. Mark Whitlock, Mrs. Delores Lewis; and Dr. Richard Lewis were responsible for raising the cash and in kind gifts that supported the General Conference.

The General Conference gave a rousing standing ovation for the great work of Bishop McKenzie and the General Conference Commission.

All of the bishops were commended by their Episcopal Districts and received extended rounds of applause.

The official Information of the General Secretary will be posted on the official AME Website: www.ame-church.com/

The Consecration Worship Service began with the Processional of the General Officers and the Bishops.

The bishops-elect, the Rev. Jeffrey N. Leath, the Julius H. McAllister, Sr. and the Rev. John F. White were seated in the place of honor; in the front pulpit area. 

The versatile Fifth Episcopal District choir sang to the glory of God.

Bishop Philip R, Cousin?s sermon taken from Joshua 1:2, was a charge to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Bishop Cousin reminded us that the African Methodist Episcopal Church has ?a great past, but a greater future.?  He spoke about the importance of the ?now.?  We should not waste the ?now.?  The ?now? is filled with difficulties. The AME Church stands at a threshold of a greater future. The congregation came to its feet when he asked of the congregation had ever heard a preacher say, ?That ain?t much,? went on to say, ?Preachers who say that ain?t much.?   He encouraged pastors and laity to be positive, and explained that the AME Church was not dead, but in need of ?pruning.?

Bishop Cousin preached a dynamic and Holy Spirit filled sermon.  At the end of his sermon he was greeted by his wife of over fifty years who went up to the pulpit to hug and embrace him.  The congregation rose to its feet. 

The musicians played ?Great is Thy Faithfulness? and the congregation burst into the singing of that great hymn; the scheduled listed hymn was ?Joys are Flowing.?  After singing, ?Great is Thy Faithfulness, the congregation transitioned into singing the hymn, Joys are Flowing.? Bishop Sarah Davis extended the Invitation and closed the Invitation with prayer.

Bishop John Bryant moved to the pulpit and called Bishop and Mrs. Cousin; Bishop and Mrs. Chappelle; and Bishop Robert Vaughn Webster and his daughter, Supervisor White to the pulpit.  Bishop Bryant explained that Bishops Cousin, Chappelle and Webster had over 150 years of combined ministry.  Bishop Bryant said that ministry was a shared vocation and that it was appropriate to honor the spouses with their husbands.

.

Bishop Cousin led in the service of transferring the Senior Bishop title to Bishop John R. Bryant.  Bishop Bryant is officially the Senor Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The offering was collected and blessed and the choir continued to sing to the glory of God.

The Service of Consecration

Bishop McKinley Young was the worship leader for the Service of Consecration for the three Bishops-elect.  Bishops and itinerant elders selected by the Bishops-elect participated in the Service of Consecration.

The Right Rev. Jeffrey N. Leath, the Right Rev. Julius H. McAllister, Sr. and the Right Rev. John F. White were joined by their spouses when they were given Holy Communion.

The Closing Business Service

The following are the Episcopal assignments for 2008 ? 2012:

1st Episcopal District ? Bishop Richard Franklin Norris

2nd Episcopal District ? Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson

3rd Episcopal District ? Bishop Cornel Garnett Henning

4th Episcopal District ? Bishop John Richard Bryant

5th Episcopal District ? Bishop Theodore Larry Kirkland

6th Episcopal District ? Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux

7th Episcopal District ? Bishop Preston Warren Williams II

8th Episcopal District ? Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry

9th Episcopal District - Bishop James Levert Davis

10th Episcopal District ? Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram

11th Episcopal District ? Bishop McKinley Young

12th Episcopal District ? Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green, Sr.

13th Episcopal District ? Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie

14th Episcopal District ? Bishop David R. Daniels

15th Episcopal District ? Bishop Wilfred Messiah

16th Episcopal District ? Bishop Sarah Frances Davis

17th Episcopal District ? Bishop Paul Jones Kawimbe

18th Episcopal District ? Bishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr.

19th Episcopal District ? Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath

20th Episcopal District ? Bishop Julius H. McAllister

Office of Ecumenical and Urban Affairs - Bishop John F. White

The Closing Business Session consisted of the final report of the Episcopal Committee. 

The closing hymn was ?God be with You Till We Meet Again.?

The benediction was pronounced by Bishop Philip R. Cousin, Sr.

?The Right Hand of God? was the Recessional Hymn.

The 2008 General Conference has adjourned.

Provided by the AME Christian Recorder