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October 30, 1989
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Vol. 139, No, 3
GREET YOU IN
JESUS’ NAME.
Having just returned
from St. Croix this past
weekend, I want to re-
port to you the cir-
cumstances of the peo-
ple, and the damage to
our churches, parson-
ages, and school during
HURRICANE HUGO.
Conditions are worse
than previously reported
by the media.
Bishop Belin Reports Hugo Damage
to the Connectional Church
The AME. Christian Recorder
THe OPPICETAL ORGAN
VERIO AN METHODIST EPISCOPAL
ECORDER
October 30, 1989
Portions of the island
were torn asunder (or
Bishop H. A. Belin, Jr.
Presiding Bishop, 12th & 16th Districts
virtually leveled) by the
two hundred mile perhour winds and more than fourteen un-
interrupted hours of torrential rains, leaving St. Croix with no
running water or electricity. Generators are being supplied at exor-
bitant costs. It will take years to completely rebuild. The people re-
joice that there were so few deaths, but remain shocked at the total
devastation and re-building task ahead of them.
With one exception, all churches on the island were heavily
damaged. At St. Luke and Bethel, our A.M.E. churches, the roofs
were partly blown off, holes left in walls, interiors ruined by water
(organs, pianos, pews, chairs), and windows blown out. The par-
sonage sustained similar damage.
—Graphics by Joe Vick and Bruce Dodd (A.M.E.C. Sunday School Union)
Please turn to page 7
NIGERIA: A Model
for Democracy in Africa?
Washington, DC—Of more than fifty
countries in Africa, all but a handful
are poverty-stricken dictatorships.
But if democratic and free-market
reforms currently being carried out in
the continent’s most populous nation,
Nigeria, are successful, they could
serve as a model for freedom in Afri-
can nations, according to a new study
by Heritage Foundation Third World
and African Affairs Policy Analyst
Michael Johns.
Nigeria’s military ruler Major
General Ibrahim B. Babangida, has
already instituted a variety of free-
market economic reforms, which
have helped revitalize the Nigerian
economy. He also plans to restore
democracy by 1992. Johns says the
United States should encourage these
trends by, among other things, fund-
ing pro-democracy organizations, ex-
Please turn to page 6
PRICE; 50 CENTS
Echoes from Georgia
O34
The Horror of a Hurricane °
. 53,000 Homeless on
St. Croix
Church Computer Software
(AMEC) Information System
rhe Jolt Felt Around the °
-World. .. : ,
jes)
°
Bishop John Hurst Adams: p
‘A Good Shepherd of the Sheep’’?
Bishop John Hurst Adams of the
great Sixth Episcopal District of the
State of Georgia is a good shepherd of
the sheep. Recently, our illustrious
bishop took his Atlanta/North Con-
ference to the aid of a struggling
church congregation and gave them a
financial shot in the arm. The Wil-
liams Chapel A.M.E. Church, locat-
ed in the heart of downtown Atlanta
(formerly the historic St. Mark
Church before it was relocated to
Campbleton Road), welcomed our
good bishop to their house of worship
with open arms.
Standing tall beside Bishop Adams
to do whatever must be done were
some of the leading pastors of this re-
juvenated Atlanta/North Confer-
ence, including Drs. McKinley
Young, Big Bethel Church; George
Moore, Sr., St. Philip Church; C. E.
Wells, Allen Temple Church; Preston
Bishop John Hurst Adams, read contri-
butions from various churches of At-
Janta North Conference. A total of $7,000
was raised for the struggling church con-
gregation.
Williams, St. Paul Church; Benjamin
Gay, Flipper Temple Church, and T.
N. Hercules, St. Mark Church. These
Please turn to page 3
Historiographer Takes Another
Be
Young Richard Allen, 1784
Artist Unknown
Howard University Gallery
Washington, DC
by Dennis C. Dickerson
Williamstown, MA—The serious in-
terest of contemporary artists and
Look at Bishop Richard Allen
veces
Dr. Dennis C. Dickerson
lithographers in sketching the likeness
of Richard Allen testified to the im-
portance of this Philadelphia-born
preacher and prelate. Dr. Dennis C.
Dickerson, the Historiographer, has
identified the originals of four dif-
ferent portraits of the founder and
first bishop of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church. Located respec-
tively at Howard University in Wash-
ington, DC, the Library Company of
Philadelphia, and the American Anti-
Please turn to page 6
Help Us Almighty God Omnipotent
by A. Lee Henderson
Help Us God Omnipotent, Hurri-
cane Hugo provides us with a positive
sustenance against the death and
devastation of the treacherous storm
that purloined life and shelter from its
victims with indiscriminate rage.
I heard stories, however, that coun-
termanded some of the grief and over-
whelming need with reminders that
out of the worst disasters we can learn
through necessity. For devastation
brought on by natural disaster can be
a great leveler, and humanity is still
waiting to be taught a lesson or two or
more!
In a genteel neighborhood where
the great Southern Colonial ante-bel-
lum houses had presided over the
slavetrade era, a gentleman who had
inherited the home from his ancestors
looked on in dismay as Hurricane
Hugo’s aftermath obliterated not
only the outside portico of his home,
but sloshed its muddy river of
devastation through the marble halls
of the entryway into his living
quarters. He was deep in water.
His search throughout the town of
Charleston, South Carolina, for a
generator to power his own broken
down pumping system led to a grow-
ing despair and frustration that he
would never find help.
Tramping his way through endless
neighborhoods, he finally gave way to
despair until he spotted activity cen-
tering around a small home humming
with the efforts of a group of people
he did not recognize.
But that was not unusual since he
had been a virtual recluse in his home
for the last thirty-five years!
Approaching them in his once-me-
ticulous white suit rolled to his knob-
by knee caps, the venerable old
southern gentleman’s shabby but
haunted look did not frighten the
workers.
All of them,
Black men, had
the spirited re-
sourcefulness of
a Richard Allen
during Philadel-
phia’s plague,
and they asked
him if he needed
help. :
Indeed, he nodded, and at the end
of the day there they were together,
struggling in the hallway of the
desecrated Southern mansion to give
its occupant and owner a chance to
survive, with them, against the
demons of the storm! turn to page 7
S
NORRIS
RICHARD F
DR
1135 BARRINGER s7
PHILADELPHIA pa 19119
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2 The AME Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
BLACK CHURCH SPECIAL OCCASION DAYS PROMOTE
STEWARDSHIP, FELLOWSHIP AND...!
I planned and held many Special
Occasion Days during my pastoral
ministry. I have preached many
Men’s Day sermons during my tenure
as a General Officer. It was, however,
only recently, while preparing to de-
liver en’s Day sermon in Atlanta,
Georgia, that I realized how many of
the Special Day celebrations are
unique to the Black church. It is most
exciting to trace the history of the
Black church and to arrive at some
understanding of its Biblical,
sociological and psychological impact
upon the Black community and the
larger society.
The church has always been a spiri-
tual force for Black people. In fact,
the Black church was the focal point of Black life. The church served as the
school, a political forum, recreational center, theater, social welfare center
and a ‘‘security blanket.’’ The Black church was the respected institution
that developed its own role models and challenged Black people to rise above
their conditions of servitude and become all that God intended them to be.
In spite of their impoverished conditions, they found ways to build and
maintain a church building. Over the years, the Black church congregations
have celebrated many special occasion days unique unto themselves that
brought fellowship, money and community support. There are many other
days celebrated in the life of the church that are common to all Christians.
Choir Anniversary Day, Ushers Day, Family and Friends Day, Church
Anniversary Day, Founder’s Day, Men’s Day and Women’s Day are,
among others, annual church-year calendar days to be celebrated in the
Black church. A great deal of the church budget is generated through these
special days. Even though many congregations were, in years past, compris-
ed of members whose income was meager, and tithes were small, they made
sacrifices, developed programs and projects that generated revenue to buy,
build and maintain great institutions. It was not uncommon to attend a
church supper, ice cream social, cake walk, chitterling strut, fish fry, bake
sale, chicken dinner and other types of activities that brought extra monies
into the church treasury. Sometimes it appeared that the fellowship at these
functions was more important than the money raised.
Men’s Days and Women’s Days, apart from the fellowship and steward-
ship, also taught and promoted manhood and womanhood Christianity.
When the majority society disregarded, disrespected and totally ignored the
personhood and dignity rights of Black people, the Black church not only
told them they were children of God, but reinforced their self-image and
self-esteem. The children, also, were taught the concept of ““somebody-
ness’? and were challenged to achieve and to excel in school.
The Black church taught social concepts of family affection and unity,
love of God, love of justice and of liberty. When the family is truly a family,
it produces children who become men and women, who become ladies and
gentlemen. The Black church was strong on parental support, recognizing it
as the basis of a strong and stable community—especially after the separa-
tion experience of slavery.
ROBERT H. REID, JR.
THE A.M.E. CHRISTIAN RECORDER
The Christian Recorder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (USPS
016880) is published bi-weekly by the A.M.E.C Sunday School Union, 500 Eighth
Avenue, South, Nashville, Tennessee 37203-4181. Second Class postage paid at
Nashville, Tennessee
The A.M.E. Christian Recorder was established in 1852
Executive and Editorial Office: 500 Eighth Avenue, South, Nashville, Ten
nessee 37203-4181. Advertising rates available on request. Subscription rate
$15.00 per year by mail, Make all money orders and cashier's checks payable to A
Lee Henderson
Dr. A. Lee Henderson, Publisher
Dr. R. H. Reid, Jr., Editor
EDITORIAL STAFF
Mr. Churchel Swarn, Subscriptions Promotions
Dr. J. W. Yancy, Il, The Roving Editor Dr. Jimmy James Jr Music Editor; Dr
Jacquelyn Grant, Women's Ministries Editor; Rev John Q. Owens, Social Action
Editor: Rev. W. F. Ball, Jr., Public Relations Editor; Mrs. Thelma A. Wills Con
tributing Editor; Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams, General Features Editor Mrs
Delores L. Kennedy Williams, Senior Missions Editor; Mrs. Ruth Hill Jones Con
sulting Editor, Rev. Alonzo Middleton, Regional Editor; Rev. E. L Blankenship
Regional Editor; Rev. W J. Jackson, Regional Editor; Mrs. Vorheese DB
Jamison, Laymen’s Editor, Chaplain (Captain) William Holt Liptrot Jr Chaplains
Editor; Atty. Mary R. Turner, Basic Law Editor; Dr. J. W. P. Collier, Overseas Cor
respondent; Dr. Kenneth S. Robinson, Medical Ministries Editor Rev. Frederick Cc
Harrison, Overseas Mission Editor, Mrs. Sarah Nkele Malthare, South African
Editor; Mrs. Sheridan R, Reid-Banks Special Features Reporter Rev. O. Urcille
Ifill, Sr., Contributing Editor Dr. Henderson Sheldon Davis, Archives Editor, Dr
William P. DeVeaux, Career Development Editor Dr. Dennis Clark Dickerson
Contributing Editor; Rev. Cecil Murray Contributing Editor Dr. Marjorie Jones,
Contributing Editor, Rev. Walter Winstead Reid, Sr., Contributing Editor Rev
Cyrus Keller, Religious Literature Editor
The A.M.E. Christian Recorder welcomes letters from its.readers on matters
of general interest All letters must be signed and contain the address of the writer
The A.M.E. Christian Recorder will occasionally withhold the name of a writer ofa
signed letter, if there Is a valid reason given. No defamatory libelous oF Slanoerous
letters will be printed; and the A.M.E. Christian Recorder reserves the right 19 re
ject or edit any letter or article to conform with good taste style and space fe
quirements
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Postmaster please send address correc tion to A.M.E. Sunday School Union
500 8th Avenue, South, Nashville TN 37203-4181
The Black churches were the developing centers for their constituents to
use their talents and express emotions while worshiping God and cultivating
their spiritual posture. All those things that Blacks could not freely do
elsewhere could be done openly in their church. Special occasion days pro-
vided many such opportunities to utilize abilities. The original mission and
purpose of Richard Allen’s denomination was to minister to the spiritual,
intellectual, physical and emotional needs of Black people in spreading Jesus
Christ’s liberating Gospel. It gave positive attitudes and a positive self-image
to its people. The Black church, in addition to all else it was and is, remains
a strong motivation center.
The Black church preached a salvation that was social, spiritual, psycho-
logical and economical, and, at the same time, through those many Special
Occasion Days, encouraged individual, personal development. When men
and women served as chairpersons of the special days, they learned how to
be presidents of businesses in the secular society. The same is true of those
who served as secretaries, treasurers, captains, unit leaders and in other im-
portant leadership roles.
The first Black banks were started and supported through the church. The
first insurance burial societies, credit unions and many other Black
businesses began with church people who had given leadership in many of
those special occasion days and as trustees and stewards of the church.
Whenever I next prepare to preach a Special Occasion Day sermon, I
shall, indeed, think about it from the Black church tradition. The role of the
Black church in the economic, political, social and educational life of Black
America, may have too long been underestimated by too many, including
White America.
LETTER TO EDITOR
Notice of Correction
Editor’s Note: Bishop Robert A.
Grant, the 50th elected Bishop, son of
Bishop Abraham Grant, the 19th
elected Bishop, was the first bishop’s
son to be elected to the episcopacy,
not Bishop Frank Madison Reid, Jr.
Thanks to an avid reader whose letter
follows.
Dear Dr. Reid:
This letter comes to call your atten-
ition to an error, perhaps, of assump-
tion, which appeared in the recent
front page article announcing the
Death of Bishop Frank Madison
Reid, Jr.
The erroneous declaration in the
article reads as follows:
“In 1972, the A.M.E. Church
elected Frank Reid the 94th Bishop,
enabling him to become the first bis-
hop’s son to be elected to the
episcopacy in the history of the de-
nomination.”’
The specific condition and distinc-
tion isolated in this declaration was
achieved in 1928 at The General Con-
ference of the A.M.E. Church of that
ee
Name
Address
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TTT TTT
SSS eee
SUBSCRIBE!
to the Christian Recorder
Please print, Payment must accompany order. Allow four (4) weeks for first delivery.
year which elected R. A. Grant, D. H.
Simms, and G. B. Young to the Epis-
copacy. In 1925 Dr. Grant was ap-
pointed to the pastorate of Grants
Memorial A.M.E. Church of Jack-
sonville, FL, a parish so named to
honor his distinguished father Bishop
Abram Grant who was an encumbent
Bishop at the General Conference of
1904.
In view of these facts which can be
verified in the archives of African
Methodism, Bishop R. A. Grant who
was elected to the Episcopacy in 1928
was in fact the first bishop’s son to be
elected to The Episcopacy in the his-
tory of the denomination.
I am eighty-three years old and
pride myself on trying to follow close-
ly developments in The A.M.E.
Church.
Sincerely yours,
Horace B. J. Cowan
Owner-Manager
The “Little Giant”’
Earthworm Hatcheries
Route 1, Box 72A
Plumerville, Arkansas 72127
The bi-monthly newspaper to keep you
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Send check or money order payable to:
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500 Eighth Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203-4181
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October 30, 1989
The AME Christian Recorder
The Voice of the Episcopac
Unprecedented Growth in the
Columbia Annual Conference
{
Bishop F. C. James
Columbia, SC—The 112th Session of
the Columbia Annual Conference of
the Seventh Episcopal District, presid-
ed over by the Right Reverend Frede-
rick C. James, was held October 4-8,
1989. Emanuel A.M.E. Church, Col-
umbia, hosted the Conference, but in
a very unconventional manner. The
Continued from page 1
Conference has experienced such tre-
mendous growth in the past five
years, that very few church sanctu-
aries can contain all of the Confer-
ence activities. Because of this, most
of the Worship Services were held at
Allen University’s Chappelle Audito-
rium, and the Closing activities had to
be taken to the Columbia Township
Auditorium. Business sessions were
held at Emanuel Church and even
these were filled to capacity. To God
be the Glory!
The Spirit of the Conference and
it’s successes, as well as the senti-
ments of the Conference regarding
Bishop and Mrs. James are best ex-
pressed by the Report of the Commit-
tee on Resolutions, found on page
nine, in its entirety.
Rey. Joseph A. Darby
Director of Public Relations
Seventh Episcopal District
Bishop John Hurst Adams: A Good Shepherd of the Sheep
L-R: Pastor McKinley Young ($500 contributor), Big Bethel Church, Atlanta; Host
Pastor Spencer L. Booker, Williams Chapel Church; Bishop John Hurst Adams ($1000
contributor and Dr. Dolly D. Adams $500); and Pastor George Moore, Sr. ($500 con-
tributor), St. Philip Church.
tall timbers of the Atlanta/North
Conference were $500 contributors to
Rev. Spencer L. Booker, the newly-
appointed pastor of the Williams
Chapel Church, Our good shepherd,
Bishop Adams, and Mrs, Adams gave
$1,500 to the collection plate.
All presiding elders of the No. 1
Conference of this Sixth Episcopal
District of the State of Georgia were
present and accounted for: Presiding
Elders W. L. Scarbrough, Atlanta
District; L. J. Jones, South District;
G. S. Hardeman (the baby elder and
host presiding elder of the fund-rais-
ing project), West District; M. L..
Hood, East District, and J. W. San-
ford, North District. All of these pre-
siding elders had remarks on the pro-
gram, and each one of them had high
praise for our 1988-appointed Bishop
of Georgia, the Rt. Rev, John Hurst
Adams.
Presiding Elder Jones
“Bishop Adams is a good bishop; he
has done a lot of wonderful things.
He came to Georgia during a time
when things were turbulent; he has
quieted waters and things are moving
states:
with smoothness and precision.’’ The
Presiding Elder of the South Alanta
District went on to say, ‘‘If the Lord
blesses as He has been blessing our
bishop, we ought to go to the 1992
General singing high
praise. We are already singing high
praise for things Bishop Adams has
done up to this time.’”’
There was a capacity crowd on
hand to hear Bishop Adams expound
the Word of the Lord. The bishop
took his text from the Bible story of
three loaves of bread and two fishes.
His subject was ‘tA Miracle on
Brawley Drive (the street where
Williams Chapel is located). The
crowded congregation came to get
their souls fed and Bishop Adams
didn’t disappoint them. The Holy
Spirit descended down from above as
a mighty rushing wind.
Bishop Adams said, ‘‘There is no
thing logical or rational about Jesus
taking two or three loaves otf bread,
Conference
two or three fishes and feeding five
thousand folk. I just can’t explain
Please turn to page 5
The Great Chicago Conference
Meets in Milwaukee
+ Bishop J. Haskell Mayo :
Milwaukee, W1I—Under the newly-
appointed prelate of the 4th Episco-
pal District, Bishop James Haskell
Mayo, the 107th Session of the
Chicago Annual Conference opened
at St. Mark A.M.E. Church (the
Church of the Anvil), with Rev.
William D. Davis the host presiding
elder, and Rev. Lovell Johnson, host
pastor. Associate presiding elders were
Rev. Roy L. Miller and Rev. David C.
Coleman.
The hosting church was in complete
readiness when the conference opened
with the Annual Sermon preached by
Rey. Albert Tyson, III, pastor of St.
Stephen, Chicago, IL. The St. Mark
Choir and the St. Stephen Choir sang
joyfully and lifted the service to
heights of spiritual expression.
Other sermons preached during the
conference to capacity audiences were:
Missionary Night, Rev. Walter
Johnson, Allen Chapel, Rockford, IL;
Expansion, Rev. Cornelius Hayes, St
John, Chicago, IL; Youth Night, Rev
Geri Harrison, Hyde Park, Chicago,
IL; Ordination, Rev. Y. B. Bruce,
Connectional Director of Evangelism,
and on Sunday morning, Rev. Carl
Hunter from New Jersey
St. Mark A.M.E. Church, under the
leadership of Rev. Lovell Johnson,
was able to meet the needs of the con-
ference with all of its commodious
buildings housing various segments of
the conference program. The bishops’
dining room was held across the street
from the church in the Lovell Johnson
Quality of Life Center; the Human
Resources Building accommodated
the Debutante-Masters Reception,
which followed a beautiful service in
the sanctuary. The offices for the pre-
siding elders and the bishop and the
main dining room were all serviced in
the main church building, Approxi-
mately 300 of St. Mark’s 2,000 mem-
bers were actively involved in enter-
taining the delegates and guests
Over 300 delegates were present
from Chicago, Minnesota, lowa, Wis-
consin, South Dakota, and parts of
Illinois. Visitors from all parts of the
“Fabulous 4th” were in attendance
and left filled with inspiration and
challenges as set forth by Bishop J
Haskell Mayo
graced with the presence of Bishop
The conference was
Frank Cummings, prelate of the Ist
Episcopal District; Bishop Hubert N
Robinson, Detroit, M1, retired; Dr. Y
B. Bruce, Director of Evangelism, Dr
Alexander, Director ol
Henderson Davis,
Floyd
Pensions, and Dr
former Historiographer of the A.M.
Church
The
Missionary
prior to the annual conference, under
of Mrs
Chicago Conterence
Convention convened
the episcopal supervision
Dr. Lovell Johnson, Sr.
Theodora Mayo and Mrs. Maurice
Abel, District President. Mrs. Geneva
Coleman, President of the Chicago
Conference, presided, and Mrs. Ida
Fair was the host society president.
The women made their reports and
inspired the societies to study and to
work during the coming year under the
connectional themes.
ST. MARK A.M.E. CHURCH
Milwaukee
Entertains 107th Session
of the
Chicago Annual Conference
Gifts of food and eyeglasses were
contributed to the local Missionary
Society for distribution from their
food pantry. The glasses were a project
of the St. Mark Nurses Guild for
recycling to the poor
The Convention was pleased to have
Delores K. Williams,
Connectional President of the
W.M.S., and Mrs. Betty Allen, Con-
nectional Director of Promotion and
Missionary Education. Others attend-
ing were Mrs. Carolyn Burgess, 2nd
vice president of the 4th Episcopal
District: Illinois Conference
President, Mrs. Mary Hooks; Mrs.
Norma Phillips, Connectional Chair
of Affiliated Groups; Mrs. Marguer-
ite Johnson, Ist vice president of the
4th Episcopal District and the host
pastor’s wife; former Supervisor
Portia B. Beal; Y.P.D. Director
Yvonne Parks, and Treasurer Ethel
Powell
The closing
Conference was held at Custer High
School in a filled-to-capacity auditor-
ium, as people gathered to hear and see
Bishop Mayo presided over the assign-
ment of pastors for another confer-
ence year. The Chicago Conference
Choir, under the direction of Dr. A
Bankston Owens, Mrs. Portia Bailey
Beal, and Mrs, Betty Stark, provided
heavenly music for the closing service,
Several changes were made for the
building of the Kingdom, and all left
committed to “reaching the masses”
as guests Mrs
session of the
during this next conference year
St. Mark A.M.E. Church
Commission on Public Relations
Try Swallowing
Your Pride
Occasionally
It Is
Non Fattening
gmagneanargeganaggganranaarrd)
===== DSC05921.JPG =====
The AME Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
A Plea for Bishop Henry Allen Belin, Jr., 16th Episcopal District
The Horror of
by A. Lee Henderson
The violence of
Hurricane Hugo
that struck St.
Croix in the Vir-
gin Islands at 1:30
a.m. Monday,
September 25,
1989, swept the
A. Lee Henderson media into its own
fury of reportage. The St. Croix
police denied charges that its officers
were contributors to the widespread
looting of the Mr. Dollar Discount
Department Store, included in the
reported numbers of ‘‘fifty to sixty
people picking it clean.’’*
The streets of Christiansted and
Frederiksted were reported armed
with locals toting rifles, guns and ma-
chetes. With vandals running off with
food, water, TV sets, liquor and
clothing, the tourists were said to be
at risk as ‘‘the second wave of de-
struction became the work of Man.”’
Panic was averted with the ‘‘protec-
tion’’ of the island against a complete
breakdown of authority on Thursday
with the arrival of twelve hundred
U.S. military police, federal marshals
and FBI agents. Ironically, it marked
the first time that army troops were
sent to stop a civil disturbance since
the riots in Washington following the
assassination of the Reverend Martin
Luther King in 1968.
But was the protection for the lo-
cals impacted by the hurricane’s di-
saster, or for those in the business
community impacted by the threaten-
ed loss of tourism?
As in San Francisco’s earthquake
that followed, the knee-jerk action
was to preserve the dollar economy.
And while we must respect the neces-
sity of such decisions, shall we not re-
focus upon the debacle of human life,
suffering, the desecration of homes
by Hurricane Hugo, the desolation of
those bereft of loved ones and the pit-
iful remnants of possessions smashed
to rubble in the wake of the great
storm?
Bis op Henry ma Belin, Jr.
What a monumental burden of
thrust upon the shoulders of Bish-
op Henry A. Belin! Thank God
for those able shoulders, so will-
ing to assume the outsize burdens
of responsibility for a populance
in peril!
Where were the priorities? How sad
that the protests of Virgin Island’s
Governor Farrelly who stayed on St.
Thomas, thirty-seven miles away,
that the ‘‘reports of lawlessness were
distorted and exaggerated’’ in lieu of
Washington’s decision to send
troops, desired or not! Even the
coastguard patrol echoed ‘‘a com-
plete breakdown of authority.”’
The evacuation of vacationers by
six U.S. cutters was provided vaca-
tion.
Even the giant Amerada Hess
Corps’ refinery was said to be so hard
hit that it would not be able to pro-
ceed with its oil and gas processing
tasks for a minimum of sixty days!
Who could minister to the fifty-
three thousand people cited as being
left without shelter?
What a monumental burden to
thrust upon the shoulders of our
Bishop Henry A. Belin! Thank God
for those able shoulders, so willing to
assume the outsize burdens of respon-
sibility for a populace in peril!
While the concentration of the au-
thorities centered on economic infra-
{eer
structure, the good Bishop Belin
directed his attack against hunger, di-
sease, health concerns, hostilities and
emotions stirred with unrest, the
quelling of any and all incipient
breakdown of law and order, the pro-
viding of spiritual sustenance for a
flock that saw its moorings destroyed
in one ruthless blast of a virulent
storm stirring more dreadful things in
its wake than the initial wipe out.
Bishop Belin has to fight the good
fight.
He needs all the help we can give
him to the maximum of our personal
potentials to give and keep giving!
The primitive encroachments a-
gainst modern civilization in island
destruction attack with swiftness...
three-fourths of the national forest
has been knocked down in the carib-
bean, and on St. Croix nearly all
homes have been either damaged or
destroyed!
Bishop F. H. Talbot
Ecumenical Officer
‘“‘My home was daaged! Many
things destroyed and some that I
can never recover. »»
The ravage of the hurricane reach-
ed out to everyone on the island. Our
own Bishop F. H. Talbot, Ecumeni-
cal Officer and his wife Dr. Sylvia
Talbot—leveling their residence in its
destruction. Bishop Talbot reflect
a Hurricane... 53,000 Homeless on St. Croix _
that insurance does not pay for all of
the critically needed repairs. We can
help certainly that burden in what
ever way we can. Please help! It is
needed!
With a missionary zeal we must
now strive to avert a return to anar-
chy that will wipe out the civilized
Christian world. With such a symbol
to keep in mind, we call upon our-
selves to help Bishop Belin and the
good people of the 16th Episcopal
District resolve the catastrophic tolls
affecting human life to rescue it from
further tragedy. Bishop Belin wrote
us, ‘‘Hugo’s destruction of property
and lives is worse than initial media
reports.’’ The imperative needs in St.
Croix are for the rebuilding of wor-
ship centers which also provide for
the homeless. All manner of building
supplies are needed, heavy duty galva-
nized and corrugated sheeting, ropes
and cords; large tires, Romex cable,
building supplies, powerful chain-
saws, gas powered and other genera-
tors, organs, pianos, pews and church
supplies. Manpower is essential.
needed, too, are those craftsmen,
carpenters, brick masons and electri-
cians who can render services or sup-
plies. critical for your cash contribu-
tions to be converted into materials so
desperately desired which can be ship-
ped from San Juan, Puerto Rico or
Miami, Florida for shipment to St.
Croix. We urge you to send what you
are able to collect to: Bishop Henry
A. Belin, Jr., 1358 Laboldi,
Nashville, TN 37207 .
“]T have coveted no man’s silver, or
gold, or apparel.
“Yea ye yourselves know, that
these hands have ministered unto my
necessities, and to them that were
with me.
“T have showed you all things, now
that so laboring ye ought to support
the weak, and to remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is
more blessed to give than to receive.”’
The Acts 20:33-35
*Time Magazine, October 2, 1989.
Store in St. Croix.
Hurricane Hugo swept into the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St.
Thomas. Pictured above: Looters picked clean Mr. Dollar Discount
Hurricane Hugo’s path of destruction hit
destruction marks it as one of the fiercest
resorts, the 7th Episcopal communities, t
(2nd Episcopal District).
the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Hugo’s path of
storms of the decade. It swath embraced coastal
he 16th Episcopal District and North Carolina
serious damage.
Charleston: These boats were
piled on one another during Hugo’s
surge. Roofs were ripped off houses and nearly every building sustained
===== DSC05922.JPG =====
October 30, 1989
The AME Christian Recorder
Sunset for Rev. Lawrence Woodful Knighten
Reverend L. W. Knighten
Senior Pastor of the Southern Cali-
fornia Conference’... Rev.
Knighten began his ministry in 1940
at Black Creek A.M.E. Church, Lou-
isiana. He transferred to the Southern
California Conference in 1943. He
toiled forty-six years in the Southern
California Conference, making him
the Senior Pastor. He answered the
roll call forty-five years without fail.
However, he didn’t answer roll call at
the last Annual Conference on Satur-
day, August 24, 1989. Rev. Knighten
was in the hospital making prepara-
tion to answer the roll call for the
Master on Monday, August 29th, at
6:42 a.m.
The memorial service for Rev.
Knighten was held at the church
where he did his last masterpiece of
work for the Lord... St. Mark
A.M.E. Church. He moved the social
hall of Bethel A.M.E., Los Angeles to
the property of St. Mark. This social
hall became the new edifice of St.
Mark and would accommodate a lar-
ger congregation.
Rev. Knighten pastored the follow-
ing churches in the southern Califor-
nia Conference: First Church,
Duarte; St. Paul, Redlands; St. Ste-
vens (which he relocated); Bethel,
Monrovia (he was moved from Bethel
in the midst of a building program);
First Church, Val Verde; Walker
Chapel, Oceanside (in the midst of a
building program, he was moved to
First Church, Compton); and finally
to St. Mark, where his dream became
a reality.
The following Bishops and Minis-
ters paid tribute: Bishop Henry W.
Murph referred to Knighten as his
“true and tried friend.’’ Bishop Vin-
ton R. Anderson stated, ‘‘We need
more men like L. W. Knighten who
work at what ever task the Lord gives
him to do.’’ Rev. Daniel W. Pinkard
of Grant, Los Angeles made remarks.
Rev. V. L. Brenson of Bryant Tem-
ple, Los Angeles stated he met L. W.
Knighten in 1947 at an Annual Con-
ference. ‘‘Only God can give you a
friend for forty-two years.’’ He got to
know him from a close-up view. They
traveled together, shared rooms to-
gether, exchanged fellowship services
together. Rev. Brenson was his best
man at his second marriage cere-
mony. Brenson concluded by saying
that L. W. Knighten was known for
his dedication as a ‘‘team man.’’ In
baseball, some players are known for
their ability to bat; others for their
ability to steal bases; others for their
ability to hit home runs. Rev. Knigh-
ten was known for being a ‘‘sacrifice
player.’’ Many things he didn’t get a
chance to do himself; but he sacrific-
ed his rights so that someone might
have a better church after he had
pastored it. Brenson remembered his
last visit with Rev. Knighten. He
stated... ‘*V. L. my friend, don’t
worry if I can’t answer roll call at An-
nual Conference. I will answer the
main roll call when the Master calls
me home.”’
Lawrence Woodful Knighten was
one of nine children born to Victoria
and James Woodful Knighten, on Ju-
ly 10, 1910, in Clenton, LA. He was
converted at an early age and united
with the A.M.E. Church in Clenton,
Louisiana. He was called to preach as
a young man and followed in the
footsteps of his father, who also was
an A.M.E. Preacher. He attended
public schools of Clenton, LA, and
was graduated from Campbell Col-
lege in Jackson, Mississippi. He was
united in marriage to Marie Leonard
in Leonard Chapel A.M.E. Church in
Amite, Louisiana. To this union two
children were born, one of whom pre-
ceded him in death.
Rev. Knighten is survived to
celebrate his homegoing by his only
daughter, Mrs, Elizabeth Zanders of
Amite, Louisiana; several grandchil-
dren, nieces, nephews, as well as a
host of loved ones and friends.
“Servant of God, Well Done.”
Presiding Elder E. P. Williams of the Los A ngeles-San Diego District
KNIGHTEN’S EULOGY ...
Following are excerpts from Presid-
ing Elder William’s sermon: Subject
and Theme: “‘A Pastor's Valedictory”’
Text; II Timothy 4:6-8.
On this occasion when we are met
to memorialize one of God’s good
men; one of our Lord’s faithful,
humble servants; one of Christ Jesus’
patient, loving, caring, kindly con-
cerned shepherds—the late Rev.
Lawrence Woodful Knighten.,
The apostle Paul faced death with-
out fear; he had already given God all
that he had, only his life was left to
offer, and he was now ready to lay it
down. It was no different with Rev.
Knighten, for nearly fifty years he
had given God his all in the
Christian ministry. So the other day
when the Lord came, he had nothing
left to give but his life; and he gladly
gave that, One of our great Black spi-
rituals says it this way . . . “Burdens
Down Lord, Burdens Down.”’ Those
of us who knew Rev, Knighten were
keenly aware that in the last year or
so it was only with great, and increas-
ing difficulty that he was able to bare
the burdens imposed upon him. He
es
understood that death would deliver
him from all this.
Rev. Knighten bore the burden in
the heat of the day, He scaled the
rough side of the mountain, Like any
other A.M.E. Preacher, he got his ap-
pointments and his disappointments;
but he did not ever falter; he did not
ever give up, give in, or give over, He
opened his mouth to the Lord and
said, ‘1 Will Go! I Shall Go To See
What The End Will Be."’
Paul proclaimed that he had ‘‘kept
the faith,’’ and so too it can be said of
him we now memorialize—for if ever
a pastor was faithful to the Lord, and
faithful in the use of what God had
given him, he was the Rev, Lawrence
Woodful Knighten,
“Let Us Run On
Faithfully And
See What The End
Will Be.”’
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH GREETS
NATIONAL SICKLE CELL POSTER CHILDREN
President George Bush greets the 1989-90 National Sickle Cell Poster Children in Oval Of-
fice of White House. Left to Right: Anthony Wayne Smith, age 5 of Bellefontaine, Ohio,
President Bush, and Lori Beth Bonnell, age 8 of West Palm Beach, Florida. Standing
Left: Dr. Charles F. Whitten, National President, and Xernona Clayton, Chairman of the
Board of Directors, National Association for Sickle Cell Disease.
National Sickle Cell Holds National
Convention in Las Vegas
One of the highlights of the 1989
convention was the presentation of
the 1989-90 National Sickle Cell
Poster Children. For the first time in
its history, a tie in the tabulation by
the Selection Committee of NASCD
gave the title of National Poster
Children to Anthony Wayne Smith,
age 5, of Belletontaine, Ohio, and
Lori Beth Bonnell, age 8, of West
Palm Beach, FL.
During September, National Sickle
Cell Month, the children had an au-
dience with President George Bush in
the Oval Office of the White House.
Continued from page 1
Bishop John Hurst Adams: A Good Shepherd of the Sheep
that logically; that is a miracle.’”’ The
Good Samaritan bishop went on to
say, ‘‘What has got to happen here at
Williams Chapel Church is not ra-
tional. If you did a feasibility study
and called in some consultants, they
would tell you that it does not make
sense,’’ Bishop said that he came to
talk about ‘‘a miracle on Brawley
Drive.”’
Bishop Adams said, ‘‘Jesus took
His disciples on a retreat; it was like
the bishops going on a retreat. We got
twenty bishops and when I get to the
retreat, there are seven hundred folk
already there. | went to Nashville in
January to the retreat, and I couldn’t
get a room in the hotel.””
He went on to say that Jesus took
His disciples to a retreat and when
they got to the place where the retreat
was supposed to be, there were thou-
sands of folk who beat them there.
Bishop Adams said, ‘‘Jesus under-
stood. He didn’t get mad; He said,
‘These folk are hungry,’ so He taught
them; He loved them; He understood
their need. He shared their pain and
He anointed them, so He worked with
them a little while, and they forgot all
about lunch.”
The speaker of the hour said that it
was the disciples who reminded the
Master that it was way past lunch-
time. Jesus had to perform a miracle
with three loaves of bread and three
fishes, and fed five thousand folk.
The last five or ten minutes of the
bishop's sermon, he took us to the
mountain top of praise, the mountain
top of spiritual ecstasy, In closing his
sermon, the bishop told the story ofa
Roman playwright artist who said to
a group of writers that you never In-
troduce God into a play or insert His
name until the thing gets so messed-
up and it takes God to unravel it, “I
came by Williams Chapel to say that
your situation Is so mixed up, it takes
God; and God is going to come by
here with a miracle,”’ said Bishoy
Adams.
The congregation rose to their feet
with clapping hands and thundering
‘“*Amens,’”’ After the invitation to dis-
cipleship was extended by Dean D, W
Jacobs of Turner Seminary, Bishop
Adams, our good shepherd of the
sheep, collected $7,000 to help with
the ‘‘miracle on Brawley Drive.’’
Yes, Bishop Adams and his wife,
Dr. Dolly Adams, the beautiful queen
of this great Sixth Episcopal District,
are working as a team with great en-
thusiasm. Oh how sweet it is to have
them in the State of Georgia!
Stay tuned with this reporter; there
is more to come!
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===== DSC05923.JPG =====
6
The AME Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
MOORE’S CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH FAMILY “BLESSED”
St. Petersburg, FL—This conference
year the Moore’s Chapel A.M.E.
church family has been blessed with
the very fine leadership and dedica-
tion of the Rev. M. Mason Walker
and First Lady Dr. Delceda Walker.
Other blessings enjoyed by the church
membership included many programs
that proved to be financially benefi-
Continued from page 1
cial to the church as a whole.
Men’s Day, Women’s Day and an-
niversary observances by the various
auxiliaries of the church have con-
tributed to the prosperity of Moore’s
Chapel, and the members continue to
pray to observe the groundbreaking
of the long-planned new church.
The final service of the conference
Historiographer Takes Another Look at Bishop Richard Allen
Richard Allen, 1813
Published by J. Dainty
Philadelphia
The Library Company of Philadelphia
Richard Allen—P.S. Duval
Lithograph, Philadelphia
American Antiquarian Society
Worcester, Massachusetts
quarian Society in Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, these portraits of Richard
Allen provide A.M.E.s with examples
of how our episcopal forebear ap-
peared to the people of his times.
The first picture is an engraving in
the Howard University Gallery. Done
in chalk and pastel by an unknown ar-
tist in 1784, Richard Allen appears as
a young itinerant preacher. The sec-
ond sketching is found at the Library
Company in Philadelphia. Published
in 1813 by J. Dainty in Philadelphia,
its artist is also unknown. The Ameri-
can Antiquarian Society possesses the
other two lithographs. They were
printed respectively by P. S. Duval
and Wagner & McGuigan, both of
Philadelphia.
Those who wish further informa-
tion should contact Dr. Dickerson,
Richard Allen, Lithograph
of Wagner & McGuigan, Philadelphia
American Antiquarian Society
Worcester, Massachusetts
the Historiographer, at P.O. Box 301,
Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267.
Continued from page 1
NIGERIA: A Model for Democracy in Africa?
panding U.S.-Nigerian trade, and re-
warding Lagos with increased foreign
aid if it pursues more democratic and
free-market reforms.
‘‘Nigeria already possesses a well-
developed democratic infrastruc-
ture,’? notes Johns. ‘‘Unusual for
Africa, Nigeria has a flourishing free
press, with more than twenty daily
newspapers. ...Many independent
groups and business associations sup-
port free elections and free market
values.’’ Elections for state legisla-
tures and governors are planned for
next year, and elections for the
federal legislature and presidency are
scheduled for October 1992.
Among Babangida’s free-market
reforms are the elimination of import
licensing and price controls, privatiza-
tion of state-run industries, and aboli-
tion of regulations that discouraged
foreign investment. Such reforms are
particularly important in light of
Nigeria’s serious economic problems:
It is Black Africa’s largest debtor na-
tion and one of the five biggest deb-
tors in the world.
As a result of the reforms instituted
in recent years, Nigeria’s gross do-
mestic product grew by 4.1 percent in
1988, compared with only one percent
in 1987. Per capita gross national pro-
duct grew by 0.4 percent in Nigeria in
1988, while it shrank by fourteen per-
cent in nearby Benin, 13.1 percent in
the Ivory Coast, and 11.2 percent in
Cameroon.
Johns quotes Nigeria’s World Bank
representative Tarig Husain: ‘‘This
country is doing more than any other
in Africa (to encourage free market
reform). What Reagan and Thatcher
have been advocating, here they have
been doing.”’
Johns concludes: ‘‘Should Baban-
gida return Nigeria to democratic rule
by 1992, Nigeria could become a poli-
tical model for Africa, signaling that
democracy is workable on that conti-
nent. As the most influential political
and economic force in West Africa, a
peaceful transition to democracy in
Nigeria could help shape the political
attitudes of,..nondemocratic neigh-
bors.”
Let Us Come Before
His Presence With
Thanksgiving—
Psalm 95:2
year was a special occasion, with
Choir No. 2 singing out of their souls,
following the direction of Bessie
Moorhead and accompanied by San-
dra Williams; Usher Boards Nos. |
and 2 on duty, and Stewardess Board
No. 1 serving during the Month of
October. Rev. Walker preached from
the Third Chapter of Exodus on ‘‘A
Divine Encounter (My Love For
You).”’
In a Love and Appreciation Service,
given by the church family and nar-
rated and directed by Genorice White,
Area Supervisor of the St. Petersburg
Women’s Missionary Society, words
Church
‘ch =
Will Be Your Most
Memorable Possession...
oe Lifetime of ‘Rast k& Lresent In
tee -
of thanks to the Pastor and First
Lady for their dedication and love
were spoken by Dhanetta Knight and
Tarea Jefferson, In turn, Rev. and
Mrs. Walker expressed their love and
appreciation, also.
Moore’s Chapel church family
were eager for the return of their fine
minister and beloved first lady, who,
along with Delegate Clayton Kettles,
were scheduled to attend the Tampa
Florida conference in Sarasota, Flori-
da.
Evelyn Pierce Bowens, Reporter
bog To
Vile
Your Church
ALLOTe,
Referen C8, and Revelations.
RE-AWAKEN TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SIMPLICITY!
NOW ENJOY THE PURE HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS
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‘A. Lee Henderson has earned a place of honor in the
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Bruce Merrin,
President, Bruce Merrin Public Relations
And Celebrity Speakers Bureau, L.A.
“Your Church and You”
“A landmark book in the
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Rev. Leslie White, Pastor
St. James A.M.E. Church, St. Louis, MO
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LEC __ es
===== DSC05924.JPG =====
October 0, 1989
the AME. Christian Recorder
Sarnaunmannen SN
Sarah Oliver Clark
Chicago, IL—1 first met Sarah Oliver
Clark when we rode together in the
car last March to attend the Impera-
tive Training event held in Indianapo-
lis. Sarah had accepted the task of
chairing the Imperative Committee
for the Chicago unit. As we rode
along that day, I was greatly impress-
ed by what Sarah told me about her
plans, and, since then, I have learned
more; so I would like to share this
with you.
The Chicago unit already has many
projects which they are working on.
Sarah is asking the chairpersons for
each of these projects to meet as part
of the Imperative Committee to share
what they are learning about women
and children in poverty.
These projects include:
1) Cook County Hospital, where
help is given for pregnant teen-agers
2) Alternative schools project,
where many students come from low-
income families
3) Citizens
schools
4) WISC—Women in Community
Service—training women for the Job
Corps
5) New Citizens—immigrants who
become citizens
The members. of this group—and
others to be added—have been given
action for public
an assignment; Each one is to explore
the root cause of poverty as found in
one or two persons or families, When
the group meets in the fall, and gives
their reports, these will be compiled,
and the group will have a beginning
for action plans, based on the root
causes!
How much can one woman do?
Besides her job as chair of the Im-
perative Committee, Sarah serves as
Communications Chair for the Chi-
cago unit: and she has agreed to share
in the phone-calling project, institut-
ed by our National Board, for the
Northeast Area.
Many of our readers knew Sarah
Oliver Clark long before I did; so you
know she is well-qualified for these
important tasks. As Sarah Oliver,
Sarah was the wife of a Methodist
pastor and moved every few years toa
different location. In whatever town
they lived, Sarah had an office in
Church Women United; and she serv-
ed as president in three units: Quincy,
East Moline, and Carbondale. In
fact, in 1986, Sarah was invited to the
twenty-year celebration of a Thrift
Store in Carbondale, and given honor
as the person responsible for its be-
ginnings!
Behind all of these years of service
are many wonderful stories which re-
veal the work of GOD’s spirit
through Sarah. If you haven’t met
Sarah Oliver yet, I hope you can,
soon.
Thank you, Sarah, for all you have
done in serving our Lord through
CWU, and for what you are doing
now!
Gladys Leininger
Northeast Area Chairperson
AREA NEWS, Northeast Area
Continued from page |
Help Us God Omnipotent
We do not expect less of humanity,
and are so often disappointed by the
bitterness of battles against ignorance
not yet won, of blights of prejudice
and economies assailing our spirit to
give up.
We don’t. We never will.
And behind all those who remain in
service to the poor and indigent and
homeless, caught in the clutches of
hunger and the paroxysms of despair
our A.M.E, Church shines, a solitary
bastion of solicitude and healing to
those who need our help.
Join us in giving what you can to
those who are trapped.
HELP US GOD OMNIPOTENT
to help ourselves.
Please send your contributions to:
7th District A.M.E. Church
Hugo Relief Fund
c/o Bishop F. C. James
P.O. Box 4837
Columbia, South Carolina 29240
Our plea for financial support is
designed to reach those in our A.M.E.
family outreach.
We have always been a bottom-
less reservoir for our needy.
With renewed strength in rebuilding
their homes and healing their families
of the terror and morbidity brought
on by the hurricane, they can recover
their own humanity.
Put to the test, all must endure, re-
gardless of their social station as
demonstrated by the story we just
shared with you.
However, the burden of the pain
and suffering is going to be carried by
those least able to endure it...
those whose economic blight has been
heaped upon them by restrictions and
restraints of prejudice past. Truly, it
is the minority core of our populace
who are feeling the brunt of catacyls-
mic storm disaster,
Rallying in time of need elicits an
exhortation that all of us are bound to
share with our neighbors and fami-
lies.
Before we become too smug or self-
satisfied or self-righteous in our safe,
snug domiciles, let us imagine what
would happen if we were in the shoes
of those in South Carolina.
Put together what you have in a
care envelope and mail it off to us to-
day.
None of us have a guarantee for
tomorrow against the onslaught of
natural disaster.
It dispenses true democracy in its
savage leveling factor. But after that,
those who have against those who
have not determines survival.
Give a gift of life to those in danger
of losing it.
Bishop James says, ‘‘Suffering
does not know class, color or
church denominations.’’
Continued from page 1
Bishop Belin Reports Hugo Damage to the Connectional Church
Nearly all of the buildings at the Caribbean A.M.E. Community
School were demolished. Large trees have fallen on many houses
and buildings, and blocked roadways.
We visited Bishop and Mfs. Talbot at their home, which was
heavily damaged (roof blown off, a portion of the wall blown
away, water damage to the interior and furnishings). Their needs
are as critical and urgent as other members of the A.M.E. family in
St. Croix.
We need your help in order to rebuilt our worship centers (which
serve as service centers for the many homeless) and homes. We
need:
1. BUILDING SUPPLIES—heavy-duty galvanized sheeting,
corrugated sheeting, rope or chord, romex cable, and other
materials;
2. EQUIPMENT—heavy-duty chain saws (gas powered), genera-
tors;
3. FURNISHINGS—organ, piano, pews, church supplies;
4. DONATED LABOR—carpenters, brick masons (many other
crafts can be easily identified among the residents with resources to
pay them).
Estimates are incomplete; I, therefore, cannot say how much is
needed to complete the work. It is our desire to commence with the
work IMMEDIATELY. I will report to you the approximate cost as
soon as possible. Plans include purchasing materials in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, or Miami for shipment to St. Croix.
We will return to the 16th District on October 21st. We would ap-
preciate any assistance you can give. Please send it to:
1385 LaBoldi
Nashville, Tennessee 37207
(615) 868-5243
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Yours for the cause of Christ,
Henry A. Belin, Jr.
Presiding Bishop
16th Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
A.M.E.C.
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===== DSC05925.JPG =====
the AME Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
Please share
some quiet mo-
ments with me
to reflect upon
the October 17,
1989 rumble be-
gun at 5:04 p.m.
which reverberat- A. Lee Henderson
ed across the world with the speed of
electronic communications,
We share a common bond, our hu-
manity, and it is likely, if you were
not a victim or actively engaged in the
environs of Oakland and San Francis-
cO On rescue missions, that you, like
most of us, gravitated in shock to the
screens of our video sets to learn more
about the awful consequences of na-
tural disaster.
Those whom I spoke to in neigh-
boring Los Angeles adjacent to the
troubled San Francisco area disaster
confessed that they disregarded pleas
to stay off the telephone and con-
tacted, as soon as possible, their loved
ones and families to reassure them-
selves of their safety! My wife, Bob-
bye, continued for five hours before
she could reach our children and
other family members.
The heroics of the teams of res-
cuers emerged from the rubble to as-
sure us that among us there were
those who felt compelled to search for
victims and extricate those they could
help . . . too few, sadly. Buck Helm,
the fifty-seven year old construction
worker is still alive, miraculously.
And now that we have withdrawn
from our television ‘‘mourning’’ to
court the entertainments that make
our lives go round with added
lightness and relief from grieving, it is
“‘back to business as usual’. . . ex-
cept for those broken-hearted victims
still without loved ones who perished,
their homes, proper shelter, jobs,
food, and the basic needs we are al-
ready taking for granted in the
regularity of our own normal living.
Yet poverty-filled communities like
Watsonville struggle with a double
burden—the poor made homeless!
Bishop Vinton R. Anderson is the
Presiding Bishop of the Fifth Episco-
pal District which includes the Cali-
fornia area.
Bishop H. H. Brookins and Direc-
tor, Dr. Y. Benjamin Bruce, Sr., an-
nounced ‘‘The Third Annual Seminar
on Church Growth and Evangelism”
to be held January 15-19, 1990, at the
Orlando Twin Tower, Orlando, Flori-
da.
Registration $50.00 prior to De-
cember 1, 1989. Late registration
$60.00. All pre-registrations will be
handled through and by the Bishops
of each Episcopal District. Late regis-
trations will be sent directly to the
Department of Worship and Evange-
lism, 8128 Banyan Blvd., Orlando,
Florida 32819.
‘‘Happiness Is
Not The Absence :
of Conflict But
The Ability To
Cope With It.”’
The collapse of the Nimitz Freeway killing many commuters and injuring many of
Oakland residents.
Bishop Anderson’s unstinting dedi-
cation and devotion to those people in
the stricken areas of his 5th Episcopal
District shall mean the difference be-
tween their leading productive lives or
losing them. Wasted garbage is accu-
mulated through indifference to the
human factors. Struck by tragedy, the
“‘little’’ people are too often dumped
by the wayside. Our attention
through the news media focuses on
“business as usual’’ and as long as the
buses are running on time and the
tourism is ‘‘back to normal,’’ we are
told to breathe a deep sigh of relief.
Not Bishop Anderson, and those
who step forth to rally round him in
the desperate hours! Dr. Richara
Allen Washington, Presiding Elder of
Dr. Richard Allen Washington
Presiding Elder
North California Conference
“With the help of God we shall
rebuild our community and re-
store our churches. Bishop An-
derson has instructed me to move
with deliberate speed.”’
Dr. Y. Benjamin Bruce, Sr.
Bishop H. H. Brookins
the San Francisco Oakland District
states that First A.M.E. Church and
Park Chapel A.M.E. Church Oak-
land, California, was among the
churches that was damaged.
Bishop Anderson and we of the
A.M.E. Church are keenly aware that
it is our individual pledges of restitu-
tion that will provide new hope. For
the basic human needs, the spiritual
needs, and the emotional dignity that
have been stripped from those caught
in the earthquake, we will make a dif-
ference! If we donate the dollars that
translate into immediate aid!
We are responsible for the rescue
of human beings whose lives, in po-
verty and subsistence areas, were
already in jeopardy before the quake!
Add to their burdens the extended
sting of wider spread homelessness
and hunger. Filtering through main-
stream rescue efforts by municipali-
ties and the federal government are
the tragic victims who fall through the
cracks—discarded and disregarded.
Aid is not readily available to them
except throught he more sensitive,
tuned-in responses of your A.M.E.
Church and its committed Bishop An-
derson.
When we read our newspapers or
listen to the news on radio and TV we
are impressed and oppressed by sta-
tistics.
As Bob Begley, executive director
of the Hotel Council of San Francisco
reported, ‘‘I understand the need to
Bishop Vinton R. Anderson
Presiding Bishop
Fifth Episcopal District
Bishop Anderson’s unstinting
dedication and devotion to those
people in the stricken areas of his
Sth Episcopal District shall mean
the difference between their
leading productive lives or losing
them,
report all of the tragic things—for ex-
ample the Marina District damage
and fire, the I-880 freeway collapse
and the Bay Bridge—but that repre-
sents maybe 1 percent or 2 percent of
the total area. Everything else ~is
fine; =
Business as usual?
Not for those whose personal pain
and loss are crying out for help to an
empty void. Thank God for the hands
extended to them in crisis, for the
hearts responding to their medical
and emotional needs, for the giving
financial outreach of those who tap
themselves time and time again to fill
their sisters’ and brothers’ needs.
We in the A.M.E. Church do re-
spond.
Let us tithe, in pittance of plenty,
to restore and reclaim the basic needs
of life for those who might be mighty
messengers of God’s word and deed
for all of us in the future!
The future will not exist for them
without us and the work of Bishop
Vinton Anderson, 2854 N. Grand, St.
Louis, MO 63107, Phone: (314) 862-
4541.
Send your financial donations to
him. They shall be converted into the
essential needs and directed to the im-
mediate uses urgently required.
You may not be one of those
caught in the earthquate... yet...
in the next hour we may face the same
thing.
A wave of fear swept over the Bay Area residents as the temblor shook the earth. In the
Marina District, many older buildings came crashing down.
SSS S50 Eee
===== DSC05926.JPG =====
October 30, 1989
The AME Christian Recorder
rp !,
112th Session of the Columbia Annual Conference
Oct.4-8, 1989
Report of the Committee on Resolutions
To the Right Reverend Frederick Cal-
houn James, Presiding Bishop of the
Seventh Episcopal District, and the
members of the 112th Session of the
Columbia Annual Conference, Greet-
ings.
FORASMUCH AS the Clergy and
Laity of the Columbia Annual Con-
ference assembled at Emanuel
A.M.E. Church and Allen University
to give the 112th account of their
Stewardship and to be renewed and
revitalized for the year to come, and
in so doing were witnesses to blessings
heretofore unseen in the annals of the
Columbia Annual Conference, it is
fitting and proper that the accom-
plishments of the Conference be ac-
knowledged by way of the following
Resolution:
WHEREAS, we were led in our ac-
tions and deliberations by the most
effective, efficient, and inspiring
Episcopal team in African Method-
ism, Our native son and daughter who
have become the pride of the Super
Seventh, the Right Reverend
Frederick Calhoun James and Dr.
Theressa Gregg James, and,
WHEREAS, we had the great privi-
lege of being royally entertained in an
exceptional manner by the committed
and caring members of Emanuel
A.M.E. Church, led on by Pastor and
Mrs. Robert L. China, Jr., and Pre-
siding Elder and Mrs. Clark R. Haw-
thorne, and,
WHEREAS, that excellent enter-
tainment was auspiciously augmented
by the Allen University family, led on
by Dr. and Mrs. Collie Coleman,
and,
WHEREAS, the Spirit of God
moved all week long in the choirs and
members of the Columbia Confer-
ence, and,
WHEREAS, the Presiding Elders
and Pastors of the Conference set
new landmarks in service as evidenced
by record setting reports, and,
WHEREAS, the growth of profes-
sionalism in the Conference was em-
phasized by the content, clarity, and
quality of the reports of all Standing
Committees, and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Charles E. Young
and the Staff of the Conference Insti-
tute gave us new insight into Educat-
ing for Evangelism, and,
WHEREAS, we remembered the
accomplishments of three of our
number as we commemorated the
homegoing of Reverends William W.
Cooper, Verseal A. Janerette, and
Melvin Richardson, and,
WHEREAS, we bore witness to the
retirement from the Gospel fields of
the Reverends Ervin Holmes and
Elect A. Vance, and,
WHEREAS, we saw new growth in
the ranks of the Army of the Lord by
the Ordination of seven Deacons and
four Elders, and,
WHEREAS, the Women’s Mis-
sionary Society celebrated the com-
mon bond of women around the
world in Christian Service and made a
strong financial statement of support
for Allen University, and,
WHEREAS, the members of the
Lay Organization again demonstrated
their strength and commitment to the
church of Allen by their Spirit and
participation in their Annual Lay Or-
West Atlanta District’s Elder and Wife
Blazing Trail of Stewardship
Atlanta, GA—Newly appointed Elder
Hardeman and Sister Hardeman are
indeed missionaries in action. They
have taken upon themselves to initiate
the renovations of two churches in the
West Atlanta District. White A.M.E.
Church in Tallapoosa, GA, and
Greater St. Mark in Atlanta, GA, are
blessed to have such people in their
midst. White A.M.E. Church needed
painting which has been done. This
church is unique in that it has only
eight members all being women. As a
result, Sister Hardeman organized a
Women’s Missionary Society. This
church certainly needs other repairs
therefore, projects will be undertaken
to meet their needs.
Greater St. Mark in Atlanta has a
deficient roof and other necessities.
The Elder and his wife are sponsoring
a trip to Boise, AL, November 4, 1989
to support this project. Throughout
the year, there will be other plans and
outlines to assist our churches.
Praise Godl!!!for Elder Hardeman
and Sister Hardeman.
Carolyn H. Richardson, Reporter
St. Luke’s Male Chorus Celebrates
Its First Anniversary
by Monic E. Hargrove
The Male Chorus of St. Luke
A.M.E. Church in Newark, NJ, Rev.
John G. Ragin, Pastor, held its First
Anniversary Celebration.
The Mistress and Master of Cere-
monies were Sister Clara Ross and
Brother Eddie Robinson. He said,
“‘Today history has been made, this is
the first time that the St. Luke Male
Chorus has been organized enough to
have a first anniversary.”’
sent to help make the Male Chorus
Anniversary extra special.
After several floral presentations
were made, the Male Chorus rendered
two selections, Hallelujah, I’m Free,
led by Shane Stewart and God Knows
How To Bring You Out, led by Way-
man Greggs.
There were two guest choirs present
each singing two selections, New
Hope Baptist Male Chorus and Mt.
Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church
both of Newark, NJ.
All of St. Luke Choirs, including
the Young People’s Choir were pre-
Understanding is the Foundation Of Psychological
Balance. Spiritualizing Self Is The Life Force We
Generate To Convert Our Psychological Balance
Into Power.
—A. Lee Henderson
Emanuel A.M.E, Church, Columbia, South Carolina
ganization Meeting and by their fi-
nancial commitment to Allen Univer-
sity, and,
WHEREAS, the importance of
Christian Education in empowering
our Zion was emphasized by Superin-
tendant L. T. Baker and the Confer-
ence Sunday School, and,
WHEREAS, the Young People of
the Conference showed on Saturday
night that they knew how to Let Their
Lights Shine and Reach Out, and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Collie Coleman
and the Allen University family prov-
ed to us on Education Emphasis Night
that they were equal to the task of
dealing with success, and,
WHEREAS, the Conference aided
in securing and maintaining that suc-
cess with a strong Self Help Commit-
ment to Allen University, and,
WHEREAS, we were witnesses to
an accounting of the growth of our
Economic Development fund and a
greater financial commitment to that
Fund, and,
WHEREAS, the fruits of our evan-
gelistic efforts were evident in the
creation of one new Circuit and four
new Station churches, and,
WHEREAS, the Reverend Robert
E. Christian and the family of Jones
Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church open-
ed their church facility and hearts to
our W.M.S. and Y.P.D. meetings,
and,
WHEREAS, our Conference was
blessed by the presence of many
visitors from in and out of our state,
those out of state visitors including
General Officer Yale B. Bruce of the
Department of Evangelism, Dean
Daniel W. Jacobs of Turner Semi-
nary, Dr. T. N. Hercules from the
Sixth Episcopal District, Dr. Charles
Spivey from the Fourth Episcopal
District, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard
Madison of the Second Episcopal Dis-
trict, and a delegation of Pastors
from the Second Episcopal District
coming to lend support to the Hurri-
cane Hugo relief effort, that delega-
tion being led by the Rev. D. Edgar
James, and,
WHEREAS, Mr. George Tolbert
of the Palmetto Conference and the
Ushers of Emanuel reminded us in an
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efficient way why God's Word says,
“‘l would rather be a doorkeeper in
the House of the Lord than to dwell
in the tents of wickedness,’’ and,
WHEREAS, the Super Seventh
chose the Columbia Annual Confer-
ence to make a $20,000 show of sup-
port to the survivors of Hurricane
Hugo, and,
WHEREAS, the Word of God was
powerfully proclaimed throughout
the Conference as the Rey. Alex
Findley told us what it meant to be
‘‘Indwelt and Empowered by the Ho-
ly Spirit,’’ as the Rev. Romeo Leo-
nard told us how ‘‘The Master Cele-
brates His Faith,’’ as the Rev. George
W. Brown, Junior told us that we
must be ‘‘Mission Minded,’ as Dr.
Charles Spivey masterfully contrasted
the ‘‘Conditions for Failure and Suc-
cess,’’ and as our own Bishop Frede-
rick C. James put the icing on the
Gospel cake by bringing us ‘‘Good
News for Bad Times.’’
BE IT NOW, THEREFORE,
HEREBY RESOLVED that the
Clergy and Laity of the 112th session
of the Columbia Annual Conference
be commended for making this An-
nual Conference one to be remember-
ed and cherished.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that the Right Reverend Frederick
Calhoun James and Dr. Theressa
Gregg James be commended and
thanked for their hard work, kindness
and committed leadership that did
much to make the victories of this
Annual Conference possible.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that the Columbia Annual Confer-
ence looks forward to continued lead-
ership by Bishop and Mrs. James,
both on this side and on the other side
of the General Conference in Orlan-
do, Florida.
Submitted this 8th day of October,
1989 by the Committee on Resolu-
tions.
Reverends Joseph A. Darby, Chairman
Rosalyn G. Frederick
Robert E. Kennedy
Hennie Millings, Sr.
a
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===== DSC05927.JPG =====
The AME. Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
THE EAST TENNESS
Bither of the above could very well
describe what took place at the eigh-
tyninth session of the East Tennessee
Annual Conference, held at the Saint
Paul A.M.E. Church at Alcoa, Ten-
nessee, Rev. George L. Byrd Host
Pastor. The city that used to be the
aluminum capital of the world; that
was until foreign countries took the
jobs away.
The first happening, the Mission-
aries met on Wednesday. They recess-
ed for the noon-day worship service.
This never happened before at an An-
nual Conference. We heard a wonder-
ful sermon preached by Rev. James
K. Brown. Subject: ‘‘Does a Man
serve God for nothing?’? The main
business for the afternoon was the
election of officers: President, Mrs.
Wilma Brown; First Vice President,
Mrs. Grace Auter; Second Vice Presi-
dent Mrs. Beulah Vassar; Recording
Secretary, Mrs. Evelyn Peppers; As-
sistant Recording Secretary, Mrs. O-
dessa Stigger; Corresponding Secre-
tary, Mrs. Ann Martin; Parliamen-
tarian, Mrs. Hazel Taylor; Director
of Young People’s Division, Ms. She-
lia Harris; Historiographer, Mrs. Flo-
rence Dungeon; Treasurer, Mrs. Ann
Sunderfur; Promotion and Mission-
ary Education, Mrs. Mary Hickerson;
Worship Director, Mrs. Eleoise
Dupree; and Reporter, Mrs. Burnice
Winton.
All preachers who stood behind the
great desk in the Conference, invited
the Holy Spirit to come in and take
control; He came in and took control.
The sermons and subjects:
Wednesday night—Rev. Charlene
N. Boone—‘‘If its from God you
can’t stop it.’? The Annual Ser-
mon—Rev. Benjamin R. Booker,
‘*Watchman, how is the night?”’
Thursday night—Ecumenical Ser-
vice, Rev. Edward Bell of the Chris-
tian Methodist Church—‘‘When the
church catches on fire.’
Friday noon, this was a first. A per-
son who would be Ordained the next
day to preach in the conference, Rev.
Charles R. Finch—‘‘God’s people in
a Goodless world.”’
Friday night—Rev. Willie L. Leslie
—‘‘That’s what friends are for.”’
The Ordination Sermon, Saturday
noon, Rev. W. Rhodeof, Dyersburg,
Tennessee—‘‘Let God be your
guide.”’
Saturday night, the youth of the
conference. presented a program
titled—‘‘Youth alive in Christ.”’
Reading and songs—‘‘A brand new
life,’ ‘‘Sweeter than the day before,”’
“Pm going through,”’ and ‘‘If God is
6 OO DOO
He Followed
His Star
A Pen Portrait of the Life, Personality
Superb!
dead."’ Rev
presented by his eight-year-old son.
Subject—‘*The Choice is yours,’’ and
Song—‘‘!l made a vow to the Lord.”’
What followed the sermon and invita
tion only the Holy Spirit knows.
The area Y.P.D, Director stood to
thank everyone for their part in the
program and called for the offering,
BUT, Bishop Byrd requested that she
allow Rev. Harris to do the invitation
again. First, one littl boy came
down, about three minutes later, two
more youths walked down, with Bis-
hop Byrd at the Altar talking to these
young people, five more young per-
sons came with tears running down
their cheeks. People started running,
shouting, clapping their hands, and
praising the Lord. The Conference
went Holy wild. The remark was
made by one pastor, ‘‘I’ve talked with
that young lady for a long time,
Praise God she walked out tonight.’’
The word is out, was this an Annual
Conference, or a five day revival re-
treat? Whatever, it was good to be
there. I saw God work in our midst.
As I write these words, chills move
through me just remembering what
took place.
Sunday morning, we went to a mid-
dle school to close the conference, the
Holy Spirit followed us there. Our
Bishop, the Right Reverend Vernon
R. Byrd fired us up again with—Do
you know anybody in hell? A lady
told me that it was the first time that
she heard a Bishop preach in the an-
nual conference. Shame, Shame,
Shame. This lady drove over a hun-
dred miles to hear her Bishop, and
was disappointed due to the Bishop
finding another place more important
than the conference. No wonder our
conference had such low attendance.
I believe after this, we shall see a
return to the old way... Thank you
Bishop Byrd.
Another first, the Missionaries tak-
ing an oath of office with Mrs.
Theora Byrd officiating. Praise the
Lord.
The memorial service with Rev. P.
B. Griffin presiding, saw the con-
ference remembering three fine Bis-
hops: Harrison J. Bryant, a good
friend of mine; Samuel S. Morris
and Frank M. Reid. Also my Presid-
ing Elder for fourteen years, Rev.
Robert Henry Reid, Sr., a person who
taught me how to be a Presiding El-
der. ‘‘These all died in the faith.’’
May the Blessing Of Almighty God,
be upon their families.
Then came the hour and moment
of great anticipation. I have always
Fred Harris, Jr., was
looked forward to hearing the Bishop
call for the Hymn, ‘'Go preach My
Gospel Saith the Lord,’’ We didn’t
hear this hymn, Certificates were
given to Rev, Ronal Glenn, Deacon,
and Rey, Charles Finch, Elder, The
assignments sent Rev. Benjamin R,
Booker to Saint Paul, Chattanooga;
Rev. Robert R. Keesee to Saint Paul,
Lexington, Kentucky; and the Rev,
Fredrick D, Smith to Warren Chapel,
Chattanooga. Most other assign-
ments were the same.
So ends another annual conference.
God be with you until we meet at the
Allen Temple A.M.E. Church in
Che
of the
EE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Chattanooga for the ninetieth session
of the East Tennessee Annual Confer
ence, Pray for us,
Rey. A. C, Griffin, Sr., Reporter
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===== DSC05928.JPG =====
October WW, 1989
The AME Christian Recorder
* ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE x
SEVENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP F. C. JAMES
CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 8-12, 1989
Shiloh A.M.E. Church
706 West Cleveland Street
Elloree, SC 29047
Church Phone: (803) 897-2379
Pastor’s Phone: (803) 897-2052
The Rev. Harold Hunter, Host Pastor
The Rev. R. L. McCants, Host P.E.
The 1989-1990 SEVENTH EPISCOPAL
DISTRICT PLANNING MEETING
November 24-25, 1989
EIGHTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
= aR,
BISHOP DONALD G. K. MING
LOUISIANA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 8-12, 1989
Bethel A.M.E. Church
1356 South Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Church Phone: (504) 344-6931
Pastor’s Phone: (504) 338-1727
The Rev. Ronald K. Smith, Host Pastor
The Rey. Joseph Cyprian, Host P.E.
The Rev. T. C. Johnson, Associate P.E.
The Rey. Clarence Collins, Assoc. P.E.
CONFERENCE MISSIONARY
MEETINGS
Central Louisiana Conference
November 8, 1989
Louisiana Conference
TENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP ROBERT L. PRUITT
Planning Meeting
November 1-2, 1989
Paul Quinn College
Waco, Texas
ELEVENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP PHILIP R. COUSIN
BAHAMA ISLANDS
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 10-12, 1989
Robinson-Morris Chapel
A.M.E. Church
Nassau, Bahamas
PLANNING CONFERENCE
November 17-18, 1989
11th Episcopal District
Planning Conference
Place to be announced
Attend Annual
Conference
THIRTEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
A.M.E CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP VERNON R. BYRD
DISTRICT PLANNING MEETING
November 16-17, 1989
St. James A.M.E. Church
Danville, KY
FIFTEENTH DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP ROBERT THOMAS
CAPE
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
December 6 - 10, 1989
Metropolitan Mitchell’s Plain 7785
15 Kruisduinen Close, P.O. Box 772
Westridge, 7802
Church Phone: (021) 32-2317
Pastor’s Phone: (021) 593-1224 or 593-1283
The Rev. Peter M. Mentoor, Host Pastor
The Rev. H. A. Joubert, Host P.E.
PLANNING MEETING
December 19 - 20, 1989
Bonner Chapel 2 Ntshinga Street
New Brighton 6200
Port Elizabeth
Church Phone: (041) 44-2115
The Rev. W. Guwa, Host Pastor
The Rev. E. A. Plaatjies, Host P.E.
SEVENTEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP R. A. CHAPPELLE, SR.
SOUTH ZAMBIA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 1-5, 1989
W.M.S. CONVENTION
October 30-31, 1989
Bright Temple A.M.E. Church
Kitwe, Zambia
The Rev. Stanley Banda, H. Pastor
Rev. C. Y. Katebe, Host P.E.
17th Episcopal District
Post Planning Meeting
November 24-26, 1989
Bright Temple A.M.E. Church
Matero-Lusaka, Zambia
The Rev. F. Sikizwe, Host Pastor
The Rev. D. K. Sifukwe, Host P.E.
EIGHTEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BISHOP R. A. CHAPPELLE, SR.
NORTHEAST LESOTHO
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 9-12, 1989
W.M.S. CONFERENCE
November 7-8, 1989
Buthe Buthe A.M.E.
Church
Buthe Buthe, Lesotho
The Rev. W. L. Sebata, Host Pastor
LESOTHO
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 15-19, 1989
LddbehhheSeeSShe Se Settee rete
W.M.S. CONFERENCE
November 13-14, 1989
Emmanuel A.M.E, Church
Maseru, Lesotho
The Rev, S. M. Rafube, Host Pastor
The Rev, M J. Sepitla, Host P.E,
BOTSWANA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
December 8-10, 1986
W.M.S. CONFERENCE
December 6-7, 1989
Gaborone A.M.E, Church
Gabarone, Botswana
The Rev. J. M. Mbulawa, Host Pastor
The Rev. L. M. Mbulawa, Host P.E.
SWAZILAND/MOZAMBIQUE
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
December 14-17, 1989
W.M.S. CONVENTION
December 12-13, 1989
Collins Chapel A.M.E. Church
P.O. Box 276
Mbabne, Swaziland
The Rev. L. B. Dlamini, Host Pastor
The Rey. I. S. Motsa, Host P.E.
18TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
POST PLANNING MEETING
December 29-31, 1989
Emmanuel A.M.E. Church
Maseru, Lesotho
NINETEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
AME CHURCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Daa
BISHOP HAROLD B. SENATLE
NATAL
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 9-12, 1989
New Castle
Church Phone: (03431) 94-711
The Rev. N. S. Sikhakhane, Pastor
P.O. Box 14140
Madadeni 2951
NORTH TRANSVAAL
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 15-19, 1989
Lebowa-Kgomo
Church Phone: (01529) 2210
The Rev. S. P. Chesane, Pastor
P.O. Box 154
Chuenespoort, Pietersburg 0745
ORANGIA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 22-26, 1989
Xaba Memorial A.M.E. Church
Heilbron
Church Phone: (01614) 2-1510
The Rev. J. B. Mbalo, Pastor
P.O. Box 231
Heilbron 9650
EAST TRANSVAAL
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
December 6-10, 1989
Emmanuel A.M.E. Church
Ermelo
Church Phone: (0139) 2511
The Rey. J. W. Dlamini, Pastor
P.O. Box 180
Ermelo 2350
WEST TRANSVAAL
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
December 13-17, 1989
Mmbatho, Mafikeng
Church Phone: (0140) 2-1768
The Rey. E. R. Lechoti, Pastor
P.O. Box 300
Mafikeng 8670
NINETEENTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
PLENARY MEETING
January 5-6, 1990
St. Francis A.M.E. Church
Potchefstroom
Church Phone: (0180) 5529
The Rev. M. D. Phetlhu, Pastor
P.O. Lesedi
Ikageng, Potchefstroom 2520
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONGRESS
Qwa-Qwa Witsieshoek
Date to be announced
besides being one of the
greatest communication
packages ever
developed. . .
it can
¢be given to friends
ebe divided up
ecarried from room to room
°clipped
¢read at leisure
and
after it has been given to a friend,
divided, carried, clipped and read, it
can still be used to line garbage can or
bird cage, start a fire, pack a box, as
a drop cloth, and sometimes even as
an umbrella
it also can
ebring inspiration
ekeep you informed
connect you with others
espeak for you
because
tomorrow a newer, more modern,
improved edition will be available
The newspaper for the Connectional
Church
To subscribe, clip insert and mail to-
day:
AME Christian Recorder
A. Lee Henderson, Publisher
500 Eighth Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-4181
SOE SEA
§
Unhappy Is The
Man Who Is Not
So Much
Dissatified With
What He Has As
With What The
Other Fellow
Possesses.
—Chauncey M. Depew
DPV. OVIV DVI PPV PVA OLIV LD?
il
===== DSC05929.JPG =====
12
The AME Christian Recorder
October 30, 1989
CIVIL RIGHTS: Bush Should
Go Back to the Basics
Washington, DC—Recent Supreme
Court decisions rejecting various
forms of racial quotas give President
Bush a ‘’rare opportunity’’ to pro-
mote a new civil rights agenda,
according to a new Heritage Founda-
tion study. But to do so, he must re-
ject calls for legislation to overturn
the court’s decisions, ‘‘bypass the
civil rights leadership elite, and pre-
sent his case directly to the people,”’
says Clint Bolick, director of the
Landmark Legal Foundation Center
for Civil Rights.
Bush must base his civil rights
policy on ‘‘the core values of civil
rights—equality under law and indi-
vidual liberty,’’ Bolick writes. ‘‘The
tragic reality is that after a quarter-
century of social engineering disguis-
ed as civil rights, millions of minority
Americans are more isolated from
basic opportunities and more deeply
enmeshed in a stifling dependency
than ever before.’’
Bolick recommends a six-point pro-
gram for President Bush, aimed at re-
moving ‘‘the barriers that prevent too
many Americans from sharing...the
American Dream:’’
1 Strengthen civil rights laws.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act requires an
employer found guilty of discrimina-
tion only to provide a job and back
pay. Bolick says Bush should ask
Congress to amend the law to impose
punitive damages on employers who
willfully or persistently violate the
law. The law should also be extended
to apply to government agencies such
as professional licensing boards, Bo-
lick contends.
2s Reinvigorate affirmative ac-
tion. ‘‘Although it is now confused
with racial preferences, affirmative
action originally was intended...to be
a way of providing those outside the
economic mainstream with the tools
necessary to take advantage of the op-
portunities secured by the civil rights
laws,’’ Bolick writes. Examples of af-
firmative action efforts are literacy
and basic skills training, day care, and
transportation of innercity workers to
the suburbs. Bolick says the federal
government should use tax credits and
regulatory reforms to encourage em-
ployers to take such actions. .
35 Propose an Economic Liber-
ty Act. Such a law would require
federal, state, and local governments
to justify their economic regulations
on the basis of demonstrable public
health, safety, and welfare concerns.
Such laws as the District of Colum-
bia’s recently overturned Jim Crow-
era ban on sidewalk shoeshine stands,
Houston’s ban on ‘‘jitney’’ trans-
portation services, and the National
Park Services monopolistic licensing
process for charter boat permits
would likely not pass muster under an
Economic Liberty Act, which would
“‘allow the free enterprise system once
again to create opportunities for up-
ward mobility.’’
4. Promote choice in educa-
tion. ‘‘No greater barrier to upward
advancement for poor inner-city
youngsters exists than the dreadful
condition of public education,’’ Bo-
lick writes. Bush should encourage
other states to follow the example of
Minnesota, which has adopted an
“open-enrollment”’ plan under which
parents may send their children to any
school in the state, Bolick argues.
This would promote competition be-
tween schools and provide an incen-
tive for school districts to improve the
quality of education.
5, Promote emancipation from
welfare dependency. One way that the
government could help ‘‘free Ameri-
cans from the welfare-fueled cycle of
dependency and despair,’? Bolick
writes, is by encouraging ‘‘urban
homesteading,’? under which public
housing projects are managed and
eventually purchased by their tenants.
Another way is by streamlining regu-
lations to make it easier for commu-
nity organizations to get contracts to
supply basic municipal services to
their neighborhoods.
6. Protect Americans from
crime. ‘‘The civil rights establishment
for decades has defended the rights of
criminals rather than protecting the
rights of...victims of crime,’’ Bolick
writes. ‘Yet the right to be free from
crime is the most fundamental civil
right. And minorities and the poor are
far more likely to be crime’s victims
than are other Americans.’’ Bolick
says the administration should make
inner-city crime-fighting an integral
part of its civil rights strategy, and
should promote victim’s rights’’ laws
that force criminals to make restitu-
tion to their victims and require pro-
secutors to take the victim’s interests
into account.
These six elements constitute a
“clear, forward-looking civil rights
vision,’’ Bolick writes. ‘‘Americans
are committed to civil rights, but this
commitment is fraying because of
confusion over the meaning of civil
rights and whom they belong to.
“This alarming development can be
reyersed only by returning to the core
values of civil rights—equality under
law and individual liberty—and by re-
newing the commitment to ensuring
those rights to all Americans.’’
SOCIAL ACTION
CORNER
Reverend William F. Dancy, Reporter
Mid-West Representative Department
Social Action to NCC
St. Louis, MO—It was my privilege to
visit Washington, DC, during the
Black Congressional Caucus, Sep-
tember 15-18, 1989. I was able to at-
tend the Prayer Breakfast, chaired by
the Reverend Tom Skinner, and MC-
ed by Congressman Floyd Flake with
Dr. James Forbes, new pastor at New
York Riverside Church (first Black
succeeding William Sloan Coffin).
Bishop J. H. Adams and Bishop H.
H. Brookins were there. Bishop
Brookins prayed a prayer for the chil-
dren of the world. It was great.
The sessions were most enlighten-
ing. It would appear we have arrived
in the main stream. We are aware of
the real issues and where the power is
in government. The plan by Congress-
man Ronald Williams is to bring one
hundred thousand young people to
Washington, DC, next June to play
out the role the Chinese students did
at Beijing this year.
The main point I wish to leave with
you is: always be prepared when go-
ing. I did not take clergy attire nor
Black Tie, etc. So even though I had a
$250 ticket to the banquet, I could not
attend. Be prepared!
There were two fashion reviews—
$40 and $75, respectively—with
models from all over America. Beau-
tiful Black women, all of whom look-
ed like the new Miss America!
AOD? MOO? AOI? LOMO? MOMON2 MOV MOO LOW»? MOMON? OWI
THE DEPARTMENT
OF
SALARY SUPPLEMENT
(Formerly Minimum Salary)
Division of Stewardship Education
Announces
Connectional Stewardship Education Month
The month of NOVEMBER has been declared Stewardship Education
Month throughout African Methodism.
ORDER MATERIAL
Stewardship Worship
Resource Manual
Orders of Service
Calls to Worship
Litanies
Appropriate Hymns, etc.
Offertory Prayers
Sermon Outlines
Meditations
sd Sea
Bishop Bible Study Guides Dr.
Henry A. Belin, Jr. Alonzo W. Holman
Chairman Director
Bulletin Inserts
Stewardship Tracts, etc.
We challenge you to lead your congregation into a month of study and emphasis
on Stewardship of time, talent, treasure and life climaxing with a tithing demonstra-
‘tion Sunday for the local church on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as we bring the
period to a close.
Material available October 15, 1989
Order Today
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