Sheldon McCarter: Leading
Cleveland Ave.'s quiet evolution
i ' ... - ?? , - - - '
By ROBIN BARKSDALE
iffrmmunity News Editor
>f 1
Zr There is a quiet evolution taking place on the cor
TOT <5f Cle velandAvenue and Ninth Street Slowly,but
purely, a church congregation is growing, pushing
ahead and firmly establishing itself within its commu
nity.
1 he movement is being led by the 28-year-old pas
tor of Cleveland Avenue Christian Church, the Rev.
Sheldon McCarter. A native of Rocky Mount, Rev.
;McCarter came to the church 14 months ago, accus
tomed to an entirely different church situation and
; unsure of what he would find at this new church. What
;he found was a small congregation of only 45 mem
;bers, barely as large as the choir at the church where he
had served as an associate pastor. But Rev. McCarter
was undeterred and determined that Cleveland Avenue
* : Christian Church could grow and prosper.
Fourteen months later, the church has increased its
membership by 40 people, the young people are active
ly involved in the church and plans are underway for
Structural improvements and expansions.
r:
J; Rev. McCarter comes from a family of ministers,
fijis father, the Rev. R.L. McCarter, is the pastor of
fiiocky Mount's Morning Star Church of Christ. Both of
fis brothers are ministers. But Rev. McCarter insists
? feat it was not^he family iies that led him to the min
iskry but a genuine interest in helping other ppople.
? "I felt God had a calling on my life," he said. "1
didn't become a minister because of my father. That
Certainly had an indirect bearing but it was not the
deciding factor for me. And my father never really
encouraged me to be a minister. I've felt like I would be
^minister since I was 17 years okl. What really decid
& it for me was that on three different occasions three
different people, who I had never met before, came up
and told me I was going to be a preacher. That was
pretty unusual."
Young people are coming to Rev. McCarter's
church in unusual numbers. He said that while he min
isters to all people, he has a particular concern about
bringing young people into the church. But he said cap
turing and holding their interest presents a special chal
lenge and calls for a special approach.
"Naturally, I want to minister to the total commu
nity, but 1 want to be sure there is a place for young <
people at our church," he said. "I can relate to young
people. One of the main things is to relate to young
people on their level. Sometimes, we ministers can put
ourselves too high. We talk, we laugh but they still
respect me as a preacher. They know I am a preacher
but they also know that they can come and talk to me
about things because I associate with them. We take
field trips and we get to know one another."
Rev. McCarter said that neither his message to
young people nor his means are new. Actually, he said,
they're both from the "old school." Many churches,
Rev. McCarter said, lose their young people because
they don't take the time to make youth feel like they are
a part of the activities of the church. When youth lose
interest, the congregation is baffled, he said.
"Often, young people are not given the attention in
church thai they needigrtfrey're not put 10 use.'said
Rev. McCarter, who has bolstered membership in his
young aduli and youth choirs since<Jiis arrival. Ml think
we should use them in any capacity that we can."
Rev. McCarter said he prefers to go quietly about
his business of ministering, avoiding the limelight But
that doesn't mean that he won't encourage his church
members to be active in their community.
"Any issue that affects your community is going to
affect your church," he said. "Your church should be
piix m nil
VsJLl li\V/JLX
THURSDAY, OCT. 5
|\AB
lJxlJK
^ ~rTTT J; -4 |||?||
% Elder J.C. Hash and St Peter's Apostolic Church wlB worship with
^Pastor John McClurkin in celebration of hisl4th pastoral anniversary.
iThe church is located at 520 Gleribrook Drive. 1
*
FRIDAY, OCT. 6
? - . ,
f Bishop J.L. Hines and Mount Sinai Olorkias Church will warship
jwith Greater Faith Chapel in celebration of the pastor's 14th anniver
sary. Elder John McClurkin is host pastor.
I SATURDAY, OCT. 7
< ' -
| Christ Rescue Ifemple Apostolic Chuith^ 1500 It Dunleilh Ave., will
^worship with Macedonia Apostolic Church in Bowdeiv at tpjtt. fikfer*
?Thorntori Howard lit, an associate minister at Christ Rescue "temple,
Jwill be the guest speaker Music wilt be tarnished by the CRT Mass
Ensemble. Bishop S.E. Saufi&rs Jr. is host pastor.
*
SUNDAY, OCT. 8
$ The Deaconess Board of Zion Memorial Baptist Church, 10* N,
Dunleith Ave., will sponsor a membertftip tea at 4 p.m. Representatives
of various auxiliaries, boardsaralteaciung ministries of the chutth will
'share information regarding their functions within the church body*
?They will depict how the members wort: together to gain rnarirrtii
benefit from the whole. The Rev. Joseph Jones is host pastor.
j ? The Lay Organization of St James CME Church, 1 501 N. Patterson
| Ave., will hold its annual Meet the Candidates forum at 4 p.m. The
^program will be fpBowed by the bond referendum forum. Candidates
?for the run-offs for the mayor's seat and the aldermanic candidates for
the North Ward seat will be presented. A refreshment period will be
| held from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Speaker* also will include Gertrude Judd
| Upperman. Ward Miller is president of the Lay Organization; Mattie S.
I Smith is director of lay activities; and the Rev. Sheridan Knight is hoat
pastor.
? Wayside CME Church, 3780 Carver Road, will celebrate National
Laymen's Day at 4 pjn. Hie guest speaker wiB he Evangelist Charlie
I Clemmons. Randy Butler is lay leader and Mil preside at the program.
? The Rev. Emma Duren is host pastor.
? National Laymen's Day wili be observed at St John CME during the
morning ifii'-Si&iiaiSidtt
I the featured speaker. He is a farmer connections! lay leader of the
| CME Church. Nathaniel Williams It, is the local chutth lay leader. The
Lay Department will be in charge of the Sunday morning service. The
XX.. Picken Choir will sing. Kristina Pettlgrew is the director and Don
aid Spencer is president The Rev. Ronald P. Davis Sr. is host pastor.
. ?; Pemell J. McCriff and A1 Martin will observe their first artnlver
jj saries of broadcasting a Saturday morning program wtth an open fcrum
| at 3 p.m. at the Carver High School Auditorium. Both are announcers at
iWSMX.
1 t, ?< *s' s-i
? ' ? ? ? ? ? ? photo by Mike Cunningham
The Rev. Sheldon McCarter, pastor of Cleveland Avenue Christian Church: "? I've felt like I would
be a minister since I was 17 years old." .
aware of what is happening whether its political or
spiritual."
Revv McCarter said that along with his ministry
1 comes the responsibility of being a leader in the eom
said that those factors are particularly crucial at a time
when drugs are devastating the Afro-American com
munity.
"Drugs are rapidly invading our entire community.
So many young people are turning to drugs," said Rev.
McCarter. "We've got to help young people know that
there is a better life to lead."
The black church, he said, needs to assume more
responsibility for building self-esteem among young
people. Because, of the church's foundation in the Afro- ?
Ameiiian community, Rev. McCaitei said, ministers?
should take the time to make, young people feel good
about themselves and about what they can become.
"Too often, our black children don't have self
esteem/ he said. "The church can play a part in
changing that The church can help them to realize that
they can be doctors, lawyers, whatever they want to be.
We must help our children realize they are somebody."
CHURCH NOTES
Emmanuel Baptist prepares for diamond anniversary
Emmanuel Baptist Church will
commemorate its 75th, diamond
church anniversary Sunday, Oct. 8:
The anniversary committee,
chaired by Katie Fair, has planned
a number of events in observance of
- the special occasion. The celebra
tion will begin with the recognition
and observance of the church's pas
tor, the Rev. John Mendez. Rev.
Mendez is marking his 25th year of
preaching and his fifth year as pas
tor of Emmanuel Baptist.
The guest speaker for the occa
sion will be the Rev. Walter Fluker,
assistant professor of Christian
Ethics at Vanderbilt University's
Graduate School of Religion and
-Divinity School He also is assistant?
to the pastor at First Baptist
Church, Capitol Hill, Nashville,
Tenn.
Dr. Fluker received his bache
FTuKer
lor of arts degree in philosophy and
biblical studies from Trinity Col
lege and a master's degree in divini
ty from Garett-Evangelical Theo
logical Seminary. He also has
attended Northwestern University
and Seabury Western Episcopal
Seminary. He holds a doctorate in
philosophy from Boston University.
Dr. Fluker makes frequent
appearances as a guest speaker at
churches, colleges and universities
throughout the country. He is the
author of the recently published
book, They Looked for a City: A
Comparative Analysis of the Ideal
of Community in the Thought of
Howard thurman and Martin
Luther King Jr.
His current project is the coor
dination of a national convocation
?of- Howard? Thurmanscholarsr
scheduled for this fall.
Dr. Fluker will preach at
Emmanuel's 11 a,m. service.
At 4 p.m., the pastor's anniver
sary will continue with St.
Stephen's Baptist Church and its
pastor, the Rev. J.R. Samuels, who
will preach the sermon.
Betty Brockman and Glenda
Roseboro are the chairs for Sun
day's portion of the anniversary
observances.
Saturday, Oct. 14, the church
will observe its 75th diamond ban
quet at the Benton Convention Cen
ter at 7 p.m.
The featured minister will be
the Rev. Frederick G. Sampson of
Tabernacle Missionary Baptist
Church in Detroit.
Dr. Sampson also will preach at
the 11 a.m. worship service Sunday,
-Ocl l5. Later that afternoon, at 4, ?
Macedonia TVPH Church will be
the special guests. Its pastor, Bishop
S.D. Johnson, will render the ser
vice.
Manderline Scales, Ben Ruffin to
highlight First Calvary observance
First Calvary Baptist Church
will observe Men's and Women's
Day Sunday, Oct 8, at the 11 a.m.
and 6 p.m. services.
The special guests will be Dr.
Manderline Scales and Ben Ruffin.
Dr. Scales is the special assis
tant to the vice chancellor of stu
dent affairs at Winston-Salem State
University. She is a graduate of
Spelman College and received her
master's degree from the University
of Pittsburgh. Dr. Scales earned her
doctorate at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro. She will
speak at the morning observance.
Mr. Ruffin is the director of
corporate affairs for R J. Reynolds.
He is a graduate of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and received his master's degree at
North Carolina Central University.
He will speak at the evening obser
vance.
Laura Kennedy is program
chair, Franklin Bennett is co-chair.
Other committee members are
Macie Sibert, Dorothy Draper and
Willie Parker.
M. Scales B. Ruffln
Minister Lee Faye
Mack to mark BTL center's anniversary
Minister Lee Faye Mack will
celebrate her 8th ministerial
anniversary along with the Back to
Life Center Sunday, Oct. 8, at 3
p.m.
She has been in the ministry
for eight years and has operated the
Back to Life Center for one year.
The center is located at 927 ?.
21st St in the East Winston area of
the city.
The center houses a number of
community-based activities which
make lifeteasier.
The center provides motiva
L** Fay* Mack
L.S. Tat*
tional seminars to instruct and to
build self-esteem, an agency watch
assistance program to monitor the
effectiveness of other assistance
programs in the area, Bible study
classes and various after-school
activities.
The center operates from dona
tions and volunteer efforts.
The celebration will be held at
New Faith Chapel, where Mrs.
Mack is a member.
The speaker will be Bishop
L.S. Tate. Other guests will include
Alderman Vivian Burke.