Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / March 27, 2008, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
FORUM A Good Pastor is Hard to Find Ernie Pitt rhis & That St. Paul United Methodist Church, of which I am a mem ber, is losing its pastor of 13 years. Pastor Donald Jenkins has been named the District Superintendent of a newly creat ed United Methodist District in the Lake Norman area. Sounds great on the surface. It consti tutes a serious promotion for him but it is devastating to the members, nearly 98 percent of whom -including the pastor himself - do not want him to leave. I thought long and hard, even prayed about whether 1 should write about this tragedy. It is a tragedy because the UMC, in reappointing our pastor, has vio lated its own protocol for such a serious action as this. I wouldn't be saying a word about it except that the whole situation has been on the UMC's website. In fact, they put the reappointment on the Web site before members of our congregation knew anything about it themselves. Therein lies the egregious and insensitive issue. 1 must admit that when 1 jomea tne ctiurcn. l had no depth of knowledge regarding the United Methodist Church. I joined because of the way the pastor taught the Word, lived the Word and trusted in the UMC. We have in our sect, a guide book called "The I InifpH w ?????<? i'?V 111V/V1 1 v3 1 Book of Disciplines." It outlines rules and procedures for govern ing the body. Well, to my great surprise, 1 found two items that the district superintendent and the bishop were supposed to do before making this reappoint ment. Number 1 : they were sup posed to have had some consul tation with a duly appointed and specific committee in the church charged with this function; num ber 2: the district superintendent and/or the bishop were supposed to inform the congregation, by way of the committee, that they were making this reappointment of our pastor prior to making it public. Neither of those things occurred prior to many of us finding out that our pastor was being reappointed on the UMC's Web site. You can imagine the sinking feeling in many of our guts upon seeing on a Web site that our beloved pastor had been reap pointed. For many of us, it is not so much ?t;kn? nine rl/\na Kilt the manner in which it was done. Given the fact that membership in the UMC all over the country has been steadily declining, we felt that since our membership was steadily increasing, the DS and the bishop would at least treat us with a little more respect and sensitivity, and respond to our many letters of inquiry instead of treating us like slaves. Many of us believed Pastor Jenkins had the formula for cor recting the decline, and that the bishop and the DS would use St. Paul as a model for bringing souls to Christ. Instead, both violated the very rules created and outlined in the Book of Discipline and ignored the wish es of 98 percent of the congre gants. To me. this is absurd. How can you be more concerned with staffing issues than bring ing souls to Christ and increas ing the membership? I have to apologize because I, like so many others, am griev ing over this most insincere and callous disregard for spiritual righteousness. I was also quite surprised to learn that part of the problem related to declining membership was a history of racism in the UMC. Now, I did n't say it. It is on their Web site, but they don't know how to fix it. 1 do know that you can't fix anything by running from it. God bless you. Amen? Amen! Ernie Pitt is the publisher of The Chronicle. Reach him at erpitt@wschronicle .com ? Rev. Jenkins 'Mama, They Need to Know' Iris Venable Guest Columnist I remember when I first learned about his HIV. It was a slow revelation. A little at a time, it became painfully clear. It started about six years ago near winter time. My son, Antonio Terry Jr., my *'Sunshine," I called him as a boy. He's in heaven now. But, he left a message here on earth. My name is Iris Venable. Although God has given me peace since my son's death just this year, I represent the face of the^pain, the mothers and the loved ones left behind by the scourge of HIV/AIDS in our community. It was six years ago when my son, Tony, then only about 24, lost his apartment. I went looking for him and I found him in a crack house. At that time he seemed more con cerned about his giusic albums than himself. He asked me to take them to safety. I took his albums, knowing how much they meant to him. But I also invifed him to come to live with me. He came with a fam ily - a girlfriend and two chil dren who also needed a home. But, he also brought with him a shroud of secrecy. His girlfriend was ill much of the time. She was back and forth in the hospital with ailments like pneumonia. Unable to turn away my grandchildren, I helped the family the best I could. _ % I asked him repeatedly, 'Are you sure that girl is alright?' He'd say yes. But then I'd see her with these big bottles of medicine. She said it was nothing and that she was just anemic. Finally* over time, I kind > of guessed it because I!d got ten a letter at my house saying my son needed to be checked Iris Venable's "Sunshine," Antonio Terry Jr. for HIV. Medical personnel also constantly called, asking him to be checked. So, I pled with him too. But, he just kept saying, "No, Mom I'm fine." I would say, "You're in denial." It took him at least two years before he got checked and the doctors finally con firmed it. He confessed that he thought it would just go away if he ignored it. They got him started on his medications and for a while he was happy - even relieved. But, then the side effects of the medicines seemed to have a worse effect on him than the disease itself. The constant diarrhea and nausea were unbearable. The medicines also gave him mood-swings. Then, he started having seizures. I watched as my son slow ly deteriorated, his legs weak ening, sometimes unable to walk. As he neared the age of 30, I would often recall him in his prime. He had a gift. The gift was that people hung on to his every word. They didn't have to know him and they still hung on to his every word. There were people on my front steps all the time. I would say, "Tony, why are those people on my front steps?" He would say, "I have no idea. I asked them to go home. But, they're waiting for me to come back out." Even when he attended church, those who ministered to him the prayer of salvation now chuckle that he did more talking than they did. The last seizure that he had was in August last year. That is when he also began to hallu cinate from the medication. He never came back home from that one. Ttifc doctors - diagnosed PML (progressive multifocal leuko.encephalopa thy)i which they described es a condition in which the HIV had attacked the brain, caus ing it to shrink. Ever since then, he lived between hospi tals and nursing homes. On Feb. 12, the Lord took Tony home. He would be turn ing 31 this year had he lived 'til Mother's Day. I would often talk heart to heart veith Tony when the medications were not causing him to be delirious. I can hear now the essence of the mes sage that he desired to bring to other young men and women. I hope they will hear it too: He'd say, "Mama, they need to know, if you have to have sex - even safe sex - don't just jump anything. Don't take sex causally because you don't want to be where I am. You don't want to know when your last day is. You don't want to take these medications for the rest of your life. You don't want peo ple looking at you funny. You can't get a shot for this. You don't want this. You don't want any parts of it." Iris Venable is one of mil lions of mothers who have personally been touched bv HIV/AIDS. The Chronicle, the Choice for African-American News, is located at <17 N. Liberty Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 336-722-8624 Fax -336-723-9173 news@wschrvnicU.com www.wschrnnicle.com The Chronicle was established by Ernest Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye In 1974, and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. The Chronicle Is a proud member of : National Newspapers Publishers Association ? North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association ? Inland Press Association .The ? '? \> - Home Delivery Subscription Order o YES, Please send me The Chronicle o 2 years: $40.95 o I year: $30.72 o 6 months: $20.48 <J a, Email O VISA ap O Mastercard O American Express 0 Check enclosed O Please bill me: Eipmfran Date ' Send to: The Chronicle, P.O. Bo* 163ft, Winston-Salem. NC 27102 Signature Business Office 723-14211, ext. 100 Paii.ettb Moom Basinets Office 723S42I, ext 101 Andhf* Mosh I ^ Dr.Tawarja Johns L Spinal Wellness and Rehab Center AUTO INJURIES, WORK INJURIES BA^ND NECK PAIN/ SPINAL DECOMPRESSION HEADACHE AND MIGRAINE PAIN / MASSAGE THERAPY Phone #(336) | 917-0050 MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED FREE CONSULTATIONS 897 Peters Creek Pkwy Suite 101 Rep. Larry Womble NC House of Representatives 71st District Tel (336) 784-9373 Fax (336) 784-1626 E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com Home Address 1294 Salem Lake Road Winston-Salem, NC 27107 Sharon S. Dobbins, ChFC* 336-631-9905 PLANNING TO RETIRE SOON? Congratulations! Retirement is a big step. Choosing payout or distribution option can be difficult and scary. GET THE FINANCIAL GUIDANCE YOU DESERVE FROM A KNOWLEDGEABLE PROFESSIONAL Planning - Investments ~ Insurance Branch Office S00 W 4 Street, Suite 201 C = PO Bon 21204 Winston Salem, NC 27120 Securities and Advisory services offered through Great Amen.- .in Advisors v Inc Member FINRA SPC and Registered Inve ? -> t Advisor GAA is not affiliated with Dobh-is & Company Financial Secuntie 'nvolve risks including possible loss of principal Roland L. Waddeil IA OneSource Building Technologies, Inc. has over 50 years of expcriencc as a leading Audio visual, Sound, Lighting and Video System Integrator OneSource will be your partner in helping you design and build your church presentation system, upgrade classrooms or conference rooms Contact Roland at 336.714:0537 rwaddell?osbt.com www.onesourcebt.com 961 Burke Street o Winston-Salem, NC 27 101 Drliicruijt h-vci'Ucact through National Prrscnci- wtlh Ft rvnial Scrvicc ?S. Wayne Patterson Vttorno Vt I ax* ami (irtifud M>H Mediator ?Immigration 'Social Security ?Civil Rights I ?EEOC Claims ?Non-Profit/501 c(3) ?Employment Discrimination 235 Peachtree Si. 8 West Third Street Suite 400 Suite 220 Atlanta. GA 30303 Winston-Salem. NC 27101 1-877-SWP-4LAW or local number (336) 714-8858 www.swa\nt;piitterson4Uiw.c<)nt Donald R. Buie BANKRUPTCY L*g*l Help For Your Debt Problems DONALD R. BUIE, Attorney At Law * www.donaldrbuie.com Free Initial Consultation Stop jUpwuwiOB & KoredoMire The Law Office of IKinaki R. Buic it a Federally designated Debt Relief Agency under Title II United States Code Section 528(a). We help peo ple (tie for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code. 773-1398 8 W. 3rd St., Ste. 1011 Jessie Draft & Associates LLC Jessie Draft/Broker CRS, GRI, REALTOR RNJDRAFT@MSN.COM 3750 Beeson Dairy Rd Winston-Salem, NC 27105 (336) 403-1254 Business (336) 748-0871 Fax o MULTI MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCER Louise E. Harris Attorney at Law ? Debt Relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code ? Consumer Problems ? Traffic Tickets & DWI ? Divorce ? Wills & Prolate I 17 Years Of Experience Winston Tower Suite 2223, 301 N. Main Street Winston-Salem. NC 27101 Call 24 Hours (336) 761-0222
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 27, 2008, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75