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RELIGION/ The Charlotte Post
January 11, 1996
The Prophet’s Column
This is a paid advertisement by J. M. Littie
A born-again believer does
not have a critical spirit. But
a deceived heart always looks
for something in the message
to criticize. That’s because the
deceived heart cannot rejoice
in Christ.
You can’t rejoice in someone
you don’t know. And let me
say with emphasis that you
cannot be brought under Holy
Spirit Conviction and then go
about criticizing God’s mes
sage or His servant. The out
standing mark of a deceived
heart is that you do not under
stand Holy Spirit Conviction
(John 16:7-11).
A preacher and his wife were
here years ago at my house.
And in conversation, I said to
them: “you are leaving out
Holy Spirit Conviction.” They
replied: “no, we are not leav
ing our Holy Spirit
Conviction.” Yet in every sen
tence from them they were
denying Holy Spirit
Conviction, but they didn’t
know it. Their hearts are still
deceived until this day. A
deceived heart, being a total
stranger to Holy Spirit
Conviction has to rebel
against these simple mes
sages setting forth the Way of
Grace. And I realize these
simple gospel messages are
giving some here unshirted
hell. And I praise the Lord.
It’s been over 23 years since
God saved me. And I cem give
my testimony that every soul
that has fought me and other
of the Lord’s people have gone
down.
You cannot win fighting the
Lord. Just recently the obitu
ary column carried the names
of two souls who went the way
of all flesh. One was 67 years
of age and the other 83. Years
ago both fought me at Satan’s
bidding. And then just recent
ly I was on the road traveling
out there somewhere and
thought I recognized a certain
person up ahead in the other
lane to my right. I said 'that
looks like M...,' then I pulled
up beside her vehicle to get a
good look to be sure. And
when I looked over in her face,
she turned her head to keep
from looking in my face. I
want to tell you, fiiends, if the
unsaved can’t stand to be in
the presence of my Lord now,
how in the world are they
going to stand in the presence
of the Lord at the Great White
Throne Judgement?
(Revelation 20). Sometimes
here it seems that an individ
ual is coming down the way of
grace and then something is
said in the message that
crosses your will and you
rebel. If I could just keep you
strEiight, but I can’t. The rea
son you rebel is because you
are not in Christ.
Sin and atonement
Continued frompage 11A
Racial division and job dis
crimination are issues rooted
in the hearts of man. And only
Jesus Christ can change the
heart. Jesus has not promised
to change everyone’s heart.
As dictated by Jesus, each
Christian shall be a witness
unto Jesus, both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and in the uttermost
pat of the earth. Oh, my
brothers and sisters, who has
bewitched you? God knows we
need jobs, education, and
places to stay. It is written:
“Therefore take no thought,
saying. What shall we eat? or.
What shall we drink? or.
Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek: )
for your heavenly Father
knov/eth that ye have need of
all these things. But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added
unto you” (Matthew 6:31-33).
Be reconciled now
Back to atonement. An indi
vidual can be reconciled to
God right now, wherever he or
she is. It can begin with a
statement from the heart:
“Lord have mercy on me a sin
ner” or “Lord, I am getting
what I deserve. Lord remem
ber me” or “Woe is me, I am
undone” or “Lord I believe,
help thou my unbelief,” or any
other expression of repentance
from a sin-sick heart. “Again,
he limiteth a certain day, say
ing in David, Today, after so
long a time; as it is said.
Today if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts”
(Hebrews 4:7). Here’s wishing
all a happy new year.
THE REV. CHESTER DEB-
NAM lives in Raleigh.
"...an individual can be
reconciled to God right
now, wherever he or she
is. It can begin with a
statement from the
heart..."
Black church coming back to life
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BARDSTOWN, Ky.- At a
time when other parishes
were closing or clustering, the
Louisville Archdiocese decided
last fall that the mainly black
St. Monica Catholic Church
would once again operate
independently.
With the new lease on life,
the church will mark its 40th
anniversary this year. Its
members will celebrate their
parents' and grandparents'
decision to break away from
the mostly white St. Joseph
parish in 1942 and to formally
establish a parish for the
Bardstown area's black
Catholics in 1956.
The archdiocese won't decide
for several months whether
St. Monica's 165 families -
about three-quarters of them
black - will get their own
priest or operate under lay
leadership, archdiocese
spokeswoman Cecelia Price
said.
For about two years, St.
Monica has been informally
grouped with St. Joseph
because of a shortage of
priests and a 1993 fire that
damaged the St. Monica
parish hall.
Even though St. Monica is
now on the rebound, it still
hasn't recovered some of the
programs it lost in recent
years.
“Right now we don't know
what's going to happen, but
we are very fortunate we are
going to stay open," said
Marlee Crowe, who runs St.
Monica's private credit union,
which has made small loans to
members since 1964. “And we
are very grateful."
The demands of the growing
St. Joseph parish and the
“unique mission" of St. Monica
led to the imdoing of the infor
mal cluster, said the Rev. Bill
Medley, current pastor of the
two parishes and a member of
the committee that developed
the reorganization plan for
the whole archdiocese.
St. Joseph is the third-
largest parish in the archdio
cese, with more than 1,500
families, according to the
Catholic Directory. St. Monica
is one of only two rural black
Catholic churches within it -
the other being Holy Rosary in
Springfield.
A few years ago, five priests
tended to the parishioners at
St. Joseph and St. Monica.
Now, Medley has only the
Rev. Mark Spalding assisting
him.
Still, that's only part of the
story. About eight years ago,
St. Monica's congregation
plunged into turmoil, and
attendance at Sunday Masses
plunged from more than 200
to 40 or less.
Some St. Monica members
began commuting
Louisville for Mass; others
attended services at the local
black Methodist and Baptist
churches.
Among other things, the con
gregation was at odds over
who really made the decisions
in the church, the priest or the
parish council, and whether to
introduce a more Afro-centric
style of worship or stay with
traditional Catholic Mass.
to
John P. Kee’s year is off to a rousing start.
The Charlotte-based gospel
artist has been nominated for a
Grammy for “Show Up,” his
album project with The New Life
Community Choir. Kee, who
records for Verity Records, was
nominated for Best Gospel Album
By A Choir or Chorus. He wrote,
produced and composed all songs
on the album.
“Show Up” has been a fixture on
Billboard magazine’s Top 10
gospel albums for 11 months, and
has shown up on the
Contemporary Christian chart, a
rarity for an African American
gospel act. An ex-member of the
r&b band Cameo and former drug
dealer and abuser, Kee’s success
transcends gospel and secular
music. Kee has also five Stellar
Awards, one of the most presti
gious honors in gospel music.
Verity will release a new album
by Kee and The VIP Mass Choir
titled “Stand” on Feb. 27. “Stand”
is a live recording from Kee’s
annual Victory in Praise Music
and Arts Seminar last summer.
Herbert L. White
PHOTOS/PAUL WILLIAMS
Sunday school
Continued from page 10A
ment toward a significant
goal. Reflecting on his situa
tion, the Lord’s servant began
to feel that he had labored in
vain. His confidence in God,
however, carried him through.
He stated, “Surely the justice
due to me is with Jehovah”
(verse 4)
Christians often must do
kingdom work without percep
tible positive results. But “we
walk by faith, not by sight”
(Corinthains 5:7). Jesus
taught that a significant por
tion of gospel seeds scattered
never produce fruit (Matthew
13:1-23). Yet we must keep
believing that our “labor is not
in vain in the Lord”(l
Corinthians 15:58).
cese surveyed St. Monica
parishioners, telling them
“that the archdiocese would
rebuild if the church could
stand on its own. The archdio
cese had to have a reason to
dish out the money, or the
people could now be members
of St. Joe's," said Traci Porter-
Johnson, a St. Monica mem
ber.
and Afrocentric-style music, is
filling the pews. St. Monica is
supporting itself financially.
And the number of children
taking religion classes has
doubled, to 54, said Ada
Logan, the parish's director of
religious education.
A rapid turnover of priests
didn't help matters. Some
thought the final blow was the
1993 fire that burned the
parish hall and damaged the
sanctuary with smoke.
While the archdiocese
weighed whether to rebuild or
close the church, St. Joseph
added a Mass that was desig
nated as St. Monica's. But few
from St. Monica came.
Some members said St.
Joseph's size made them feel
lost, but many more cited lin
gering memories of a painful
history. Some St. Monica
members said their ancestors
were slaves owned in the
1800s by white St. Joseph
families. Others recalled St.
Joseph's making its black
parishioners sit in the back,
said Francis Lydian, a
Bardstown City Council mem
ber and a Eucharistic minister
at St. Monica.
Before making a final deci
sion after the fire, the archdio-
“I think people really
thought, ‘Boy, if we don't get it
together, we're not going to
have St. Monica's anymore.'
So I think the fire was a bless
ing in disguise."
The church was rebuilt, and
two years later the single 9
a.m. Sunday Mass, with its
mix of traditional Catholic
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YMCA
of Greater Charlotte
McCrorey Branch
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presents
{ MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
? PRAYER BREAKFAST
Monday, January 15,1996
m
7:30 a.m.
First Union Atrium
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Guest Speaker:
m me, jz
NC Representative
Join us for inspiration,
song and prayer
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Ticket Price: $15.00 • Open Seating
Quarter Page Ad and 2 tickets: $100.00
Tickets available at the McCrorey YMCA 394-2356
(A portion of ticket price is tax deductible)
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