tKIje Cljarlotte ^osit
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1996
13A
RELIGION
Take
time to
study
Sunday
School Lesson
Devotional Reading: Luke
1:24-56.
Lesson Scripture: Luke 1:26-56.
Elisabeth, one of the two per
sonalities mentioned in last
week’s lesson, is also a part of
toda/s lesson. She was a rela
tive of Maiy, the primary focus
of our Scripture text.
The lesson text is again from
Luke 1. Luke was more than a
physician. He was a careful his
torian who investigated “all
things from the very first “(Luke
1:3). We, as well as Theophilus
(to whom Luke directed his writ
ing), can 'Toiow the certainty of
those things, wherein [we have]
been instructed” Luke 1:4).
This was the sixth month of
the pregnancy of EUsabeth (see
last week’s lesson), but it was
also much more than that. It
was the beginning of that “full
ness of the time” when God
would send "his Son, made of a
woman” (Galatians 4:4).
This “fiillness of the time” was
to impact a world that was on
the verge of moral collapse. 'The
Roman and Greek gods were
recognized by many people for
the false gods that they were.
Religion had degenerated into
observance of tradition, and spir
itual apathy was the’ result.
Roman oppression created a
negative outlook on Ufe. Slaves
had no status, and women were
often treated as chattel.
The “fullness of the time” also
meant that the angel Gabriel
had yet another mission. In the
past he had been sent to
Babylon to provide imderstand-
ing for the prophet Daniel
(Daniel 8:16; 9:21). He had
appeared to Zechariah at the
temple in Jerusalem, as we
observed last week. Now he was
sent from God one more time-
not to a capital city, hut to an
obscure city of Galilee named
Nazareth.
Galilee was in the northern
third of Palestine. It was com
monly held that nothing “good”
would ever “come out of
Nazareth” (John 1:46). That was
about to change!
Gahriel’s assignment was to a
specific individual - a virgin
whose name was Mary. The
“fullness of the time” demanded
that the Messiah be bom of a
virgin (Isaiah 7:14). The fact
that Luke, a physician, gives
such unequivocal testimony
about Mary’s virginity is espe
cially valuable.
Mary was a frequent name
then, as it is now. In the “full
ness of the time” she became
espoused (engaged) to Joseph, of
the house of David. That Maty
was also a descendant of David
is seen from the geneaology
found in Luke 3:23-38, which is
generally considered to be that
of Mary (Matthew 1:1-17
records Joseph’s). It was neces
sary that an actual descendant
of David be the Messiah and
occupy David’s throne (see 2
Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 132:11;
Matthew 1:1; 9:27; 22:41,42).
Gabriel appeared to Mary
directly as he had to Zechsuiah.
This was not a dream or a
vision. In both instances, howev
er, the angel’s manifestations
were in private, not in pubhc.
The statement that was made
by the angel included a descrip
tive phrase about Mary: she was
highly favored. This expression
was much more than just a cour
teous greeting or a congratulato
ry word about her engagement
to Joseph. Mary had been cho
sen to give birth to the Messiah
and to raise and nurture Him
during His early years.
Mecklenburg AME marks milestone
Event Sunday will bring Bishop to Greater Bethel
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
For more than 200 years, the
African Methodist Episcopal
Church has been an integral
part of the African American
faith community.
Founded in 1787 in
Philadelphia by Richard AUen,
the denomination boasts more
than 6,000 congregations and
2.2 million members.
“Like all African American
denominations, it was bom of
necessity,” says Bishop Vinton
Anderson, who heads the
Second Episcopal District,
which includes North Carolina,
Virginia and Maryland.
According to Anderson, a
small group of African
Americans headed by Allen,
grew dissatisfied with tlie treat
ment they received at predomi
nantly white St. George
Methodist Episcopal Church in,
Philadelphia. They broke away
to form their own faith, one in
which they could worehip freely
and as equals. The former
slaves were forced to sit at the
back of the church and not
allowed to hold office.
The church, now headquar
tered in Washington, D.C., con
secrated AUen its first bishop.
The faith found its way to
Charlotte 110 years later,
brought by A.J. Mitchell. The
South Carolina native was lured
from his small rural town as
were thousands of other African
^ Apigrjp^ps.by the promise of
jobs and a better life in the
north. '
Mitchell never made it.
Instead, he stopped in
Charlotte, bringing with him
the 100-year-old faith.
MitcheU’s legacy can be felt aU
over Charlotte. The Winnsboro,
S.C., native found heavily
Baptist Mecklenburg County
lacking an outlet for his
Methodist faith.
An ordained minister, MitcheU
grew up AME. Along with 13
other Winnsboro natives, he
formed Bethel AME church.
The church has grown much
PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Greater Bethel kicks off a yearlong centenniel celebration with a visit by Bishop Vinton Anderson and a special concert by
the West Charlotte High School Gospel Choir. This marks Anderson’s first official since he assumed the post in July.
over the years.
OriginaUy located at 906 First
St., the church has moved sever
al times, spurred by fire, the
urban renewal that decimated
much of black Ch^lotte and, of
course,'^y^.
F*r6m Eirsl'.Strefet; tHe’ Yffi'all
congregation moved'to Good
Samaritan Hall on South
Caldwell near the heart of
Dilworth. Fire destroyed the
haU near the turn of the century
and the congregation moved to
another building until Good
Samaritan could be rebuilt.
In 1901, the congregation pur
chased land on South Brevard
Street. With a loan of $550 fi*om
church co-founder Samuel T.
Moore, the congregation erected
a Sunday school building and
later a sanctuary.
The church was a fixture on
Brevard for almost 70 years. It
was forced to relocate in 1969 at
the height of urban renewal
downtown.
Bethel shared the old Gillespie
United Methodist Church and
finally, in 1970, the congrega
tion began work on a new sanc
tuary and adopted the name
Greater Bethel.
Greater Bethel kicks off a year
of events that marks not only
the the centennial of the AME
Church in Charlotte, but the
100th anniversary of Greater
Bethel Sunday at 11 a.m.
Anderson will be the keynote
speaker.
The West Charlotte High
School Gospel Choir sings from
10:30-10:55 a.m.
“What the local churches have
done undergirds the work of the
local churches and the local
community,” Anderson said.
“This will be an exciting year.”
Charlotte now boasts two
other AME congregations. New
Covenant and Adams
Metropolitan. More than 800
Charlotteans worship in AME
churches each Sunday.
“We do plan to host several
special services this year,” the
Rev. Conrad Pridgen, pastor of
Greater Bethel said. “We plan to
have a special revival service, a
Heritage Month during Black
History Month. All of our ser
vices will take on a centennial
theme this year.”
For Anderson, a bishop for
more than 20 years, the celebra
tion is an opportunity to intro
duce the nation’s oldest black
national organization to a larger
audience. It will be his first offi
cial visit to the Queen City since
being named to head the district
in July.
His sermon will reflect that,
he says. - . •
“Magnificent intrusion is my
theme,” he said. “Angels broke
into the otherwise prosaic life of
shepherds in a field. The mes
sage was brought first to com
moners. Wouldn't we all like to
be intruded on by Angels with
good news. Especially in a world
so filled with hatred, racism and
divisiveness.”
Greater Bethel AME is located
at 201 Grandin Road. For more
information about Sunday’s ser
vices, call 376-4440.
Divinity dean is ex-athlete, ex-writer
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
'The Rev. Clarence Newsome,
Dean of the Howard University
School of Divinity, has had a
varied career.
The Ahoskie, N.C. native was
twice named to the Atlantic
Coast Conference All Academic
Team during his undergraduate
years at Duke University,
where he lettered twice in foot
ball.
After completing his studies at
Duke, in just three and a half
years, he went on to serve the
university as an assistant dean,
director of minority affairs and
professor.
He was a speech writer for for
mer governor Terry Sanford and
has contributed articles to
numerous periodicals on the
role of the African American
church in American society.
But it was his coirunencement
address in 1972, the first pre
sented by an African American
in Duke's history, that cement
ed his commitment to religious
academia.
His speech, “An African
Concept of Time and Theme of
Liberation in the World
Community,” prompted praise
from national television news
anchor Walter Cronkite, the
keynote speaker for the com
mencement.
Charlotte will get a taste of
Newsome's thoughts on religion
Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
when he speaks at First United
FVesbyterian Church, at the cor
ner of 7th and College streets
uptown. The appearance is part
of the Museum of the New
South’s “Amazing Grace” exhib
it. Sponsors say Newsome
promises to be interesting and
thought provoking.
“The African American church
has helped African Americans
stake a claim in America,”
Newsome said. “Its role has
been to call America to task for
what it has espoused.”
According to Newsome, the
African American church not
only represents the past, hut the
future.
“It has a vision that is inclu
sive,” he said. “There is an ope-
ness to people who are different.
It shows that we can embrace
those who are different. The
church always has had a role to
help people communicate across
differences. It holds out the posi
tion that the impossible can be
realized.”
The impossible for Newsome
is an Afiican American commu
nity in crisis that made some
thing happen.
“The Afiican American church
is a clear instance of people
making something happen,” he
said. “Afiican Americans pose a
challenge to American society to
reach out across the deep racial
problem in society. The Afiican
American church is our way of
instituting that change.”
The Afiican American church
was also born of the need of
Afiican Americans to worship
without “the cruelties of the
masters,” he added.
“Slaves felt and knew that
they would not be received as
equals, not even in the house of
the Lord,” he said. “The black
church was a way of worship
ping without fear in our way.”
Admission Sunday is $5 to
non-members of the church or
the museum and $2 for students
and seniors.
Effingham moves into new building
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EFFINGHAM, S.C. - Almost
seven months after someone
torched Effingham Baptist
Church, the sound of worship
once again is coming from its
sanctuary.
Volunteers and thousands of
dollars of donations helped
rebuild the church with a pre
dominantly black congregation,
and recently it was rededicated.
About 400 people sang and
clapped in the church, which is
designed for about 100.
“It was like I lost my home,”
church member Pamela Prince
said of the April 26 arson. “But
we’ve got a new building, new
paint, new bricks and new
members.”
Pastor Troy Shaw and his
wife, Viola, stood outside before
the ribboncutting and held a
Bible and a cross draped in a
white and purple cloth. The
Bible and the cloth survived the
fire.
“I hope this occasion will be
one that spreads across the
United States in answer to the
evil we face,” the minister said.
The $175,000 church is almost
complete. The pews are on order
and should he installed some
time early next
month.
Effingham Baptist
was one of the
churches with pre
dominantly black
congregations that
burned this year.
There were national
headlines and claims
the fires showed the
depth of racism in
the country, along
with a debate about
whether black
churches were being set afire
more frequently than those with
predominantly white congrega-
1
W
tions.
Two former Ku
Klux Klansmen
have pleaded
guilty to burning
black churches in
nearby Clarendon
and Williamsburg
counties, but no
arrests have been
made in the
Effingham case.
In South
Carolina, at least
17 black churches
have been burned since 1991,
according to the State Law
Enforcement Division.
A&T’s Clegg
pens Elijah
Muhammad
biography
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENSBORO -It’s OK to
have heroes, but they
shouldn’t be worshiped as if
they were divine, says the
author of a biography on
Elijah Muhammad that has
alienated some Nation of
Islam followers.
People “need to believe in
other people,” says Claude
Clegg, an assistant history
professor at N.C. A&T State
University. “But at the same
time we have to be honest
with ourselves. We shouldn't
look for things in other people
that we are incapable of our
selves. We shouldn't look for
divinity in other people. We
shouldn't look for flawlessness
in other people.”
Clegg’s book, “An Original
Man: The Life and Times of
Elijah Muhammad” is set for
release by St. Martin’s Press
in February.
Muhammad has a place in
history as the leader who
turned an obscure religious
sect into one of the richest and
most influential black organi
zations in the country.
Until Clegg, however, no one
had written a thorough biog
raphy of Muhammad’s life,
from his start as a poor
See CLEGG page 14A