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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1997
12A
RELIGION
Unsung
biblical
heroes
Sunday
School Lesson
Devotional reading:
Thessalonians 5:12-22
Lesson scripture: Acts 18:1-4,
18,19,24-26; Romans 16:3-5a.
Priscilla and Aquila are men
tioned (always together, never
separately) six times in the New
Testament (three times in Acts
and three times in Paul’s letter).
Priscilla’s name occurs first in
four of the six instances - per
haps an indication of a higher
social status than her husband,
or of a wider reputation in the
church. Aquila was originally
from the Roman province of
Pontus in Asia Minor, located
along the southern shore of the
Black Sea.
Luke, the author of the book of
Acts, consistently uses Priscilla
as the name of Aquila’s wife. On
the other hand, Paul uses the
more formal name of Prisca
when he refers to her in his let
ters. One should keep in mind
that this distinction is made in
the Greek text of these passages,
but it is not always maintained
in the English transactions.
At this point of the record in
Acts, Paul was in the middle of
his second missionary journey,
which had brought him into
Macedonia and Achaia (territo
ries located in modem Greece).
Thus far, he had met with beaL
ing and imprisonment in
Philippi (Acts 16:22-24), rioting
in Thessalonica (17:5), and
ridicule in Athens (17:32). His
disposition is described as veiy
distressed in Athens because of
the grip that paganism seemed
to have on that city (17:16).
'The city of Corinth was one of
the commercial giants of the
Roman world. By the first centu
ry it had become a thoroughly
pagan city, housing temples ded
icated to such deities as
Aphrodite, the Roman goddess
of love. The worship of this god
dess included acts of prostitution
and gave rise to Corinth’s repu
tation as a center of immorality.
Making inroads in such an
atmosphere would be difficult.
Paul had come Corinth reputa
tion as a center of immorality.
Making inroads in such an
atmosphere would be difficult
Paul had come to Corinth fixim
Athens, where he had been
deeply disturbed over the pre
dominance of idolatry (17:32). It
was a period in Paul’s ministry
when he might have become
quite discouraged.
When Paul arrived in Corinth,
Priscilla and Aquila was already
living there. 'Their home had
been Rome, but an edict from
Emperor Claudius had forced
them to leave. This edict is men
tioned by the Roman historian
Suetonius in his Life of
Claudius. He says that Claudius
(who had ruled A.D. 41-54) took
this action because of riots in
Rome that were instigated
because of one “Chrestus.” This
is probably a corrupted form of
the name “Christ,” written by a
historian who knew very little
about Christianity.
'The edict of Claudius, dated at
about A.D. 49, forced Jews to
leave the city of Rome, but made
no distinction between Jews and
Jewish Christians. The role that
Priscilla and Aquila may have
played in the disturbance in
Rome is imclear. Perhaps their
preaching about Jesus help
spark the backlash from the
Jews, which then provoked
Claudius to take the drastic
action that he took. At any rate,
Priscilla and Aquila were forced
to leave Rome and find a new
home.
For the apostle Paul, the pres
ence of Priscilla and Aquila in
the city of Corinth was like an
answer to prayer. The fact that
he found this couple reminds us
of the providential manner in
which God works out His will.
More than a century of ministry
PHOTOS/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Clinton Chapel AME Zion church has been a viable part of Charlotte's faith community for over 130 years. The Rev. Retoy
Gaston and his congregation promise to hit the 21st century running.
Church founded by slaves fights on
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The Rev. Retoy Gaston is
particularly proud of one room
in Clinton Chapel AME Zion
Church.
It is not the biggest, the
most beautiful or ornate. The
furniture, mostly Victorian,
was left to the church by the
late Lula Gaskins, a local edu
cator and church member who
died in 1990. The floors are
cool white tile, a stark contrast
to the walls, which are covered
with more than 100 years of
history.
It is what Gaston has put
there over the last two years
that visitors are drawn to. The
yellowing newspaper clippings,
black and white photographs
and faded programs that
chronicle the church’s 133-year
history.
“When we remodeled, I told
them I wanted a history room,”
he said. “I began putting it
together because people are
coming and going from the
area - from the church. Most
of them are newcomers. They
have no idea of what this
church has been and what con
tributions it has made.
“This church is mother of
AME Zion in the area. Prom it
came Grace AME Zion and it
is rumored that Ebenezer
started as the result of this
group. This church is history.”
Humble begiimiirgs
Clinton Chapel was bom in
1810.
A group of slaves and freed
blacks got permission from
their slave owners and the city
to hold independent prayer
meetings, a unique arrange
ment. Slave owners, fearing
insurrection, required slaves
and freedman to worship in
white churches. Balconies and
wide aisles separated the
races.
The tiny congregation was
led by Byrd Hampton Taylor, a
former slave who bought his
freedom. The called their
church Big Zion Methodist.
The congregation met for
years under a grape arbor,
holding four services a week.
Taylor was allowed to preach
during the week, but a white
minister from a Methodist
chraoh conducted Simday ser
vices.
The fall of the South after the
Civil War brought change to
Big Zion’s congregation.
nie N.C. attorney general.
American group, refused to
allow AME Zion missionaries
to talk to slaves or freeman.
When the Union army cap
tured important port cities, it
was followed by missionaries
who preached the gospel to
blacks.
Charlotte was a key location
for missionaries because it was
the seat of the Western
District of the Freedman’s
Bureau.
“It was one of those things,”
Gaston said. “It caused the
church to flourish. The armies
came and conquered and the
missionaries followed.”
One of the missionaries was
the Rev. E.H. Hill, who was
sent to Charlotte in 1864 to
Members gather to celebrate Women’s Day In 40s. In the
background Is the pipe organ.
impressed by their fervor,
donated a plot and building on
Mint Street.
They also benefited from the
coming of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church.
Founded in New York in the
late 1700s, the denomination
was one of the first indepen
dent African American church
es. It flourished in parts of the
North, but southerners, afraid
of any autonomous African
create new AME Zion mis
sions. He was impressed by
Big Zion and frequently
preached there. One of his first
acts was the ordination of
Byrd.
Members were equally
impressed by Hill, the first
ordained black minister that
many of them had seen.
The little church flourished.
Members voted to join the
AME Zion faith.
A new sanctuary was built at
301 Mint Street. The chiu-ch
adopted a new name, Clinton
Chapel AME Zion, to honor
the fev. I.C. Clinton, the pas
tor who built the new sanctu
ary.
“It was a beautifud building,”
Gaston said. “It had a huge
pipe organ and a balcony that
ran aU the way around.”
The church remained at 301
Mint Street for over 70 years.
“The church is where Duke
Power is now,” Gaston said.
“They were forced to move
out.”
Duke Power did indeed want
the property, offering the con
gregation inducements to
leave.
“We had a large group of pro
fessional blacks,” Gaston said.
“They resisted. But it just was
not enough. They ended up
having to move anyway.”
The church was condemned
in the early ‘50s.
“There was a problem with
the balcony,” Gaston said.
“They corddn’t get a permit to
fix it fiom the dty, so they had
to move.”
The congregation moved up
several blocks in 1952 to move
to an old church at 1301 Mint
Street.
“In all the transition, we lost
members,” Gaston said. “Now I
don’t know whether Duke
Power or others told them to
leave, but it caused us prob
lems.”
The new church caused prob
lems as well. It was not
equipped for the huge pipe
organ that dominated the old
church. There was also persis
tent flooding.
“It was built over mines,
when people were looking for
gold,” Gaston said. “Families
here have pictures of every
thing in the basement floating
See Clinton on page 13A
Christian
coalition
seeks
minorities
By Alice Ann Love
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -The
Christian Coalition’s new leg
islative agenda and minority
outreach effort are nothing more
than an attempt to soften the
conservative group’s image, crit
ics say.
“Read the fine print and watch
your wallet. When the Christian
Coalition talks about helping
the poor, it always leads to mov
ing tax dollars to religious insti
tutions,” said Carole Shields,
president of the liberal People
for the American Way.
A coalition of liberal religious
leaders said any change in the
Virginia-based coalition’s evan
gelical Republican character
would be purely cosmetic.
“This seems like nothing more
than a politically packaged
strategy aimed at softening the
Christian Coalition’s image,
while doing little to address the
real issues affecting poor and
working families in this coun
try,” said the Rev. Albert
Pennybacker, president of the
Interfaith Alliance.
Conservative themes wftl dom-,
inate the Christian Coalition’s
agenda, but members of the;
evangelical group must reach
out to minorities, executive’
director Ralph Reed said
Thursday.
“There are a lot of black peo
ple, a lot of brown people, a lot of
yellow people ... who would be
willing to work with us if they I
were asked. But until now, we
did not ask,” said Reed.
'The new emphasis on diversi
ty will include raising up to $10
million by the end of the century
to help black and Latino church
es minister to at-risk youths.
The coalition already has raised
$750,000 for black churches
damaged by arson in 1995 and
1996.
Reed also outlined a legislative
agenda that calls on Congress to
provide scholarships for children
in 100 of the poorest school dis
tricts to attend private schools.
Reed estimated &e scholarships
would cost up to $500 million a
year.
Reed said the coalition contin
ues to support the balanced bud
get amendment, but hopes fed
eral money can be found for the
scholarships.
The coalition, which has its
headquarters in Chesapeake,
Va., also proposed:
•Allowing states to bypass
govermnent-nm programs and
contract with private drug reha
bilitation programs, including
those that are church-based.
•Tax credits for people who
give money and at least 10
hours of their time to local chari
ties and to those who start busi
nesses and create jobs in 100
impoverished communities.
•Additional financing for
states that require coimseling
programs for parents of young
children who want to divorce.
In spite of the Christian
Coalition's continued opposition
to abortion and support for
school prayer and a crackdown
on Internet pornography, Reed
said he believes some
Democrats in Congress will
favor the new proposals.
Mississippi proposes stifTer penalties for church bandits
By Gina Holland
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON, Miss. - A burglary
alarm at Koinonia Baptist
Church in west Jackson keeps
away prowlers, but the pastor is
not sure stricter penalties for
church crimes will be that help
ful.
A bill approved Tuesday by the
House Judiciary B Committee
doubles the penalties for bur
glary or larceny of churches.
“I’m not sure that will really
help because people who do
these things are not rational,
sound-thinking people,” said the
Rev. Walter Bowie Jr., pastor of
the 8-year-old church in
Jackson.
“Many of the crimes are moti
vated by drugs. They’re not
thinking ‘If I do this and get
caught I’m going to get double
penalties.’ People who have that
kind of mindset, who do not feel
reverence for churches, the law
doesn’t bother them.”
The penalties, imder the bill,
would be:
- No more than 14 years in
prison for breaking and entering
“a church, synagogue, temple or
other established place of wor
ship.”
-One year in jaU and a fine of
up to $2,000 for stealing church
property valued at under $250.
- Up to 10 years and a $2,000
fine for stealing property worth
more than $250.
The House wftl debate the bill
later.
“It’s probably the lowest thing
anybody could do, but it certain
ly happens,” said Rep. Percy
Watson, D-Hattiesburg.
Other bills the committee
approved would revise penalties
for grave desecrations and pro
vide enhanced penalties for.
crimes committed against senior
citizens.
A bill that was approved by
the House earlier this month
makes deliberately set fires of
churches first-degree arson.
That bill is pending in the
Senate.
Bowie said the alarm at his
church, which has less than 100
members, has gone off several
times but nothing was ever
stolen.