Photo by Paul Collins
Brothers Christian Searcey (left) and Chrishawn Searcey (right) and Jacques Shoffner
The Way to a
Father's Heart
Church honors fathers at breakfast, worship service
BY PAUL COLLINS
I Ml CHRONICLE
New Liberty Baptist Min
istries? had activities Sunday
morning to honor fathers who
attend the church and the great
est father of all, God. ?
The activities began with a
buffet breakfast on the church
grounds. The breakfast, pre
pared by Carol Cousar and Glo
ria Myers, included bacon, ham.
smoked sausage, chicken, eggs,
grits, watermelon, cantaloupe,
peaches, pineapple, grapes,
bananas, juice. (Church mem
bers chipped in various items.)
"I just love doing it. I love
cooking," Cousar said. "I love to
show my appreciation to all the
men. the fathers. Sometimes we
don't show them enough love,
you know, everyday working
and men busy."
Jackie Harrell was one of
the 25 or more people who
attended the breakfast. "I feel
like the best way to honor our
fathers is with praise and with
honor because without God we
wouldn't have any fathers to do
what they do. And I thank God
for all the fathers. I'm just glad
that we could have a Father's
Day at church. Instead of just
being anywhere else, this is the
best place to honor our fathers
on Father's Dayf
The church's pastor. Rev.
Dr. Linda M. Beal. said that
"table fellowship," eating
together, is important because
"that's part of what Jesus did:
He taught table fellowship. And
so we fellowship one with
another here in the community."
The 1 1 a.m. worship service
followed the church breakfast.
Beal said, "I think our bul
letin points out who our greatest
Father is ... God."
The headline on the bulletin
says "Thank God for Our
Father's Love."
Beal said there are w onder
ful Scriptures in the Bible about
fathers and sons. For example.
Malachi 4:4-6 says: "Remember
ye the law of Moses my servant,
which I commanded untojiim in
Horeb for all Israel, with the
statutes and judgments. Behold I
will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord;
and he shall tum the heart of
the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the
earth with a curse."
And Paul writes in Eph
esians 6:1-4: Children, obey
your parents in the Lord: for this
is right. Honour thy father and
mother, which is the first com
mandment with promise; that I
may, be well with thee, and thou
mayest live long on the earth.
And, ye fathers, provoke not
your children to wrath: but bring
them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord."
Beal said, "I think it still car
ries through today where they
(young people) obey and honor
their parents, that they would
have a long life."
During the worship service,
all the fathers present were rec
ognized and presented tokens.
Deacon James C. Miller Jr.,
Beal's brother, of White Rock
Baptist Church, was the special
speaker for the worship service.
He delivered a message on how
husbands should base their love
for their wives on biblical prin
ciples, not on the world's love.
He also advised men to become
husbands before they become
fathers. ?
This was the second annual
Father's Day service at New
Liberty Baptist Ministries,
which is at 922 S. Broad Street.
Kirkman hopes his big dreams
for Fifth District inspire voters
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE C HRONICLE
A friend of Roger Kirk
man's recently came across a
tiny replica of the Capitol
enclosed in a crystal prism, a
find that she passed on to
Kirkman - for good luck, she
said.
Kirkman has given the tiny
trinket a prominent place in
his office. It is now a constant
sign of his biggest goal these
days: to win a seat in the
Capitol representing the peo
ple of the Fifth Congressional
District.
Kirkman, 54, is an average
Joe-kind of candidate. The
city native has a background
in geography and topography.
He currently works in the
office of marketing and com
munications at Winston
Salem State University. He
has never held elected office
before and this is the first time
he has thrown his hat into a
political race. And while jobs
and the war are at the top of
most candidates' agendas,
Kirkman has "bigger fish that
he wants to fry. He wants to
change Congress - literally.
"One of the reasons we are
in the predicament we are in is
because the government has
gotten to be so distant from
the person on the street," said
Kirkman, a Democrat who
will face Jim Harrell and
Andrew Winfrey in the July
20 primary.
Kirkman's solution for
bringing the people closer to
government is to increase the
number of people in the
House of Representatives. It is
a topic on which Kirkman has
done a lot of research. He said
increasing the House member
ship from 435 to around 1,000
would not only mean repre
sentatives would have more
intimate districts, but also that
minority groups would finally
get their fair share of congres
sional representatives.
Kirkman said his desire to
change Congress is the pri
mary reason he is running.
Although he has ideas about
health care (he wants to make
it easier for small businesses
to afford health care) and the
war (he thinks America needs
to work on building better
relations with the average
Arab man and woman), Kirk
man said those topics are
symptoms. A disconnected
18"' by Kevin Walker
Roger Kirkman poses in front of a bust of George Washing
ton that he keeps his campaign office.
government is the cancer, he
said.
"The other candidates are
talking about these Band-Aid
issues. We need to treat the
whole sickness," he said.
While Republicans seek
ing the Fifth District seat are
wearing suits of armor (to
avoid the back stabbing).
Kirkman is proud that the
Democrats have kept their
campaign above Board. Kirk
man said he respects the other
Democrats. He and Harrell
are even former classmates
from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. But
Kirkman says he stands out
from the pack because his
planks are original, not taken
line-by-line from the national
party's agenda.
His other innovative ideas
for the district include bring
ing a light rail system to ease
street traffic and creating a
museum of industrial design
to show off the region's strong
industrial history.
Kirkman admits to being a
dreamer, but he insists that his
ideas are not too over the head
of ordinary folks who just
want jobs that pay well and
places to lav their heads.
"Every trip of 1.000 miles
begins with one step. I am
ready to take a step," he said.
Kirkman will take part in a
forum Monday with the other
Democrats running for the
Fifth. The forum will begin at
6 p.m. at the Vintage Theater,
located on the corner of Main
and Vintage across from the
N.C. School of the Arts.
Phofo by Kevin Walker
Members of Mount
Pleasant tri
umphantly and
symbolically tear
apart chains as
they enact what
may have hap
pened back in
I 865 when Texas
slaves learned of
their freedom.
* * * SN TSWIit
cirmers
JULY FOURTH
CELEB RAT ION
Enjoy an Ail-American Fourth celebration includ
ing flags and art making activities while stocking
up on summer veggies for your holiday weekend.
The Farmers' Market is located at Sixth and Cherry Streets in the Downtown
Winston-Salem Arts District Open Tuesdays and *mmdays, <)am to npm
through October. For information call 354-1500.
a i 1 i L k A_ I A. a
Juneteenth
from page A I
ebration.
"(In Texas and Oklahoma)
they celebrate (Juneteenth) with
pomp, circumstance and fan
fare. It is, in fact, their Fourth of
July," Crump said. "They
appreciate the Fourth of July,
but it doesn't mean as much."
State Rep, Larry Womble
has been on hand for all of
Mount Pleasant's Juneteenth
events. But Saturday, he had to
fit the event in between two
other Juneteenth celebrations he
attended. Womble said the holi
day is catching on. A tew years
ago he sponsored a resolution in
the General Assembly that for
mally recogni/.ed Juneteenth.
? The resolution passed unani
mously.
"That is one of the (bills)
that I am most proud of," he
said. Womble urged attendees
to educate others about June
teenth. He said blacks need to
hold close to their history.
"If we don't tell our own
stories someone is going to tell
our stories for us. and we may
not like what they say," he said.
Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian
Burke, who served as the
keynote speaker for the celebra
tion. emphasized the impor
tance of also keeping local
black history alive.
Burke has penned a booklet
about local landmarks, build
ings and streets named for
African-Americans. Burke also
told the audience to never for
get the black men and women
who existed in the country in
"bondage.
"I am so happy that I am
free," she said. "I think about
the suffering our people went
through, and I try to enjoy
every moment of life."
Get There From
Here, Easier
Getting to Europe has never been easier
with new twice daily Delta Connection
jet service from PTI to New York's JFK
airport. One ticRet,one stop, 31 international
destination! Now more than ever, it just
makes sense to Fly From PTt.
Begins July 1, 2004.
A Delta Connection'
FlyFromPTI.com
I