Unity Revival will unite churches
D 1 IUUULU.X
THE CHRONICLE
Church congregations of various dom
inations and races from all over Winston
Salem will gather next Saturday, June 2,
for the fust ever Unity Prayer Gathering at
the M.C. Benton Convention Center.
The gathering is designed to break
down the barrier* that normally divide
churches and unite Christians together in
prayer for the city, the nation and the
world. As of last Friday, approximately
100 churches had signed up to participate
in the revival.
The event is the brainchild of the Rev.
Sir Walker Mack Jr., pastor of Union
Baptist Church, who feels there is a real
need for both prayer and unity right now.
"The Unity Prayer Gathering is
designed to accumulate churches for wor
ship, prayer, and a time for us to get
together and realize that we all have one
thing in common, and that is that Christ is
the center of all our churches," said Mack.
During the three-day event - which
will start Thursday, May 31 and is called
the Unity Revival - churches will take part
in special events such as joint prayer or
worship services. Several guest ministers
have been booked as speakers for the
event. The June 2 culmination event will
start with a Unity Parade at 10 a.m. from
Corpening Plaza to the convention center,
where the prayer gathering will begin at 1 1
ajn. The first hour of the gathering will
involve singing and worship, while the
second hour will focus on prayer.
Mack said the event is multicultural
and will incorporate the traditions of many
of the churches involved. He also said all
are welcome to participate in the march
and the^pra^er gathering, regardless of if
he or she has\A:hurch affiliation.
Mack said that aside from the sheer
size of the endeavor, his biggest challenge
has been the resistance some churches,
both black and white, have had to crossing
the racial divide and worshipping together.
Mack said that the divide that keeps
Christians in churches that are predomi
BW5
The Rev. Sir Waller Mack Jr.
nately one race is a cultural one. People
want to worship in a culture that resembles
theirs, he said, but what everyone needs to
realize is that Christ transcends all cultures
and all races. He said any resistance he's
gotten to the gathering has validated his
conviction for it.
"I grew up in the city so I know the
history of how our churches have been so
divided. And you know on one side of
town you have your black churches, the
other side of town your white churches
and now your hispanic churches. So, as
our city continues to grow, it's just going
to become more evident that we all need to
come together and begin to impact the
community together," said Mack.
More than 40 predominately white
churches and about 10 predominate!)
Hispanic churches have signed up. Mack
said more churches are signing up every
day and that he is pleased with the
response so far.
One predominately while church par
ticipating is Redeemer Presbyterian
Church. Francis Smith. Redeemer's mis
sions and mervy pastor, is on the steering
committee for the event. He said his
church plans to hold prayer services with
Goodwill Baptist, a predominately
African- American church. He hopes the
service shows people that, even though
they may have different worship styles,
they can all still worship together.
"And as we get to know each other
better, we tear down walls of ignorance
and begin to understand and appreciate
and affirm each other that we're all in this
together." said Smith.
Smith hopes to see real relationships
built between pastors and between mem
bers of the different churches because of
this event. He said, on a personal level,
he's already befriended pastors, some
from East Winston, that he wouldn't have
met otherwise. He said he's already gained
a great deal in friendship and insight from
being a part of the gathering.
"It's really uniting churches and pas
tors in a way we've never done before,"
said Smith.
Mack said that he hopes that churches
come together more after the gathering
with a stronger alliance of pastors and peo
ple to make for a stronger community.
He's hoping to see a large, diverse turnout
next Saturday.
"Let's for one day put aside Highway
52, let's for one day put aside the commu
nities we're so accustomed to worshipping
in and praying in and come together and
see that all of us confess to the same
Christ," said Mack.
Any pastor who wants to participate in
the Unity Prayer Gathering, can call 724
9305 extension 223. Go to wwwitnionbap
tistwsncx>rg for more information about
the event.
Photo by Layla Faniwt
Residents and city leaders pose beneath the sign.
Sign
from paRr A I
dents can be proud to say
they live. The family -friendly
environment has attracted
many home buyers over the
years, and it continues to be a
great place to live, work and
raise families." she comment
ed. "I would like to acknowl
edge the Castle Heights
Neighborhood Watch ... for
their efforts in maintaining a
peaceful atmosphere for many
young and senior citizens."
The Rev. Waymon Monroe,
pastor of the nearby Solid Rock
Baptist Church, extended
words of support and encour
agement to inhabitants of
Castle Heights, detailing a tra
dition of collaboration between
the church and the community
that existed under his predeces
sor, the RevXharles Leak.
"Solid Rock has been a
supporter of this community
for over 20 years," he said.
"We just thank you for allow
ing Solid Rock to serve this
community and we pray that if
there's anything we can do to
be supportive, we want to con
tinue to open up our doors and
let you know that . . . Waymon
Monroe supports this commu
nity as well as the Solid Rock
Baptist Church family."
The Castle Heights neigh
borhood serves as a model for
many fledgling communities
today. Burke said.
, "This is a fine, decent place
and it can be used for other
folks when they want to come
into the city to look and say,
"Well, we can live in Winston;
we can develop ourselves," she
related. "It gives me a boost so
when 1 speak in city govern
ment, I can say that Castle
Heights neighborhood is a
neighborhood where people
can work together with pride,
dignity and have self-esteem
that's high. I'm as happy as I
can be."
Johnson says that he has
seen many changes take place
in Castle Heights ovjr the four
decades he has lived there, and_
not all have been positive.
"We have (more) people
that are renting, and we have
children that are just walking
around unsupervised and that
presents a lot of problems," he
remarked, "But we love our
neighborhood We're not
going to give it up without a
fight."
Lawrence
'prom page A4
Lawrence worked with
well-known minority-owned
companies including Johnson
Products, Johnson Publishing,
and Soft Sheen Products, as
well as mainstream companies
such as McDonald's and Sears,
Roebuck.
At McDonald's, he was
the first African-American
regional advertising manager
in the history of the company.
He was responsible for the
development and implementa
tion of marketing and promo
tional strategies for 300 stores
'In a four-state region and $200
million of sales in the nation
wide rollout.
1 He has left a lasting
impression in the $5 billion
multi
cultural
beauty
busi
ness,
where
h e
served
in vari
o u s
execu
< i v e Lafayette Jones
capaci
'ties: promotion and advertising
manager at Johnson products
(Gentle Treatment, Ultra Sheen
and other brands), marketing
director for Supreme Beauty
Products, the hair care sub
sidiary of Johnson Publishing
Company (Ebony, Jet, and
Fashion Fair cosmetics); pro
motion director for Soft-Sheen
Industries (and Soft-Sheen
products); and business direc
tor for the American Health
and Beauty Aids Institute
(AHBAI), the trade association
of minority-owned hair and
beauty care companies which
display their Proud Lady sil
houette of a black woman on
products and advertising. His
?30 years experience in market
ing, advertising and promotion
served him well in meeting the
?challenges of SMSi's Fortune
50 clients, including Procter
and Gamble, Johnson &
Johnson and General Motors.
Lawrence was laid to rest
May 16 at Piedmont Memorial
Gardens after a funeral service
it St. Peter's Church and World
Outreach Center.
He is survived by his wife.
?Sharon, a 13-year-old son.
^Christopher and adult children
JCrystyn Johnson. Marshall
?wile and Harold Johnson.
? In lieu of flowers and other
Commemorations . the family
r ks that memorials be made to
scholarship fund for his son,
5 Christopher Rodney Lawrence.
?hecks should be made
?payable to the Joseph Rodney
tLawrence Scholarship Fund
%nd mailed to the Truliant
federal Credit Union, Victory
?Member Financial Center, 889
North Liberty Street, Winston -
Salem. N.C. 27101.
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