ANNUAL
MEN'S CONFERENCE OFFERS HOPE; FEATURES PRAYER BREAKFAST,
"MARCH MADNESS" GAME DAY, WORSHIP SERVICES AND LIFE-CHANGING
MESSAGES FROM SOUGHT-AFTER SPEAKERS
LOS ANGELES - (February 28, 2005) - In a community ravished
by poverty,
hopelessness and despair, there is an institution offering a
viable alternative to the status quo.
Grant A.M.E. Church of Watts is offering hope: "hope for
men...hope for boys...hope for today." That's the theme of
the 2005 Men's Conference, the
tenth installment of the popular men's ministry, which
includes worship
services, a prayer breakfast, and this year, a "March
Madness" game day.
Featured speakers are Bishops John R. Bryant and
Samuel L. Green, and the
Revs. John J. Hunter and Aaron J. McCleod.
"We've assembled an anointed cadre of speakers, teachers and
ministers of the liberating Gospel of Jesus," explained the
Rev. Leslie R. White, pastor of Grant and the impetus behind
the Conference. "We believe that older men, young men and
our boys who are maturing toward manhood will be enriched
and empowered through this conference."
The conference kicks-off with a spirit-filled Prayer
Breakfast on Saturday, March 12, at the Sheraton
Hotel, 12725 Center Court Drive in Cerritos from 9 a.m. to
noon, and continues on Saturday, March 19 with fun-filled
afternoon of video, board and card games, and food and
fellowship on the lower level of the Church centering around
the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The preaching and teaching follow on Sunday, March 20 at
both the 8 a.m. and
11 a.m. services and again Monday through Thursday, March 21
through 24 at
6:30 p.m. nightly. A 100-voice Men's Chorus, under the
direction of musical
mastermind Theresa Jones, will minister through song, along
with a special
presentation by holy-hip-hop rapper, TripLL-H.
Conference organizer and Church trustee Ron Edison is
confident that the
array of activities will appeal to men and women of all
ages.
"From the inclusion of youth in our theme to the addition of
the game day to
our conference schedule, we are prayerful that God will
speak to the men and
women of Watts," Edison added. "We need for God to show them
that there is
hope for today. They don't have to become a statistic, but
instead they can
be counted in the number of God's faithful and elect
children."
And faithful men of God have been selected to proclaim His
Word.
Before being elected Bishop in 1988, Bryant shepherded
congregations in
Massachusetts and Maryland and earned a reputation as an
anointed preacher
and adept leader. Recently, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson
jokingly described
Bryant as a "Pentecostal Baptist preacher in exile," a
humorous reference to
Bryant's powerfully unique preaching style.
The Los Angeles resident is presently the presiding prelate
of the largest
Episcopal District of African Methodism, geographically
speaking, with
oversight of all A.M.E. Churches west of the Mississippi
River.
Bryant's cohort, the Rt. Rev. Green,
was
elected Bishop in 2004 and was
appointed to the Fifteenth Episcopal District, which
comprises South Africa.There Green draws upon his
inspirational pastoral experience at St. Mark A.M.E. Church
in Orlando where the congregation grew from less than 200
parishioners to more than 3,600 in under eight years.
As with the Black community of the U.S., South Africa has
been severely impacted by the incidence of HIV/AIDS, poverty
and political oppression. The situation requires a unique
approach to be effective in ministry. That concept is not
new to Green, considering while at St. Mark he implemented
several specialized ministries to meet the needs of the
congregants, including a church credit union, a child
enrichment center and a ministry for the hearing impaired.
Bryant and Green are the speakers for the worship services
at 8 a.m. and 11
a.m., respectively, on Sunday, March 20.
Green teams with Harvard-educated preaching dynamo Aaron
McCleod for
teaching and preaching, Monday through Thursday, March 21
through 24, at
6:30 p.m. nightly.
An
associate minister at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, McCleod is a law student at the University of
Iowa College of Law, and a Thurgood Marshall Fellow and
Chair of the campus' chapter of the National Black Law
Student Association. McCleod's jurist doctorate will be his
second terminal degree; the first is the master's of
divinity from the Harvard Divinity School, where he focused
on leadership, public policy and community-based ministry.
Like McCleod, John J. Hunter earned his baccalaureate degree
from Morehouse
College with aspirations of a career in law, and like
Bryant, Hunter is the
son of a legendary Bishop of the A.M.E. Church. Moreover,
like Jesus, Hunter
believes he has been anointed to preach "good news to the
poor...recovery of
sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim
the year of the
Lord's favor."
In
November 2004, Hunter was reassigned from First A.M.E.,
Seattle - the oldest congregation established by
African-Americans in the Pacific Northwest - to the pastoral
charge of First A.M.E., Los Angeles - the oldest
congregation established by African-Americans in
California's largest city. Hunter's experience in Seattle as
chair of both the FAME Housing Corporation
and FAME Family and Child Development Center with five sites
across the city, and service as an adjunct professor of
theology at Seattle University, is proving invaluable as he
now leads the Fifth District's largest congregation.
Keynote speaker Hunter and the Men's Chorus of FAME, Los
Angeles are certain to leave the 300 expected guests at the
prayer breakfast inspired and
encouraged.
For Prayer Breakfast tickets or for more information about
the 2005 Men's
Conference, contact the Church office at (323) 564-1151 or
visit the Church
Web site,
www.GrantAMEChurch.org.
Oklahoma
City Student Accepted into People to People Academic Program
Kentrell
Pierson, a student at St. John Christian Heritage Academy,
has been accepted into the
People
to People World Leadership Forum. Kentrell will join a
select group of students in Washington, D.C., March 20th-27th,
to earn high school credit while studying leadership and
exploring some of our nation’s most prominent monuments and
institutions.
From Capitol
Hill to the Smithsonian Institute, and from Colonial
Williamsburg to the National Museum of American History,
Kentrell will examine the characteristics of American
leadership during times of national challenge and
prosperity. Forum delegates will also participate in
small-group discussions and exercises to experience
first-hand how successful leaders develop strategies, make
decisions, build consensus, and foster change.
Kentrell was
nominated and accepted for the honor based on outstanding
scholastic merit, civic involvement and leadership
potential.
The program
is coordinated by People to People Student Ambassador
Programs to fulfill the vision Dwight D. Eisenhower had for
fostering world citizenship when he founded People to People
during his presidency in 1956.
Kentrell is a
member of
Avery Chapel AME Church, where the Reverend Dr. Lonnie
Johnson is his pastor. Kentrell serves the church as Junior
Church School Superintendent, YPD member, Choir member,
Junior Usher Board member, and Sons of Allen member. His
hobbies include: playing golf, chess, and video games,
reading books, and scientific experiments.
