TIME TO TELL OUR STORY Submitted by Pastor Anthony A. Parrish Sr.

Transcription

1 THE CAPSTONE E-NEWSLETTER SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH NEW SITE FEBRUARY 2018 TIME TO TELL OUR STORY Submitted by Pastor Anthony A. Parrish Sr. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page Black History Article 1-3 Deacon Ordination 4 Usher Ministry 5 The celebration of black history is both a necessary corrective to the exclusion and misrepresentation of blacks in American history and an affirmation of black life passed on from one generation to the next. Contrary to the timeline of many 19 th and early 20 th century textbooks, black history is much more than a shallow Young Ladies Ministry 6 Black History Books 7 Save the Date 8 February Birthdays 9 overview of the conditions of slavery and the emancipation of enslaved Africans in the Americas. Yet African and African American contributions to history have often been denied, ignored, devalued, or purposefully hidden and attributed to Europeans and Euro- Americans. The need to reverse historical mis-education and set the record straight on the historical, cultural, scientific, political, and social achievements of ethnic African and African American peoples has been a main thrust behind the celebration of black history. 1 In Joshua the 4 th chapter, it not only tells of a time when God performed a miracle for the benefit of the Israelites, but it also underscores the very point in the necessity of celebrating black heritage and culture. A central part of celebration is remembrance. God calls us to remember and retell just as our ancestors were commanded to and retained the habit of doing so. In this remembering and retelling of our stories of God s presence 1 (Contribution to The African American Lectionary s Cultural Resources in 2010, Dr. Monica R. Miller) 1

2 in our lives, we are strengthened as people, as African Americans, and, most importantly, as children of God within a divine narrative. By this time in American and African American history, we ve come to know and expect a few things out of the month of February. Some are celebratory, and others are a bit different from what Carter G. Woodson had in mind. Companies will air some commercials highlighting a few notable African Americans. Schools across the country will tell of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. s dream out of context. And now, President Barack Obama will be celebrated as a realization of that dream and undisputed zenith of African American history. A few up from slavery discussions may occur. Certainly, even fewer narratives will be shared of our history prior to the trans-atlantic slave trade. A solid 28 to 29 days of social media site link sharing to facts about our story will all be nicely tucked away come the 1 st of March. As this month goes on, the commercials aired, and awareness links are shared, liked, and retweeted, while high school dropout rates in African American communities remain far too high. Guns and drugs remain easier to come by than excellent education and safe neighborhoods. A lot of our young folks can tell us a great deal about Jay-Z, Drake, and any real housewife of any city yet very little about Sonia Sanchez or Medgar Evers. From this, it would seem there is not so much for us to celebrate regarding our African American heritage and culture. The passage in Joshua 4 is a key to Israelite successes and failures throughout the Old Testament was their ability to obey God s commands. In Joshua 4, each of the 12 tribes was commanded to return to their story by sending the representatives back into the Jordan for stones. Their obedience in revisiting even a difficult part of their story enabled many others to be strengthened by God. The whole story is of how God called the Israelites back to their story, so they could be empowered by God s presence in their past, present, and future, celebrating that empowerment along the way. 2

3 With the blessing of a story to tell comes responsibility. Just as the 12 representatives from each tribe had to carry the stones back to where they settled, we are tasked with carrying our story with us wherever we go. Other generations depend on those presently living out the story to preserve it for the future. We will forfeit the power our story holds if we don t take authority in telling it ourselves. Our history as Africans and people of African descent in the Americas has been everything but comfortable, yet there is joy and hope to be shared and celebrated. The narratives we know well of slavery and fights for freedom by Africans throughout the Americas is not all there is to say of our heritage and culture. We carry with us also narratives of advanced innovation and civilization others have only begun to recognize in recent years. God has been present with us in our past filled with trial and tumult. God is present with us as we seek to preserve and retell our story today. God will be with us as we go forward to shape our story in the days ahead. (Research data gathered from the African American Lectionary) 3

4 Photos from the Ordination Service for Deacon Carolyn Olgesby and Deacon Timothy Brown Saturday, January 26,

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6 The Young Ladies Ministry Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site) Presents Ms. Andrea Butler Founder and editor-in-chief of Sesi Magazine Sunday, February 18 at 1:00 PM Sesi is a magazine for girls of color to celebrate them. It allows teen girls of color to see themselves in magazines as they are virtually invisible in other major teen magazines. It was founded in 2008 and is published world wide quarterly. It is the only internationally sold teen magazine for Black girls. She will speak on self-esteem, the importance of always believing in yourself and how Sesi helps Black girls love themselves and see themselves. Young ladies of all ages and parents are invited to attend. Other interested members are invited to attend also. Bring your daughters, sisters, nieces, cousins and friends. Please RSVP by calling Deacon Barbara B. Green or Deacon Jean Ellis

7 From the Library Black History Videos 7

8 SAVE THE DATE Every Wednesday at Shiloh Baptist Church New Site: o 6:30 PM 7:00 PM Prayer and Praise o 7:00 PM 7:25 PM Worship Service o 7:30 PM 8:25 PM Bible Study Classes Sunday school will now start at 9:00 AM and end at 10:00 AM. All Youth and Young Adult Acknowledgements will now be read on 3 rd Sundays. Forms will continue to be sent out via and copies will also be available on the information rack in the upstairs foyer. Articles for the next edition of the CAPSTONE E- NEWSLETTER will be due on Friday, March 2, The point of contact is Sis. Angela Brown Coleman. Please send articles to: colemanab04@gmail.com 8

9 CELEBRATING FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Tonya "Nicki" Anderson-2/17 Mae F. Arter-2/17 D'Mari K. Banks-2/15 Anthony Bennett, Sr.-2/6 Alberta Hall Brooks-2/22 Dea. Brenda Armstead Brown-2/15 Cindye Brown-2/11 Harold Brown-2/9 Jeff Brown-2/13 Iyanna D. Brunson-2/15 Min. Donald Bryant, Sr.-2/19 Julian F. Bumbrey-2/1 Linda M. Bundy-2/3 Lisa V. Herbert Cato-2/8 Jeanne Christmas-2/1 Vanessa Catlett Davis-2/19 Phyllis M. Ennis-2/22 Monet Green-2/18 James L. Greene-2/8 Robyne L. Fisher Jackson-2/26 Nathan M. Johnson-2/3 Samuel Jones-2/11 James Lane, Jr.-2/2 Kamilah S. Lawson-2/28 Michael Aramis Leeks-2/11 Kayla S. Lewis-2/11 Dea. Arthur Lynch, Jr.-2/21 Melissa Mimms-2/2 Sade L. Poole-2/14 Carolyn Richardson-2/3 Viola S. Royster-2/28 Sylvia Saunders-2/9 Ralph R. Tatum-2/26 Donald Thomas 2/21 Jerome A. Thomas-2/10 Portia C. Washington-2/27 Tracey S. Washington-2/26 Avery L. Watkins-2/16 Yvonne West-2/25 Jewel Wigglesworth-2/24 Marie Brown Wilson-2/2 Frank G. Wynne-2/15 Kiah N. Zaremba-2/11 9