Emanuel ExpressNews UNITY THROUGH THE BLOOD UNITY COLORS FOR UNITY MONTH SEPTEMBER S FOCUS:

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1 Emanuel ExpressNews 3058 West Van Buren Ave Chicago, IL phone SEPTEMBER 2014 Edition Pastor Michael & First Lady Anastasia Richardson SEPTEMBER S FOCUS: UNITY Inside this issue: First Things First 3 UNITY THROUGH THE BLOOD "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;" (Eph.2:11-14 KJV) Annual Outreach Day 4 Greetings once again in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has blessed us to be in heavenly places in Him. First Jurisdiction IL Convocation 6 Money Matters 8 FJI Women s Workshop September Calendar COLORS FOR UNITY MONTH 1 st Sunday White 2 nd Sunday Blue 3 rd Sunday Green 4 th Sunday - Red Our ministry theme for the month of September is Unity. Unity is something that humanity has longed for, struggled for, suffered for and championed for from our early beginnings. It was the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who envisioned in his celebrated "I have a dream" speech, a day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, would join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at Last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty, we are free at last. Since the time of this historic speech until now, we have made great strides towards unity. Forty five years later after this prophetic speech, our country set aside its differences and elected its first African American president, President Barack Obama. Five years into the two term presidency of Barack Obama, we see a nation who once came together to do the unprecedented, have now become tremendously divided. Not only is there division among our politicians in Washington, but there is division everywhere. There is division in our families, communities, and unfortunately it s also in the church! In our scripture reference Paul addresses the relationship between the Gentiles and the Jews and our relationship with God. In our (Gentile) relationship with the Jews we were different, and because of our differences, there was division, disdain and enmity between us. UNITY THROUGH THE BLOOD: continued on page 2

2 Page 2 Emanuel ExpressNews From Unity through the Blood continued The reality is that there were no two groups of people that were more separated or hated each other more than Jews and Gentiles. It wasn't like they just disagreed on musical styles in worship. They were ethnically different. They were racially different. They ate different foods. They came from different cultures. They valued different things. They were offended by different things. They were as different as two groups of people could possibly be. To illustrate the severity of this strained relationship between Jews and Gentiles, Paul speaks about a middle wall of partition, which was a reference to the Jewish temple. In the last temple that Herod built, which existed until AD 70, there were a series of courts. The innermost court was called the Court of Priests. This is where all the male members of the priestly tribe of Levi could enter. Out from that was the Court of Israel. It was for all the male Jews. Next was the Court of Women. That was as close as the Jewish women could go. All of those courts were on the same level. So, even though they were segregated, there was some sense of equality. But then came the next court; the court of the Gentiles. To get from the court of the Gentiles to the Court of Women, you had to walk up a flight of 14 steps. At the top of the steps was a 5-foot high wall. Every few feet along the wall was a sign that said, "No foreigner is to enter... Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his death which follows." Not only was our (Gentile) relationship with the Jews different, but our relationship with God was distanced. In verse 12, Paul writes; "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:" But thanks be to God for sending His son Jesus, who through his blood, has become our peace. He made us one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. Hallelujah! Because of the Blood, we are no longer strangers, we are no longer aliens, but we have been brought nigh unto God through the blood of Jesus Christ. True unity cannot be achieved by programs, marches, parades, projects, buildings, social clubs, treaties and contracts, political parties and neither by an African American president. Furthermore, true unity cannot be achieved by unity candles, unity prayers, unity themes, or unity dreams. However, true unity can only be achieved by the blood of Jesus. To borrow from Rodney King, it would be nice if we could all get along. It would be nice to see Dr Martin Luther King's dream of unity come into fruition. However if everyone doesn't agree with us, love us, and like us or get along with us, we can live with the confidence that through the shed blood of Jesus the Christ we have unity, fellowship and favor with God. During this month of unity, let us celebrate our unity and fellowship with God by laying aside our differences with one another to bring the spirit of unity to all. Be Blessed, Pastor Michael Richardson

3 SEPTEMBER 2014 Edition Page 3 On Sunday, August 17 th we came together for our Annual Men and Women s Day. The men s department ran every part of the morning service. We also had two of our men to talk on the theme Men Standing Together for the Glory of God. They also rendered a soul stirring selection that brought us all to our feet; Glad I Got Jesus. Our pastor climaxed the morning event, with a most inspiring message entitled Destined to be Blessed. Later at 4:00 pm the women came together for their annual day. Our theme for the service was The Power of Togetherness Psalms 133:1. Our guest speaker for the evening was First Lady Missionary Melissa Peel from The Greater Love Church of God in Christ. Missionary Peel delivered a powerful Word in the form of a question; What Happens When an Army Unites. Just to give you a little taste: She opened her message by explaining the difference between togetherness and unity. Had there not been a difference the Word would have stopped at Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together, but the verse didn t stop there, it concluded with in unity. The Message bible reads, How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! She stated that we come together a lot of times to do a lot of different things, but are we unified are we getting along? She talked about her experience in the army and served notice that it s much more than you think it is. It s not what you see on television. It s not free thinking. You don t do your own thing. You don t get up and dress your own way. It s not half hazard planning. It s a lifelong bond and commitment and declaration that you would die for one another and for a cause. An army is a large body of persons trained and armed for war. An army is a body of persons united for any purpose. She let us know the church is an army. It s a body of baptized believers united to bring Satan s kingdom down. The church does have a purpose. We come to church to pray, worship, and work, but what happens when we unite. She let us know that it s your purpose that gives you power, your power gives you drive and it s your drive that forces your unification. Missionary Peel shared with us that the army dresses alike from the inside out. They dress alike all the way down to their socks and their undergarments. Everybody looks alike, smells alike and they are exactly the same, doing exactly the same thing, at exactly the same time in the same place. Why is it so hard for the saints to get together and be unified? I just gave you a little taste of this powerful message. If you desire to hear more visit our website ( and listen to the entire message. First Things First: continued on page 5.

4 Page 4 Emanuel ExpressNews ANNUAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH DAY Msny. Alayna Johnson & Missionary Crystal Willis - Coordinators It was a hot summer day. The smell of hot dogs on the grill filled the air. There were chips on the table and fresh popcorn popping. There was ice cold soda and water to help cool us down. The children were laughing and playing as they went down the water slide one after the other. There was face painting and games for the children. The tents were up to block the heat as people in the community ate until their heart was content. There were book bags with school supplies to give away and a prayer tent to touch and agree that God would meet the needs of His people. This was the scene of the 2014 Community Outreach event held at Emanuel COGIC. It was a great success and all who attended had much fun. God held off the rain until everything was done. We prayed for someone to be touched and blessed by our event. God answered our prayer and he did just that for our Sunday morning service was filled with our outreach guests. God gave the Emanuelites a lot of love to share. Every member in attendance shared that love by offering their time, their labor, their money, and their hearts. We worked together as a body of one and was able to let our community know that God cares and loves them and so do we. May the next outreach event be an even greater success. Submitted by: Msny. Crystal Willis

5 SEPTEMBER 2014 Edition Page 5 First Things First Thanks to all the First Ladies, Pastors, guests and friends that came out to share this day with us. We thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us. We also would like to give special thanks to the best men and women ever, the Emanuelites!! Thanks for helping us reach our goal!! We need each other to survive. OUTREACH 2014

6 Page 6 Emanuel ExpressNews FIRST JURISDICTION IL 58TH ANNUAL CONVOCATION The First Jurisdiction IL 58th Annual Holy Convocation convened August 11- August 15 at the beautiful Abounding life Church of God in Christ located Mozart Ave. Posen, IL. The theme for the convocation was Waiting for the Lord s Return. Every night the saints gathered in significant numbers for wonderful worship, fabulous fellowship and to hear powerful preaching. Our Jurisdictional Praise Team and Jurisdictional Mass Choir under the leadership of newly appointed Minister of Music; Minister Cornelius Doles and newly appointed Choir President; Sister Tamela Reed raised the roof with uplifting songs and melodies, from old school and new school, that prepared our hearts and minds for a memorable worship experience. On the first night of our meeting we were blessed to have the Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn in attendance. He commended Bishop Booker for the theme that was selected for the convocation "Waiting for the Lord's Return". The Governor demonstrated his extensive knowledge of the bible as he gave insight on the theme and challenged us not to be like the men who stood gazing into the heavens waiting for the Lord to return, but while we are waiting reach out to the sick, hungry, imprisoned, hurting and destitute and offer them help, support and hope. He closed with the words of Paul in 1st Corinthian 13, "Love is Patient, Love endures and Love never fails"! The messenger for Monday night was Dr. Michael Stevens, pastor of University City Church of God in Christ in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Stevens' assignment was to speak to the men of the jurisdiction. He directed our attention to Mark 5:1-5. This passage tells the story of the man with the unclean spirit who dwelt among the tombs. Dr. Stevens took his subject from Mark 5:1 "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes" His subject was "Men From the Other Side". Dr. Stevens emphasized the urgent need to reach African American men. He suggested they are under demonic attack and we need the church to go to the other side to reach men and help direct them back to their proper place in God. Dr. Stevens exposed the church's short comings as it relates to reaching men. Many of the things that we do and promote in our churches are designed for the comfort of women and not men. He challenged us to be bold and courageous, to ask God for a vision, and programs that will attract men. He told us that every man has a dark side. He challenged every man in the house to come to the altar for prayer to conquer their dark side. Men came to the altar from the pulpit and from the pews for healing, restoration and empowerment! The speaker for Tuesday night was Pastor Chris Harris, the celebrated Pastor of the Bright Star Church of God in Christ. After his remarks, he ushered us into a powerful intercessory prayer, presented his choir and came back to deliver a most powerful, profound message entitled "Show Me Your Glory". He directed our attention to Exodus 33:11-23 that tells of Moses' encounter with God on the top of Mount Sinai and his infamous request CONVOCATION: continued on page 7

7 SEPTEMBER 2014 Edition Page 7 CONVOCATION: continued from page 6 for God to show him His Glory. Pastor Harris admonished us to be excited about the evidence that God leaves behind in our lives that proves that He has been with us. If we know that He has been with us, we can have confidence that He is still with us today. He gave us an enlightening and inspiring lesson on the definition of God's Glory and the numerous benefits that we receive when we allow it to invade our lives. At the climax of his message he summons the entire house to petition God to show us His Glory. The response was phenomenal. Congregants from the pulpit to the pew rushed to the altar and cried out to God for more of His power, provision, presence and His Glory. God's Shekinah Glory arrested the atmosphere and spontaneous, radical praise broke out throughout the room. We had seen the Glory of the Lord and it was marvelous in our eyes! On Wednesday Night our speaker was our newly appointed Jurisdictional Supervisor, Mother Shirley Hughes. Mother Hughes came to us with brief remarks and took the time to honor her mother, the late Mother Rosa Hooker who trained and prepared her for this moment. She directed our attention to the book of the Prophet Isaiah chapter 58:19. Her subject for the evening was "God's Counter Attack to the Enemy!" She stated that though the enemy is attacking the saints, the Redeemer shall come out of Zion to help us. We must understand that nothing has to be wrong to find ourselves under attack. We don't have to have a pity party when the enemy comes against us, but be confident that the King of Glory shall come in if we only lift up our heads and look unto Him! Mother Hughes was simply phenomenal. There were many inspirational nuggets that she blessed us with. At the end of message, the church shifted into praise mode. The saints gave God high and holy praise for His Counter Attack against our enemy! The speaker for Thursday night was Evangelist Bridgett Wright from Memphis TN. She blessed us with a powerful word from the book of Judges 6:11; 16 and I Peter 2:9. Her subject was, "The Sweetest Comeback Ever!" She spoke of how many years ago in the 1930's a popular company called Hostess had produced a famous snack called "the Twinkie" and for years they thrived but in 2012 this All American company went bankrupt and the coveted treat would be leaving the shelves of stores and bakeries seemingly forever. Though it was devastating for the Hostess Twinkie, it was short lived because about a year later in 2013 the company that had suffered the greatest public humiliation and loss announced that they would be returning and the Twinkie would make "the sweetest comeback ever"! In contrast she exhorted the youth that while we have been waiting on the Lord's return and for Him to come and see about us, God is going to give us the sweetest comeback ever! She had the saints to turn to their neighbors on either side and tell them..."this is going to be the sweetest comeback ever!" The last and final night of the 58th Annual Holy Convocation of First Jurisdiction Illinois convened Friday August 15th at the beautiful and spacious Abounding Life Church of God in Christ Saints, friends and visitors came from far and near to witness and participate in this Official Night celebration with great anticipation and expectations. To put it another way, we came to have church! CONVOCATION: continued on page 9

8 Page 8 Emanuel ExpressNews FALL MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR YOUR HOME THAT CAN SAVE YOU MONEY Fall is upon us that mean cooler weather is setting in and with this colder weather comes higher energy costs when heating your home. Before the really cold weather arrives you should use this time to do some fall maintenance to ensure your home is ready for the winter. This will help you save money by making your home more efficient. CHECK AND REPLACE FURNACE FILTERS: Before firing up the furnace for the first time of the season you can check the filter. Dirty filters are inefficient since air flows less freely. This results in your furnace running longer and using more energy just to keep the house up to the right temperature. CONSIDER LOWERING YOUR THERMOSTAT WHEN YOU RE NOT HOME: For example: If nobody is home between 8am and 6pm there s no need to keep the whole house at 70 degrees. Keep the heat off or at least set it to a lower temperature during those hours. Since your furnace will be running much less this will lower your energy cost. CLEAN OUT THE DRYER VENT: Make sure it is free of lint build up and there are no other obstructions. Check to see if your vent is properly sealed where it exits the house. Large gaps around the vent can be a significant area of heat loss. CHECK THE HOUSE FOR ENERGY LEAKS: It s a good time to inspect all your doors and windows for possible leaks. Over time the weather-stripping can wear down and create a gap that is a prime source of drafts. Repairing the gaps could save you money on your heating bill. TEST SMOKE ALARMS AND CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS: Check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to test that they are working properly. Submitted by: Sis. Turia Neal Prayer List The Gipson Family The Brown Family The Calloway Family The Owens Family Sis. Chantelle Edwards Sis. Rosemary Allen Dameon Traylor Vontae Travis Vernon Brown Mario Stanford Regina Allen Christopher Scott Robert Blair Kelis Carter The Henderson Family Bernard Joyce Richardson Paula Evans The Clay Family

9 SEPTEMBER 2014 Edition Page 9 Convocation: continued from page 7 The evening opened at 6:30 with a one hour prayer service. Our Prelate and anointed Leader Bishop Booker summoned 500 prayer warriors to meet him in prayer and cry out to the living God to heal the land in these troubled times. The vision of our leader to call a solemn assembly to bombard heaven is reminiscent of II Chronicles 7:14... where the spirit of the Lord dealt with the heart of King Solomon..."If my people, who are called by name, would humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal the land." The official message for the convocation was delivered by our Prelate Bishop Ocie Booker. He directed our attention to the book of John 14:3 and Acts 1:11. Bishop Booker expounded from this year's theme "Waiting for the Lord's return." Bishop further admonished the Saints that we must not gamble with our lives when it comes to our salvation. We must not get so comfortable with this world that we become complacent and satisfied that this is all there is. He spoke of the Hebrew children of Israel who had forgotten the Promised Land and became comfortable in Egypt until the Pharaoh that knew not Joseph was risen up and they called out to God in their oppression. Likewise this world is not our home, but for true Believers in Christ there is a place that he has prepared for us. We must be willing to be liberal in our tithes and offerings with the monetary blessings that the Lord allows us to have while sojourning here, and not become "economically conservative" when it comes to the things of God. The Lord is angry with unbelievers and they will be judged at the 2nd Resurrection no matter what their status in this world has been. The Believers are the "Waiting Ones" and our Salvation and justification is secure in Christ. We must understand that there has been a great price, a ransom paid by our Lord for the saving of our souls. We must never be discouraged but keep waiting because at an unexpected time that we think not the Lord is going to come for the fire baptized Believer. The trumpet will sound with the voice of the Archangel as our Lord will be in the middle of the air! It won't matter then if you are big or small, rich or poor, but this mortal will put on immortality and the corruptible shall be incorrupt. Get ready! Get ready! The Lord is on His way and we must be ready, and found waiting for the return of the Lord! After the message blessed oil and handkerchiefs were distributed to all in attendance. Each person received prayer through the laying on of hands by various pastors and missionaries. In summary, it was one of the greatest convocations ever. As we wait for the Lord s return, let us take advantage of every opportunity to spread the good news of the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ. He is surely coming back! To hear the powerful messages and view pictures from First Jurisdiction Illinois 58th Holy Convocation view the website at

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11 Page 11 Emanuel ExpressNews MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ST Labor Day SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 TH - 9:00 AM 1st Sunday Corporate Prayer SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 TH National Grandparents Day SEPTEMBER 8TH SEPTEMBER 11 TH SIMUL Conference (Memphis, TN) FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH 7:30 PM Pastor Anniversary People s Church of the Harvest COGIC 3570 West Fifth Ave Chicago, IL Admin. Asst. Michael Eaddy, Pastor SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 TH 12:00 NOON State Ministers Wives Alliance Restoration Ministries COGIC 6043 S. Hohman Ave. Hammond, IN Mother Jean Booker, State President SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 TH 8:00 AM Abounding Life Annual Women s Day Mozart Posen, IL Our First Lady will be the Guest Speaker SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 TH 5:00 PM D. A. Reed Sr. District Lively Stones Church of God in Christ 735 East 134 th Street Chicago, IL Pastor Clifton Johnson, Host MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 TH 7:30 PM State Fellowship Meeting Greater St. James COGIC 2131 Wright Avenue North Chicago, IL Supt. Torrance Markham, Host MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 TH 19 TH National Bishop s Conference Rochester, New York FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 TH 8:00 PM Family, Friends & Founders The Community COGIC 7125 Hohman Ave. Hammond, IN Admin. Asst. Supt. N. Harris, Pastor SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 ST 4:00 PM Pastor Anniversary Northside COGIC 5414 West Rice Street Chicago, IL Elder John Taylor, Pastor SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 TH First Jurisdiction Illinois Women's Department Workshop Ticket Donation $25.00 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 TH - 11:00 AM Emanuel s Mother s Board Celebration Speaker: Mother Elvie Owens 1st - Sis Winnie McClerkin 3 rd - Bro. Roy C. Baldon 4 th - Holland Neal V 16 th - Phillip Brooks 17 - Bro. Meldemetrius Johnson, Jr. 30 th - Sis. Cynthia Redditt

12 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH - 7:30 Zion Temple Church of God in Christ 1414 South Pulaski Road, - Chicago, IL Guest Speaker: Pastor Anthony Wallace, St. John COGIC SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26TH - 11:00 Emanuel Church of God in Christ 3058 West Van Buren - Chicago, IL Guest Speaker: Evangelist Stephen Henderson SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26TH - 4:00 Zion Temple Church of God in Christ 1414 South Pulaski Road, - Chicago, IL Guest Speaker: Pastor Osmond Jones, Rehoboth COGIC