From FaithAction International House is offering a personal appeal to church leaders and congregations to get involved in the U.S. Census Bureau count.
FaithAction International House is offering a personal appeal to church leaders and congregations to get involved in the U.S. Census Bureau count.
The resume of the first female bishop in the historic African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, could serve as a sermon.
McKenzie will speak at the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services Dec. 20 at Williams Memorial CME Church, 3400 Triangle Lake Road, High Point.
As a pastor in Baltimore, McKenzie oversaw the purchase of a building on a drug-infested corner that created a $1.8 million economic development center that houses a senior adult day care, a Head Start and other businesses.
McKenzie’s first assignment after her 2000 elevation to bishop was as presiding prelate in eight southern African countries.
There, she established a program to build group homes for children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.
McKenzie, who holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in divinity, is the author of several books, including “Journey to the Well.”
As president of the Council of Bishops , she is the highest- ranking woman in the predominantly Black Methodist denomination.
She is also the national chaplain for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority .
l l l
First Lutheran Church has launched Meals at the Manger, a statewide campaign encouraging churches to collect food for the needy on Christmas Eve.
Last year’s service at First Lutheran drew 1,072 people bearing 1,500 pounds of food — food that otherwise might not have been collected, according to Frank Moore , First Lutheran’s director of community ministries .
This year, the church is asking congregations across the state to ask members to take at least one canned good or food item per person to Christmas Eve services.
First Lutheran also is encouraging churches to set up manger scenes in their yards or elsewhere with large boxes to hold the Christmas Eve donations.
Each church can donate the goods to the food bank or soup kitchen of its choice after the holiday.
A suggestion: Have children or youth of the church do the artwork for the outdoor or indoor manger scene.
“ This is a simple yet powerful way to feed the hungry and personify the hope that defines Christmas,” Moore said.
Need help getting started? Contact Moore at 292-9125 , Ext. 102, or frank@firstlutheran.com.
l l l
FaithAction International House is offering a personal appeal to church leaders and congregations to get involved in the U.S. Census Bureau count.
“So many decisions are made based on the U.S. Census count,” FaithAction executive director Mark Sills explained in the nonprofit’s newsletter. “Virtually all federal grants are allocated on the basis of census data. The decision about where to build roads, schools, hospitals, child-care centers and many other structures important to your people — all based on census data.”
FaithAction, which got a $3,000 grant through the Southern Coalition for Social Justice to help explain the census to immigrants, is also trying to get the word out to faith groups.
In the last census, North Carolina might have lost millions in funding because of an undercount, according to the U.S. Census Monitoring Board.
The Census Bureau can provide your congregation packets of information that has been designed especially for faith-based organization partners.
Questions? Contact Kathryn Murphy at 327-8531 or kathryn.m.murphy@census.gov .
Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com
Source: Greensboro News & Record
From http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/12/04/article/first_female_ame_bishop_to_visit_high_point