“Episcopal Candidates Corner”

By

Rev. George William Whitfield

YACM Public Relations Committee Member

Associate Minister at Spradling Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, Louisville KY

The 2012 General Conference will be here before we know it and its time to truly start thinking about who will become the next Bishops of our church.  With the Rt. Revs George W. C. Walker Sr, S. Chuka Ekemam, and Warren M. Brown retiring there will be three spots open on the board.

During the 2011 CED Winter Meeting in Los Angeles, California there was an “Episcopal Candidates Forum” that was attended by many. The Young Adults in Christian Ministries (YACM) understand that a lot of young adult delegates to the general conference were unable to attend the winter meeting. This is why we decided to bring the candidates to them via the internet. We pray that the next few blogs will give you some insight on where the candidates stand in regards to the young adults of our church.     

Today’s candidate is the Rev. Dr. Seth O. Lartey, pastor of Goler Memorial A.M.E. Zion church in Winston- Salem, NC. His education background steams from Liberian Baptist Seminary, Livingstone College, Duke University Divinity School and Drew University.

Rev. Dr. Lartey serves on many boards throughout the Winston-Salem community. Some of them include Prodigal’s Community, Forsyth County Foster Care, Smart Start, YMCA, United Way, World Council of Churches, Forsyth Futures & Juvenile Justice, North Carolina Council, Winston-Salem State University Foundation, Liberian Organization of the Piedmont and Camp Dorothy Walls Conference & Retreat Center, Inc.  

Rev. Dr. Lartey is the Founder and President of Goler Institute for Development & Education Inc. and the Goler Community Development Corporation. He married to Mrs. Jacqueline Inez Williams-Lartey and the proud father to three wonderful children: Solomon, Alicia and Victoria.

During an over the phone conversation with Rev. Dr. Lartey he stated that he is grateful for this opportunity and that he is excited about how we are taking ministry to the social network sites.

The following is how Rev. Lartey answered the question:

1.      Why do you think we have a lack of young adult involvement in our church?

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a great church with a significant worldwide mission. I think that the reason young adults have not been allowed to be as involved is directly related to the marginalization of our mission.  Whenever we take very seriously our mission, it will be evident that we need everybody.

2.      As Bishop, what will you do to engage the young adults?

As a Bishop, I will first of all embark upon a vocational/career bank; so that I know the talent and gifts in the house.  Based upon the gifts and talent, young adults will be employed in the areas of evangelism, Christian education, economics and leadership.

3.      Currently, what ministries are you doing at your local church that engages young adults?

In the local church, young adults are engaged in the Board of Trustees, Stewards, Christian Education, Lay Council, Evangelism, Ushers, Deaconess, Ministry to the Poor, Music Ministry, Couples and Single Ministries, and the Community Development Corporation.

4.      Where do you see our church in the next 10 years?

Ten years from now, I see the A.M.E. Zion Church as a connection embracing its mandate to convert the world, transform societies, advancing the cause of Christ and celebrating indigenous leadership.

If you would like to contact Rev. Dr. Seth O. Lartey he can be reached at solartey@aol.com.

President Obama's State of The Union Address Is Tonight, Will You Be Watching?

Addressing a divided nation surrounded by a determined GOP campaign to take his job, President Barack Obama is preparing to issue a populist cry for economic fairness as he aims to corral the sympathies of middle-class voters 10 months before Election Day.

Obama delivers his third State of the Union address Tuesday in a capital and country shot through with politics, with his re-election campaign well under way and his potential GOP opponents lobbing attacks against him daily as they scrap for the right to take him on.
The President's 9 p.m. EST address to a joint session of Congress and millions of television viewers will be as much as anything an argument for his re-election, the president’s biggest, best chance so far to offer a vision for a second term.
Senior political adviser David Plouffe said Tuesday morning the president is “happy to have a debate” about his performance. Asked in an interview about Republican candidate Newt Gingrich’s description of Obama as the “food stamp president,” Plouffe replied, “It’s a cheap applause line for the Republican base.”
Bill Galston, a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser now at the Brookings Institution, said, “Almost by definition it’s going to be at least as much a political speech as a governing speech.”
“The president must run on his record,” Galston said, “and that means talking candidly and persuasively with the country about the very distinctive nature of the challenges the American economy faced when he took office and what has gone right for the past three years, and what needs to be done in addition.”
With economic anxiety showing through everywhere, the speech will focus on a vision for restoring the middle class, with Obama facing the tricky task of persuading voters to stick with him even as joblessness remains high at 8.5 percent. Obama can point to positive signs, including continued if sluggish growth; his argument will be that he is the one to restore economic equality for middle-class voters.
Implicit in the argument, even if he never names frontrunners Gingrich and Mitt Romney, is that they are on the other side.
Obama’s speech will come as Gingrich and Romney have transformed the Republican campaign into a real contest ahead of Florida’s crucial primary next week. And he’ll be speaking on the same day that Romney, a multimillionaire, released his tax returns, offering a vivid illustration of wealth that could play into Obama’s argument about the growing divide between rich and poor.
Asked in an interview Tuesday about Romney’s relatively modest tax rate in the range of 15 percent, given that he’s a multi-millionaire, Plouffe said, “We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share.”
Obama will frame the campaign to come as a fight for fairness for those who are struggling to keep a job, a home or college savings and losing faith in how the country works.
The speech will feature the themes of manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. The president is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose ways to make college more affordable, offer new steps to tackle a debilitating housing crisis and push to help U.S. manufacturers expand hiring.
For three days following his speech, Obama will promote his ideas in five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he’ll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he’ll discuss energy; and in Michigan Friday he’ll talk about college affordability, education and training. Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama’s overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.
The lines of argument between Obama and his rivals are already stark, with America’s economic insecurity and the role of government at the center.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that Obama “can’t run on his record.”
The president has offered signals about his speech, telling campaign supporters he wants an economy “that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.” Gingrich, on the other hand, calls Obama “the most effective food stamp president in history.” Romney says Obama “wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society.”
Obama will make bipartisan overtures to lawmakers but will leave little doubt he will act without their help when it’s necessary and possible, an approach his aides say has let him stay on offense.
The public is more concerned about domestic troubles over foreign policy than at any other time in the past 15 years, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some 81 percent want Obama to focus his speech on domestic affairs, not foreign ones; just five years ago, the view was evenly split.
On the day before Obama’s speech, his campaign released a short Web ad showing monthly job losses during the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration, with positive job growth for nearly two Obama years. Republicans assail him for failing to achieve a lot more.
House Speaker John Boehner, responding to reports of Obama’s speech themes, said it was a rehash of unhelpful policies. “It’s pathetic,” he said.
Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama is not conceding the next 10 months to “campaigning alone” when people need economic help. On the goals of helping people get a fair shot, Carney said, “There’s ample room within those boundaries for bipartisan cooperation and for getting this done.”

In New Orleans, Elderly Pray Away Gang Violence

According to Newsone, Several times a week, a group of six women and one man pray for their city as they drive through their gang-infested neighborhood in New Orleans.


Millie Campbell (pictured), 76, and Betty Minor, 69, are a part of the group who have been blessing the city for the past six weeks. As Campbell drives with Minor in her blue Chevrolet through the 7th Ward, Campbell says:
"Oh, God, we thank you for the blood of Jesus. Touch this block in the name of Jesus"

When Minor isn’t punctuating Campbell’s prayers with a number of “Hallelujahs” and “Glorys,” she adds:
"Cover your children, Father God. In the name of Jesus".

While The Times-Picayune notes that a number of clergy, organizations, and youth ministries are all involved in the effort to stem the murder and mayhem that continues day by day in New Orleans, this small group believes that when a situation becomes to heavy to bear, one must take it to the Lord.
Campbell adds:
 "We got a problem, but we don’t know how to solve it. We’re taking it to the Spirit".

About two weeks ago, NewsOne covered the violence that raged in New Orlean’s streets, when four people were killed and 10 were wounded during a single weekend. At that unfortunate time, 11-year-old Keian Ester was shot in the back of his skull as he played Xbox in his home. Obviously, New Orleans isn’t alone in its black-on-black murder problem.
Just two years ago, the NY Post reported that the murder rate for African Americans was up 31 percent in the city of New York, with 60 percent of Blacks being the murder victims. And as if that weren’t enough, in Chicago, while all other races saw their murder rates decrease in 2010, UPI reported that African Americans weren’t so lucky:

While cities, such as Atlanta and Oakland, have actually seen declines in violence, the rate of Black youth being murdered by other Black youth across the country dwarfs these relative improvements. Somehow, witnessing this elderly group taking it upon themselves to go out and literally pray for “these streets,” is bittersweet: On the one hand, you have a segment of the community doing all they can to improve a dire situation; on the other, surely the strong among us can step it up and do better for our loved ones and communities.

What do you think is the answer to Black-on-Black murder and violence in our communities? Do you think this group is on to something and we should be praying more?

 

Red Tails Earned $19.1 Million Opening Weekend!!!

Red Tails came in second place at the box office this weekend earning $19.1 million. The film did better than expected, and many are saying that the public endorsement of Tyler Perry helped.
According to Entertainment Weekly the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen gained momentum in the week leading up to its release.
Last week, in a letter to his fans, via his website, Tyler Perry urged moviegoers to support Red Tails:

"I think we should pull together and get behind this movie. I really do! Not just African Americans, but all of us. I have seen the movie and screened it here in Atlanta. I loved it and I think you will too. The Tuskegee Airmen, who were at the screening, were so happy that somebody is telling a small part of their story. It opens this Friday, Please take your kids, you will enjoy it and so will they. There is a lot of action and adventure and also a great history lesson to be learned".

Audiences that went to see Red Tails this weekend enjoyed the film, helping it score a rare "A" CinemaScore grade, which will only fuel the film's momentum.
In December, 2011 Oprah Winfrey showed her support of Red Tails by hosting a private screening of the film in Dallas, TX. Oprah took pictures with the director and cast and the photos went viral.
Friday, Oprah tweeted to her nearly 9 million followers, "I Hope u'all support the film #RedTails this wknd. Talk to George Lucas all about it on NEXT CHAPTER this SUNDAY."



How many of you went to see the film opening weekend?  How did you like it?? 

Welcome!

Welcome to YACM's new BLOG site.  This is a place for all things YACM.

If you want to promote YACM events in the church or discuss young adult issues in the church or in the world, for example, politics, pop culture, church issues, relationships, health, etc., please contact anyone from the PR Team by reaching out via Facebook or Twitter and we will post.

We will also highlight a YACM of the month.  If you have any nominations reach out to the PR Team.

Let's keep it going and continue to connect with each other across the denomination.