I am so excited about being A.M.E!!! And I love to tell our story. Yesterday was a "blessed A.M.E day" for my mail box was filled with glad tidings from A.M.E's across the connection. The Michigan Conference Lay Organization has made me an honorary member of their organization. And I received a beautiful certificate. I just jumped for joy. For the Michigan Conference Lay organization has bought 2o brand new hymnals for our church. They are the very essence of showing the love of Christ to others. Then I received some back issues of the Christian recorder from a church in south carolina. And a dear friend on the board sent me a copy of the WMS missionary missive. My daughter and I are continually bowled over by the love and friendship we experience from the connection. I hear other clergy from other denominations complaining that everyone is going to non denominational churches. When I am at our town ministerial meetings I can't say enough about our denomination. What we have is unique and special. We as A.M.E's have a foundation that is built on the shoulders of Richard Allen and others who withstood the onslaught of evil. We have been here since 1787. In my experience with non denominational churches they come and go, for at some point they decide they want doctrine and polity all the things we have. These churches may be the fad now, but our A.M.E church has withstood the test of time.I pray we will have pride in our denomination, and the things that are wrong scripture tells us that God sees all and he will deal with the wicked. Let's focus on kingdom building and let's also share the good things that are happening in our denomination. There is so much good news to report. I pray that this discussion board will be an outlet for good news.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 2002

Answers

I agree with you Rev. Rogers! I have accidentally but very gladly stumbled upon this message baord and site. I am a proud member of Big Bethel A.M.E. in Atlanta, GA. I am a member of the WMS and the Richard Allen Outreach Center board. I also happen to be a Ph.D. student in higher education and am beginning research to write a dissertation that will tell the wonderful story of the A.M.E. church's involvement in higher education. I think the A.M.E. Church has made tremendous contributions in many areas of our lives and it is a wonderful story to tell and share! We have been around a loooong time and doing such marvelous things and will continue to do so for a loooong time to come. God Bless, Shannon

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2002

Shannon:

Just to let you know. Your pastor, Rev. Doctor James Davis, preached a wonderful revival last week in Philadelphia. It was a blessing to have him preach the Word to us.

Blessings to Big Bethel, Atlanta.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2002

Yahoo!! hi, shannon it is good to know someonelse is excited about being A.M.E congrats on being a Ph.D candidate and choosing to do your thesis on the A.M.E in higher education. What a wonderful legacy you are giving to our denomination keep up the good work!

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2002

Shannon -

I hope your dissertation will highlight the triumphs and struggles AME supported institutions have endured over the years. One of the biggest disappointments of our denomination is the fact that very few of our college age students are matriculating at these institutions. Many of the school age kids in my own church cannot name 3 or 4 of these colleges. This is one of the reasons why I am spearheading an AME College Fair in 2003 so that high school students and their parents will learn about these institutions. In addition, recent news about our flagship AME college Morris Brown is deeply troubling. I have long favored creating a super-AME college built around the framework like Notre Dame or Loyola of Chicago. But before reforming our current state of affairs we have to directly confront some internal problems. Alumni contributions are far below expectations and our Connectional line item budget allocations for these colleges is woeefully inadequate. Until we as a people rise above our current niggardly [sic] attitude about supporting these colleges the future outlook for many will be very, very bleak. QED

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2002

Mary: Glad to hear you were able to enjoy Rev. Davis in Philadelphia. The specifics of my dissertation topic are still vague and in the beginning stages. My plan is to highlight each of the five existing four-year AME colleges. I've thought about writing about social and racial uplift thru church-related education. I'm working on it and as I progress I'll let ya'll know! Thanks.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2002