The Video Release of Tyre Nichols
By Rev. Winford K. Rice Jr., Guest Editorial
The video of Tyre Nichols being made available for public consumption is extremely problematic. It showcases him being maimed and beaten by a mob of Black police officers. It is analogous to a crowd of white citizens gathering for a public lynching and execution of Negroes in the American south during Jim/Jane Crow, who viewed the act of lynching as a mere sport and disregarded the humanity of the person being executed. The public viewing of black bodies being killed or beaten at the hands of police is pornographic – given the rhetoric of police chief Cerelyn Davis around its release and the growing anticipation as if it were a movie premiere – and largely reinscribes white supremacist logic.
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Statement on the Death of Mr. Tyre Nichols
Bishop E. Anne Henning Byfield, 13th Episcopal District
We, the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church of the West Tennessee Conference, mourn the life of Mr. Tyre Nichols whose life came to a brutal end on January 10, 2023. We further grieve the loss of a father, son, and a family member whose pain is inconsolable. We also share in the deep sorrow and anger of the members of the greater Memphis community who are changed forever through this horrific act of violence.
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America Is Praying Mightily For The Healing And Recovery Of Damar Hamlin
By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D., Columnist
Did we win? Those were the first words written by Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills safety after regaining consciousness. The doctors said, “Yes, Damar, you won. You won the game of life.” On Monday Night Football, Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Tee Higgins. Watching this unfold on national prime time television was shocking and unnerving. My immediate reaction was that it was concussion related. If you recall just a few weeks ago, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got up after being hit on a play and then fell back to the ground. By the reaction of the players, this was a life-threatening matter that needed immediate and direct attention.
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Christian Nationalism: The Word Found Next to Oxymoron
Reverend Monica C. Jones, Ph.D., Contributing Writer
I heard it said once that if Jesus were here today, he would be pro-choice. We obviously cannot make substantive statements about what Jesus would or would not say today, but we do know what he said when he walked the earth. He gave people a choice to accept redemption. He gave people a choice to accept salvation. He gave people a choice to accept the Faith. “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking” (Revelation 3:20) would indicate that the Lord had no intention of forcing himself on anyone. We must make our minds up about who we will serve and what kind of life we will live.
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Dr. Robert Turner Continues March Towards Reparations 
“There’s no issue more important for Black people than reparations for the exploitation of our labor, because we’re still harvesting the fruits of that wicked tree”
In May of 2021, Chief Editor John Thomas III sat down with Pastor Robert Turner for a TCR Dialogue on reparations for Black Americans. At the time, Rev. Turner was advocating for reparations specifically related to the 16hr race massacre of 1921. He began attending and advocating in city hall meetings every week, but has since moved the fight to Baltimore, Md where he recently took a 40mile walk from Baltimore to the White House- a campaign he is calling “40miles for 40 acres”.
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Local WMS Missionary and God's Directive
Pastor Debra A. Whitlock Lax, 5th Episcopal District
 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 It fills a pastor’s soul to witness a member stepping out on faith and fulling God’s divine directive with compassion and a get-it-done willingness to serve God. January 1, 2023, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Sparks, Nevada, was blessed to worship the Lord using the Zoom online video platform; we were snowed in. Nevertheless, that did not stop dedicated members from attending church. God has a way when you are where you are supposed to be, of connecting God’s children for God’s divine purpose. Because we were online, Pastor Lerato Pisto of Ivory Park AME Church joined our service. |
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Emergency Faith
Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, Columnist
 As a curious child growing up, I would take notice of the little red fire alarm boxes mounted on school building walls. This curiosity was before smoke detectors and fire sprinklers. These boxes were shaped like the old outdoor fire alarm boxes. These emergency sentinels all had the same characteristics: a small hammer-like device on a chain mounted on the side, an inside handle covered by glass with these words printed in red: In Case Of Emergency Break Glass. While I was never in a building where a fire caused someone to break the glass and pull the handle, it was comforting to know that the little red fire alarm box was there to be used to summon help in case the need arose. Read More Here |
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Editor Thomas Profiled in the Charleston Post and Courier  As does the city in which it resides, the College of Charleston has a long, complex and troubled history. Given the city of Charleston’s prominent role in the international slave trade and the magnitude of which enslaved labor shaped and influenced nearly every facet and institution in the Holy City, it is no surprise that slavery also helped form the city’s 250-year old institution, an uncomfortable truth the college has increasingly recognized.
Without much fanfare or a major announcement, the school last semester hired John Thomas, whose research interests include comparative race politics, social movements, democratic consolidation, minority rights and public policy with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.
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December Edition of The Christian Recorder |
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Founder’s Day Message 2023
We Must Go To Work!By Bishop Ronnie E. Brailsford, Sr. President of the Council of Bishops  What action would they take in the face of the rising up, speaking out, and impact of the Alt-Right, White Supremacist, Christian Nationalist agenda being promoted at some of the highest levels in our nation?What would they say about all the schisms in the church today that have rendered us almost voiceless? And when we do rise up, it is usually against each other rather than against the evil in the world and for the poor and needy. What would they say or do about us turning on each other rather than turning to each other as brothers and sisters? These are dangerous times we are living in. In 1967, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pinned his final manuscript: Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? This is a relevant and powerful question for us 56 years later.
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Statement from the General Conference Commission on the 2024 General Conference Venue and Date  We officially announce that due to circumstances beyond the control of the AME Church, the General Conference, the General Conference Commission, the host district, the CFO, the CIO, and the meeting planner all have found it necessary to move the General Conference from its previously planned location, which was Cincinnati, Ohio, to now Columbus, Ohio. As a result of this move, it has become necessary to change the dates of the General Conference from July 3-10, 2024, to August 21-28, 2024.
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Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and Morris Brown College Partner to Improve Educational Opportunities in Legal Education  
(ATLANTA) February 6, 2023 - Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) and Morris Brown College have engaged in a new partnership, facilitating a counseled track to attending law school for eligible applicants. The partnership, a first of its kind with a historically black college for Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, creates favorable space for Morris Brown students to seek application guidance from the Office of Admissions at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School; and for eligible applicants who meet the standard admissions criteria, to receive priority law school admission.
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No Youth, No Future
By Miya Johnson, Connectional YPD Stewardship & Finance Committee Chairperson  Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.
Proverbs 22:6 (NRSV)
When young people graduate from the Young People’s and Children’s Division (YPD), do you make space for them in your organization? Do you welcome them with open arms or tell them to sit in the back and be quiet? How you welcome people to your organization can determine how long they stay and how active they will be. For example, consider starting a new job; everyone greets you with big smiles, attempts to get to know you, and someone takes you under their wing to show you the ropes. A person is more likely to be excited to come to work and willing to jump in and help wherever possible if they feel welcomed. This welcoming is the kind of experience we should have in the church. The church cannot grow if we do not accept new people and invite them into our different organizations to serve. We welcome young people by allowing them to use their skills to complement the work already being done. We can embrace young people by listening to their ideas and learning from their new perspectives. Being open to these new perspectives can help grow our organizations, the church, and, most importantly, the body of Christ. Remember, people want to join a church where they feel welcomed and not judged. Being open to new ways of thinking is the best way to keep and retain new and young members. Our Zion has the tools to be greater than it is; it is just a matter of looking to our youth. The youth are the key to keeping Bishop Richard Allen’s dream and legacy alive. |
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Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie challenges National Prayer Breakfast attendees to love as Jesus did
By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Christian Post
 Yale Divinity School is launching a new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, an advocacy-focused body to be led by prominent pastor and activist the Rev. William Barber II. “The goal of this center will be to prepare a new generation — what we call moral fusion leaders — that are going to be active in creating a just society both in the academy and in the streets,” Barber told Religion News Service in an interview. Read More Here |
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