For Immediate Release

 

For additional information, contact:

Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.

Chairman, Commission of Social Justice and Human Concerns

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Telephone:  323-294-3830

E-mail:  ninthhq@sbcglobal.net

 

 

The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns

Declares a Day of Prayer, a Time to Help, and Emergency Relief Sunday 

on Sunday, November 2, 2008

 

The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church is asking all CME Churches to declare Sunday, November 2, 2008 a day of fasting and prayer for our nation and world. We need to pray because of the following reasons:  

• a historic Presidential Election
• the need to help our brothers and sisters who were impacted by Hurricane Ike
• the economic down turn in our nation
• the educational system’s failure to meet the needs of our children
• the foreclosure crisis
• clergy and lay leadership development in the church
• the health care crisis in our nation.

We believe that this is a time to cry out to the God of our Salvation to protect us, direct us, provide for us, and to prosper us in difficult times. II Chronicles 7:14 really tells us the position that the church must take in these perilous times “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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 their land.” This scripture should be our Altar Call on Sunday, November 2, 2008 as we share in Holy Communion.

 

On Sunday, November 2, 2008, we would like to have every CME Church to take up a special offering for the Emergency Relief Fund of our church to address the needs of CMEs and others impacted by Hurricane Ike. A good number of our churches and their properties were lost, damaged or destroyed. In Haiti, more than 1,000 lives were lost. Many of our CME Churches in Texas in the path of Hurricane Ike were severely damaged.

 

Please make all checks payable to the Department of Finance CME Church and send them to your Presiding Bishop’s office. I truly believe that God will continue to bless and direct our nation if we pray and seek His Divine Will for our world.

 

Let’s all remind our congregations and community to Get Out and Vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

 

# # #

 October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month

 

Dear Colleagues and Members of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church:

 

This message concerning October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month is provided by the Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns and the Women’s Missionary Council of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. 

 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

During the month of October, we encourage women to take charge of their own breast health, by practicing regular self-breast exams, making sure to schedule an annual mammogram, adhering to prescribed treatment and knowing the facts about recurrence. 

 

Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer in women (behind lung cancer).  An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2008. An estimated 40,480 women will die from breast cancer. For additional information about breast cancer awareness initiatives, preventive and maintenance measures, please visit http://nbcam.org/  .

 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

We thank Rev. David C. Isom, pastor of St. Stephen CME Church in Fairfield, CA, and Director of Faith Partners against Domestic Violence for Associated Ministries in Pierce, County, WA, for providing us with the following information on domestic violence.

 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and is a good time to raise this issue in your churches, though any time of the year is a good time.  Once you break the silence you will be surprised at the people who approach you to talk about issues of abuse in their own lives or their family’s and friend’s lives. It is a wonderful opportunity for healing ministry.

 

There are many ways you can address violence. You can write about it in your newsletter; and adult study; talk to the youth group; preach on the subject.

 

Here are a few statistics that can be referenced:

 

Prevalence:

1 in 4 women experience physical assault, rape, or stalking at the hands of an intimate partner during a lifetime.

            􀂺 1.8% of women experience abuse each year.

            􀂺 5.3 million victimizations; 2 million injuries.

            􀂺 64% of rapes, physical assaults, and stalking of women is perpetuate by intimate partners.

 

And here are some tips of what you can do to begin to address this problem:

 

            􀂺 Become educated about domestic violence, the dynamic of abusive relationships, and local resources for victims and batterers.

            􀂺 Preach about domestic violence – regularly. Weave references to domestic violence into sermons about peace, justice, etc.

            􀂺 Make sure that religious education programs for adults and children includes age-appropriate discussion about abuse and violence in families.

            􀂺 Meet separately with individuals at least once before starting premarital or couple’s counseling. Ask each partner how disagreements are settled, if they are aver afraid of their partner, and if there has ever been violence in the relationship.

            􀂺 Offer a class about domestic violence.

            􀂺 Have posters, brochures, or other information about domestic violence displayed in your office and/or throughout the building.

            􀂺 Educated the congregation – use newsletters or bulletin boards.

            􀂺 Host community forums on domestic violence or offer space for community organizations to offer such forums.

            􀂺 Urge your congregation to find ways to work against domestic violence in the larger community – adopt a shelter by providing them with volunteers, clothing, or other resources.

 

Thank you for bringing the issue and very real personal cost of domestic violence out into the open and breaking the silence.

 

 

In His Service,

 

Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.

Chair, Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns

 

Dr. Elnora P. Hamb

President, Women’s Missionary Council

###

CME College of Bishops and Women's Missionary Council President show members how easy it is to take an HIV Test.  Photo by Marty Frierson.

Las Vegas, NV – During their national conference in Las Vegas, the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church College of Bishops and the Women's Missionary Council President showed church members how easy it is to take an HIV Test by demonstrating the test themselves.  In preparation for World AIDS Day (December 1, 2007) the national leadership of the CME Church is challenging their 800,000 members, as well as African Americans nationwide, to join the “1 in a Million” campaign, a call-to-action for 1 million Black Americans to get screened for HIV by December 1, 2008 (World AIDS Day).

 

AIDS is the leading cause of death for Black women aged 25-34 years old and according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 260,000 people in the U.S. infected with HIV who don’t know they are infected.

 

The CME Church, a historically African American Christian denomination, met in Las Vegas for their 21^st Annual Convocation and will celebrate their 137^th anniversary in December 2007. The CME Church shares a common doctrinal history and heritage with other Methodist and Wesleyan bodies.  It claims more than 800,000 members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches, schools and health clinics in Haiti, Jamaica, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria.  Spiritual and executive administrative leadership of the CME Church is provided by its College of Bishops, which consists of ten active and three retired Bishops. Each active Bishop presides over a geographical area known as an Episcopal District. The CEO and senior Bishop, William H. Graves of Memphis, Tennessee, has led in this initiative of HIV awareness throughout the community.

 

In the convention center of the hotel, Chris Reynolds, Disease Investigation Intervention Specialist II from the Southern Nevada Health District administered the test to the CME College of Bishops and the Missionary Council President to show how easy and painless it is to test for HIV; and to draw attention to the high rate of HIV/AIDS in Black communities across this country.   Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Chair of the CME College of Bishops, stated that, “It is urgent for the Black church to take the leadership in the HIV/AIDS testing initiative throughout our nation.”