Cofield Report August 2014
Pastor Lenora G. Young Happy Birthday August 9, 2014
The Cofield Report August 2014 Issue Allen Green, Editor
Writers:
Kemba Cofield Kristin Cofield Mary Daniels Carl Gable, MD Phill Hughes Rev. Dr. A’Shellarien Lang Vivienne Sye-Payne Christine Tunstall Pastor Lenora Young
Always There Poem By: Kristin Cofield When I need you, you are always there to comfort and provide. I am instantly wrapped in your loving arms and my spirit is renewed by your unconditional love. When the pain is so deep I can hardly breathe; I remember by your stripes you will heal me. When I need protection from my enemies and myself, you are always there; fighting on the front line of my battles. There is no reason for me to cry because you have promised me the victory is already mine. When the storm clouds seek to darken my days; I search for you and find your Guiding Light. Even when I choose not to acknowledge your presence; by my side you still remain. When the ignorance of this world favors confusion and disorder; I need you to remind me that I am not of this world and I cannot behave the way the world behaves. My heart desires to be like you; full of unconditional love and forgiveness too. In my season of stress, you are always there to remind me this is just a test of my faith and I must persevere. I need you, Oh LORD, to replenish me with strength and courage. Prepare me to follow the steps you order so I may become obedient to your word. When I need peace, I bend my knees to pray and all my fears and worries dissipate. ABBA, I love you for you alone are worthy to be praised. *Scripture: Romans 12:2, James 1:2-4 and Joshua 1:7-9 (NIV)
Pastor Lenora G. Young Pastor, Preacher, Singer, Choir Director, Musician Pastor Lenora G. Young this dynamic woman of God wears a variety of hats, pastor, evangelist, prayer warrior, singer, songwriter, teacher, choir director, and musician to name a few. On any given Sunday morning or afternoon you can find Pastor Young in the pulpit of the True Vine Restoration and Deliverance Worship Center the ministry she founded in North Philadelphia bringing the Word in her unique style, or playing the Hammond organ and belting out songs of praise. Friday evening you may find her directing the InterDenominational Mass Choir for All People 100 plus voice choir she organized and founded in March of 2013.
Lenora first fell in love with the house of God and gospel music as a young child. Born August 9th in the city of Philadelphia she was blessed with numerous talents and gifts.
Her musical career began at the age of three where she sang on a choir affiliated with the Mount Enon Baptist Church known as the “Christian Echoes” started by her mother. Lenora’s singing experience led her to pursue her other passion which was the piano. She began a dedicated study of the piano under the tutelage of Mrs. Rodonia Lecan. Upon mastering this instrument she went on to teach herself and master the organ.
Over the years, Pastor Young’s musical ministry has opened many doors for her to share her talents. She has played for many churches and many ministers. Some of the churches on her roster include, Mount Sinai Fire Baptize Holiness Church (Philadelphia, PA.); People’s Baptist Church (Elmwood location); The Met (Philadelphia, PA); National Temple Baptist Church
(Philadelphia, PA); Union Baptist Temple (Bridgeton, NJ); Miracle Temple (Philadelphia, PA); Rome Emmanuel Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA); Second Pilgrim Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA); Cornerstone Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA); Our Mother of Sorrow Catholic Church (Philadelphia, PA.); Emmanuel Methodist Church (Philadelphia, PA) Harold O. Davis Memorial Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA); Christian Tabernacle COGIC (Philadelphia, PA); and Deliverance Temple of Truth Holy Church, Inc. Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Pastor Young has played for many outstanding Gospel recording artists such as, Edna Gallman Cook, Reverend James Cleveland, the Victory Chorale Ensemble, Cassetta George, and Dorothy Norwood. Not only has she magnified her God through her ability to play the piano, keyboard, and organ, but she has blessed many people through her singing ministry. As organist/minister of music and one of the lead vocalists of the Victory Chorale Ensemble, she recorded, “Standing In The Need of Prayer” and “I Walk with God.” She founded the Philadelphia Community Choir (PCC), recorded a couple of LP’s, “Wait Patiently” and “This is My Story” with the Savoy Recording Company.
Although singing and playing the Hammond organ were her passions God had something more in store that He wanted from Lenora. She joined the Christian Tabernacle Church of God in Christ under the leadership of the late Bishop R. T. Jones, Sr., here she accepted her call to ministry and was fully launched into the deep. Later she moved to Fayetteville, NC to unite with the Deliverance Temple of Truth Holy Churches, Inc. under the leadership of Bishop Ralph “Donnie” Graves. Lenora served as the Minister of Music and also as National Evangelist of the Deliverance Temple of Truth Holy Churches, Inc. It was at Deliverance Temple that she
sang and recorded the hit song “Count Your Blessings” with the Deliverance Temple Mass Choir. Although still involved in the music ministry the preaching of the Word was still pulling at Lenora. While in North Carolina she served as the chairperson of the Board of Presbytery and Board of Elders and finally accepted the call to the pastorate; her first assignment was True Vine Temple of Deliverance in Dillion, South Carolina. This anointed woman of God loves the Lord with all heart, mind, and soul. As she counts her blessings, she knows that God is on her side as He has allowed His chosen vessel to accomplish many things. Pastor Young’s greatest desires are to be in the perfect will of God through introducing Christ to those that do not know Him as their personal Savior and seeing God’s face in perfect piece.
Needs vs. Wants. Written by Kemba Cofield One evening, I was stressed as usual about life and bills and just stuff. I went to bed around 3 am, which is normal. Unemployed and job hunting can make you focus on having no job until 3 am. However, this evening I was ok and finally went to sleep. However, at 5 am I was wide-awake. I went into a room with windows for some reason and just sat there staring out of the window thinking God, what happened to me? Don’t you hear me anymore? Don’t you love me anymore? Why are you not helping me? It’s a weird thing. I haven’t listened to God’s voice in a while. Just going along with life and sometimes you aren’t sure who the voice is that is coming to you. So I wept. I sat and wept and cried about my loss and why I felt so helpless. He told me to look out into the trees and see the light in the trees. I saw it. It was the moon. It was daybreak and I saw the moon still shining ever so brightly over the lake. I saw that dot on the water and heard the voice that’s me. You see I reflect from the sun and I am right here with you. I started to weep. I thought I see you God but I’m looking around and see so much else. There is so much madness, hatred, and bitterness. He said look for the other lights. I did. I saw a light from a neighbor’s home on the lake. I saw a reflection in the window. I saw a couple
more man-made lights and thought okay I see them. However, he pointed my attention the sunlight peeking through the trees and said, "That’s me too." I’m everywhere at all times. I’m always with you. I love you and shine my light on everything everywhere at all times. Let your light so shine. I thought man my light is all covered in heartache and poverty right now. I can’t encourage people right now without your guidance. Then I was helping a friend of mine who was moving. As I boxed the items and just did what needed to be done I didn’t ask any questions but I shared my morning, I guess, worship. I think the Lord should wake me up at 8 p.m. I’m NOT a morning person. At that time she said, she had had a divorce and afterwards couldn’t afford to purchase things she had been able to afford before. Life for herself and her children changed forever. She made the statement Needs or Wants… You know we all look at other people who have big cars and homes and think if I can just get that I’ll be happy. All that it comes with is a bigger, gas, electric, security, water, sewage, and insurance payment. Many of us have had situations to happen where we had to start over. Where our wants weren’t met but we had our needs. My encouragement to you is if you have family and friends, a place to stay, transportation to work and food, you are super rich right now. The average person in the WORLD doesn’t have these things. Your children and significant other are gold mines. If they are complete, you are blessed. If you have just one person that loves you and cares about your life, you are pretty rich. Rich people struggle with people wanting them just for their money and not for their love. Some never find that kind of love and support. I only mention these things to you because as I cried that morning and afternoon. As I wept because my wants were not being met, I had to reflect…. I have food. I have gas to get from A to B in a car that hasn’t missed a payment. I have a place to stay and I have the ability to contact those that mean the most to me. I had to reach into that ego and say Thank You Lord. Thank You for the smallest things. I don’t have regrets about family members that passed away. All of a sudden the “things” I had transformed from physical to relational and I felt like I had billions of dollars. If you didn’t get to tell a family member something before they passed away, tell them. Go to their grave(s) and release that pain. Life is so super short. Before you know it, another year has gone by and you are still holding onto the past. I admonish you to evolve and make changes in your lives. Lastly, recognize what you need and what you want. Television entices us to want more things. Things that rot and stop working but great relationships are amazing. Matthew 6:19 says, 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break
in and steal. 20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;…Yes we only have one life to live and things are nice but they decay. Working longer hours and not seeing your family and friends keeps you away from beautiful smiles and laughter, football games and bike rides, barbecue’s and holidays. These are situations you can’t get back.
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“Snap Out of It” Writer: Pastor Lenora Young Scripture: 14And
St. Luke 15:14 - 20
when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that
land; and he began to be in want. 15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16And
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that
the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20And
he
arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. As believers, we have a tendency to get caught up in things, fads, styles, and many areas that does not pertain to the kingdom or the work of the Lord. Colossians 3:2 expresses to us to “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” We’ve allowed ourselves to be caught up into our own personal wants – our own personal ambitions – our own selfish ways not considering the fact that what we want may not be in the plan of God. How many of us have pictures from our past and wondered what were we thinking. The situations we got ourselves into because that’s what we wanted to do. That’s my desire and what I want is all that counts. Not taking into thought or even considering that God has a greater plan. The bible tells us in the book of Isaiah chapter 55 and the 8th verse, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” There is a greater plan that God has for our lives, we can’t even imagine. Our minds are too small to even contain what God has in store. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him.” ( I Cor. 2:9) In the text, it is one of the parables of Jesus, presented in a trilogy. Three parables about - 1. Something lost and found – the coin lost in the house – 2. The one sheep out of one hundred was lost – 3. And the son that was lost. We see in this story, there was a young man that wanted his portion or his inheritance before it was due him. A young man that was anxious – a young lad that was impatient – an immature young man that was not ready for his inheritance – a young man asked his father to give him his portion. Now, if you look into this parable, you will see the father did not fight him – he did not try to talk him out of what he wanted, but gave it to him. The bible tells us that when he received his portion, he left home and went to a far country. Living high – extravagant spending – the bible calls it riotous living. If I may paraphrase, throwing parties – entertaining the ladies and showing off with the fabulous cars. Friends coming from everywhere. BUT, when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. The day finally arrived when the money and the friends ran out. The day finally came, when he realized that everything was gone. The day finally came when reality set in. Money – gone. Friends – gone. The ladies – gone. The party – over. No more money – everything gone. The bible goes on to tell us about his decline. It tells us about him ending up in the pig pen. A place that was against his standards – against his culture. A low place – a place of humiliation. The bible says; He went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain (meaning with pleasure) have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. Sitting in the pig pen – eating what the pigs ate. Nasty, dirty, and smelling like the pigs. Without a friend – nobody giving him nothing. BUT when he came to himself – when he snapped out of it. When he snapped out of his dilemma – when he snapped out of his way of thinking – snapped out of self pity party. When he came to himself and remembered who he was – when he remembered where he came from – when he remembered who his father was – when he remembered his heritage he snapped out it. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee. Sometimes you have to snap out in order to snap in. What does it take to “Snap Out Of It” First
Facing Reality.
When he had spent all, he realized that what he was doing was not working. Second
When Your Situation Causes Total Disgust With Yourself.
Living with and eating the same food which the swine ate. Eating food that was totally against his culture. Third
Making A Decision To Get Up And Do Something About It.
The bible said “He arose, and went to his father. It takes a made up mind to get up and do what it takes to get out of whatever dilemma you are facing. Fourth
When You Realize You Have A Loving Father
You father knows and cares about every part of you. This young man finally came to himself and said, I can go to my Father, make it right with him and he will receive me. When he did, we see in the scripture, But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. “SNAP OUT OF IT” All you have to do is “TURN” and start walking toward to the Father. Snap out of it – snap out of your poverty – snap out of your hatred – snap out of your jealously – snap out of your selfish ways – snap out of your unfaithfulness and snap into the fullness of Gods’ love. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (St. Luke 12:32) Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 1:2) Snap out of it. Come to yourself. Arise and turn to the Father.
Moving From Commandment to Covenant Written By: Rev. Dr. A’Shellarien Lang
I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (Gen 17:7 NLT) When I think about this text I am reminded that God is the author and finisher of my life, my faith, and my future. Although I know this in my heart, life happens and I get caught up in the cares of this world and at times begin to worry about where God is. One day I sat back and thought about that worry. I wondered where it came from. Who sent it and why? It made no sense that I would worry about that because who I am is wrapped up in who God is. The answer became clear as I read Joshua 22:5, “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (NAS) I hear you saying, “What does that have to do with anything?” Well beloved, worry comes when God is not first. When we make God an option, we leave room for the Adversary to make deposits of worry into our spirit. I liken this to a bank account. The account is continuously fluctuating because of withdrawals. As we make deposits the account is filled and we can continue to make withdrawals. Spiritually, we are the account and spending time with and serving God puts deposits in our account. As we witness to others and serve in God’s Kingdom withdrawals are made. When you make God an option and spend little to no time and serve when you feel like it, your account is depleted and you run the risk of overdrawing your account. My friend, overdrawn accounts is where worry comes in. When you are spiritually depleted your faith has very little to hold on to.
Like the depleted account, our service to God is empty. Do you ever wonder why you feel stuck? Sometimes you wonder why you even go to your place of worship. What is the point? Where is the joy? Beloved, your account is depleted and you need to fill your time with God. Loving God is too good to walk away from. Serving God is too fulfilling to miss out on. God has given us commandments to follow as a way of keeping us on track with God’s will for our lives. God implemented the covenant as a way to solidify the promise to always be our God. Somewhere down the line the church has taught the believer to follow the commandment without honoring the covenant. Psalm 103:15-18 (NRSV) says, “As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.” The commandments tell us what to do and the covenant tells us how to do it. Commandment is a mandate, something that must be done willingly or unwillingly. Covenant on the other hand is a promise that can only be done willingly. I submit that serving God must include covenant not just commandment. Tradition teaches us to follow the rules. Tradition has hidden a very important component underneath the enforced rules. By teaching the enforcement of the rules the honoring of the covenant has been buried to the point where many believers serve out of fear instead of faith. Faith operates out of love. Fear and faith cannot operate in the same place at the same time. As we think about the commandment that tells us what the rules are we must also remember the love covenant that tells us how to live out those rules. Fear is an emotion that is triggered by a perceived threat. It causes a change in the brain which has a direct impact on behavior. When we operate out of fear love is not present. When we understand that serving God must come from
covenant (love) and not commandment (fear) we will begin to see that what God has called us to do and how God has called us to do it, line up. I am convinced that the problem lies in Judges chapter 2 (NLT). The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.” 4 When the angel of the LORD finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they called the place Bokim (which means “weeping”), and they offered sacrifices there to the LORD. 6 After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them. 7 And the Israelites served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. 13 They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. 14 This made the LORD burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. 15 Every time Israel went out to battle, the LORD fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress. 16 Then the LORD raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. 17 Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the LORD took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 So the LORD burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, 21 I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22 I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the LORD as their ancestors did.” 23 That is why the LORD left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all”.
Judges 2 shares three things that are important: people do not serve God unless they want to, people do not honor God based on other’s people’s understanding of who God is, and unless people have their own relationship with God, God’s covenant means nothing to them. The challenge today is relationship. Serving because of commandment does not call for relationship. Covenant on the other hand does because relationship drives the person to honor the covenant. There is a place in God that I would like to go. There are some things about God that I would like to know. The truth of the matter is I can only go as far as I have the faith to go and I will only know what God wants me to know. There are times when I think about where I am in God and I say, “I should be doing more, I should be loving people better, and I should be serving God in a more excellent way.” Serving God and each other is what we are called to do. I am of the firm belief that serving is how we walk out our faith. The challenge for many of us is determining where we serve, how we serve, and who we serve. Amazingly, we have no problem serving some people. There are some people that we serve because we are told to and there are some people that we serve because we want to. The truth is we serve differently depending on where, how, and who we are serving. There are times when we serve in love and there are other times that we serve in disgust. Ask yourself, what makes the difference in how you serve? Do you serve only when you have to? Do you serve because you want to? Do you serve God willingly or begrudgingly? Do you use your gifts to serve in love or in disgust? The Bible makes it very clear that God created us to be relational beings. In the creation story in Genesis 1 we see where God determined that it was not good for the man to be alone so the woman was created. The trick of the Adversary is to tell us that we don’t need anybody. The Devil comes to, “steal, kill, and destroy”, and contrary to popular opinion relationships are on the top of the list. The Adversary knows that if people are isolated, their faith can be easily
influenced. When we serve God together the Adversary cannot penetrate our faith. The Bible talks at length about how we should serve God and each other. Romans 12:1-13 (NLT) says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans helps us to understand that how we live, move, and have our being is a direct reflection of the God that we serve. This passage of scripture helps us to understand that serving is an external expression of an inward grace. God has given all of us gifts and talents and it is with those that we serve. The external expression of our service is a reflection of how we honor the inward grace. As we move from commandment to covenant, we will move from serving God out of fear to serving God out of love.
The four C’s for building healthy relations authored by J. A. McGruder, PhD, pastor, professor, educational psychologist and professional counselor briefly discusses four key tenets to building healthy relationships, regardless of the type. The book was crafted to empower singles, couples, adolescents, adults and all who are interested in relationship building with the knowledge of what it takes to build lasting relationships. Book can be purchased by going to Barnes & Noble online or in-store. J. A. McGruder is the senior pastor of the Faith Emmanuel Baptist Church, 29th & York Street, Philadelphia, PA. For book signing engagements call the church.
New Life springs forth During the month of June 2014 a robin built a nest in the evergreen tree in front of my home. She then laid four beautiful blue eggs. Being a nature lover I decided to track the progress of these eggs. Below are some photographs I took of the progression. It was amazing seeing how the mother and father bird would take turns bringing worms and insects constantly to feed the four little birds. Allen Green, Photographer 2014
A HEALTHY BODY IS A HEALTHY MIND IS A HEALTHY SPIRIT – Phill Hughes I was online the other day reading various topics about healthy living when I found this, “Women, Hispanics and African-Americans in the U.S. have higher stroke risks.” So if you’re a woman of Hispanic or African-American descent, your chances of a stroke are two times greater than everyone else. This is shocking and frightening news. I guess before we can talk about symptoms, risk factors and prevention, we first need to know exactly what a stroke is and what it can do. A stroke is a brain attack that occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. Brain cells begin to die. Here are some startling facts about stroke: 1. The inability of patients and bystanders to recognize stroke symptoms and to quickly access the emergency medical system are the largest barriers to effective treatment. 2. There has been some improvement in stroke knowledge, but gaps exist, especially in those at the highest stroke risk (African-American and Hispanic communities). 3. African-Americans are twice as likely to die from stroke as Caucasians. The rate of first strokes in African-Americans is almost double that of Caucasians and strokes tend to occur earlier in life for African-Americans than Caucasians. Additionally, AfricanAmerican stroke survivors are more likely to become disabled and experience difficulties with daily living and activities. With facts like these, you’d think more people, especially women and people of color would want to be more informed of recognizing symptoms and ways to prevent a stroke from happening. Let’s look at possible causes and risk factors: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
The number one risk factor for stroke and 1 in 3 African-Americans suffer from it, high blood pressure. People with diabetes have a higher stroke risk. Sickle Cell Anemia, the most common genetic disorder amongst African-Americans. If sickle-shaped cells block a blood vessel to the brain, a stroke can result. Risk for stroke doubles when you smoke. If you stop smoking today, your stroke risk will immediately begin to decrease. Obesity - adopting a lower-sodium (salt), lower-fat diet and becoming more physically active may help lower blood pressure and risk for stroke.
Let’s look at the symptoms of a stroke victim. 1. SUDDEN numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg - especially on one side of the body. 2. SUDDEN confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
3. SUDDEN trouble seeing in one or both eyes. 4. SUDDEN trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination. 5. SUDDEN severe headache with no known cause.
After reviewing the facts, risk factors and symptoms, let’s get a better understanding on how to recognize the symptoms: F.A.S.T. F – Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop? A - Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? S - Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange? T - Time: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
As with most illnesses, there are ways to prevent a stroke. Let’s review a few. 1. High blood pressure is a major stroke risk factor if left untreated. Have blood pressure checked yearly by a doctor or at health fairs, a local pharmacy or supermarket or with an automatic blood pressure machine. 2. Smoking doubles the risk of stroke. It damages blood vessel walls, speeds up artery clogging, raises blood pressure and makes the heart work harder. 3. Cholesterol is a fatty substance in blood that is made by the body. It also comes in food. High cholesterol levels can clog arteries and cause a stroke. See a doctor if your total cholesterol level is more than 200. 4. Atrial fibrillation, Afib is an abnormal heartbeat that can increase stroke risk by 500%. Afib can cause blood to pool in the heart and may form a clot and cause a stroke. A doctor must diagnose and treat Afib. Start reducing risk now by following the prevention guidelines. For more information, and there’s plenty of it, please visit; www.stroke.org, the National Stroke Association today and spread the knowledge.
Resources for my information: National Stroke Association and the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), “Trends in Community Knowledge of the Warning Signs and Risk Factors for Stroke” by Alexander T. Schneider, MD; Arthur M. Pancioli, MD; Jane C. Khoury, MS; Eric Rademacher, PhD; Alfred Tuchfarber, PhD; Rosemary Miller, RN; Daniel Woo, MD; Brett Kissela, MD; Joseph P. Broderick, MD
Five things I learned from three days of fasting Submitted by Mary Daniels Fasting is a wonderful experience. Every Tuesday, the members of my church fast (1/2 day) for the youth ... it is such a blessing to watch what the Lord is doing in their lives (and ours) as a result. I'm sure that many of them are delivered from "dangers seen and unseen" as God answers the prayers of His people. I've had the powerful opportunity, in younger years, of a "three-day fast” . What a time of cleaning, direction and sweet fellowship with God. The focus is on Him alone and the things of this world really become "strange and dim in the light of His glory and face". If you've never experienced it and wish to do so. YOU will never be the same. Fasting is considered to be an important discipline in many religions, featuring prominently in the teachings of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. As a Christian, it’s not something that I’ve done a lot, although I have fasted for a day at a time on a couple of occasions. A few weeks ago, my church announced that they were encouraging people to fast for three whole days. A few options were given. People could choose to fast from television (pfft), social media (heresy), chocolate or something else considered to be a luxury. However, I felt that it was important that I go the whole hog and fast from eating anything for three days, limiting myself to water for the entire period. I knew that it would be a challenge, but I also felt that it was important that I push myself to do something that wasn’t easy and would be uncomfortable. It was a unique experience and here are five things that I learned from my three days of fasting: I’m very fortunate – One of the realizations that I had throughout this period is that for hundreds of millions of people around the world, going three days without food is an all too common experience and is one that they don’t choose for themselves. I am truly blessed. The mind is a very powerful tool – Whilst the prospect of going three days without food was intimidating, it honestly wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I still joined the family at meal times and the salivary glands were cranking up a few times, but I was able to make it through the three days without breaking the fast. Sometimes, we look at a challenge and talk ourselves out of it before we start, but remember that your mind is strong enough to achieve whatever you believe can happen. My head hurt more than my stomach did – I was preparing myself for some serious hunger pangs over the three days, but I didn’t feel any pain in my stomach at all. However, the headaches were brutal, especially on the second day. Some of this may have been due to sugar withdrawal, but whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant.
My body benefited – In addition to cleaning my body out by just drinking water for three days, I lost almost 3 kilograms. I wasn’t fasting to lose weight, and wouldn’t recommend that you do either, but it was a positive side effect. Don’t break a fast with KFC – Take my word for it. Just don’t! During the three days of fasting, I had a few key points that I was praying for. In no particular order, I spent some time with God talking about my health, my business, my marriage, my character, my kids and my future. There were no light-bulb revelations or epiphanies and that’s OK. One thing that I have known for a long time is that God isn’t an all-powerful vending machine who dispenses blessings if I follow the rules and behave the right way. He is a loving, good and just God who wants the best for us and my fasting wasn’t to get something from Him as much as it was to express my appreciation for His grace and love. If you’ve never fasted before, I would highly recommend it. If you have fasted in the past, what did you learn from the experience?
The Power of Procrastination Writer: Carl Gable, MD Both traditional and digital bookstores are filled with hundreds, if not thousands of books on the power of organization, discipline, hard work, and dedication. Many autobiographies have been written that provide personal testimony of how individuals have risen from “nothing” to become very successful in business, sports, and various other fields. Far less frequently found are books on the power of disorganization, laziness, and procrastination. However, these forces can be just as powerful in shaping an individual’s future as are their opposites. Reflecting back many years ago, my parents gave my siblings and I the opportunity to pursue many extracurricular activities. Among my favorites were guitar lessons, martial arts, and basketball. Today, more than twenty years later, I admit that I do none of these activities extremely well; and the reason is not because I did not have an interest in these activities. It is not because I did not have any talent in these areas. It is not because of fear. The reason I do none of these things extremely well today is largely, if not entirely, because of the power of procrastination. Somehow, I often convinced myself that I was going to practice guitar tomorrow when I had more time. I was going to work on my jump shot next week, when the schedule wasn’t as hectic. Tomorrow came and went. Next week came and went, as did next month. Next year did the same. And then ten years did likewise. Reflect back on your own life for a moment. Are there goals, aspirations, or dreams that you once had, or still have, that have failed to materialize because you, like me, have far too often convinced yourself that you will get around to them tomorrow? Perhaps it is a diet or exercise program that you wish to start. Perhaps it is going back to school. Perhaps it is planning a vacation. Sitting here now, wishing that I was ten times the guitarist that I currently am; but at the same time, having become much better at conquering my tendency to put thing off until later, allow me to share just a few strategies that I have learned to employ in my constant struggle against the giant called procrastination. First, prioritize! This sounds like a no brainer and most of us have heard just how important this is. But many of us, myself included, simply fail to carry out this important first step in the path towards conquering procrastination. There seems to be a tendency, even a desire among many people, to try to literally do several things at once. Often we give it a fancy name like “multitasking” and deem it a quality that is to be desired. And perhaps in certain circumstances it is a desirable quality. But more often than not, I have found that I get more done in a day when I prioritize the list of things that I need or want to get done. Literally writing out a list on a piece of paper that I can see has been of tremendous help. Moreover, when I finish a prioritized task, I
find that it is done more completely because it received all of my attention during that particular moment, instead of only a fraction of it as I tried to juggle other things. Second, begin your number one task immediately! We’ve all heard the saying “why put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” How easy it is to convince yourself that you will have more time tomorrow. How easy it is to convince yourself that next week would be a better time. But the truth is, there is no time like the present. None of us are guaranteed this afternoon, let alone tomorrow, next week, or next year. Knowing this, after you have prioritized your tasks, dive in and begin working on them right now! Third, take small bites! Few of us can eat a large pizza with one bite. Likewise, how foolish it is to think we can complete monumental tasks in five minutes, an hour, a day, or sometimes even a week. Though it is important to begin a task immediately, realize that you may not be able to complete it immediately. Again using the analogy of eating, most of us must chew our food and swallow it piece by piece before we can completely consume an entire meal. Likewise, with large tasks, in order to do them well, sometimes it would do us well to tackle them in bite size pieces; “chew” the first piece of the task, “swallow” it, and then take the second bite. It is important here not to procrastinate between bites however, but to finish eventually finish the entire meal (task). Lastly, once you have accomplished your task, don’t forget to reward yourself for a job well done. A recent survey indicates that most employees do not take advantage of the entire amount of vacation available to them. The survey indicates that among the reasons for this are fear of being replaced by another employee while on vacation and the perception of laziness among colleagues. Prioritization, immediately beginning a task, and taking small bites on the way to successful completion of a task are important. But after a job well done, rewards for success are also important. The reward doesn’t always have to be in the form of a vacation or an expensive purchase, but something to remind yourself of your success goes a long way in preventing “burnout” both on the job and at home. So if like me, you find yourself battling against the enemy of procrastination, try putting these suggestions to work. I hope they work as well for you as they have for me.
ARE YOU A FRIEND OF GOD? Writer: Vivienne Sye-Payne This evening I want to talk about being a friend of God. Webster’s Second College Edition Dictionary defines a friend as, “1. A person whom one knows well, and is fond of; intimate associate; close acquaintance; 2. A person on the same side in a struggle; one who is not an enemy or foe..” Most of us have at least one good friend, someone with whom we share our innermost secrets, someone who likes you and that you like back in spite of the flaws each of you believes the other has, the one who knows where the bodies are buried in your past and loves you enough to leave them buried and not point them out to others. I have friends that I started Kindergarten with and we went through out school together and attended the same church all during that time. We have shared memories of things we have done with each other’s families, we know each other’s crazy aunts, and the drunk uncles and the poor choices and mistakes we’ve made. Then there are the friends I made in law school, in September, 1977, I met 24 people with whom I would spend an inordinate amount of time for three years. We had a common bond in that we were the flies in the ointment at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. We were a small minority in the university community so we sort of just clung to one another. We shared a struggle, we supported one another through failed marriages, miscarriages, and cancer, failed classes, which was a first for anyone who was there, and if you had failed a class up to that point you couldn’t have gotten into Penn in the first place, so it was a traumatic experience to get a less than excellent grade. So now thirty years later, we travel together, we get together for lunch, dinner, weddings of our children, the funerals of our parents, we are each other’s support systems- only a phone or e-mail call away. You know we love each other in spite of our differences, perceived faults and flaws. And the truth is God loves us even more than that. We as human beings usually love so long as we are loved back; at least most of us require reciprocity. But then there is God who commended His love toward us while we were yet sinners, according to Romans 5:8 before we were even conscious of God he loved us enough to make a plan to sacrifice his son to redeem us back to himself. But the truth of the matter is that you can love someone and not be their friend. The Bible tells us in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have ever lasting life.” God loves everybody, but he doesn’t call everybody friend. In fact there are only two people in the Word that are described as friends of God, Isaiah 41:8 says “8But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob
whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.” and Deuteronomy 34:10 says 10And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,” a better translation of the words “knew face to face” would be “knew intimately”. Tonight I want to explore these relationships a little so that we can discuss the rights, privileges and benefits of being a friend of God, then we’ll talk about the responsibilities that go along with being God’s friend and lastly how to become his friend. Let’s look at Genesis 12: 2&3 where God is speaking to Abraham to leave his country and his family and go to a place that he would show him... it says “2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” What a promise ..., a promise of posterity, legacy and prosperity. Not only that, but God says I’m the enemy of anyone that is against you. Further along in this chapter God sends a plague to the house of Pharaoh because he had taken Sarah from Abraham and moved her into his palace. In Chapter 14 Abraham takes 300 men and defeats the armies of five kings to rescue Lot, in Chapter 15 he reveals the future of Abrahams seed, the 400 years of captivity in Egypt is revealed to Abraham and he didn’t have a child at that point, in Chapter 17 God establishes the act of circumcision as “an everlasting covenant” between himself and Abraham and Abraham’s children’s, children. In Chapter 18 God reveals his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and allows Abraham to negotiate with him to save any good men that might be found in the cities, then in Chapter 21 Abraham at the age of 100 and Sarah at the age of 90 have a baby which had been promised twenty-five years prior. Then we find in Exodus the 3rd and 4th Chapters God selecting Moses to do an errand despite his short comings, he was murderer, he stuttered and he lack confidence in himself just like some of you. But true friends don’t care about your short comings they love you in spite of them. How do I know, because in Numbers the 19th chapter verses 1 -9 Moses’ sister and brother were talking about him behind his back because he had a black wife and he acted like nobody heard from God but him. Moses wasn’t there he hadn’t heard what was said he didn’t even know they were resentful or were harboring jealousy or hostility in their hearts. But his friend God overheard the conversation, called them outside and struck his sister with leprosy. Why did I tell you all those things? Because I want you to know that when you are the friend of God you not only have the promise of posterity and prosperity, you have a battle axe, you have a friend that covers you and will fight for you, you have a friend that shares his heart, and the things that are on His mind and doesn’t get annoyed when you try to change his mind . You have a friend that keeps his promises even in the face natural and physical impossibility because our God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above what we can think or ask. We have a friend that is able to meet all our needs and give us the very desires of our hearts. Those 30
are the benefits of being God’s friend. But we all know there is no free lunch. There are responsibilities that go hand in hand with these benefits. The responsibilities are not onerous or overly burdensome. In fact they can be narrowed into two things - obedience and faith. That’s all that’s required of us to maintain a friendship with God. The Word says “obedience is better than sacrifice” so we need to be like Abraham when God says move to a place - you’re supposed to start packing. When he says pick up the snake by its tail you’re supposed to pick it up. When he says give you’re supposed to give when he says hold your peace you’re supposed to shut your mouth! Obedience is one of our responsibilities if we want to maintain friendship with God. Of course it is difficult to obey if we don’t have faith. We know that “without faith it is impossible to please God” , want to know why ? Because without faith you can’t obey him. See obedience is based on the faith to believe that God will do what he said he will do. Personally I can tell you it requires faith to go to a church that you don’t want to go to because God said go. You have to believe that God has a plan and a purpose and that it will work together for your good. I drive past many churches, a couple mega churches one I know you see on TV to cross the bridge to come to North Philly to a church. But God said go and I’ll hold you up with my mighty right hand and he has. I’ve planted seeds of the Word into people’s lives, I’ve watered some seeds planted by others and God gets the increase and the glory but I get credit for obedience based on faith. Friendship is based on mutual trust, I trust and believe that God will work out all things for my good and he can trust me to go where he tells me to go and do what he tells me to do. Now, you must know that this type of faith and obedience doesn’t occur overnight. It must be developed and nurtured in the process of becoming the friend of God. You do know there is a process don’t you. Nobody gets up from the altar with all that you need to be God’s friend. Actually what you become at the altar is a “child of God”. 1 John 3:2 says “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ....” when you walk away from the altar you are son but it takes a while to become a friend. How many of you have adult children? You know it takes a good long while to become your child’s friend. My daughter is 41 years old and she gave me a Mother’s Day card saying I was more than a mother but I had become her friend. You know you can’t pick your mother but we select our friends. So if you live long enough and close enough to your children you can and will become their friend. But there is a process. Just how does one become the friend of God? The development of an intimate relationship with God requires the same things it takes to build a friendship with people. Spending quality time with one another, communication between the two of you, respect for who He is, respect for His opinion. We’ve got to push up on God say nice things to him- that’s praise tell him how wonderful he is. That’s how I know God is a man - he likes to have his ego stroked. He knows he’s bad, he knows he’s the alpha and the omega but he wants to hear you say it. Sing
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songs to him and about him, not just in public services but home alone, in your secret closet . In your secret closet you don’t have to have a good voice to sing to him, it sounds good to God because it’s you and because of the sentiment being expressed. Then there are times you need to ask his opinion and seek his will before you embark on a plan, he wants you not to “lean on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him”. He wants you to tell him all about your trouble, people don’t like to sing those songs any more like “Have a little talk with Jesus tell him all about your troubles he will hear your faintest cry and he’ll answer by and by” why not?! He told us to cast our cares on him not our family and friends and Oprah and Dr. Phil. Talk to Jesus he’s the only one who can do something about it anyway. The Word in II Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” But then, of course, no one wants a friend that talks all the time and never listens to them. So in our personal prayer time we need to spend time listening not just whining and asking God for stuff. Listen to his preached word, read his written Word, lay silent before him sometimes and he will speak. You do know that God does give advice. When you want to do something, or go somewhere or say something and you get this misgiving, or maybe a drawback in your spirit- that’s God giving his advice against whatever it is you’re about to do or say. Then take his advice, follow his lead, because God is like us He will stop talking if you keep ignoring him. Then the relationship is strained , If you don’t believe me just go find out what happened after He warned the Children of Israel about their ways in Malachi, he stopped talking to them for 400 years and left them to their own devices. Oh, they were still his chosen people but they didn’t enjoy the benefits and privileges associated with being the friend of God. So it is important to make the communication a two way conversation. Then if we look at the behavior of Abraham we see another way we can become God’s friend you know I mentioned earlier about Abraham negotiating with God to spare as few as ten righteous men if ten could be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, but the interesting thing in that story is that Abraham didn’t have anything to lose by the destruction of those cities but let’s look at what he was concerned about, verse 25 in Chapter 18 says “ 25Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham was concerned about the reputation of God, how would it look for the judge of all the earth to throw away the good with the bad. He didn’t want it said that His God, the Judge of all the earth had not made a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. Are we willing to protect the Lord’s reputation? Will we speak and live in a manner that protects his image and reputation? It seems that we have no concern about protecting God’s good name. We do all manner of evil things on our jobs and in the stores where we shop and while driving that are and embarrassment to God. Do you want people to think your God is unable to clean up your nasty mouth, if he can’t clean up your filthy mouth 32
how can he save anybody’s soul? Do you want people to think your God doesn’t mind if you steal the bosses supplies, that thou shall not steal doesn’t mean office supplies, or paper towels. Do you want the people around you to think God doesn’t mind if you hang out at the bar when he told us in his word that we are in the world but not of it? Do you want people to think God doesn’t mind you fornicating even though he said “thou shalt not” you must want people to think God is schizophrenic. His written word says do this but don’t do that and we do just the opposite. Let me help you, God is not schizophrenic ! He is the same yesterday today and forever. He expected compliance with his Word when he spoke it to Abraham and Moses and he expects compliance from you. John 15:14 says, “ Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you .” Do you really want to be the friend of God or are you satisfied to be an acquaintance? If you want that intimate personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, the altar is open.
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August 2014 “The Cofield Report”
Police Disclaimer: To Protect and Serve OR: We Are The Police – Fear Is Your Only Option Writer: Christine Tunstall On July 1, 2014 in Los Angeles, a private citizen who was driving past an intersection witnessed (and videotaped) a police officer pummeling a woman on the ground. The officer used such force with each blow that it is difficult to believe the woman’s face did not sustain permanent damage. The transitory nature of her injuries does not diminish the violence inflicted upon her. The woman who was pinned to the ground by the bulky California Highway Patrol Officer was arrested for ‘resisting arrest’ among other charges and was not allowed to have visitors from family/friends for many days after the incident. Had the police happened upon any citizen being beaten in the same manner by another citizen, the person who was using such force would have immediately been arrested. Yet, it was the victim of this horrific beating who was arrested and charged with a crime. The original complaint was this woman was attempting to walk onto a major highway endangering herself and motorists. The Commissioner and other authorities have closed ranks in this case, refusing to even release the name of the officer involved, while simultaneously not only releasing the victim’s name but also information in connection with her mental background and other disparaging comments about her. The victim is being persecuted by the very people who are supposed to protect her. It appears this is an attempt to taint the citizen pool in a manner that would support/justify the criminal conduct by the officer against a so-called dangerous woman. When the officer was dispatched to the highway, he was supposed to protect the woman from whatever dangers could have lurked had she walked onto a heavily driven highway. Who knew this officer would be the danger lurking before her? This officer quickly became the victimizer instead of the protector/server of the citizenry of California. On July 17, 2014 forty-three year old Eric Garner was placed in a chock hold and wrestled to the ground by five New York police officers who allege he was observed selling untaxed cigarettes on the street. Garner is heard screaming eleven times that he could not breathe. Mr. Garner subsequently died of cardiac arrest. The police officer who placed him in the initial chock hold is on desk duty. This same officer was recently involved in two other incidents wherein his techniques and behavior have been questioned. One incident has resulted in the City of New York settling with the complainant. The other case against this same officer is pending. Mr.
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August 2014 “The Cofield Report”
Garner was allegedly observed selling ‘untaxed’ cigarettes. Not even marijuana or cocaine but untaxed cigarettes. Since this incident, the authorities in New York have announced that they will be securing professionals from around the country to conduct workshops to help train the police in New York to not initiate choke-holds and other deadly uses of force. It should be noted also that the chock-hold process in New York has long ago been banned as excessive and lethal. When Mr. Garner screamed he could not breathe (any one of the eleven times), even if training not to utilize the chock-hold was absent from the immediate mind of the group of officers standing around, compassion should have been present. Compassion for your fellow human being. Compassion is innate. Compassion for your fellow human being is a trait that seems to be missing from many of the psyches of our law enforcement communities. In an on-line article on July 19, 2014, the District Attorney of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania was being interviewed concerning the story of an unarmed citizen who was “shot and paralyzed over unpaid parking tickets”. The DA commented that “the police in that area are not very well trained and they really operate under no one’s direct supervision”. The DA went on further to say “the shooting could have been avoided if the man had entered into a payment plan with the city.” I was thinking the shooting could have been avoided if the police who are tasked (and paid) with protecting and serving that borough were (better) trained and had direct supervision to maintain order and direction in the performance of their job. There are many lessons I have learned over the years that I carry into my daily life but two particular lessons I definitely attempt to live by in both my professional and personal life are: We get through to people to the extent that we have unconditional regard for them as human beings and you can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them. These two statements resonate in my spirit daily. If the police officers in the incidents highlighted above had regard for the persons they came in contact with, it would not have been possible for Mr. Garner to be placed in a chock-hold or had a knee pressed onto his face. He would not have been left unable to breathe because the officers would have looked at him as a fellow human being, regardless of whatever ‘crime’ they believed he committed. Had the California Highway Patrol officer been able to see his own sister/mother/daughter in the face of the young woman he pummeled, the results would have been much 35
August 2014 “The Cofield Report”
different. I hope the compassion he would have felt would have prevented him from hitting this woman the first time or the thirteenth time. He would undoubtedly have cared about who she was as a person and not viewed her as an object of his rage. Finally, had the officer who shot the citizen in the back because of outstanding parking tickets recognized his fellow human being as a brother in arms, the gun in his holster would have remained and a conversation would have replaced the weapon he unleashed on a citizen who had no idea he was facing someone with little or no training that did not see him as a child of God. Let us pray for our police, our legislators, our leaders and our family as each leave their homes daily not knowing which police servant we may come into contact with – the compassionate worker hoping to live up to his protect and serve mandate or the out-of-control, untrained bully who has found another victim to unleash his fiery brand of abuse upon. The one weapon we all have available to us in these circumstances is our vote, which makes the leaders who place the good/bad officers in their jobs, accountable to the citizens who will not sit back and idly watch as the citizens of this country continue being victimized by the persons who are responsible to keep us safe. Be Blessed.
The Fellowship Choir of Tyree AME Church is sponsoring a Queen’s High Tea on Saturday, August 23, 2014. The time is 12:00 NOON. The donation is $10.00. The location is 3800 Hamilton Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Dress: Hats & Gloves for ladies. Come out and be a part of this fabulous event. Lots of food and tea. Entertainment and fun. For more information and to reserve a set email: gpippen2732@gmail.com or green.aw@gmail.com
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