THECHRISTIANRECORDER.COM ...From Congratulatory p18 “I am excited and honored to lead the Atlanta office and to have the opportunity to help build and expand our local team,” said Selby. “I look forward to supporting the continued success our lawyers achieve for our clients here and around the world.”
Selby joined the firm in 1995. He received his undergraduate business degree from Howard University, his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University, and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. Special Announcement of Our Son and Daughter-In-Love as the New Co-Pastors for Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Virginia The Pastor Hiring Committee and the full Session are thrilled to announce Grace Covenant’s new copastors, Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor IV and Joanna Wells Sydnor! Please plan to join in the Informational Gathering after worship this coming Sunday, November 14, to hear more about the Sydnors from the Pastor Hiring Committee and how powerfully the Holy Spirit was moving in this search process and the connection with the Sydnors as our new covenant pastors. You can also read a bit more about the Sydnors from the bio below. While the Sydnors’ first day will be Wednesday, December 1, they will be able to worship alongside us on Sunday, November 21, and after worship there will be a reception in the Social Room to meet and greet the Sydnors. Light refreshments, punch, and coffee will be served. Please come offer a warm GCPC welcome to the Sydnors! UPCOMING DATES 12 noon Sunday, November 21, Reception in Social Room Come meet and greet the Sydnors! Wednesday, December 1: The Sydnors’ first day! Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor IV & Joanna Wells Sydnor
The Christian Recorder High School sweethearts and life-long helpmates Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor IV and Joanna Wells Sydnor are called by God to a clergy-couple and co-pastor ministry. Both Calvin and Joanna are from Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, respectively. They met in Woodbridge, VA, where, providentially, their families relocated for job opportunities in the early 1980s. Calvin and Joanna have a love for education. They are graduates of Hampton University, where Joanna received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. Calvin received his Bachelors of Science in Biology and continued his education at Temple University School of Podiatry following his commissioning into the U.S. Army. Calvin and Joanna married in 1987 and enjoyed life as a military family before relocating to Hampton, VA, in 1994, where Calvin established his podiatry medical practice. They answered God’s call graduating from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where they received their Master of Divinity in December 2019. Until their call to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Joanna served as pulpit supply in the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia while also extending her ministry training as a chaplain resident at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, VA. She completed her training in May 2021. Calvin preached regularly in his home Presbytery, PEVA, and both currently participate in the Pastor as Disciple through the Lilly Foundation (PCUSA). Joanna answered God’s call to the ministry in 2015, devoting her life to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever God leads. Her favorite scripture is John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” For Calvin, God has called him to the ministry where he seeks to serve God with all his heart, soul, and mind and love everyone around him. His favorite scripture is 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.
DECEMBER 2021
PAGE | 25
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Calvin and Joanna are blessed with three adult children, Calvin V and daughter-in-love Kyndall, Corey, and Ayanna, and four grandchildren, Kamryn (2), Aiden (2), Kalyse (1), Ace (nine months), and one due in December of 2021. Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III 20th Editor, The Christian Recorder chsydnor@bellsouth.net Congratulations to YPDer Anthony Reed II on the occasion of becoming a Charter member of Top Teens of America Southern Pearls Miami-Dade Chapter. Top Teens of America (TTA) provides all teens regardless of their ethnic or socio-economic status, the opportunity to receive extra-curricular support, career, and character development training, along with key community volunteer opportunities. There are currently 108 TTA chapters with over 5,000 Top Teens located throughout the United States making a difference in the community in which they live. To learn more about TTA, please check out their website at https://www.tlodspmd.org/topteens-of-america He is a proud member of The Purple Church Miami, in the “Nurturing” North Orlando District, Central Annual Conference of the Eleventh Episcopal District. Anthony Reed II is the son of the Reverend Dr. Anthony Sr. & the Reverend Karen Reed, pastors of Martin Memorial AME Church, Miami, FL. To God be the glory for the great things he is doing. #miamiflorida #YPD #TopTeen Congratulatory messages may be sent to: The Reverend Dr. Anthony & the Reverend Karen Reed Martin Memorial AME Church 14700 Lincoln Blvd. • Miami, FL 33176 Email: martinmemorialchurch@gmail.com
On behalf of Publications Commission chair Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., president/publisher of the AMEC Publishing House (Sunday School Union) the Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, and editor of The Christian Recorder Mr. John Thomas III, we celebrate and applaud your achievements.
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) To share or receive information about Connectional clergy family bereavements and congratulations, please contact the AME Church Clergy Family Information Center. Mrs. Ora L. Easley, administrator • 5981 Hitching Post Lane • Nashville, TN 37211 • 615.833.6936 (CFIC Office) • amecfic.org • facebook.com/AMECFIC.
THE REV. DR. STEPHANIE N. TAYLOR, MD APPOINTED TO THE NIH ADVISORY COUNCIL The Rev. Stephanie N. Taylor, MD, the administrative pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, was introduced by Dr. Anthony Fauci as a new member of the 18-member National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health (NIAID/NIH) Advisory Council. The Council is the chief advisory committee of the NIAID, and Dr. Taylor is one of five members of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) Subcommittee. The NIAID Council advises on policy, clears concepts, and reviews programs, and NIAID often seeks the Council’s advice before changing policies for training, health information dissemination, administration, budget, and long-term planning of potential future NIAID initiatives. Dr. Taylor is professor of Medicine and Microbiology in the Section of Infectious Diseases at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. She is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and her clinical practice and research are focused on sexually transmitted infections, STI-related diagnostic trials, and STI clinical drug trials. In addition, she has authored several book chapters and 80 journal articles, including one as lead author in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Taylor is also medical director of the LSU Infectious Diseases STI research program and laboratory, the LSU-CrescentCare Sexual Health Center, and the Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program. She was a recipient of a
Distinguished Career Achievement Award presented by the American STD Association, and she is an associate editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the flagship journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “Dr. Taylor is one of our most talented physician-scientists,” says Dr. Steve Nelson, LSU Health New Orleans interim chancellor and School of Medicine dean. “This appointment reflects the excellence of LSU Health New Orleans faculty and the enormous contributions they make to Louisiana and the nation.” ❏❏❏
