God Gave Us Common Sense: We Should Use It

Do You Know Him?

Rev. Dr. Maxine Thomas, Columnist

“Then he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’” Luke 9:20

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:1,14a). My sister, Jesus is the living Word of the Father. He is Emmanuel, which is God with us. He is the Incarnate God. Jesus is God. Father, Son, Holy Spirit--three in one, God!

Nevertheless, many misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misrepresentations of Jesus the Christ of God exist. For some, he is just another name listed in Who’s Who Among the World’s Greatest Prophets. For others, he’s just a good man who went around doing good things. For many, the mention of his name brings back childhood memories of pastel-colored paintings of a shepherd with a long cane walking amidst woolly lamb and sheep. For others, Jesus is still just a pretty little baby who was born on Christmas morning.

Beloved, God loves you and me so much that he gave Jesus, who is really himself, to die on the cross so that we might have a right to the tree of life. “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). My friend, when love is strong, sacrifice is great. That’s why love will cause a mother to sacrifice her coat so that her child may be warm. When you love somebody, you’ll burn the midnight oil and pray until the break of day if you have to. When you love somebody, you’ll take the back seat; you’ll walk two miles instead of one. Have you loved anybody lately?

Yes, Jesus died the ignominious (shameful) death of the cross. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus died for you and me as he hung on the cross, stretched between the skies of the heavens and the earth beneath. Jesus had you on his mind. He knew that 2000 years later, you would need a Savior.

God, the Ancient of Days, looked down 20 and 20 generations and saw and loved you just as you are! Hallelujah! I believe he said, “I’ve got love on my mind.” I believe he said, “Lean on me.” I believe he said, “That’s how long I’m gonna love you, forever.” I feel like shouting for joy! If God saved your soul, then you ought to praise him! My friend, who do you say Jesus is? Is he real in your life today?

Exhale

On this day, I choose to walk in the newness of life. I exhale the guilt and

shame of my past as I determine to run this Christian race.❏ ❏ ❏

God Gave Us Common Sense: We Should Use It

Rev. Monica C. Jones, Columnist

He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. Proverbs 2:7 (NLT) Today, as I witness another rise in COVID-19 infections in our community, I am surprised to see how many are willing to follow the advice of unwise people. It was certainly unwise for any judge to declare that it was all right for us to remove our masks on airplanes. It was unwise, and I don’t say this lightly, for the current administration to discontinue mask mandates so early in this country. It was unwise for CDC to lower its prevention protocols against COVID viruses.

Yet, because it was inconvenient -- (I don’t have time to be standing in lines), uncomfortable (these masks are too hot), or in some cases, non-conforming (the others aren’t doing it; we’re going to look silly) -- we were very ready to go back to business as usual. As a result, infections are on the rise, communities are experiencing death again among its families, and we are reminded of the horror of a year ago.

God always hears our prayers; God always responds to our pleas for mercy. Still, God always expects us to use the common sense that we were given at the time of our formation. It is common sense to know that if we come to church, sit side by side, unmasked, with no protocols in place, that we will begin to see infections again. The same will happen at work, at conventions, and in other environments and venues.

Those of us in the pulpit must use that forum to educate and illuminate. Surely, our purpose is to bring the people to salvation; but as Christians who care about justice and the survival of our community, our purpose must be complemented by teaching those things that are plainly for our self-preservation. I am glad that at my church, our senior pastor, Dr. John Foster, has seen fit to maintain our protocol today, as from the beginning of the pandemic. I pray that the majority of the churches in our beloved connection are doing the same. Before he taught them, Jesus fed them and took care of the people’s hunger. Jesus understood the critical need to put food in their stomachs before putting the preached Word in their spirits. Let us use the common sense God gave us: of letting go of our very important protections. We cannot afford to take risks in our community where other health challenges already attack our bodies and healthcare inequities destroy our families.

Welcome--those persons who are well informed and who have resources to help us take care of ourselves and others.

Win--souls for Christ, but do not ignore their bodies. Be certain that their primary concerns are taken care of and their needs met.

This advice in the second chapter of Proverbs is well taken. It is one that we should obey. Because when we walk in integrity, even when we are in the minority, God will see us through. Yes, in addition to salvation and redemption, and in addition to our gifts, talents, and abilities, God gave us common sense. It is that common sense that God expects us to use, not ignore. For if our pews are empty, to whom shall we preach?

Bethel AME Church Senior Receives Scholarship

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) of the Third Episcopal District has awarded a scholarship to one of its graduating high school seniors. Under the leadership of pastor, the Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, Sr., Presiding Elder Alton Dillard, and Bishop Errenous E. McCloud, Jr., the scholarship committee awarded life-long Bethel AME Church member Kari Holt a scholarship for $8,050.00. Kari will attend a Historically Black College and University, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), as a computer science major. Florida A & M University is also the alma mater of her parents, the Rev. Carmen Holt and Leonard Holt; they serve at Bethel as associate minister and director of Music, respectively.

Kari Holt is celebrated as a young Christian woman who is the product of her church and family. As indicated by her accomplishments, Kari has been active and excelled in her endeavors as a faithful church member, high school student, and athlete. The Bethel AME Church family prays for Kari’s success and development as she enters her next phase of life in college. Kari’s church engagement includes: Young People’s Division (financial recording secretary); Youth Excited to Serve (Y.E.S.) and Youth Mime Group; youth usher; acolyte; Media and Sound Ministry. While at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kari earned the following: High Honor Roll student, 9th-12th grades; National Honor Society (NHS); Nation Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS); Society of Torch and Laurel Honor Society; National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists Leaders 2019; WPIAL All Section Award, girls soccer 202; girls varsity soccer team – voted Defensive Player of the Year 9th, 11th, and 12th grades; girls varsity soccer team, 4-year Letter winner. Civically, Kari is a member of Beadling East Elite U17 Girls Soccer Cup and Century U15 Girls Soccer Cup teams. ❏ ❏ ❏

Supreme Court vs. the Right to Life

Itinerant Elder (Retired) Roger Sawtelle

The Supreme Court vs. the God Given Right to Life. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them, being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Declaration of Independence clearly says that all human beings (“men” in the old parlance) receive from God basic inalienable rights, including the right to life. Therefore, there is no need for a new absolute right to life to be created by humans to protect life in the womb from abortion.

Indeed, when we look at the definition of the new “right to life,” the Roman Catholic Church says that life in the womb should be regarded as the human being from conception instead of birth.

“Abortion 2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the time of conception. From the moment of its existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent person to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Doubleday, April 1995, pp. 605-6.)

Following the Doctrine of Original Sin, no human being is truly innocent. We are all sinners. In other words, the bestowal of an absolute right to life on the life in the womb is not a traditional concept but a new interpretation of what it means to be human and what human rights are. Right to Life advocates invented it to justify making abortion illegal. But, here is why the right to life found in the Declaration of Independence is superior, and the new right is an ill-conceived effort to improve on God’s law.

1. The Declaration of Independence’s right to life is God-given, while the new right is the product of faulty human thinking. God gives all humans rights because they are human, not earned or deserved. Rights can be lost or limited if they are abused only by a court of law.

2. The right to life applies equally to all humans, while the new right gives the needs of one kind of “person” absolute preference over others. The new made-up right declares that the fetus/embryo must be treated as a person from conception, even though it is not. This concept is to treat a lie as the truth.

3. The rights found in the Declaration of

Independence are relational. My rights end where yours begin. The thought that the new right is absolute to protect the fetus is a human invention outside of God’s Word and Christian morality.

4. God made the family the primary protector of the right to life of a prospective child.

Instead, the new right treats the prospective mother as an adversary and gives the state the final word. 5. The human rights in the Declaration of

Independence are rooted in God’s creation of all human beings, male and female, in God’s image. Since all are created in God’s image, we are all equal, but that does not mean we are all the same. We are all different, but we can all love one another; we are equal and like God, because God is love.

6. Pregnant women are created in the image of

God and created equal and endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If that is the case, how can we say that they have no choice regarding abortion?

7. Right to life is not true because it is in the Declaration of Independence, the

Constitution, or the Bible. It is true because it is evident now and in history. It is not just a theory but a demonstrable fact. The new right is unsound theory that has never been confirmed as true.

8. Even if we do not like the thought of abortion and think that it is almost always wrong, we must keep all our rights rooted in the fact that all persons are created equal and in the image of God. ❏ ❏ ❏

How the Role and Visibility of Chaplains Changed Over the Past Century

By Wendy Cagle and Michael Skaggs, The Conversation

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new attention to the work of chaplains.

Before the pandemic, as an article in The New York Times put it, the place of the hospital chaplain was “at the bedside, holding a patient’s hand, counseling them and their family members, singing with them, crying with them, hugging them, offering the eucharist, or a prayer for healing.”

As the pandemic unfolded, the work of chaplains – increasingly called spiritual care providers – changed. Some were declared essential employees and continued to work in person, but they were not allowed into rooms with COVID-19 patients. Instead, they offered words of encouragement and solace through baby monitors and posters taped to patients’ doors.

COVID-19 also shifted the work of hospital chaplains from focusing primarily on patients to bridging the gap between dying patients and their distanced family members. Many helped family members at home connect to hospitalized loved ones by phone, FaceTime, Zoom, and other technologies. Some chaplains started rolling carts of treats and pick-me-ups for hospital staff to promote self-care and prevent burnout.

A national survey conducted in 2019 found that 21% of the American public had contact with a chaplain in the past two years. Of those encounters, 57% took place in a health care setting. Other encounters happened in places like the military, higher education, and more.

As scholars of American religion and spirituality, we know that chaplains have long histories in health care organizations and have been visible over time to varying degrees.

The Origins of Modern Spiritual Care

Chaplaincy emerged as a professional field in the mid-20th century out of Protestant efforts to reform theological education. Concerned about the growing influence of psychology and psychiatry in matters previously understood only as spiritual, Protestant theological leaders in the 1920s sought to get students out of classrooms and into real-life situations where they would learn to respond to the challenges and struggles people face in their daily lives.

Before the 1920s, chaplains were retired or volunteer clergy with no special training in hospital settings. They visited patients in their religious traditions alongside other volunteers. Religiously founded hospitals also frequently had priests, ministers, or rabbis in service, reflecting the hospital’s religious affiliation.

Many nurses offered religious support at the bedside, rooted in their own religious commitments. In the mid-19th century, Florence Nightingale rose to prominence from her service to soldiers in the Crimean War and saw both to patients’ spiritual and physical needs.

Training in the Field

As theological educators worked to reform Protestant theological education in the 1920s, they formalized Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Initially pioneered by a leading chaplain, Anton Boisen, and supported by Richard Cabot, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, CPE students completed internships in hospitals that supplemented their classroom training. Boisen viewed patients as “living human documents” from which to learn. As a result, CPE students in later years wrote “verbatims,” or reports of conversations they had with patients.

While most people who completed units of CPE did not go on to become chaplains, a few did. By the 1940s, those who wanted to work in hospitals based on their CPE training started to organize themselves as a distinct professional group. Unlike retired clergy, who mostly made short visits and offered rituals, CPE-trained clergy worked from referrals and connections with hospital staff, made care plans based on the severity of a patient’s illness, documented their visits, and were accountable to someone within the hospital.

Data collected by the American Hospital Association suggested that two-thirds of American hospitals had a chaplain by the mid-1950s; it is unclear how many were CPEtrained.

The development of chaplaincy as a profession distinct from that of local clergy was also supported by the extensive work of military chaplains on the front lines during World War II and their subsequent memorialization in American public life, such as Chaplains Hill at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chaplains in military settings rose to such prominence in the American mind that one who served in the Korean War, Emil Kapaun, is now being considered for sainthood in the Catholic Church for his service to fellow prisoners of war. The priest died in the Pyoktong POW camp in May 1951.

Initially, almost all white Protestant men were chaplains, but the demographics changed slowly through the 20th century. The National Association of Catholic Chaplains was founded in 1965, and the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, now known as Neshama, in 1990. In addition, growing numbers of women and people of color entered the field toward the end of the 20th century, and more health care providers began to pay attention to the role of religion and spirituality in patients’ experiences.

About two-thirds of hospitals have chaplains today, which include growing numbers of Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, and other nonChristian chaplains. In the 1990s, theological schools began to develop specific degree programs in chaplaincy and spiritual care, rather than expecting chaplains to train for congregational service and then figure out how to apply their training to other settings.

More than a quarter of theological or rabbinical schools currently have such programs, with some designed specifically for Buddhists, Muslims, and people from other non-Christian religious backgrounds.

All chaplains today need basic training in caring for people, including understanding how individuals make meaning, the interpersonal skills necessary to care for people from different backgrounds, and navigating the complexity of the organizations in which they work.

What Chaplains Really Do

Health care chaplains talk a lot about presence when describing their work, which is increasingly based on the results of empirical research. Presence means everything from a casual conversation with patients and families to mediating conflicts between patients, families, and care teams. It can also mean offering prayer or other explicitly religious services and listening to patients’ deepest fears, religious or otherwise.

Research about the effects of chaplains’ work has expanded significantly in recent years. For example, it shows that individuals who chaplains visit are more satisfied with their hospital stays and often have improved outcomes.

Many chaplains reported serving expanding roles during the pandemic and finding increased visibility among hospital staff. Some noted a greater appreciation and knowledge among the staff of what chaplains do. Chaplains aim to continue the care of hospital staff through educational programs, among others.

As religious demographics continue to shift in the United States and growing numbers of people are not religiously affiliated, the work of health care chaplains will continue to change.

New Jersey’s First Mobile Hygiene Shower Trailer with Ancillary Services to Launch in Essex County, New Jersey

POWER CHANGES LIVES INC® is pleased to announce the official deployment of LavaLove®. The 29-foot custom-designed, all-weather, mobile hygiene shower trailer, the first of its kind in New Jersey, is equipped with three shower-sink-toilets, a washing machine, and a dryer with an ancillary services room for medical, dental, optometry, and mental health services. They provide over 8,000 hot showers per year to the sheltered and unsheltered homeless and to our “neighbors in need.” LavaLove® will deploy in Essex County, New Jersey, offering its services three days per week, between 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. debuting at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at its Orange, New Jersey trailer site partner St. Matthew AME Church and co-sponsored by Mayor Dwayne D. Warren, city of Orange, New Jersey. St. Matthew AME Church 336 Oakwood Ave. Orange, New Jersey 07050 Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Volunteer Signup: https://signup.com/go/ mAfRxim Israel Memorial AME Church 54 Lincoln St. Newark, New Jersey 07103 Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.* Volunteer signup: https://signup.com/go/ xZSnFsa * Deployment date scheduled: Friday, September 9, 2022 “The right to hot, clean water, a meal, and access to basic services are fundamental human rights that many of the homeless are denied or lack daily. LavaLove® and our partnership with the St. Matthew AME Church and the city of Orange will begin the healing process, helping those on their journey to wholeness,” said Penelope Lopez, president and CEO. POWER CHANGES LIVES INC® invites those in need and the public to the upcoming ribboncutting event where there will be hot showers, food, music, and community providers onsite such as addiction and recovery, free phones, medical screenings, housing, re-entry, and barbering services. Each week, over 30 diverse community partners will rotate services at the trailer site bringing services directly to those in need who otherwise would not have access or the means of transportation to receive them. “POWER is proud to partner with Pastor Melvin E. Wilson and St. Matthew AME Church, who for years has had a long-standing commitment to providing critical services to their community of Orange, New Jersey, and surrounding areas. Recently, St. Matthew answered the call to housing Orange residents displaced during a fire, where LavaLove® was able to supplement their work by providing showers – only proving why they were the right choice when selecting a site partner and location for LavaLove®,” said Lopez. POWER® is also thankful for the support of Mayor Warren and the city of Orange for providing their support and resources as the pilot deployment city. LavaLove® expansion plans include a shower trailer in each of the twenty-one New Jersey counties by 2024. Volunteers and community organizations are also invited to sign-up for the event or any weekday service at the trailer site, where they will gain invaluable lessons in helping those underserved within their community through their acts of service. Volunteer service areas include: guest registration, shower cleaning, clothing table assistants, food distribution, and trailer set-up/cleanup. Community partner service areas include: addiction and recovery services, barber/stylist, career and employment training, case management, chiropractor, clothing, communications (phone, tablet), dental services, disability services, department of motor vehicles support, donations (in-kind supplies), drop-in centers, financial assistance, food pantries and soup kitchens, HIV/AIDS services, housing assistance, hygiene services, immigration services, legal services, LGBTQIA+ services, massage therapy, medical services, mental health, optometry (vision) services, pet therapy, re-entry services, shelters (New Jersey), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) foodstamp/healthcare coverage, street outreach, utility assistance, vaccines, and Veterans Affairs services. ❏ ❏ ❏

Encourage Yourself and Others… Focus on Good News

Judy Rose Weaver, 8th Episcopal District

Growing up in New Orleans, I remember radio station WYLD as a famous media source for African American communities that spread the good news and spiritual blessings on Sunday mornings. Recently, I read with interest about the history of Atlanta’s first broadcast station, WERD, broadcasting from Atlanta’s Big Bethel Church in 1953. An article from The AME Church Review notes that the Rev. Harold I. Bearden started a Sunday morning worship service as an “inspirational gospel feast” for sick and shut-in church members. Apparently, Pastor Beardon had to find a way to minister to those who were homebound. The article immediately reminded me of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and about the current situation of having to set up virtual connections due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Ecclesiastes 1:9 affirms that history repeats itself time after time: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” Seventy years later, although the technology is different, there is a need to reach family and friends effectively. We must strengthen ourselves and others by sharing encouraging and inspirational messages while we all are journeying through these challenging times. At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, businesses, government, and schools instantly found solutions to connect to their audiences, while some churches lagged, resisting embracing online worship. Using technology in the church was not acceptable as a rule of discipline. Now, we have been forced to accept some form of technology to reach our church members. Technology will be everchanging, and we must prepare to change. We have moved from the transistor radio in a listen-only mode to web-based audio/video services. We must continually stay abreast of communications technology changes to meet our church communities’ spiritual needs. Additionally, we must work to meet our leaders’ and members’ health and wellness. We are reminded in Colossians 3:16 of teaching and admonishing one another to, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude ...continued on p11