Story by LaTasha Hewitt
Allegheny East Conference's Baltimore Junior Academy (BJA), located in the Park Heights community of Baltimore, recently received a call from the mayor’s office requesting use of their gymnasium as a cold weather shelter for the homeless. Initially school leadership was hesitant because the school would soon be holding a program in their gym. Staff and students had already prepared the space with lights and decorations, purchased costumes and set up chairs for the crowd.
Eight teams from the Columbia Union Conference placed first at the recent North American Division Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE) in Chicago. Six teams placed second. To achieve first place, a team must score 90 percent of the top scoring team's score. Second place teams must earn 80 percent of the top scoring team's score.
See the results below:
Allegheny East Conference
Genesis (NJ) Jaguars: Second Place
Liberty (Md.) Light Bearers Gold: First Place
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
The Bethel French church in Trenton, N.J., recently graduated 17 students in a church-sponsored Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. Recognizing the need to equip members with skills for acquiring employment, Luckson Innocent, church treasurer, birthed the idea.
The Bethel church partnered with Yves Annie Ervilus, dean of the Broadway Vocational Technical School, LLC, in Camden, N.J., to conduct a five-week program. At the completion of the program, participants were certified to seek employment as a CNA.
Minnie McNeil, who co-founded and advises a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing housing and supportive services in Coatesville, Pa., says every member everywhere has the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love in a variety of ways, regardless of if they live in the city or country, in an affluent or poor area. She offers 10 tips for starting a ministry and making an impact:
1. Pray for guidance.
2. Identify the vision, mission and goals of the church; available resources, including leadership; and capability and potential to sustain outreach ministry.
3. Plan to have ongoing community involvement, not a one-time event.
4. Assess and research the strengths and needs of the community. Don’t assume.
Story by V. Michelle Bernard
Sharpening The Focus
It’s been two years since the death of Freddie Gray sparked civil unrest in Baltimore. Maurice Taylor, senior pastor of Allegheny East Conference’s (AEC) Berea Temple, and director of its Baltimore Ministerium, says since Gray’s death, he’s noticed more of a desire to address the needs of the community. “Before we were focused more on internal events,” he says. “Now we’re focused more on external.”