wfn.org | Mission, Guilds from Holy Boldness

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3533 notes).

Note 3531 by UMNS on April 2, 1997 at 16:16 Eastern (10592 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                     177(10-31-71BP){3531}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           April 2, 1997

EDITORS NOTE: Photos are available. Call (615) 742-5470.

Baltimore-Washington Conference launches
new urban church 'Holy Boldness' movement

                          A UMNS Feature
                     by William L. MacDougall*

     In a plain, square room in the suburbs of Washington about 40
adults and children lift their voices in a hymn led by the Rev.
Alfonso Harrod, who is playing a portable electronic keyboard. At
the front of the room, crowded with folding metal chairs, is a
portable pulpit and a table containing a small cross.
     At first glance, this place of worship in the community room
of a large apartment complex about 10 miles from the Capitol might
seem unimpressive. But it isn't. This is Holy Boldness Mission, a
United Methodist church, living proof of a phenomenon sweeping
Methodism in the Washington and Baltimore areas.
     It is called "Holy Boldness," a movement of lay people and
clergy taking their expertise and religion into overlooked areas
to bring new hope to residents with limited resources.
     "Holy Boldness is a life style," explained Bishop Felton E.
May of the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference.
"It's an attitude by which you live your vocation based on a
commitment through faith and prayer and a disciplined study of the
scriptures."
     May said many church-goers believe their commitment to
Christianity ends at the collection plate. "We have mesmerized the
laity into thinking that giving is all they have to do. But that
is only the first step. You need 100 percent involvement in the
affairs of society."
     He noted that the concept of Holy Boldness long has been part
of Methodism. "John and Charles Wesley had Holy Boldness," said
May. "They decided to step outside the structure and address the
problems of their country, of their day."
     The movement is being promoted churchwide under a program
coordinated by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and
the National Urban Strategy Council of the United Methodist
Church.
     The concept sprang to life in the Washington area last fall
after a series of meetings to welcome Bishop May to the
conference. The area is home to a large number of United
Methodists -- 150,000 in the Baltimore and Washington areas of
Maryland and the District of Columbia.
     Some in the region are among the nation's wealthiest and most
powerful, but others live in pockets of poverty containing serious
crime, a massive drug problem and troubled schools.
     May was anxious to do something about the problems as soon as
possible. He saw an opening during the welcoming ceremonies.
     "After one meeting with 1,400 people," he recalled, "I was
absolutely drained. I said to the people attending, 'It is time to
go to work. If you want to do something more than just traditional
programs, let's get together again and decide what we can do for
our community.'"
     May noted with pride that 170 people showed up for the first
meeting at Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington even
though "it was not a command performance for the bishop. We had
dialogues and began to work out a plan of action."
     Important contributions came from many sources, including
faculty members of Washington's Wesley Theological Seminary. As
the "Asbury meetings" continued, May challenged the lay people and
clergy attending. He asked the group: "What would Washington look
like if the churches acted with Holy Boldness?"
     Those attending answered that the results would be that doors
of the churches would be open seven days a week, children would be 
educated properly, people would have meaningful jobs with adequate
wages, and the area would grow with spiritual renewal.
     One of the first concrete results of the meetings was the
formation of "guilds" -- associations of professionals in their
own fields willing to devote free time to churches and
neighborhoods in need. A guild composed of lawyers and another of
teachers were the first to organize. Others, such as health care
workers, are forming.
     Marc Loud, a Washington attorney, heads the lawyers' guild,
which held its first meeting last November.
     "About 25 attorneys showed up," he said. "We established
right off that our basic thrust is that law is our second calling.
Our first calling is to bring our skills to people who need our
service and have nowhere else to go."
     Early, it became apparent that there was an urgent need for
action by the Holy Boldness groups.  Jack Johnson, a Maryland
state's attorney, told Bishop May about a neighborhood in
Landover, Md., that had many problems.
     Johnson and May toured the Washington Heights and Nalley Road
apartment complexes, which are composed mainly of large, old
apartment buildings. Many amenities, including churches, are not
readily available and there is considerable crime in the area.
     Residents include many single mothers with large families and
low incomes. They complained to the visitors that the area does
not have adequate police protection, public transportation or
strong voices to bring their concerns to proper authorities.
     So the bishop and other United Methodists, including Alfonso
Harrod, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, Fairmount
Heights, Md., decided to act.
     Bishop May and the State's Attorney Johnson formed a joint
task force combining resources to fight crime and improve life as
much as possible in the area. Plans to implement the work are now
under way.
     Harrod and his parishioners set up Sunday services in the
Nalley Road community room. One of their first endeavors was to
organize a Thanksgiving service.
     "We gave out 1,000 turkeys to residents there for
Thanksgiving," Harrod says. "At Christmas, we gave away toys and
food. We also organized distributions of clothing and
transportation to get the items to people who needed them but had
no way of getting to us."
     Attendance ranges from about 20 to 40, usually including at
least a dozen children. There is no Sunday school yet, but one is
planned. That need was underscored recently by three girls about 8
years old who showed up one Sunday, saying they were grateful for
the chance -- which they had not had before -- to attend church.
They returned at the next service with three other young friends.
     "It is so easy for young people to go astray," said Harrod.
"That's why it is so gratifying to have children in attendance. If
we can save the children, that is the real mission accomplished."
     The lawyers' guild also is pitching in with the efforts on
Nalley Road. A program is being set up for area young people to
participate in mock legal proceedings sponsored by the guild. Some
will play the part of judges, lawyers and others involved in
various activities such as trials.
     The hope is that some of the young people will understand
better how the law works and how it can be used for their benefit.
Loud also hopes that some of the participants may show enough
proficiency to win jobs in law offices and possibly become lawyers
some day.
     The guild also plans to work with Nalley Road residents to
help them understand better how to use existing means -- such as
access to local officials -- to express their demands for an
improved community. 
     Some improvements already are apparent. When a member of one
guild heard that residents complained of badly lighted public
areas, he approached a power company executive who attends his
church and asked if better lighting could be installed. It was, in
short order.
     Trudy Holland, a widowed mother of four who helped form Holy
Boldness Mission Church, said the services are making a big
difference. She and her family walk to services, whereas before
she was unable to attend any church because of the lack of public
transportation.
     "It's a better community now," she said, "especially for the
children. They're getting a lot out of it."
     Future plans for the mission include Bible study, prayer
groups and sightseeing tours to places of historic, political and
religious interest. Eventually, many would like to see the
construction of a complete church somewhere in the area.
     The work is attracting attention around the region and in
other parts of the nation. Holy Boldness activities also have
begun in Baltimore, and May said that churches elsewhere in the
Maryland and West Virginia part of the conference want to start
such work, too.
     Some officials of the Federal Government also are interested.
Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley has appointed an
administrator to work with the educators' guild in establishing
education programs for young people.
     All such activities are being coordinated by a team composed
of the Rev. Marcus Matthews, conference council director; Sandra
Ferguson, associate conference council director; and the Rev.
Wesley Williams, executive director of the Multiethnic Center of
the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. He
is a consultant on Holy Boldness to the Baltimore-Washington
Conference.
     Harrod, the Holy Boldness Mission pastor, said the movement
owes its success so far to the dedication of a growing group of
committed Christians.
     "We Methodists have so much talent," he said. "It is
wonderful to see how all this is being organized. People like
these teachers and lawyers -- look at the power available to God's
people."
     Harrod observed that he has "been involved in many exciting
activities in my church career. But nothing compares to what is
going on with Holy Boldness.  It is amazing to see how fast it is
growing and how it is changing people's life styles so drastically
-- all for the better."
     May said he is astounded at how fast the movement took off
and what it has accomplished already.
     "This is just the beginning," he noted. "Our goal is to
create a cadre of United Methodists who will commit themselves to
the alleviation of human suffering and greed in the name of Jesus
Christ.
     "We can see this happening now. and I believe in five years
this vision really will begin to emerge and we will see the
creation of a new and better community."
                              #  #  #

     * MacDougall is a freelance writer from Arlington, Va.
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