wfn.org | Harambe '97

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (249
notes).

Note 249 by UMNS on July 30, 1997 at 15:57 Eastern (2438 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: Linda Green                           437(10-31-71B){249}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             July 30, 1997

Youth challenged for 21st Century
at Harambe '97 in Birmingham

by United Methodist News Service

     "Do not sit here and let somebody else redefine your nation.
God will judge our nation, not by how we relate to leaders and
barons, but by how we relate to the least of these." 
     That was the challenge the Rev. Joseph Lowery issued to 167
African-American youth and adults attending Harambe '97 in
Birmingham, Ala., July 23-28. Lowery, a United Methodist
clergyman, is the retiring president of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
     Sponsored by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of Black
Methodists for Church Renewal (SEJ-BMCR), the participants came
from six southern states to focus on "Harambe," an African word
that means "coming together."
     The youth and adults came to learn leadership skills to
prepare for the challenges of Christian living in the next
century. They participated in workshops on church structure, AIDS,
youth crime and addiction issues, education, and youth
empowerment. They also made a commemorative march to the
Birmingham Civil Rights District where they toured the Civil
Rights Institute and the historic 16th Street Baptist Church.
     Another speaker, the Rev. Percival Reeves, pastor of Plaza
United Methodist Church, Charlotte, N.C., explained the importance
of "being yourself," avoiding peer pressure "that causes a person
to be somebody else," and being who God "has called us to be."
     "You have a story to tell ... what's it going to be?" Reeves
asked. He urged the youth "not to let somebody else tell your
story" and "not to let others influence the story you have to
tell. Tell how God has worked in your life," he said.
     In the business session, five were elected to the SEJ-BMCR
youth executive committee: president, Jonathan C. Tyson, Hickory,
N.C.; vice president, Brittany R. Shuler, Bamberg, S.C.;
secretary, Melisha S.D. Smith, Pickens, S.C.; treasurer, John L.
Warren, Gadsden, Ala.; and parliamentarian, Jerrick A.
Witherspoon, Charlotte.
     Harambe '98 will be held July 22-26 in Charlotte.
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