wfn.org | Reunion of Reunions to Precede the 210th General Assembly

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

13-April-1998 
98122 
 
    Reunion of Reunions to Precede 
    the 210th General Assembly 
 
    by Julian Shipp 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-The Reunion of Reunions, a first-ever event for alumni, 
faculty, families, friends, patrons, and supporters of historically black 
Presbyterian schools and colleges, will precede the 210th General Assembly 
(1998) in Charlotte, N.C., June 11-14. 
 
    There are seven historically black schools and colleges originally 
established more than a century ago by the Presbyterian Church to educate 
the children of former slaves. They are Barber-Scotia College, Concord, 
N.C.; Knoxville College, Knoxville, Tenn.; Lincoln University in Oxford, 
Pa.; Mary Holmes College, West Point, Miss.; Johnson C. Smith Theological 
Seminary, Atlanta; Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.; and 
Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Lincoln University is a private, liberal 
arts college no longer affiliated with the PC(USA). 
 
    Assembly participants have been invited to come to Charlotte early to 
join the call to "all who have been connected to these historic 
institutions," according to James Thomas, Sr., associate general presbyter 
of Charlotte Presbytery and national director of the Reunion of Reunions 
Committee. 
 
    "This event is primarily to bring people together for fellowship, 
renewal, for sharing of stories and also for celebrating these institutions 
both past and present," Thomas said. "It's also to hopefully provide a 
product of information concerning our schools. There are a number of 
persons who graduated from these institutions who are still living, and 
hopefully they will come and share with us some of their stories as a means 
of recapturing some of our history." 
 
    The Reunion of Reunion activities include 
 
    * Thursday, June 11 - registration and exhibits in the morning and 
      afternoon; Opening Worship and Celebration in the evening. 
    * Friday, June 12 - attend the General Assembly Pre-Assembly 
      Conference.  The Friday evening worship service is open to all; it 
      will feature the Reunion of Reunions choir, and  Thelma T. Adair will 
      preach. 
    * Saturday, June 13 - meetings of alumni groups in the morning; 
      exhibits, an African Village, and a picnic in the afternoon; and a 
      Gala Banquet and Dance in the evening. 
    * Sunday, June 14 - the General Assembly Opening Worship Service 
      Celebration and Communion Service at the Charlotte Coliseum. 
 
    Thomas said the event is historically significant since nothing of its 
magnitude has ever been held by the denomination, although many of the 
institutions have alumni associations that coordinate their respective 
annual reunions. The reunion is being held in conjunction with the National 
Ministries Division's Higher Education and Racial Ethnic Schools and 
Colleges Program Areas. 
 
    "You have to understand, people who graduated from these institutions 
were not only Presbyterian, they were from many different denominations," 
Thomas explained. "The institutions provided an education for a number of 
persons regardless of denomination." 
 
    The Rev. Mary Newbern-Williams, the NMD's associate for racial ethnic 
schools and colleges, said an important part of the reunion will also be a 
fund-raising campaign to help the institutions meet their financial 
commitments and protect them for posterity. 
 
    "Along with spiritual commitment and evangelism, a call to financial 
commitment is a very big part of the Reunion," Newbern-Williams said. 
"Those who may have gone through the schools who still may not have made a 
commitment to the church - we want them to know the Presbyterian Church is 
here and will welcome them." 
 
    Some people have already begun to recognize the contributions 
African-American Presbyterians have made to education. On April 13, an 
eternal flame was lit during a special ceremony at the Lucy Craft Laney 
High School in Augusta, Ga., where Laney's property and grave site are 
located.  The Haines Normal and Industrial Institute Alumni sponsored the 
ceremony in cooperation with the city of Augusta. Black Presbyterians 
attending the event included Bettie J. Durrah of Atlanta, associate for 
women's ministries in the National Ministries Division, and Vera Swann of 
Atlanta, former associate of the Southeast  Regional Office of the Synod of 
Mid-Atlantic for the Women's Ministry Unit. 
 
    A noted Presbyterian educator, Laney (1855-1933) was instrumental in 
chartering the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in 1886, an 
African-American college preparatory and vocational school that benefited 
hundreds of black students whose parents had been slaves only three decades 
before. Born in Macon, Ga., on April 13, 1855, Laney attended Lewis High 
School, which later became Ballard Normal School. Upon graduation from 
Ballard, she entered Atlanta University as a member of the first class to 
be enrolled at the institution. 
 
    A separate registration fee for the event is $110, which includes the 
picnic and dinner dance on June 13. Assembly participants, particularly 
commissioners and advisory delegates, should note that some of the Reunion 
of Reunions events on June 13 conflict with General Assembly meetings. 
 
    For more information and a registration packet for the event, contact 
James Thomas, Sr., Associate General Presbyter, Charlotte Presbytery, 5700 
Executive Center Drive, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28212-8801, or call (704) 
535-9999. 

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