• Home
  • History of PAD in the Americas
• Blog
• Conferences
  • 2011 PAD Conference
  • Past PAD Conferences
  • MCC General Conference
  • Other Conferences
    • Fellowship Annual Convocation
    • Fellowship Regional Meeting
• MCC PAD Clergy
  • Clergy
  • In-Care
• PAD Local Ministries
• Imani
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
• Ujamaa Coop Eco
• Community Organizations
  • Events & Publications
  • MCC Fellowship Partners
• PAD News
• Resources
• Calendar
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
• Contact

Imani

March 2010

Am I All That I Could Be For God and PAD?

A Helpful Verse: Galatians 6:7 and vs.9-10

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever we sow, we will reap.
And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we don't
give up. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially
to those who are of the household of faith.

Many of us can remember the sheer delight and excitement of that very first PAD Conference, held in the state of MD near Washington, DC. There was a sense of joy about connecting with each other and sharing our experiences. We were all so eager to learn how we could make a difference back home at our local MCC.

Some of us have been doing this work of building community among African Americans and building a stronger alliance with our sisters and brothers of other cultures for a very long time. It is human for us to grow a little weary. We want to see greater results and we want it faster.

We can see growth in our PAD network and conference experiences, but we don't always see that same growth back home. I am blessed to have been in a church with a larger than usual African American constituency, where we have a Gospel Ensemble that sings on a regular basis in Sunday Worship - - not just once in a while. I am blessed now to be at another local MCC where there are more than a few African Americans, who participate in the music ministry, usher teams, and Board of Directors as leaders. Still at times, we complain that our worship is not Afro-centric enough. Perhaps we don't have an altar call, even for prayer; or we don't have an African American on the clergy staff; or we don't have an Afro-centric Bible Study or Prayer Group. What can we do to improve in these areas?

Don't give up! We can see some fruit from our labor over the years. If we keep on keeping on, we will see even greater things as a result of our faithfulness. If there is a ministry missing or lacking in your church that you believe would support African American members and friends of the church, get with your pastor and offer a solution. You provide leadership or make contact with someone who will step forward to lead the program you propose.

You can also become the point of contact with an African American congregation (same-gender-loving or not) with whom your pastor and congregation can create a worship exchange program (more than once a year) for each other's special events (Church Anniv., Choir Anniversaries, Kwanzza Services, Juneteenth, Music History, Women's History, or Black History celebrations). There will always be more that we can do to be the best we can be for God and for PAD.

Keep on doing the good things you are already dong and add to your sowing. Invite and bring with you African American friends outside of MCC to our next PAD Conference. Upon returning home, ask those same friends to help you put on an Afro-centric program at your local church. They will be fired up and so will you. Rekindle the flame that the Spirit of Christ lit in you so long ago. Don't get tired of doing what is good and right to help our movement to grow. If we will just be faithful in sowing good seeds, God will give the increase.

Remember: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Rev. Carolyn Mobley