OUR CHRISTMAS PRAYER - FROM THE AME ZION BOARD OF BISHOPS “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.” (Isaiah 9:6&7 NLT) December 24, 2014 To our beloved Family of GOD and Zion; The glory of Christmas is that the amazing love of GOD resulted in Christ coming to dwell among humanity. Jesus was born, as the Prince of Peace, into a culture divided by wealth, race, and religion. A world full of violence, poverty, disease, and suffering was visited by its Creator incarnated to declare that love conquers all. He chose to be birthed into this world by a woman of great strength, yet one who would be despised by many because of her singleness, her ethnicity, her socio-economic status, her gender, or her faith. What a powerful affirmation that when we value those whom society marginalizes, we are most like Christ! Philip Brooks, in his classic carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, declares; “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” The human condition Jesus confronted two thousand years ago still plagues us today. We mourn the violence that pervades our society. The most recent assassinations of two NYPD officers is just the latest manifestation of a culture that disregards human lives. The AME Zion Church grieves and offers our earnest prayers for the families of Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos and we unequivocally condemn any attack on law enforcement officials. We continue to pray for the families of all those who have been killed in confrontations with police, like Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, and so many others. We fervently pray for the families of our children who are killed at the hands of our own children. We pray and stand against the domestic violence that terrorizes so many homes across the country even within the church. We condemn those, like Boko Haram, who oppress and inflict suffering on others in a gross distortion of religion. The cycle of violence must stop! Our collective cry is that #BlackLivesMatter; #WhiteLivesMatter; #BrownLivesMatter; #BlueLivesMatter; ALLLivesMatter! We also reject the cynical attempts by some to link the vial attack by one emotionally disturbed young man, who began his rampage with an act of domestic violence by shooting his own girlfriend, to the largely peaceful protests against police brutality being held across the nation. These protests are not anti-police, rather they are pro good policing. Our church, the Freedom Church, was born out of the struggle for social justice and spiritual liberation and we will always speak out, work together, and lift up in efforts toward community transformation. To do anything less is to deny our biblical witness and our historical lineage. Your Board of Bishops celebrates the ministers and congregations throughout our church who are actively engaged in ministry that transforms lives. We applaud those whove participated in peaceful protests, attended public hearings, and lobbied elected officials for more effective community policing. We also encourage efforts to build partnerships with law enforcement, such as Police Appreciation Sundays, Police/Church partnerships in mentoring, community cleanup days, etc. These initiatives are coupled with our longstanding commitment to invest in our youth a sense of personal responsibility, the value of educational excellence, and character development. Together, we will redouble these efforts moving forward. This Christmas, we are reminded that external violence is the outward manifestation of internal violence. When there is a riot in our souls there will be turmoil in our lives. Jesus Christ has come and continues to come into the welcoming heart to bring healing, peace, and life. That is the hope revealed in Bethlehem many centuries ago. It is the same hope that we pray will be revealed in your lives, in our nation, and in the world. “O holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel! With PEACE, JOY, and HOPE, The Board of Bishops of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church The Right Reverend Michael A. Frencher, Sr. - President The Right Reverend George E. Battle, Jr. - Senior Bishop The Right Reverend Richard K. Thompson The Right Reverend Louis Hunter, Sr. The Right Reverend Kenneth Monroe The Right Reverend Darryl B. Starnes The Right Reverend Dennis V. Proctor The Right Reverend Mildred B. Hines The Right Reverend W. Darin Moore The Right Reverend Seth O. Lartey The Right Reverend George W. C. Walker, Sr. The Right Reverend S. Chuka Ekemam, Sr. The Right Reverend Joseph Johnson The Right Reverend Marshall H. Strickland III The Right Reverend Nathaniel Jarrett The Right Reverend Warren M. Brown
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 16:21:29 +0000