True Fellowship Church, 1639 3rd St. in Madison, IL, will be celebrating the 6th anniversary of its pastor, CeCe McCall-McCoo, during the month of March.
On March 9, Pastor Carl Jackson of RODD Kingdom Ministries and Pastor Shadrach Martin of LIVE Kingdom Ministries will be guests for the 10:45 a.m. service. Anthony Trice of Covenant for Life Ministries and Pastor LaJuana McFadden of Keeping the Faith Ministries will be guests for the 4 p.m. service.
On Sunday, March 16, Bishop Hilliard Fitzpatrick of Faith United Assembly and Pastor Amber Cole of Breath of Life Church will be guests for the 10:45 a.m. service. The celebration ends with Archbishop Arthur Kelley of Greater Faith M.B. Church and Apostle Ariette Williams of Oil of God Ministries as guests for the final service of the celebration.
“This is an open door invitation to all the community,” organizers said, “and we look forward to worshiping with you!”
For more information or directions, visit www.truefellowship.org or call 618-877-8783.
Church protests Dunn verdict
The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African-American churchgoers, calls on Christians everywhere to pray for the soul of America in the wake of the Michael Dunn verdict, said Rev. Anthony Evans, president of NBCI.
Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of shooting into a vehicle but the jury was hung on the charge of first degree murder. Dunn was so angry about the loud “thug music” coming from the vehicle next to his that he fired 10 shots into the vehicle. His volley of bullets killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis and terrorized three of his friends. They were unarmed.
Evans said the church is saddened and angered that juries across the U.S. refuse to convict privileged majorities at the expense of unarmed and defenseless young black men.
“Black mothers and fathers must know that their black boys will be protected by the law and not be victims of the law. How much pain must a race of people continue to take?” Evans said.
“A favorable verdict for Mr. Dunn undoubtedly ignites deeper racial divides and instigates conflict. The church cannot continue to tell black mothers and fathers that they must sacrifice their boys to the racist fears of white males and to a law deeply rooted in evil.”
He said his group “will continue to fight for justice when it comes down to stand your ground. Legal homicide must stop in the name of God.”
Pastoral course on domestic violence
“Domestic Violence Counseling,” a one-credit graduate-level course in pastoral studies, will be offered at Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Roman Catholic graduate school, on Wednesday evenings from March 19 – May 7, 2014, taking place from 6:30-8:10 p.m.
The topic of domestic violence is a specialty of Rev. Jose M. Santiago, an assistant professor of pastoral theology.
The course may be taken for graduate credit or for audit. Tuition for credit is $660, and tuition for audit is $330. For more information, or to enroll, please contact the Aquinas Institute Admissions Office at 314-256-8800 or admissions@ai.edu.
