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RELIGION
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ro erb 2 :23.
Just one day before
rioting bro out in Lo
Angele , Quincy Jone directed n
all- tar hallelujah chorus of R&B
and go pel arti in the rewor ed
ve ion of "Handel's Messiah. "
WIlli 8 n
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hor
We want you
-- Send the history of your church along
with photo (If possible).
- Send all church announcements and
information about activities.
- Send inform ation about
accomplishments of members and church
groups.
Send to: Michigan Citizen, P.O. Box
03560, Highland Park, MI 48203 or
Call 869-0033.
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lac
BUFFALO, NY-Religion nd the
Blac community have long been in
tertwined in thi country. With the
recent trial and conviction of Mike
Tyson, a di turbing aspect of thi
relationship has become prevalent
- that aspect being religiously in
spired sexism among Black men.
In the recent issue of the AAH
Examiner, the official newsletter of
African Americans for Humanism
(AAH), AAH Executive Director
Norm R. Allen Jr., examine this
critical i ue in the light of th Mike
Tyson and Clarence Thorn inci-
don • "According to many Bl ,
Allen writ ,"Ty on' and Thomas'
accu ers were imply vindictive
women who were trying to bring a
brother down. "
As Black religious leaders rushed
to the defense of Ty on and Thomas,
the seriousness of the accusations
were ignored. "In the case of Tyson,
many influential religious leaders
hurried to his defense ... and the
lead r of the National Baptist Con
vention a ked De iree
Washington-the complainant-not
to hurt Tyson."
THI LACK 0 F concern for the
rights .of these women, Allen sug
ge ts, stems largely from the
religious influence in the Black com
munity based on a literal interpreta
tion of the Bible. "Religious
fundamentalism and exism fit
together perfectly. And. because
religion' 0 influential in the Black
'community, it hould not be urpri -
ing that Bl c religionist h ve
steadfastly defended Black men ac
cused of committing crim against
Black women.
"The Bible," Allen continue, "Is
a highly revered religious text
among Black religious leaders.
And the Bible is full of exist
teachings. Indeed, the 'fall of man'
in the mythical Garden of Eden was
Yale names Baptist Pa tor
as i first Black Chaplain
NEW HAVEN, cr - Yale Univer
sity today named the Rev. Frederick
J. Streets, the pastor of a Baptist
church in Bridgeport, as its new
chaplin.
Streets will be the first Black and
the first Baptist to hold the post, which
was filled by the Rev. William Sloane
. Coffin, the outspoken Vietnam War
critic, in the 1970's and by TImothy
Dwight, the Yale president and
patriarch, in the 1790's.
"It is just really important oppor
tunity to recognize we are not an is
land in this community," Yale's
president, Benno C. Schmidt Jr., said
of the appointment
"In this day, religion is one of the
mos t important ties between the
university community and the larger
community, and the chaplian's
relationship between the two is pivo-
. tal," Mr. Schmidt said.
STREETS, 42, is the pastor of the
Mount Aery' Baptist Church in
Bridgeport and an adjunct professor
of pastoral theology at the Yale
Divinity School. .
He said that beyond performing
the traditional duties of the chaplian,
he hoped to "consistently bring to bear
on public issues a moral and spiritual
voice," create "a true fellowship"
among New Haven communities
divided along racial and class lines,
and "develop a model for an urban
ministry."
He said he hoped extend his min
istry into the public realm without
losing sight of his 1 visible duties as
a pastor.
"There are all kinds of waYs of
being a prophetic voice," he said,
whether "in front of a line of
demonstrators" or "behind the pulpit."
Rev. Streets has been breaking
ground in urban ministry since he
graduated from Yale Divinity School
in 1975, said Mr. Schmidt, who called
Mount Aery "one of the most vital
urban congregations in the North-
. east."
Through his ministry there, Rev.
Streets has created after-school
programs fo� children whose parents
work an AIDS ministry, and
programs providing health, education
and job referral, scholarships, assis
tance to the elderly and affordable
housing. Rev. Streets, who bas a
master's degree in social work, bas
al 0 counseled psychiatric patien at
a local mental health center.
·it!. � Hollywood Fashion-
Gospel Hours
W.C.H.B. 1200 AM - 7:00 a.m. - 11 :00 a.m.
Every Sunday Morning
----
Rev. Wilmore Allen
Rev. A.J. Rogers
Joe Ella Ukely
Catherine Robinson
Gloria Parker
Lorraine Walker
Bro. Dunkin
894-8774
298-6333
298-6334
298-6335
Henry Ruff Rd.
Inkster, Mich.
blamed on a woman."
When exi m h uch deep roots
in fundamentali t teaehin of Blae
religious leaders, it become "ex
tremely difficult to combat." Allen
concludes, "As long as religious fun
damentalism continue to be a force
in the world, women will continue to
be victimized by double standards in
the name of a suppo edly immutable
God."
•