their nam placed on The Sun­
day Morning Gospel Hour
prayer list.
The pray r Ii t i read ch
unday by th popular Joella.
Likely, whom Rev. Allen
dubbed: "The firecracker."
The phone number for the
prayer line is 729-9242.
"I DI 'T EXPECT it (the
large number of young people
who call in), especially with Rap
and Hip Hop music being 0
popular," Nathan said. "But
there are a lot of young people
calling in for prayer."
Yet! glee and jubilation carry
a price tag too.
In addition to ho ting the
Sunday Morning Gospel Hour
program, Nathan is also one of
the I ading promoters of
qua I ams in
roit.
• I ,f" .� . "
... ,,,):i,.. ":'! •. v. All 1)'
clothing store on Linwood for
more than 20 years and he 88-
umed the gospel program con­
cert dates Rev. Allen had. But,
he says, the same respect of non­
infringment on program dates
Rev. Allen enjoyed, ms not to
apply to him.
NATHAN'S REMARKS
MAKE reference to an unwrit­
ten code within the gospel com­
. munity whereby they abide by
the principle, if possible, that
when a gospel promoter or a
. inging group tablish a pro-
gram date, it is, for th lack of a
better word, acred.
More than one person in the
go pel singing and promotin«
fi ld, aid the unwritten code is
to ure tha program are well
attended nd to insu th t pro­
mo ers are bl to continuously
bringfirst-cl gospel quartette
singing to D troit. Or, 8 on in
<®.
OPTIMI T
c>
OBITUARY
By ROBBIE CRUMP-McCOY
Spec'" to the Michigan Citizen
Fifty-four y ars ago, Rev.
Benjamin Little left his home­
town, Weir, MS, moved to De­
troit and became a prominent,
civic-minded citizen of the met­
ropolitan area.
He purchased clothes and
food for the less fortunate and
provide for some a place to live.
Colleagues and friends spoke of
Rev. Little's benevolence dur­
ing his funeral, Saturday, April
9, and of how he befriended
them.
The two-hour service was
held at the Greater St. John
Baptist Church where he was
the associate pastor.
"Never mind the time," one
person said, "for all the good he
did for us."
encountering someone that
knew Rev. Little. He recalled
one day when a woman of a dif­
ferent origin walked into the
ministers church one cold Sun­
day, as she was not dressed be­
fitting for the weather. Rev.
Little sent the president of the
missionary society out to pur­
chase appropriate clothes for the
REV. BENJAMIN LITTLE
visitor, with the instructions,
"bring the bill to me."
Rev. Little wa eulogized by
the Pastor 0 is Byrd who de­
scribed the Rev rend as bing
Angelsof
joy celebrate
By NATHANIEL SCOTT
Spec'" to the Michigan Citizen
DETROIT - The ninth An­
nual Day for Mattie and The An­
gels Of Joy turned out to be a
celebration of how the power of
prayer works.
A crowd of some 200 persons
had gathered at New Prosperity
Baptist Church Sunday, April
10, and many songs of praise
and worship had been sung.
Then as Lace Mae Robinson and
The Robinson Singers took their
places on the floor, Lace Mae'
daughter Lucille Nimox, a mem­
berofthegroup, passed out. And
as things often happen, the voice
of God poke.
Sister Bertha Harris, one of
• the fou nders of th n w ly cr -
ated Prayer and Pray Network,
who at the time was the Mis-
tr of Ceremony said: "Allright
prayer ba nd, 1 t' pray." And
that em to have n the
cue becau Lac Mae began to
pray for her daughter. She
prayed and many joined her.
And while she prayed she would
stop and ask th question:"1
he breathing?"
Finally, ft r some tw nty
minute ,th EM rrived nd
ook Nimox to th h pital and
aft r much prai nd "ain't d
wond rful," th progr m con in­
ued.
Nimox w
h pi 1 for
·1 d
, .
one who, "I' lly loved God and
his fellowm n."
His grandson, the Rev. De­
Wayne Littl of Pleasant Gr n
Baptist Church, St. Louis, MO.,
spoke of him as "a man of integ­
rity," and another grandson,
Tony, called him "a kindhearted
man who carried himself with
high este m."
Rev. Saul Bradfield, ociate
minister of Greater St. John
called him a friend to all.
Rev. Little was educated in
Kosciusko, MS, where he
learn d th trade of carp ntry.
He was const ntly mployed f-
er moving 0 troit in 1940,
marrying G rtrude Gr n in
194 .
H W A A driv r for th
D R (now DOT), owner of Dis­
count 'Constru ion Co., and at
h tim of his death a distribu­
tor for Afro World Hair Com­
pany, family-owned business
b in t. Louis, MO.
His wish were for the com­
pany to expand into Africa:
Family and friends called him
Peter, or U ncl Peter becaus of
hi genero ity, his' grandchil­
dr n lled him PaPa.
When th family resided on
MATTIE MOORE D troi' westside ome y rs
Five uart tte. He too, had n ago, h w pr ident of the
performing in a church. ' Phi lad lphia block club for
Th f atur group, Th An- ' many y a nd hi hum ni r-
gel of Joy's Annu 1 Day, wIn ffort wer r spected
Th Expr ion f Joy from Fort throughout th city.
Wayn , Indiana. And joy they Rev rend Little is survived
by his wife, Gertrude; one son
Russ Benjamin Little of St.
Louis; on daughter, Laura
Clifton; four sisters: Elizabeth
Ashford of CI veland, OH, and
1 a lla Hearon Channie Wells
nd Ju nita ooper of Detroit.
We rt, an
AL E grandchildren;
Victor Littl ,Lauri D nt; Lynn,
T rry and Calvin Jack on,
Sh ila Fo t, Russ Benj min
Li le II, Tony Hill nd Tonya
ell on; 12 gr a -gr ndchildr n
a n d on u ht rein-law,
Th lma Littl ; one n-in-l w,
Victor, and a host of other family
m m rs and friends.
wanson funeral directors
wh r in char of entombment
Ev rgr n C m ery.
o
By NATHANIEL SCOTT
Sp!C'" to the Mlchlg.n C'tlzen
DETROIT - It' Sunday
morning. Th time' 6 a.m. and
on radio tation WCHB, 1200 on
the AM dial. David Nathan, a
relatively new go pel musical
host, takes to th air wav .
Nathan, the seven months
gospel host, whose Sunday
Morning Gospel Hour program
is dedicated to "the sick and
hut-in, is unique while at the
same tim he) continuation
of pred 0 who ha v made
their transition.
Nathan is th successor to the
late Rev. Wilmore Allen Jr., who
became the host of the program
at the request of Jean Reed, who
was the original host of the pro­
gram. Rev. Allen's demise was
from a massiv heart attack last
. May.
DUT HJ T of thi
b d ' en told
the story of how he was recruited
by Jean Reed as she lay on her
sick bed. The way Rev. Allen told
the tory, Jean d, called him
to her bedside nd directed - or
anointed him - to continue the
Sunday morning gospel pro­
gram.
UNDER THE DIRE -
TION of Rev. All nth progr m
grew from the 30-minute Reed
had to Live hours. However, be­
fore his death, he reduced the
program to four hours.
But! there is a deeper story,
or one that many might say is of
divine providence cause nei­
ther of the th rived any
broadcasting trainin .
Th y a r wh t t h " Id
Folks" r fer to "a natural,".
one who is bI ed with "Moth r
wit," or as th y ay in a piritual
sense:" uid d by divin prin i­
pie."
Asid from that, there is a
second common d nominator.
Rev. Allen and Reed h d, and
N a' han has, trong b li f in
the Almighty.
According to Mattie Moore,
the leader of The Angels of Joy
gospel group, Re d wa th
gra nd mot h r of one of her
granddaught r and was a
m mber of Tenn M' ion­
ary Baptist Church for many
y ars. Rev. All n was n oci­
ate minist raN W tar Ligh
B ptis hurch n N th n i
m m r of N w B th 1 Bapti
hurch.
magnitude of
id he kn w the program
wa popul r on but h i
"ov rwh lmed"byth num rof
young peopl who call in to hav
We appreciate your
letter and comment .
Plea e end them to:
M ic hi an itize n
12541 econd
Highland Park, MI
482n3
Cont¢st For Youth Choirs Ag¢s 6 to 17
t r Y, pril 0
1i:OO noon
t
._' yflower Congreg tion I
United Church of Chri t
7301 Curtis at Monica
(N�ar Livernois)
R�gist�r today, details inside
for more information call: 8 2-0129
DAVID NATHAN
the gospel field pu it: "Looking
out for your own. "
Nathan is somewhat mysti­
fied about the way things are
going but, true to those whose
belief in the Almighty is strong,
he said, "Everything is in Goers
hands."
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