Spring-Call-2010

Photo provided by Dr. Elton Amos

Dr. Elton Amos and his medical staff are currently seeking medical professionals who are willing to go to Haiti on rotated shifts to assist in the Haiti Relief effort.  Doctors, nurses, certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and other health care workers key to this operation.  The next departure date for Haiti is March 7, 2010.  However, this departure dates is subject to change in accordance with the airline’s schedule.

If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Dr. Elton Amos’ assistant, Elder Fenner via email at marcusfenner@gmail.com.

Lady Joy was the loving wife of Bishop Wilburn Wyatt Hamilton for 45 years.  She supported him and was fiercely loyal to him, his secular career and his ministry.  He was often heard singing “I still have Joy,” a special song for the two of them.  She also loved her children dearly and she lived in a way that set a high standard for her children to reach for. Lady Joy had four children, four grandchildren and one great grandson. 

First and foremost, Lady Joy, was a great woman of God.  She spent 35 years proclaiming and teaching the Word of God, counseling the broken and hurting, and ministering healing to the sick and afflicted.  As the first lady of the Greater Victory Church Of God In Christ, she affectionately became known as the Queen of Hearts.  Lady Joy birthed many spiritual sons and she was also a strong advocate for women in the ministry-by precept and example, so she also birthed many spiritual daughters.  She had a special gift for ministering to women who had suffered abuse and she pioneered workshops in this sensitive area at the national Women’s Convention.

In 1993 Lady Joy was afflicted with Sarcoidosis, a potentially fatal disease.  Throughout her illness she never lost her assurance that God would bring her through victoriously.  In spite of her debilitating pain, she never missed or canceled one ministry appointment.  At the end of a year, God miraculously healed her of the illness and she used her triumphant testimony to minister to Christian women living with illnesses such as cancer and lupus.

On January 29, 2009, Lady Joy was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.  During the months that followed, she endured the pain of her illness, several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy with tremendous grace and courage, serving as a powerful example of faith and trust in God during difficult times.  On January 15, 2010, Lady Joy departed the earthly tabernacle of her body and entered the presence of the Lord.

Only in heaven will the full impact of her life be known, but thousands can testify that their lives were permanently impacted by her anointed ministry.

www.youtube.com/cogiccharities

Bishop Marvin Pryor

Dear Church Of God In Christ members:

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints…”   Bishop Marvin Pryor was the Jurisdictional Prelate of the Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southwest Michigan, Pastor of Victorious Believers Ministries Church of God in Christ in Saginaw, Michigan, and Parliamentarian of our Council. He was a former educator and school administrator whose academic experience and training made him a valuable asset to the Church of God in Christ. Bishop Pryor was previously the National Director of Church Growth and Development, appointed by former Presiding Bishop G.E. Patterson, and a member for the Presiding Bishop’s 2000 and Beyond Church Growth “Dream Team” under former Presiding Bishop Chandler D. Owens. Most recently, Bishop Pryor was appointed to the National Publishing Board by Presiding Bishop Charles Blake, and was serving on the Curriculum Committee.

 To view video, click the link below:

watch?v=bVgZgGUSvos

The final arrangements for Bishop Marvin C. Pryor are as follows:

LOCAL HOMEGOING CELEBRATION SERVICE
Sunday, February 28, 2010 • 6 p.m.

JURISDICTIONAL HOMEGOING CELEBRATION SERVICE
Monday, March 1, 2010 • 7 p.m.
Women’s attire: Black

NATIONAL HOMEGOING CELEBRATION SERVICE
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 • 12 Noon
Women’s attire: White

All services will be held at, and condolences for Mother Ruth Pryor and family may be forwarded to:

Victorious Believers Ministries Church Of God In Christ:

624 S. Outer Dr.
Saginaw, MI 48601

Final arrangements have been entrusted to: Brownes Mortuary, 441 N. Jefferson, Saginaw, MI 48607, Phone: (989) 754-0481 • Fax: (989) 754-0062
brownesmortuary@bignet.net

For hotel accommodations and airport choices, please visit www.cogicmica.org. Any further questions Please call: (989) 755-7692 ext. 6

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting monetary donations payable to: Bishop Marvin C. Pryor Memorial Foundation.
(This foundation will benefit Haiti, Africa, Education and other humanitarian needs.)

Donations can be mailed to Victorious Believers.

To view each of Bishop Pryor’s funeral services live, go to: www.brownesmortuary.com and click on the webcast link that will be shown at the bottom of the obituary page, prior to the listed service times.

We want to assure you that the monies given are being used to improve the situation in Haiti.  Your contributions make it possible for us to purchase tents for temporary housing, establishing triage areas for those in need of medical attention, pay for the shipping of medical, food, water, hygiene, and shelter building supplies; as well as passage for personnel who will make a “hands-on” contribution because of your gift. 

Please continue to go to the website for any update on the progress in Haiti. Also remember that this effort will require continuous support. Therefore, consider a monthly donation via our website (www.COGIC.org or www.COGICCharities.org

Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom as we all reach out to help our brothers and sisters with some hope in this time of tragedy.  Thank you again for your loving generosity, which will make these efforts possible. 

Sincerely,

Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr.

The hour long meeting consisted of an explanation of Bishop Blake’s vision for the 103^rd Convocation, answering questions about registration and housing and distributing forms to each department to fill out regarding their needs in the convention center.  Overall, the information session was a very empowering tool to kick off the New Year and to help everyone prepare for this exciting and historic event.

This year’s theme for the 103^rd Convocation is Great God, Great Vision, Great Accomplishments. 

Unlike the arrangements in Memphis, convention events in St. Louis will all be housed in one central location with over 500,000 sq. ft. of continuous exhibit space. 

For more information visit COGIC.com to register or call COGIC Convention Services at 1-866-522-1335.

COGIC.com: What did you hope to accomplish while in Haiti?      

Dr. Amos:       Just under two weeks ago COGIC launched a medical mission to Haiti with the purpose of providing urgent care, health services and surgical/medical follow-up for those who have been unable or incapable of obtaining medical care.  

COGIC.com: How many people went over with you?   

Dr. Amos:       Team I consists of 12 COGIC members, who met in Port au Prince to work, along with 2 Harvard Doctors, their staff assistant and one Haitian doctor who joined forces with us.

COGIC.com: Was this your first trip to Haiti? 

 Dr. Amos:       This was my first time in Haiti.  I came on a fact finding and developmental mission and stayed for 6 days.   

COGIC.com:             Can you share the progress of COGIC Global Health & Wellness in Haiti so far?          

Dr. Amos:       With the dedicated work of Disaster Relief Director Pullings, the COGIC (Haitian) National Headquarters was readied for the first wave of Medical Missionaries.  The 3000 seat cathedral, which suffered very minimal damage during the earthquake, was modified to become a medical and social center.  On the first day of clinic, over 400 persons arrived for health care. 

COGIC.com:             What has been you most inspirational story in Haiti?   

Dr. Amos:       Probably the story of a faithful COGIC woman, who’s husband served as a deacon for many years under Bishop Dautruche. She and her three children and husband escaped the crumbling home just in time.  Then her valiant and devoted husband rushed in to save his mother only to have the house and cinderblock walls cave in killing both him and his mother.  I couldn’t hold the back the tears as I attended to her small daughter while recalling how just less than an hour prior, this woman and her children were in the sanctuary worshipping God with all their might!  To worship in the face of great sorrow is the utmost show of faith in Him!

COGIC.com:             With the many diseases, how did you all protecting yourself while in Haiti? 

Dr. Amos:       All of us used masks on Sunday and universal precautions regarding body fluids.  Of course, insect repellent is a mainstay of the trip to Haiti.

COGIC.com   Is there anything else that you’d like to share? 

Dr. Amos:       When this tragedy occurred and food was dropped from helicopters, the despair, hopelessness and desperation of the people was evidenced by violence, lack of concern for the weak and brute domination.  However, what I saw over the past week was a warm, welcoming and civilized people, appreciative of foreigners coming to help.  I cannot tell you how often someone would come up to me or members of our party and state, “thank you for coming to help us in Haiti!”  The people have abandoned their unstable homes, preferring instead the community of the streets; sleeping in cares, front yards and in groups in tents and quickly built shelter/shack homes.  Despite no running water, loss of countless thousands of lives, and the irreparable state of nearly 80 percent of homes in some areas, the people share their food, dress as cleanly as possible, shine their shoes and braid and cut their hair.  The street markets are bustling with people who have nowhere to go.  Untreated broken limbs, skin gouges and head injuries abound; homeless children run the streets begging for a morsel of food.  The elderly are practically unseen and are presumably the primary victims of the midday quake.  Schools are closed, but on the third day of a National Day of Prayer it was evident that faith survived the quake:  The houses of prayer were so packed with worshipers that in every church we witnessed hundreds of people pressed around the walls and crowded into the church gates singing and praising their God.  As they sang in First Church Of God In Christ in Port au Prince, “The Devil meant it for bad, but God is going to turn it around!”

The story of Mother Lawrence’s life dates back to the year of 1917 in Forest City, Arkansas.  Born to Crawford and Sallie Flournoy, she was known as a very happy and caring person.  Twenty years later, she married Elton Lawrence and gave birth to two extraordinary children – Welton and Mae.  The family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where they raised their children and worked to provide a good education and a strong upbringing in Christ.

Mother Lawrence accepted the Lord as a young woman and was absolutely overjoyed when her husband, Elton, accepted the Lord and was later called into ministry.  She was an exceptional Pastor’s wife, who loved to praise the Lord and never allowed her fashionable hats and attire to hinder her praise as she shouted, played her tambourine, sang and vocally encouraged and supported her husband as he preached. 

Mother Lawrence’s life is celebrated by many  in the Church, and she leaves behind many who loved her including her loving husband of seventy-two years, Bishop Elton A. Lawrence, her son (Dr. Welton Lawrence and his wife Joyce), her daughter (Lady Mae Blake and her husband, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr.), her brothers (Raymond Crawford Flournoy and Travis Benton Flournoy and his wife, Lil), her sister (Maruthie Burton) and her sister-in-law (Dorothy Briggs), her grandchildren (Deborah, Darin, Kimberly, Charles II, Dorine, Lawrence, David and their spouses), and a large extended family of great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, cousins, grand nephews, grand nieces, the Canada-Michigan Jurisdiction, the East Grand Boulevard, and the West Angeles Church families, as well as many friends and loved ones.

On Saturday, January 30, 2010, Mother Lawrence was laid to rest but her legacy of love and her witness to Christ’s promises and eternal love continues.

Pritchett in Haiti Helping Children

There were three men charged with setting up the COGIC Charities operations including: Pastor Horace Pritchett, Executive Director of COGIC Charities James Penton, Disaster Relief Specialist Pastor James Pullings .  The Ground Team in Haiti has been working hard for over three weeks in Haiti setting up medical facilities, seeing patients, providing care, assessing damage and trying to provide other forms of relief to the people.  One of the leads on the ground team, Pastor Horace Pritchett sat down with us to talk about his arrival and first thoughts of arriving at ground zero. 

Pastor Pritchett’s Questions

COGIC.com                  What day did you arrive?

Pastor Pritchett:        I arrived in the Dominican Republic on January 27, 2010.  Since the border closed at 5:30 pm, I arrived into Port au Prince, Haiti the following day January 28, 2010.

COGIC.com:                How many people where with you?

Pastor Pritchett:       There were 4 men with me on this trip.

COGIC.com                  How long did it take for you to get to Haiti?

Pastor Pritchett:        It took approximately 7 hours  by van to get from Santiago, DR to Port au Prince, Haiti.  This trip was perilous to say the least.

COGIC.com                   What is your goal while you are there?

Pastor Pritchett:        My goal while in Haiti was to:

1. Orient Elder James Pullings, the point person for COGIC, to Haiti

2. Check on the status of the   both COGIC and other pastors that I have met over the past 25 years.

3. provide necessary support and assistance to various orphanages and churches

COGIC.com                 What was your first thought as you entered into the city?

Pastor Pritchett:        My first thoughts were that of unbelief!  I have been traveling to Haiti for the past 25 years (including 7 trips last year).  While conditions there were always difficult NOTHING could have prepared me for the complete devastation as we moved through the various neighborhoods. 

COGIC.com: What has been your inspiring moment thus far?

Pastor Pritchett: One of the most inspiring moments thus far has been that of a 7 year old boy named Christopher.  During the earthquake, he reached in the the orphanage where he was staying to rescue his dog.  As he reached in to get the dog, a boulder fell and cut half of his hand off.  Although he sustained that injury, when I met him, he was in the yard playing: just happy to be alive. 

COGIC.com:     What are the evident needs of the people right now?

Pastor Pritchett:

• Clean drinking water
• Medical supplies
• Generators
• Tents
• Toiletries
• Pre-packaged food

 COGIC.com                 What is the worse thing that you saw in Haiti?

Pastor Pritchett:        I noticed that there was smoke coming from the end of the street.  I asked a pastor friend (who lost everything) where the smoke was coming from.  He told me that there was a van pushed to the side of the road with three dead bodies burning inside.

COGIC.com                   Explain the overall environment in Haiti right now.

Pastor Pritchett:        The overall environment of Haiti right now is that of chaos, fear, and desperation. 

COGIC.com                    Do you plan to go back, if so when?

Pastor Pritchett:        Yes. I plan to go back to Haiti as soon as commercial airlines are able to land at Port au Prince International Airport.

Some of the desperation that many feel in Haiti is being eased by groups like COGIC Charities who are working tirelessly to help provide immediate relief.  However, your help is needed.  COGIC Charities is able to function through financial contributions of people like you.  Consider going to the COGIC.com web site and make a donation today.  Whether it’s $5 or $50,000, every dollar is used to help COGIC Charities help Haiti.