The Words of the Jenkins Family from 2008
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The Words of the Jenkins Family from 2008 |
In preparation for the August 9th Global Peace Festival, the entire greater Washington, D.C., community had been actively involved in one activity after another. Weekly revival and planning meetings for ministers and outreach members were held at the United Federation of Churches Headquarters building over the past several weeks. ACLC Co-Presidents, Archbishop G. Augustus Stallings, Jr., and Bishop Jesse Edwards joined regularly, and together they brought down the Holy Spirit among those assembled.
The next step was the preparation for a National Prayer Summit to be held on Saturday, May 17. The ambitious goal for the program was to bring 500 ministers and Ambassadors for Peace together to begin to prepare for the Global Peace Festival.
The program was to be a prayer breakfast which was held at the prestigious La Fountain Bleu Banquet Hall in suburban Lanham, Maryland. The program’s Master of Ceremonies was Bishop Edwards. Bishop Edwards had been leading the charge for the past several weeks by living in Washington and going out and visiting pastors from dawn to dusk nearly every day. Even sacrificing his own Philadelphia Church, Bishop Edwards remained in Washington to continue visiting churches on Saturday and Sunday.
Rev. Ronald Brown and Rev. Randall Francis served as co-chairman for the event under the auspices of ACLC National Chairman, Bishop Ki Hoon Kim. The program was opened in prayer and then representatives of Christianity, Islam and Judaism were called to the stage to offer prayers for the nation. These representatives included, Rev. Brondon Rheems, Pastor Angelika Selle, Imam Dawud Asad, Rabbi Michael Wisser, and Rev. Joshua Cotter.
The Hon. Rev. Walter Fauntroy, the twenty-year congressman from the District of Columbia, immediately energized the audience. Rev. Fauntroy was responsible for organizing Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech rally on the Capitol Mall twenty five years earlier in 1963. Rev. Fauntroy shared both the history of civil rights movement in America and the future direction that the clergy now need to lead our nation.
Afterward Dr. Chang Shik Yang, the Regional Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) addressed the congregation.
Dr. Yang’s presentation set the stage for an amazing Holy Spirit spiritual experience to occur. This was to be stimulated by the presentation delivered by the Women in Ministry.
After their initial presentations given by Minister Reiko Jenkins, Rev. Addie Robb and Rev. Sennie Johnson, the Holy Spirit descended over the room. The Women in Ministry began to call upon every woman in the audience to come up to the stage, hold hands and thus create an incredible spirit of unity throughout the banquet hall. One after another, every woman in the room came forward, held hands, and created an incredible and powerful spirit throughout the room.
On this ever-growing foundation, ACLC National Chairman Bishop Ki Hoon Kim addressed the over 500 guests, explaining the power and value of the American Clergy Leadership Conference to unite the clergy of America.
Next Rev. and Mrs. Mark Abernathy came to the stage to lead the Blessing of the Family. As the congregation all rose in unison, husbands and wives faced each other, shared the cup of holy wine and rededicated their marriages. Especially amazing was the fact that Mrs. Abernathy had just recently had an accident and had undergone serious foot surgery. Thus, she arrived in a wheelchair and on crutches direct from Atlanta. But one could see from the love in her eyes that she was not about to miss this event for anything.
With the spirit already on high, fellow Georgians, Bishop Jim and Rev. Debye Swilley took the stage. First Rev. Debye Swilley addressed the audience with a powerful, loving and energized spirit. She then introduced Bishop Swilley to address the congregation. Bishop Swilley preached to the audience in a powerful and energetic way. The entire congregation became serious as he spoke the word of God.
Bishop Swilley was followed by the North American Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation, Rev. James Flynn. Rev. Flynn presented a PowerPoint overview of the present crisis in America. Using statistics emphasizing the growing moral crisis in America, Rev. Flynn traced the history of the foundation and greatness in which God created the United States of America. His talk was virtually evangelical. The audience was truly challenged to look both at God’s hope for America and the current and present dangers with which we are currently faced.
The next presentation came from the Cathedral Choir of Archbishop Stallings’ Imani Temple African American Catholic Church. Their numbers continued the powerful and holy atmosphere that was gaining momentum throughout the program. Concluding with an incredible rendition of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” the entire room rose in a true spirit of unison with thunderous applause for the incredible performance, which included Archbishop Stallings’s own vocals and Musical Director Wesley Boyd’s leadership.
On this foundation the Rev. Paul Murray, the Executive Director of the Global Peace Festival-USA, rose to explain the vision of the Global Peace Festival. Not to be outdone by any of the previous speakers, Rev. Murray offered an incredible PowerPoint presentation explaining the goals, hopes, expectations and values of the Global Peace Festival coming on August 9th. He spoke at what seemed to be lightening speed, but he was able to cover all of the bases in his presentation. Next, Rev. Michael Jenkins, Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation, USA, gave the concluding remarks for the program. He was able to pull it all together, as only he can.
To be honest, I have been to innumerable programs, but I must honestly admit that it was a unique rarity to have so many great speakers on the same program. There was just never any letdown. With Bishop Edwards serving as the Master of Ceremonies holding it all together, the spirit and energy remained at an incredibly high level throughout. When the program finally did come to a conclusion, almost nobody left the banquet hall. Many guests came to the stage, and many group pictures were snapped by God’s first photographer, Mr. Ken Owens. After quite a long time, most guests would merely move over to an adjoining room in order to join the couples who would be participating in the upcoming holy wedding ceremony.
Similar prayer summits are already being planned for June and July as the entire movement presses forward in the spirit of the “I Have a Dream” experience of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., toward the Global Peace Festival. Like Dr. King’s presentation, the Global Peace Festival will take place on the National Mall, directly in front of the United States Capitol Building. For, brothers and sisters, God still has a dream, and now is the time that God wants the dream to become reality.