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Archives: February
2001, November
2000
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Memphis, TN (BlackNews.com - 11/20/06) - Bishop William H. Graves, the Senior Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, was confirmed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the remainder of a 5-year term expiring in May 2007. Bishop Graves, a former board member of the Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division, is the first African American on the TVA Board, first clergy as well as the first board member from the Memphis area.
TVA, the nation’s largest public power company, covers
80,000 square miles in the southeastern United States, and includes
almost all of Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama,
Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Bishop William Graves, the ninth and final member of TVA's newly
formed Board of Directors, was sworn into office October 10, 2006
at Memphis City Hall City Council Chambers. Bishop Graves was
appointed to the new TVA Board by President George Bush, and was
unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
Bishop Graves is the 42nd Bishop of the CME Church and presides over the First Episcopal District (Arkansas and Tennessee), with headquarters and residence in Memphis, TN. Additionally, Bishop Graves serves as the Chair of the Department of Finance for the CME Church. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Lane College in Jackson, TN for the past 20 years. Throughout his ministry, he has been actively involved in the community. Bishop Graves is a member of the National Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of the Congress of National Black Churches (CNBC).
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a 136-year old historically African American Christian denomination with more than 800,000 members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. There are four CME related colleges, Lane (Jackson, TN), Miles (Birmingham, AL), Paine, (Augusta, GA) and Texas College (Tyler, TX); and a seminary, Phillips School of Theology, which is an affiliate member of the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA).
Newark, NJ (BlackNews.com 11/20/06) – Joy Tabernacle Christian Ministries (www.joytabernacle.org), a 56 year-old Newark-based ministry, has announced it will welcome De'Andre M. Salter as its new pastor in winter 2007. Pastor De’Andre will succeed his mother, Reverend Emma Salter, who has pastored the Ministry for the last thirteen years. Rev. Emma is proud to make the unprecedented move to transition the Ministry to her son while the church is still vital and growing.
“I am extremely excited about this transitional period. Pastor De’Andre’s vision will be a blessing not only to this ministry but the entire body of Christ,” said Reverend Emma Salter. Pastor De’Andre will launch new community initiatives with the goal to reach more people in impoverished communities in New Jersey by building diverse partners across racial and socio-economic lines in order to help families prosper spiritually and socially, creating legacies for future generations.
Pastor “D”, as young people affectionately call him, is a 35 year-old Newark native that has followed his calling to spread God’s word as an elder at Joy Tabernacle while building the largest black-owned specialty insurance brokerage firm, with offices in New Jersey, Delaware and Florida. As a successful entrepreneur, he has been featured on television programs as well as quoted in business publications such as Black Enterprise, Fortune Small Business, NJBIZ and The Newark Star-Ledger, among others.
In 2005, he was recognized as one of the top 40 Black executives under 40 by The Network Journal. Pastor D credits his success to the entrepreneurial spirit and strong faith of his family, which boasts five entrepreneurs and three pastors. He believes that God has sent him to set an example and to teach believers how to live a balanced life that is true to scripture. He believes the Ministry’s recent wealth is for the sole purpose of accumulating wealth to finance the final expansion of the Gospel before Christ returns and not for the sake of personal gain or self-grandiosity.
Leveraging his leadership skills, Pastor D will develop programs that will focus on eliminating poverty via career and educational initiatives. In addition, the Ministry will work to improve the faith, health, and marriages of its members and people in surrounding communities. Most notably, Pastor D will serve as a volunteer pastor to demonstrate to his members that he is committed to utilizing all church funds to support programs that will help his congregation reach new heights.
“Jesus’ ideology is concerned with the poor more than any other group and we will be revolutionary in our approach to responding to this critical issue,” said Pastor D. “It is time that church members start prospering more than their leaders, isn’t that the example Jesus showed us? We will create a model where people will prosper from our vision to uplift and enable those who have been unable to help themselves.” The Ministry is currently seeking financial partners who share the same vision.
The revitalized ministry promises to be a progressive, real ministry for people who want something beyond “the show” that has become synonymous with modern ministry. Pastor D added, “I believe the Body of Christ is suffering from a focus on materialism and celebrity, which has caused many faith seekers to enter a church looking for the Word of God, but instead find a show. More transparency and accountability is needed in ministry. In our ministry we are looking to build a church with real worship, real fellowship, real Word and real people. In other words, we think its time for a real ministry revival. If our ministry evolves into a mega church, our primary goal will be to keep it real.” Pastor D is also seeking to add strong men of faith to his presbytery to serve as his personal accountability group.
Pastor D is in the process of researching areas in Central New Jersey to expand its reach to the underserved and underdeveloped areas of the State. He has been married to his childhood sweetheart, Christian novelist Terri Jones Salter, author of “Sins of My Mother,” for eleven years. They have three children. Pastor D hosts a blog called, “Get Right Church” found at http://pastordeandre.blogspot.com, where he discusses current issues facing the church and potential solutions. He welcomes dialogue with anyone that has suggestion for how to help improve the condition of the Body of Christ.
Joy Tabernacle Christian Ministries was founded in 1953 by Overseer Josephine Byrd under the name of Joy Tabernacle Church of God. The Church focused on saving the lost and serving the disadvantaged of Newark, NJ. In 1993, Rev. Emma Salter was installed as senior pastor of Joy Tabernacle and the church changed its name to Joy Tabernacle Christian Ministries. Under Rev. Salter’s leadership Joy Tabernacle has: increased the grades of the primary and secondary level students within the Ministry via its tutoring program and education initiatives; awarded scholarships to high school graduates to attend college; eliminated welfare from the congregation; and increased financial literacy among members to help those who were unemployed become gainfully employed, among many other achievements.
Links of Interest:
www.joytabernacle.org
http://pastordeandre.blogspot.com
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Lauren M. Traer, RRT has released her new book, But I'm Not a Bad Person, which details her 20 year battle with physical and mental illness, focusing on eating disorders. Her book stands alone in revealing the deadly correlation between thyroid disease and eating disorders, and is a powerful teaching tool. It provides never-before disclosed insight into the destruction of the mind and body at the hands of these fatal diseases, and the depth of her addiction and obsessive/compulsive behavior.
Her story begins with a childhood diagnosis of Graves' disease. This is very common in women and too often misdiagnosed until the symptoms become quite severe and obvious, as was the case with Traer. Graves disease has been proven to cause mental illness, including anorexia, and is diagnosed by a simple blood test, which too often goes unordered. Traer's case was considered hopeless and terminal after all therapies and hospitalizations failed, and doctors began to refuse to take her on as a new patient.
She reveals how her feelings of shame and self-disgust contributed to her becoming a victim of both date rape and spousal abuse. Her survival has been called a modern-day miracle, and she is devoting her life to promote awareness and clear up misconceptions and stigmas towards eating disorders. She is extremely motivated and driven to market her book because of her own experiences and inappropriate treatment. She has exposed herself to help change and save lives, provide comfort and inspiration, and possibly even find help for herself.
Her story has been featured in many newspaper articles. She has appeared on local and national radio and television programs, and VHS tapes are available. She has contacted the Florida State School System, and also requested endorsement for her proposed program by Governor Bush. She has established contacts with national mental health organizations, magazines, and Christian organizations. She has spoken at two local women's conventions, and to the American Women's Business Association, Retired Nurses of Florida, Parish Nurses Association, and student counseling services at Florida Gulf Coast University. Her book has also been included as a referral for nursing students at Florida Gulf Coast University.
But I'm Not a Bad Person is currently at local bookstores, including Books-A-Million and Christian outlets, through Maggiano and Associates, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.com on the internet. It is also reviewed and featured on The Victory Network on the internet. It has been accepted by Barnes and Noble bookstores nationwide, and will be distributed by Ingram Express. Traer's goal is to mass-market her book to bookstores, churches, and treatment centers.
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