olive branch african methodist episcopal (ame)...
TRANSCRIPT
MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR
-CHURCH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS 2-3
-DAUGHTERS OF SARAH 4
-RAINBOW WOMEN’S MINIS- 5
-WILSON GREEN MISS. SOCIE- 6
-CHRISTMAS PICTURES 7-8
-TRUSTEES CORNER 9
-BIRTHDAY,CONGRATS
10
-UPCOMING EVENTS 11
Inside this issue:
January - March 2018
OBC GAZETTE
Olive Branch African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
Upcoming Events
January:
14th– 17th -WMS Retreat
15th-Martin Luther King Day
27th– RBWM Annual Prayer
Breakfast
Battle of the Band
February: GO RED - Heart Health Month
14h– ASH WEDNESDAY
19th– 40 Days, Fit For the King
24th– OBC Gala sponsored by
Daughters Of Sarah
March: TBD-Church Anniversary
26TH– 29TH – HOLY WEEK
30TH– GOOD FRIDAY
-
“2018 Expectations”
A Joy filled New Year to All! I prefer" Joy" over "Happy ," because joy is based in the love and faithfulness of God and not my circumstances. I pray we all had a joyous and blessed Christmas, embracing again the gift of God to humanity, His Son Jesus Christ! My family and I thank you all for your prayers, love and gifts. These expressions helped us realize that God is with us.
During the Watchnight service, I preached a sermon centered on the word "Expectation." This is what makes faith powerful and effective. The Bible says , “We must believe that God is” if we are to please him. In other words, we must have an expectation that God is there and will be there for us. Jesus teaches this principal throughout his ministry: Matthew 21:2 "if you believe, etc.," (if you pray expecting , you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, which is in agreement with God's word and nature.)
Feeding of the 5,000 Jesus takes the few fish and loaves, "looking up to Heaven he give thanks, etc.," He does not explain the situation to God but give thanks only and proceeds to perform a miracle; he prayed expecting God to know and willing to meet the need. (Mark 6:41, Matthew 14:19)
In John 11:41-42, Jesus said in his prayer before raising Lazarus, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me, etc., " He was thanking before the miracle was performed, He expected God to grant his prayer! Are we Jesus? Do we possess his power? No, but in John 14:12-14 we can access all that Jesus IS and HAS with the Father if we come to him with expectation.
Jesus declares, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." We must live in this pregnancy of expectation. Then God will bring forth the offspring's of blessings and joy, he promised through his Son to all who trust in him (who expect him to keep and perform his Word!) God, according to Paul invites this expectation in Ephesians 1:3-14; 3:20-26. It is God's desire to, "do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, etc.," (Ephesians 3:20)
Expect God to be God! Worship him because He's God alone! Expect him to hear, keep and perform his Word! Expect in prayer and when you say Amen, get up and walk, live, work and talk in the expectation that God heard you! With Expectation in God's Faithfulness!
Reverend Richard C.K. Harkness, Pastor
From left to right: Rev. Richard
Harkness, 1st Lady Cathy Harkness,
sons: Jordan, Rick & Matthew
Volume 5, Issue 1
Church School Happenings! Church School Department
Bro. Walter Smalls
During this pass quarter we completed the Fall Theme of “Covenant with God” as the focal point of our
church school lessons. The lessons studied used various Biblical hero's and heroines to illustrate that a
covenant is God's divine promise that He will do just what he said He will do even though we don't
uphold our end! Now, in December, we began studying the Winter Theme:
The lessons for this quarter will emphasize how Faith and Works go hand in hand in both the Old and New
Testaments. We will discuss how important this combination is for any follower of the Lord.
Come out to Church School and join us in studying God's word!
Page 2
OBC GAZETTE
In 2017, we lost four of our retired church school Administrator/Teachers who were very instrumental in establishing the foundation of the Olive Branch AME Church School. They took us under their wings and taught us how to conduct the operations of the Church School. They will be sadly missed, but their efforts are still ongoing!
“Faith In Action”
Supporting themes December 2017: Unit 1: The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ – Acts &
Matthew January 2018: Unit 2: A Living Faith in God – Daniel February 2018: Unit 3: Self-Controlled, Upright, and Godly Faith– James, Acts &
1 Timothy
Sister Edna Huger Sister Deloris Langston Sister Marie Bunkum Sister Margaret Gethers
STAY TUNED for more information on VBS 2018 , “Jesus the Kingdom
Builder” and our upcoming trip to Jacksonville Florida (June 23rd– 24th) .
Church School members cost is only $100; non-members cost will be
$150.00.
Church School Happenings! Church School Department
Bro. Walter Smalls
Church School activities during the past quarter:
Hallelujah Night:..
Page 3
OBC GAZETTE
Christmas Program... For as long as I can remember, church school students were given speeches
to recite, plays to enact and Christmas carols to sing. At the end of the program, fruit and candy were
always given out. This year was no different. Parents and guardians came out to hear the not so shy and
shy give their recitations. This event was well attended and we indeed had a great fellowship time!
During the Christmas holiday, Church School Teachers held their annual Fellowship Dinner where they received their annual Performance "Payday!"
Making the Best of the Year! Daughters of Sarah Sis. Betty Collins
Page 4
OBC GAZETTE
Mission Complete (2017)
October — Florence Crittendon Visit
November 21st—Single Family Meals
December — Prison Ministry
MUSC Toy Drive
Sick & Shut-in Gift cards
Fruit of Spirit Bags
As we come to a close of 2017, can’t help but
to be thankful for the OBC officers, boards
and members, who have supported us
throughout the year with our missionary
efforts. We couldn’t have done it without
you. We pray as 2018 rings in that we’ll
continue to be united in working together to
help those we can help. We can’t save the
world but with love, words of encourage-
ment, and our actions, we can accomplish a
great deal. Happy New Year!
Anchored in Hope! Rainbow Women’s Ministry Sis. Ruthie Stokes
OBC GAZETTE
Praise God for allowing us to see 2018. We are still striving to become better women for God’s purpose. We enter this year under the directions of the Lord directing us to be anchored in hope as we “cast our nets into the deep!” That means we have to move from shallow waters and trust God to guide us into deeper waters as he position us to impact the Kingdom in a profound way.
Are you ready to go into deeper waters? Are you ready for the challenge and the battle to overcome fear, attitudes and unstable mindsets? It’s normal to admit anxieties when you think about deep waters, fear often overtakes over the mind and handicap it with the wrong spirit that screams, “do not
trust the unknown and continue to sit safely where you are for another year or two which is a desolate place where spiritual growth has ceased to occur.” Get up and Step out in faith! I encourage you to stand up and put your faith into action by moving into deeper waters under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in 2018.
Reflecting on 2017, we were honored to take a trip back down memory lane. We started the year off with a powerful word from above to keep “standing on the promises of God as we celebrated 5 years as a ministry.” God gave us a new name to always remember who we are and his covenant with mankind. “The Rainbow Women Ministry” is truly a blessing and Lord we thank you for sealing us with your magnificent colors of the rainbow and keeping your arms of protection around us as we follow your lead. The Women’s Book Study continued as we grew closer together studying the life of two sisters, Mary and Martha. The book “Having a Mary’s Heart in a Martha’s World” has truly blessed us as women, mothers, and workers in today’s society. We ended the year fellowshipping with each other and sharing gifts of appreciation as sisters in Christ.
Please join us on Jan 27, 2018 at the Annual Prayer Breakfast
ANCHORED IN HOPE!
We love each of you and May God continue to bless Olive Branch with a Spirit of genuine love one for the other in 2018! Olive Branch AME Church, @ 9am
Page 5
Wilson-Green Women Missionary Society! WMS
Sis. LouEster Moultrie
OBC GAZETTE
WMS Transforming... Lives Building Communities… Impacting The World
Women's Missionary Society------We are called to strengthen our faith and sent to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ by Service and witness in the world. It Never Hurts!
Local Area Officer For 2017-2018 Conference Year Sister LouEsther Moultrie, local President Sister Cathy G. Harkness, Advisor Sister Barbara White, First Vice President Sister Elah Hudson, Third Vice President Sister Terril Mcpherson, Recording Secretary Sister ViAnn Alston Asst. Recording Secretary Sister Bernice Minors, Worship Leader, Sister Mamie Washington, PME Director Sister Sonja G. Jefferson, YPD Director; Sister Josephine Hardy, Parliamentarian; Sister Carol Hudson, Treasurer; Sister Ida Green Dennis, Executive Member At Large; Sarah Allen Torchligthers, Sister Carolyn Rouse, Sister Hattie D. Brown, Sister Terril Mcpherson; Sister Annie Green, Life Member
Past Events: On Sept 30,2017 the WMS had a free dinner for the sick and shut-in and their caregivers. We gave out over 125 dinners. We blessed Mt. Pleasant Manor workers, Exxon attendants, and CVS cashiers. Along with the dinners, they received bags of produce, water and sodas. This started our Christmas give away which consisted of us filling the pantry with baskets of name brand household products. Products included Tide, Clorox, Clorox wipes, Downy, Lysol spray, Lysol wipes, Pine Sol, hand sanitizer and Dial soap. We concluded on December 12th, with the Christmas baskets and poinsettias for our sick and shut-in.
District Level: December 16, 2017 marked our Angel Tree Celebration at Moncks Corner AME Church which started at 2:00 PM. The District Evening Of Excellence was on the same day at Moncks Corner AME at 4 PM. Sister Josephine Alfreda Hardy who was escorted by Rev. Thomas Habersham, represented Olive Branch and came in second place! Goodwill AME who was represented by Sis Hazel Nesmith came in third place. The first place winner was Moncks Corner AME who was represented by Sis.Frances Mack. The grand prize winner was Lola Miller from Ebenezer AME who raised a total amount of $5,625.00. This money will help us to be a blessing to different organizations. At this event our Area President, Sister Joann Brown gave out 17- $50.00 gift cards to various churches.
Up Coming Events: January 12-14 WMS Annual Retreat Marriott Resort and Spa Myrtle Beach S.C. January 28, 2018 Mission Outreach Worship Service at this service we bless 5 of the smaller churches. January 31-Feb 3, 2018 Connectional WMS Executive Board Meeting Baltimore, MD
Happy New Year Everybody, May God Continue to Bless You. Page 6
OBC GAZETTE
Christmas 2017
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!
Remembering the reason for the season!
Page 7
Health News Health Ministry
Sis. Roberta Pinckney
OBC GAZETTE
Coming Soon… February 19, 2018 40 Days Fit for the King
Page 8
OBC GAZETTE
Trustees Corner
The OBC 2018 Trustees Board includes the following members:
Trustee Committees: The Trustee Board performs many of it
duties through several committees that include the following:
Building Committee: Responsible for upkeep of the church,
annex & parsonage
Grounds Committee: Responsible for exterior upkeep, ceme-
tery, lawn maintenance, parking, fence maintenance, etc.
Security Committee: Responsible for upkeep of Church technol-
ogy, membership and facility security
Contracts Committee: Responsible for Church contractual
agreements and Church insurance program
Personnel Committee: Responsible for the Human Resource
administration of the church employees
Transportation Committee: Responsible for the maintenance,
repair and operations of the Church bus.
Adhoc Committees: A Temporary committee made up of
Trustees or members at large or both to perform a specific.
Committee chairpersons and members will be selected at our
first meeting of the year.
Trustee Projects:
Snowden Property: Two Adhoc committees are working the Church Conference approved disposition
Sale of the Property Church Development of the property
Church 501.3C: Our Federal Nonprofit application status is still progressing. State qualification is complete.
Repairs:
Review of cost proposal for repair of rear wall is underway
Building Committee soliciting proposal for Fellowship Hall roof repairs.
Reminders:
Please be mindful of the Facility use policy when scheduling events. Clean up after your event is always a
requirement. Thank you in advance.
Page 9
1. Harry Green 2. Willie Cummings 3. Julius Cummings 4. Joseph Bailem 5. Ruthie Stokes 6. Rebecca Richardson 7. Terrill McPherson 8. John McQueen 9. Ronald Gold 10. Henry Washington 11. Don Manigault 12. Kathy Burns 13. Chris Collins 14. Lawrence Stokes 15. Walter Smalls
Birthdays, Anniversaries & Special Occasions!
OBC GAZETTE
Jeremiah WordJeremiah WordJeremiah Word———Jan 2ndJan 2ndJan 2nd Ashley White Ashley White Ashley White --- Jan 9thJan 9thJan 9th Bailee White Bailee White Bailee White --- Jan 9thJan 9thJan 9th Carrie StokesCarrie StokesCarrie Stokes––– Jan 11thJan 11thJan 11th Stephan Platt IIIStephan Platt IIIStephan Platt III––– Jan 17thJan 17thJan 17th Octavia GathersOctavia GathersOctavia Gathers––– Jan 18thJan 18thJan 18th Khamari Jenkins Khamari Jenkins Khamari Jenkins --- Jan 20thJan 20thJan 20th Willie F. CummingsWillie F. CummingsWillie F. Cummings--- Jan 24thJan 24thJan 24th Viola Huger Viola Huger Viola Huger --- Jan 26th Jan 26th Jan 26th Lewis Stokes Jr. Lewis Stokes Jr. Lewis Stokes Jr. –––Jan 27thJan 27thJan 27th Barbara White Barbara White Barbara White --- Jan 28thJan 28thJan 28th Tiffany Powell Tiffany Powell Tiffany Powell --- Jan 31stJan 31stJan 31st Patricia Singleton Patricia Singleton Patricia Singleton --- Jan 31stJan 31stJan 31st
Tiffany Oree Tiffany Oree Tiffany Oree --- Feb 5thFeb 5thFeb 5th Carolyn Hudson Carolyn Hudson Carolyn Hudson ---Feb 8thFeb 8thFeb 8th Jernard Word Jernard Word Jernard Word ––– Feb 10thFeb 10thFeb 10th Zaria Pryor Zaria Pryor Zaria Pryor ––– Feb 17thFeb 17thFeb 17th Joseph Bailem Joseph Bailem Joseph Bailem --- Feb 17thFeb 17thFeb 17th Christopher CollinsChristopher CollinsChristopher Collins --- Feb 18thFeb 18thFeb 18th Betty Freeman Gregg Betty Freeman Gregg Betty Freeman Gregg --- Feb 18thFeb 18thFeb 18th Keon J. Edwards Keon J. Edwards Keon J. Edwards --- Feb 22ndFeb 22ndFeb 22nd Jordan Harkness Jordan Harkness Jordan Harkness –––Feb 27thFeb 27thFeb 27th Carol Sue Dawson Carol Sue Dawson Carol Sue Dawson ---Feb 28thFeb 28thFeb 28th
John R. Dilligard,Sr John R. Dilligard,Sr John R. Dilligard,Sr --- Mar 1stMar 1stMar 1st Louistine Conyers Louistine Conyers Louistine Conyers --- Mar 2ndMar 2ndMar 2nd Grasha McLaurin Grasha McLaurin Grasha McLaurin --- Mar 4thMar 4thMar 4th Myra Richardson Myra Richardson Myra Richardson ---Mar 4thMar 4thMar 4th Rebecca Swinton Rebecca Swinton Rebecca Swinton ---Mar 5thMar 5thMar 5th Lawrence Stokes Lawrence Stokes Lawrence Stokes --- Mar 6thMar 6thMar 6th Alfreda Jamison Alfreda Jamison Alfreda Jamison ---Mar 8thMar 8thMar 8th Karasten Palmer Karasten Palmer Karasten Palmer ---Mar 8thMar 8thMar 8th Marie Charles Marie Charles Marie Charles ---Mar 10thMar 10thMar 10th James Gilliard Sr James Gilliard Sr James Gilliard Sr ––– Mar 12thMar 12thMar 12th Cheryl McLaurin Cheryl McLaurin Cheryl McLaurin --- Mar 13thMar 13thMar 13th Clarence L. Oree Clarence L. Oree Clarence L. Oree ---Mar 15thMar 15thMar 15th Kyla Manigault Kyla Manigault Kyla Manigault ––– Mar15thMar15thMar15th Leroy Pinckney Leroy Pinckney Leroy Pinckney –––Mar 17thMar 17thMar 17th Elizabeth Mazyck Elizabeth Mazyck Elizabeth Mazyck ---Mar 27thMar 27thMar 27th
Page 10
Isaac & Patricia Singleton
Mr. & Mrs. Jackie Oree
Ruthie and Joe Stokes
Jan 12-14– 7th Episcopal District’s WMS Retreat Myrtle Beach, SC
Jan 17th– Mt. Pleasant District Reporting Day
Jan 21st– Steward and Trustees Recognition Service Mt. Nebo AME Church
Feb 12th– Founder’s Day
Feb 14th - Ash Wednesday
Mar 3rd-9th - Week of Prayer for the “Healing of AIDs
March 26-29 – Holy Week
March 30 - Good Friday
District Calendar
Church Location:
1734 N Highway 17
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone: 843-884-5130
E-mail:
Website: http://greaterolivebranchame.org/
Office Hours:
Monday—Friday
9:00 AM– 4:00 PM
Church Services:
7:00 AM & 10:30 AM First and Third Sundays
10:30 AM Second, Fourth and Fifth Sunday
Church School:
9:00 AM (every Sunday)
Bible Study:
12:00 PM—1:00 PM (every Wednesday)
6:00 PM—7:00 PM (every Wednesday)
Prayer Meeting:
6:30 PM—7:30 PM (every Thursday)
OBC GAZETTE
O L I V E B R A N C H A M E C H U R C H
HOURS OF OPERATIONS
Got any Newsletter ideas or
comments? Email them to
the Gazette team:
Betty Collins
Tiffany Oree
Ruthie Stokes
**************************
Issue 17 will be published
on April 8, 2018. Deadline
for submission is March 25,
2018
Let Us Keep Our “Sick and Shut-in” in Prayer!
SUGGESTIONS
IDEAS
COMMENTS
Ministerial Staff: Reverend Arthur Pinckney Reverend Henrietta Cummings Reverend Joanne Singleton Reverend Isaac Holmes
Reverend Harry Frazier Reverend Peggy Snipe Reverend Cornell Phillips Reverend Annette Huger Reverend Oliver Burns
Sis. Martha Alston
Sis. Helen Burns
Sis. Mary Cobb
Sis. Hilda Conyers
Sis. Brandi Cooper
Sis. Carol Cummings
Bro. Francis Cummings
Bro. Johnny Ellis
Sis. Margaret Frazier
Sis. Lorraine Gethers
Bro. Arthur Gilliard
Bro. James Gilliard
Sis. Annie Green
Sis. Maggie Heyward
Rev. Isaac Holmes
Sis. Carrie Jackson
Sis. Alfreda Jamison
Sis. Lucille Jefferson
Sis. Mary Jenkins
Sis. Sandra Ketchen
Sis. Elaine Major
Sis. Geraldine Major
Sis. Gloria Mazyck
Rev. Eddie Palmer
Sis. Rosa Lee Palmer
Sis. Beulah Pinckney
Sis. Hilda Mae Simmons
Sis. Edna Smalls
Sis. Helen Smalls
Sis. Rosalee Smalls
Sis. Barbara Smith
Sis Rosalind Snipe
Sis. Loretta P. Stokes
Bro. William Stokes
Bro. Joseph Washington
Sis. Wilhelmina Washington
Sis. Barbara Williams
Bro. Joseph Wilson
Olive Branch AME Church, Inc.