Celebrating 49 Grace Full Years: Grace Baptist Church of Christ Prepares for Her 49th Anniversary and the Annual East New York Day

If God is for us, who is against us (Romans 8:31)?

When the Reverend Jacob N. Underwood was called by the Lord to evangelize in the East New York community in 1962, he had a world of woes and challenges that were enough to make any man nervous about the outcome of his task. But by the Grace of God, what was built on July 12, 1962 still stands today and continues to grow with time. Certainly, Grace’s upcoming 49^th anniversary has proven her to be one of the finest wines in the concrete vineyards of East New York.

From July 10 to July 17, Grace Baptist Church of Christ will be commemorating her 49^th anniversary in her trademark grandiose fashion. The week will kick off with guest Pastor Earl Jones of First Calvary Church at 3 p.m., followed by Pastor Thomas Coleman from New Paradise Baptist Church on Monday at 7 p.m., Pastor Earl Chester of Greater New Beginning on Tuesday and Pastor Mark Tyler from New Jerusalem Baptist Church on Thursday. The guest pastors for Wednesday and Friday evening’s sermon are still to be determined.

If that weren’t enough, guest speaker and 15 term veteran Congressman Edolphus Towns of the 10^th Congressional District will continue his ongoing tradition of starting East New York Day with a sermon from the hallowed pulpits of Grace. While he may be our Congressman, Towns has said on numerous occasions that he prefers for us to recognize him as “Rev. Towns,” because no election or figure can ever take away the title that God has endowed him with.

Town’s sermon will lead right into the highly anticipated annual East New York Day street fair, lasting from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. With enough food to serve roughly 500 Brooklynites, Grace will put this year’s theme of “each one, reach one” into action. Included in that menu is a lineup of cultural performances by New Grace Center’s Caribbean steel drum band and local step dancers to add some flavor to Sunday’s entrée. There will also be balloons, face-painting, basketball and other activities to keep the youth active throughout the day.

For a Church that has always been active in her community, it is only fitting for Grace to celebrate her anniversary through service to others. Sunday’s celebration is more than a congratulatory pat on our co-members’ back; it is also a celebration of community empowerment by continuing a 49 year tradition of delivering East New York through charity, agape and spiritual food, a true testimony to what Grace really stands for. Hence, there will also be medical, educational and professional resources with tents set up throughout the block to offer expertise and assistance to our fellow community members.

Do not miss out on the opportunity to celebrate a history that knows no other end but the Will of God. Join Grace, invite family and friends, buy a $10 East New York Day shirt, grab some grub and enjoy the sun — Sunday July 17 is our day.

By Jerome Nathaniel

Grace Memorial Trip Makes for Memories

By Keith Walls

Memorial Day Weekend was a weekend of fellowship, laughs, tears and pure joy. After 49 years of serving the East New York community in Brooklyn, New York. God led Pastor Underwood to start a church in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina. On this weekend Grace Baptist Church of Christ went to visit their sister church, Grace Baptist Church Redemption House.

People came from many parts of the east coast to join in this joyous occasion. Some flew, drove and even took the bus; no one wanted to be left out. Once the bus arrived we were greeted by our Pastor who we have not seen in a while since his relocation. Excitement could not be contained as everyone embraced Pastor Underwood. You could just feel the love as everyone got off the bus. Everyone settled in to the hotel and refreshed as they prepared to attend a barbecue on the grounds of Grace Baptist Church Redemption House.

The bus pulled up to the church and the grounds were filled with previous members and current members. The heat could not stop up from having a great time fellow-shipping and eating some good ole barbecued food. You can’t talk about a barbecue without letting people know what was there. So, let me do the honors. There were ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, beans, salad, fish, cakes and the list continues.

While some people were outside, a few were “getting warmed up” in the words of Pastor Underwood. When we entered the church, you could just feel the spirit in that place. Pastor Underwood talked about how good God is and all the wonderful things he has done for this branch of Zion. Bro. Sayles a former musician of GBCC led everyone in worship and praise. It was amazing to me because while it was a barbecue, it was also a time to worship God for his wonderful works. We sang our hearts out to songs from “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” to “He Did It All.”

Sunday morning was an amazing experience. Seeing all the people that came just because they wanted to be apart of this momentous occasion. Not only that but, because Pastor Underwood affected their lives in some way. The Spirit was high as we began service and it continued to grow. The choir sang about being blessed and about the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary. It was a moment just to look back and see where God has brought us and how He is still keeping us. Co-Pastor Rogers preached a sermon that touched the hearts of everyone. At the end of service Pastor Underwood was presented with gifts of appreciation from many people. I think I saw a tear in his eye.

Our trip concluded with lunch at “Ryan’s.” If you don’t know about “Ryan’s,” then you are missing out. It is a buffet filled with all types of food from fried chicken to macaroni and cheese and the best dinner rolls. It was a bittersweet moment---bitter because we knew our time in South Carolina was coming to an end but, sweet because we knew that all was well at Grace Baptist Church Redemption House. This was a trip that brought back memories for many people and a trip that created new and wonderful memories for us all.

Baccalaureate Service: Grace Graduates Get to the Next Level

Makes some noise Class of 2011!

Next Sunday, Grace will be celebrating yet another batch of church members who are advancing their education and professional endeavors with this year’s Baccalaureate Service on June 26.

While this is certainly a great milestone for each and every graduate, it is far from the finish line. Not only are we celebrating their hard earned accomplishments, but we are also encouraging them to continue their journey and to trust in the Lord as they follow His lead to a prosperous future.


Class of 2011:
Kindergarten: Jabreia Jackson; Jasmine Spera
Elementary: Isaiah Dupree; Kaijah Forman
Middle School: Shawn Price
High School: Joval Cato; Charmaine Delotch; Davidson Rodriguez
College: Natasha Benjamin, B.A.; Rukia Jeffrey, B.S.; Jerome Nathaniel, B.A.;
Shaniqua Orr, A.A.S; Cyrstal Renee, A.A.S
Certification: Shelia Jenkins-Ward, Computerized Accounting

In Honor of Thy Father: 101st Father's Day

On June 21, the morning of Father’s Day, Grace Baptist Church of Christ will be hosting her annual Father’s Day Breakfast. All fathers, male leaders, and their families are encouraged to attend a truly blessed morning of spiritual, emotional and physical encouragement to continue the tall task of being a father during the trying times that our community faces on a daily basis.

But how did Father’s Day make its way onto our yearly calendars?

The history of the day is an intriguing story. In June 1910, just two years after Mother’s Day became an official holiday, a Sonora Smart Dodd was inspired by a sermon about fathers at her Knox Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington. Her own father, a Civil War Veteran for the Union who raised her and her five siblings after her mom died while giving birth to the sixth child, was born on June 5. With the support of her pastor, Dodd and her church celebrated the first father’s day on June 19, 1910. After years of criticism, jokes, and rejection, President Lyndon Johnson finally made a 1966 presidential proclamation dedicating the third Sunday of every June to fathers — the rest is history.

But Johnson’s proclamation is not necessary for us to recognize how vital fathers are for the well-being of a people. In fact, the Lord makes it explicit throughout the Holy Bible. By no coincidence, we call the Lord “our Father in Heaven” because he is the perfect manifestation of what a father is supposed to be for his children, his Israel. God tells the Israelites "do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place (1 Chronicles 29:17)." The Lord, our father, leads his flock and comforts us with the assurance that we have nothing to fear, for he has led us through trying times in the wilderness before and can certainly lead us today and tomorrow.

Like the perfect father He is, He also establishes that the sincere discipline that we receive from our father is out of love and not to be taken as spiteful. “My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in (Proverbs 3:11-12).”

The Lord made the blueprint for fathers millenniums ago; Dodds made the day a holiday about a century ago; Grace members recognize it today. Some of our very own men of Grace shared their thoughts on Father’s Day and its significance to them:

Deacon Alfred Osbourne: Father’s day is a very special day for me because it’s a time for me to sit back and step aside and reflect and reminisce on what it is to be a father. I take that responsibility very seriously, being a father not only physically, but also spiritually. Being the spiritual father for my family and many others who look up to me is important.

The youth should just spend some time with their father, please call them,, and let them know that they care. And the most thing about it is to show love. To show them their love for him.

Bro. Jason Casey: I think a lot of times, we forget about dads and tend to focus more so on the moms. So I think Father’s day is very important. My father taught me how to be a real man. He’s a provider, protector, just an all-around good person to be around. He’s never down, he’s very circumspect.

[Celebrate father’s day by] just acknowledging that dad is there. By telling him all the things that you appreciate him for, and just treat him like a king for that day. Not just that day, but be extra nice to him on that day.

Deacon Bolden: Father’s Day is a time to remember that, although my father had his flaws, he provided for me and my mother. Me, being the youngest one, I can say that he really provided us. I’m just sad that he’s not here to see the things that are going on. I just hope that I can be some kind of role model for others. It’s good to see others trying to do the right thing.

Look up to your fathers; it’s not easy being a father. Especially in this day and age with everything going on, the pressures that are involved.

May every man who is a father figure or looks up to one celebrate and enjoy their Father’s day!

By Jerome Nathaniel

Our Community, Our Justice

June may signify the kickoff to warmer and sunnier days for the majority of us, but it also represents the start of budget wars and costly cuts for taxpayers. As the June 30 deadline for the New York City Council Fiscal Year 2012 Executive Budget creeps up on the calendar, New Yorkers are beginning to get a little uneasy about the cuts that are being proposed at Council hearings, and for good reason.

On Friday June 3, I had the ‘pleasure’ to sit in on a heated Budget hearing. The room was filled with large groups of angry seniors and loved ones who are unhappy with the direction that Commissioner of Aging Lilliam Barrios-Paoli is taking for the City’s growing senior citizen population.

Faced with $44 million worth of cuts from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and one of the smallest budgets for a City committee, Barrios-Paoli must find a way to restore every single penny. If that isn’t hard enough, she also has to find a way to fund 10 additional senior centers as a part of Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign for modernized facilities with innovative technology.

Unfortunately, technology comes at a costly price — more like $3.7 million. In order to fund the new centers, Barrios-Paoli has proposed to cut 30 percent of the current funding that goes toward the existing 256 senior centers.

But here is the issue: there is hardly enough money to sustain our centers as they are now. On average, a case manager, or social worker, is assigned to 65 to 75 seniors and is only obligated to meet with them in person once a year. Such statistics are daunting. If one case worker is spread out so thin that they have to cover that many seniors, then that means that it is virtually impossible for for the elderly to get the necessary individual attention they need at such a sensitive and fragile time in their life. To make matters worse, with food prices going up and the budget shrinking, it seems highly unlikely that all of the senior agencies will be able to serve daily meals to every senior without at least one of them defaulting in the process. Does this mean that some low-income seniors who live on their own and are in desperate need of a meal will suffer first? Quite possibly.

Thus, the stage was set for yelling councilmen and women who spent more time pointing fingers than seeking solutions.

While there is nothing anyone can do about the tight budget, this situation has at least bought several troubling thoughts to my mind. For starters, it is hard for any of us to understand why seniors have one of the smallest budgets in the City when the senior population has increased by nearly 50 percent between the 2000 and 2010 census. And the most obvious question, which was bought up over and over again throughout the hearing, is how can we expand and add more centers when what we have is already suffering from poor service? As Haggai said, “Is it time for you to live in your paneled houses and this house lies waste (Haggai 1:4)?” There isn’t even enough money to fully finance senior abuse prevention programs since the Mayor has stripped Borough Presidents of the discretionary funding that they typically use to ensure senior safety. In an ideal situation, the Mayor and city would recognize this and instead spend more money on case workers in order to improve the current system that's in place. This is no different than the charter school argument: adding new and improved centers at the expense of the majority of us who are serviced by the current system will only make matters worse for the community.

Unfortunately, the only way to be heard in politics is to shout the loudest. There was shouting in the Chamber that I sat in from senior advocates who claimed that they should be the priority of the budget because they are an important population for the City. Then, when I walked out of the Chamber, there was shouting from CUNY college students and faculty who claimed that they were the most important population of the City. Sure enough, when I walked down another two blocks, there were some thousand firefighters who shouted outside of City Hall with the belief that their firehouses ought to take primary attention in the budget wars.

In the budget war, we all claim to be first, the priority of the City. But if all of us fight to be first, then none of us will ever last. What New York suffers from is a culture in which we get our money at the expense of our brother and sister. Afterward, we play the blame game and point fingers at the next guy in charge.

By Jerome Nathaniel

The Smooth Reaper: the Dangers of Smoking

For years smoking has been glamorized as the cool and mature thing to do. As the years have passed smoking has become increasingly popular among both adults and teens. Inversely, quitting smoking has become more difficult and is even harder for those who started smoking at a young age. The main reason why calling it quits is such a challenge for most smokers is because it is addictive. It has been proven that nicotine, a main ingredient in cigarettes, is an addictive substance. Many smokers come to depend on the positive effects of nicotine, such as boosting their mood, improving short-term memory and concentration and producing a sense of well-being.

Cigarette smoking is one vice that can affect every single part of the body and has been linked to numerous cancers. The longer a person smokes the higher the risk of cancer. Alcohol abuse increases this risk. Tobacco also contains more than 19 known cancer-causing chemicals (most are collectively known as "tar") and more than 4,000 other chemicals.
Reasons to Quit Smoking for your Health:

• Heart and blood vessel problem leading to stroke, heart attacks and high blood pressure
• Cancer (especially in the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas and cervix)
• Lung problems such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, or asthma
• Problems during pregnancy

Smokeless tobacco is not safe either and has a risk of the following:

• Increased risk of mouth or nasal cancer, gum problems, tooth wear, cavities, worsening high blood pressure and angina

Now that we’ve told you how smoking can kill you, here are reasons to quit to live:

• Your breath, clothes, and hair will smell better
• Your sense of smell will return and food will taste better
• Your fingers and fingernails will slowly appear less yellow
• Your stained teeth will slowly become whiter

Your home, work and social life will also improve immediately:

• Your children will be less likely to start smoking themselves
• It will be easier and cheaper to find an apartment
• You will miss fewer work days, or you may have an easier time getting a job
• The constant search for a place to smoke when you're out will be over
• Friends will be more willing to be in your car or home
• You will have more money available (one-pack-per-day-smokers spend around $1,800 per year on cigarettes—and with prices going up and park tickets, that rate may increase)

Some health benefits begin almost immediately too, but every week, month, and year without tobacco use only improves your health.

• Within 20 minutes of quitting- your blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal and the temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
• Within 8 hours of quitting -your blood carbon monoxide levels drop and your blood oxygen levels increase, both to normal levels.
• Within 24 hours of quitting -your risk of a sudden heart attack decreases.
• Within 48 hours of quitting -nerve endings begin to regenerate and your senses of smell and taste begin to return to normal.
• Within 2 weeks to 3 months of quitting- your circulation improves and walking becomes easier; your lung function increases by up to 30%.
• Within 1 to 9 months of quitting- your overall energy typically increases and symptoms like coughing, nasal congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath improve; you will have fewer illnesses, colds and asthma attacks; you will gradually no longer be short of breath with everyday activities.
• Within 1 year of quitting -your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of someone still using tobacco.
• Within 5 years of quitting- your lung cancer death rate decreases by nearly 50% compared to one-pack-per-day-smokers; your risk of cancer of the mouth is half that of a tobacco user.
• Within 10 years of quitting -your lung cancer death rate becomes similar to that of someone who never smoked; precancerous cells are replaced with normal cells; your risk of stroke is lowered, possibly to that of a nonsmoker; your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas all go down.

There are a lot of ways to quit smoking and many resources to help you.

Family members, friends and coworkers may be supportive and encouraging. Talk to your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation medications. If you join smoking cessation programs, you have a much better chance of success. Such programs are offered by hospitals, health departments, community centers, and work sites. See: Stop smoking support programs

Helpful source: “Making the Decision to Quit Smoking”,The New York Times, 12/25/09

By Charise Mohammed

Save Summer with Vacation Bible School

It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming!

On June 28 and 29, parents and guardians can sign their children up for Grace Baptist Church of Christ’s annual Vacation Bible School, which will last from June 28 to July 8, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily As a former volunteer for the program for the past two summers, I can personally attest to the level of excitement and engagement that are attached to the two week program. Don’t let your child waste their summer; sign them up for days of activity, creativity, mental and spiritual growth. What more can you want out of a summer?

An average day at Vacation Bible School typically starts with a specialized bible study that is geared towards specific issues that each different age group faces, including kindergartners, grade-schoolers, youth, pre-teens and teens. The theme of each group’s respective study generally follows them throughout their daily activity.

But all work and no play make the hair turn gray. Vacation Bible School maintains the essential to every summer experience: food, self-made snacks, basketball, movies, frequent trips to the park and other special outings are included in the package.

If you are still interested, and haven’t heard Sis. Bolden’s repeated enthusiasm for the program, please see her for more information. Start off the summer right with good company, good tiding and good times!

By Jerome Nathaniel