More Photos from Grace Redemption House

Words from Co-Pastor Rogers: Don’t be Afraid of Your Potential

I was thinking about a poem by Marianne Williamson named "Dream of this" her poem states

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves — who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people do not feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.

And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”

What a powerful and true thought! Sometimes we hide behind the facade of laziness in order not to deal with our fear. This could be a fear of failure or it could also be a fear of greatness. If I do accomplish this dream will I be able to live up to it? The fear of failure can also terrify us because we always are tempted to ask the question, "What if this fails?" Well, my friend its important to understand that God hasn't given us the spirit of fear, but one of a sound mind. You always need to shoot for your goals and dreams. Don't just shoot a little, but shoot with everything you got!!!

One story that baffles me is found in 2 Kings 13:14-19, King Joash has an extraordinary opportunity by the Prophet Elisha. He told him to open a Window toward the East and shoot his arrows, every arrow represented what God was going to give him. Instead of King Joash shooting all his arrow, he shot one and wasted the others. Elisha scolded him for not taking advantage of the moment. How many times in life do we not shoot with all we have? Eminem was right when he stated in life many times you only have one shot. Shoot with everything and for everything, play to win and God will do some extraordinary things.

Your potential is greater than your dreams. Ephesians 3:20 (one of my favorite verses) states, "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, and above all that you can ask or think!" Wow, our potential in Christ is greater than our dreams and desires.

This verse makes me want to dream and desire big, because the promise of the verse is He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, and above!!! So, I have no need to fear my potential but please let me operate in faith.

Giving Grace Thanks for 49 Years: It’s our Anniversary!

Do you know what today is? It’s our anniversary!

After weeks of tireless planning, the day is finally here. Today, Grace will be celebrating Her 49th anniversary with the community in the 13th annual East New York Day, including a sermon from 10th Congressional District Congressman Edolphus Towns and roughly 500 Brooklynites who came ready for steel drums, stepping, clowns, basketball and food.

But this day would not have been possible without the hard work and diligence of Pastor, and the 84-years-young birthday boy, Jacob Underwood and his wife Tomasena, Co-pastor Michael Rogers and Grace’s dedicated members. Nearly half a century ago, Pastor Underwood and his wife spent most of their savings to purchase a Jewish synagogue and plant the seed for GBCOC, the church that still relates to the total person. From Housing at the Grace Towers and beyond, education through New Grace Center and more, Underwood has worked tirelessly to make Grace become a staple of the East New York community. Special thanks also goes to our sister churches who participated in our nightly services throughout the week.

Pick up a t-shirt, buy a journal, plan your anniversary dues and get more involved in Grace—anniversaries were made for catching up and showing your appreciation for where your relationships have brought you.

In the build up to today, some of our very own members were delighted to share their thoughts on GBCOC:

Sister B. Walker, Missionaries (41st Year as a Member): The glory of the Lord really gives me what I need to do here. Grace means a lot. The love of Jesus keeps me coming back, because there’s a lot of churches in the neighborhood where I live. But it’s the people, the loving, the kindness and sharing, and sometimes it’s the fighting and carrying on, but we can grow and we can live. We grow together here.

Sister Crystal Renee (19th Year as a Member): Grace means the world to me. I love my pastor and I am so grateful to have met him. I can say that [GPCOC} basically saved my life. I was a very lost child. And the women I am today, I can really give thanks to Grace for. So [GBCOC], I love you!

Sister Angela Bolden (19th Year as a Member): I’m so excited for this anniversary. I have been active in Grace and remaining faithful and steadfast in the Lord in all that I do. it is really through the Will and grace of God that we continue to come back.

Sister Pamela Foreman (42nd Year as a Member)

I have never stayed in one place for 42 years, however, as I look back and reflect on the love, support, discipline, teaching, preaching, and motivation that my church family embraced my family of four generations with explains why my family and I are still active members here. As I lift my hands with Praise and Thanksgiving it only leaves me to say Thank You. Congratulations Pastor Underwood, Co-Pastor Rogers and the Grace Baptist Church if Christ family!

HAPPY 49TH

ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Birthday Sister Walker

100 years, and 48 years as a Grace member, without skipping a beat! Grace joined Sister Walker for her 100th birthday at the Spring Creek Nursing Home. The feat was so great that Congressman Ed Towns and Councilman Charles Barron had to show up to present her with a declaration from Congress and the City respectively. Friends, politicians and family joined her for food, cake, gifts and laughter. Sis. Walker has walked for the Lord for 100 years and sets a cross-generational example for years to come. May God continue to bless you!

A Graceful Evening at Osbourne’s Etiquette Dinner

By Keith Walls

If you ask me, we all can use a lesson in etiquette. What's the proper way to dress, the proper way to set a table and even the proper way to eat our food? I mean hey, we might be invited to have dinner with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama one day.

The etiquette class that was given last month did just that. It taught some people things they may not have known and for others it reinforced what they already knew. There were children and adults who were there to learn something new and get a refresher course.

"The most important thing that I learned was no elbows on the table." said Jamara.

Having your elbows on the table is something you don't do, especially if your at dinner with the Obamas.

"For me, it was very informative." said Sister Monique Williams. "I never knew the proper way to set the table. It was refreshing to learn something that I may eventually use in the future."

Sis. Hallett had a different experience.

"Most of the things that we’re taught in the class I knew but, it was important for me to bring my daughters so they could learn something new." She continued to say, "It was interesting because the person that asked the most questions was Brian. He was eager to learn and eager to soak up the information that Deacon and Sister Osbourne were giving. Not many young people are interested in things like that but he was!"

This class was both informative and inspirational. It allowed those who attended to step out from what they use to doing, into something totally brand new. A special thanks goes out to Deacon and Sister Osbourne for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share this nugget of knowledge. So now when we are at Dinner with the President and First Lady and we are about to put our elbows on the table, we will hear that voice that says, "No elbows on the table!"

And The First Vacation Bible School Essay Award Goes to…

DELISO SMITH-HARDING!

Congratulations to 2nd grader Deliso Smith-Harding for submitting the winning Vacation Bible School Essay! She will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card for her efforts. Runner-ups Najarie Thorne and Safiya Christian should also be recognized for their hard work. Keep up the good work and stay on the straight narrow!

Here is the winning essay:

I am always happy to attend Vacation Bible School every year.

This year, the theme is Jesus Truth Seekers.

My teacher told us a story about a little girl whose name is Nicole. She and her parents went on a vacation. When they came back from their vacation, they were shocked to see that their home was in a mess and lots of things were missing. Nicole’s video games were stolen. She began crying, telling her mother that her favorite game was stolen.

Nicole’s mother told her not to cry because the holy treasures are with God and they will never be stolen by anyone. And as Jesus Truth Seekers, we must believe in him.

For me, I am encouraged to trust more in God. Although I will lose things I treasure on Earth, I will never lose my holy treasures in Heaven.

Our Community, Our Justice: Why Prisons Don’t Work

Luke 23:39-42 depicts the popularized narrative of “the Thief on the Cross.” In the Sunday School favorite, Jesus promises the ‘criminal’ a spot in paradise because of his demonstration of faith — the ultimate testimony to his healing from a life of crime.

Unfortunately, some Christians who hail this scripture fail to practice the same forgiveness and acceptance of those who society has deemed criminals. What is even worse is that some of us may care less about their civil rights, living by the pretext that “they get what they deserve” or “they can’t change.”

If I have learned anything from my work with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-based non-profit that advocates for civil rights and prison reform, it is that there are many ills in our prison system that the common man fails to acknowledge because of unfair assumptions. For those who do not know what happens before and after the drop of the unforgiving gavel that slams a man into a dark cell, it is important to familiarize yourself with the system that puts many of us people of color behind bars.

Mass incarceration is the new civil rights fight. Today, many advocates for social justice even dare to call it “The New Jim Crow,” following the lead of black law professor Michelle Alexander of Ohio State University.

But why, you may ask? Why should we fight or accept these men and women who have harmed our community? Aren’t they criminals anyway?

Well, lets look at the numbers: according to the 2010 U.S. Census, Black-males constitute 17 percent of the population, but 41 percent of the nation’s prisons and roughly 85 percent of NY State’s system.; 1 in every three black youth born after 2000 is expected to find himself in the prison system before he hits the age of 40, which is a higher percentage than the amount of black males expected to graduate with a bachelor of arts; and according to a Health and Drug study, Blacks make up 14 percent of the drug user population, but constitute 54 percent of drug convictions in the U.S. Criminal Justice system.

There is no need to explain that poverty and socio-economic conditions that prevail in our communities creates an inviting environment for crime. However, the racial disparities in the U.S. prison system are troubling. The numbers imply that something funky is going on in the courtroom when alternatives to incarceration and more effective parole officers permeate affluent communities, but leave the inner-city in the shadow of Jim Crow’s shackles.

Although we may be happy to have one less ‘criminal’ on our block, have you ever asked what happens after they are thrown into the penitentiary? Or even a more simple question: what are prisons designed for?

When someone commits a crime, what they need is healing — the sort of forgiveness that God granted the thief on the cross. However, sending them nearly 400 miles away from their families (for a Brooklynite who is sent upstate) into an environment where gang life is personified and drug addictions and mental illnesses go untreated only worsens their conditions — henceforth, recidivism rates, or the likeliness an ex-offender will commit a new crime, are over 50 percent.

When they are released, they have nothing but a few dollars to their name and are tossed into transitional housing in the grittiest back streets of the inner-city. When they look for work, the infamous “box” obstructs them from employment, public housing, or credit loans, and perhaps the greatest remnant of Jim Crow, they are denied the right to vote (with the exception of Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Kansas and Colorado). Believe it or not, nearly 32 percent of black males from Florida were not allowed to vote in the 2000 presidential elections because of their felonious record. Imagine how that may have affected all of the confusion in the Sun Shine state’s ballot shenanigans.

What needs to happen are more support groups like the Osborne Association and, a skill that I truly admire, prison missions. If you aren’t ready to accept them back into your community, you can always trust that God will not forsake them.

If prisons are truly designed to heal people and communities, then their addictions and mental illnesses must come to the forefront of their prison stint. It is time to start treating the issues and not the mans reaction to them.

But in order for us to do so, we must recognize that a man can heal and find Christ, even when the state has thrown him on the Cross with his own neighbors shouting, “crucify him.”

“Charise on your Health” Obstructive Sleep Apnea: it’s more than a snore

Snoring.

That sound that ranges from a low buzz to a sleep-breaking chainsaw is very common among children as well as adults. When snoring is combined with periods of not breathing it is called sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA, occurs when your breathing airways are collapsed or blocked during sleep. Snoring is the sound produced when air passes through this blockage. Most people don't know they have OSA unless a spouse, family member or friend informs them they looked like they stopped breathing when they slept or may complain about the loudness of their snoring.

Other symptoms of OSA include daytime somnolence or falling asleep in the daytime e.g. at work, school or just sitting in a quiet area for a couple of minutes. Others may even fall asleep while talking with another person! In children, a sign of OSA may be bedwetting.

OSA is more common in persons who are overweight and in children with large tonsils. Untreated OSA can increase risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes and heart failure. There is also an increased risk of work and car accidents.

OSA is diagnosed by symptoms and sometimes by an exam called a sleep study. It is a chronic condition that can be managed with lifestyle changes e.g weight loss, mouth guards, breathing devices and/or surgery.

Source: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Sleep Disorders

Celebrating 235 years of American Independence

Two weeks ago, our nation celebrated Her 235th Independence Day — a day that we can all agree could not have been possible without the blood, sweat and tears that have been shed from every color and creed over the centuries.

Of course, the fight for ‘Independence’ was unique for Africans. As some put it, our loyalty was not with a person or place, but with a principle. Our principle was so great, that it lead one of our ancestors to become one of the first recognized martyrs of the Revolution. On March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks, who was of Native American and African descent, was the first shot to death by the Redcoats in the Boston Massacre.

Despite the ups and downs of our nation, we can always retrace our footsteps and smile at the distance that we have covered.

As we celebrated our independence with music, fireworks, Nathan’s Famous and whatever else we could throw on the old sizzling grill, I hope we remained cognizant of an even greater Independence that we have through dependence on Christ Jesus.

As citizens of the Kingdom of God, we experience freedom from bondage, freedom from the Law, freedom from the power of sin, freedom from death, all through our dependence on the power of His blood.

As Romans 8:2 tells us, “because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

But in our freedom, we have a responsibility of service. Though we are free from the evils and principalities of the world, we are encouraged to mimic Christ and become lowly servants and stewards.

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible (1Cor 9:19).”

There is no freedom like that in Christ, and there is no better way to celebrate it than in one body. I hope that you and yours had a healthy and blessed 4th of July!

Thoughts, Testimonies and Praise, Sharing Our Thoughts

Everyday is a blessing. There is always an opportunity to share your thoughts, testimonies and praises of what God has done in your life and for your church family:


Bro. DeAndre Banks
“I have been a member of this church witnessing its rich history since I was 9-years-old. Many of the transitions that occurred under that leadership of Pastor Underwood shaped me into the man that I am today.

There is not one testimony that I could single out that stands out from others for God has truly been good to me, even when I did not feel worthy of any of His blessings. For over four decades, Grace Baptist Church of Christ stands as a beacon of hope and light in the East New York Community of Brooklyn, New York.”

“Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:19-20)

Reach out to any of the members of the newsletter or email your piece to
Jerome.nathaniel@gmail.com or Revroger00@hotmail.com to have it published.