Congratulations Sister Emma Griggs!

Gospel Karaoke Talent Show a Hit

Last month, congregants sung praises unto the Lord with enough power and passion to bring David and the angels in heaven on their feet. On September 30, Grace Baptist Church of Christ hosted Her first annual karaoke talent show. Nearly 60 members, friends and family turned out to what proved to be a blessed night of fun worship and fellowship.

The audience must have known that it was going to be a great night when Sis. Paulette Booth started the experience with Donnie McClurkin’s hit “We Fall Down.” The stage was set and the energy was high for the rest of the karaoke talent show.

Sis. Shellia Jenkins-Ward and many other members were most enthusiastic about a performance from “Little Ms. Fabulous”: a group that comprised of young and energized girls that came ready and prepared to sing the roof off.

“Those girls were having such a great time singing,” Sis. Ward said with a wide smile.

But they weren’t the only youth who gave Grace a jolt; Shaun Price was able to shake the room as a human percussionist, or beat boxer. His performance mixed up the vibe for the night and effectively brought everyone to their feet in support of the spiritual neo-Doug E. Fresh rendition.

While everyone was ecstatic to see the youth sing (and beat box) praises to the Lord, the seniors and longtime members of Grace contributed just as much energy and spirit to the night. Sis. Beverly Findley moved the crowd when she sang “I Love the Lord.” Sis. Angelina Bolden also represented and added extra flavor to the show with her bilingual performance. Ella cantó maravillosamente en Inglés y español!

When the night ended, everyone was pleased and blessed to have fellowshipped with their brothers and sisters. The karaoke talent show was yet another great demonstration by the Grace family that proves we are Christians who know how to have fun, enjoy each other’s company and give honor and praise to the Lord at the same time. If you missed out, make sure to participate in the next show!

In the meantime, there is always a choir that can use an extra voice or two.

Grace Celebrates 49th Pastoral Anniversary

It is finally here!

This week, Grace Baptist Church of Christ is blessed to celebrate its 49^th Pastoral Anniversary, recognizing the diligence, faithfulness and drive of Pastor Jacob Underwood and First Lady Thomasena Underwood for nearly half a decade. The Church body has expressed their upmost enthusiasm and appreciation for having the same Pastor and First Lady since 1962. On Sunday, October 23, the Church culminates its weeklong celebration with a highly anticipated pastoral anniversary service.

Mr. and Mrs. Underwood have worked tirelessly in the East New York community to provide spiritual and worldly necessities, such as housing, education and food. To this day, Grace Towers and New Grace Center remain staples in our community. Thanks to God that Pastor Underwood trusted in the Lord and remained focused and prayed up to pursue many social justice initiatives that were needed and scarcely delivered in East New York. Even in their absence, Mr. and Mrs. Underwood’s presence and commitment to God’s work is manifested from within the Church and through the community.

In Grace’s traditional grandiose fashion, there will be a myriad of guest pastors delivering the message throughout the week. From the Rev. Jesse Sumbry of King Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church on Monday October 17, to Pastor Walter Alston of Metropolitan Baptist Church on Friday October 21, congregants are encouraged to turnout and participate in a powerful week of praise and fellowship. The full schedule of services can be found in the comprehensive programs that were prepared by a hardworking committee of Grace members and distributed last Sunday. The program also includes a series of scriptures (Jeremiah 3:14-15; Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 2:1-8; Mark 16:14-15; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 4:11-13; Titus 2:1-8), words from Pastor Underwood, a page honoring First Lady Underwood with a citing of the Book of Proverbs’ Virtuous Woman (31:10-31) and a special thanks from the Rogers and the Grace family.

As Co-Pastor Michael Rogers noted in his October 16 sermon, “We know how to throw a good party on our birthdays…But having a pastor to deliver God’s word for so long is something we ought to make a big deal about; especially in these times.”

Today we celebrate a history and a legacy that continues to unceasingly move forward. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Underwood and the Grace family, and thanks to all of our sister churches and supporters who have helped make the past 49 years a graceful and Christ-centered experience.

Our Community, Our Justice: Urban Gardens

If NYC can take anything from Tropical Storm Irene, it is two things: we are lucky and, with the exception of our outdated plumbing system and infrastructure, partially prepared.

Unfortunately, most upstate farms were neither. According to an August issue of the Daily News, more than 80 percent of upstate family farms that provide produce for NYC’s 53 green markets were damaged by the storm. When it is that late in the summer crop season, it’s highly improbable that the nearly 190 inundated farms will be able to recuperate in time to yield the carrots, onions, spinach, baby beets, arugula, winter squash and pumpkins that we normally expect to see by the fall. There has been sparse coverage of the farming families who have been devastated by the utter collapse of the pumpkin market for this year’s Halloween season. Some farmers have seen as much as 20,000 pumpkins fall prey to the storm — we can expect higher prices at the grocery store.

But that does not mean that farmers’ market enthusiasts should freight. If anything, I see this as an opportunity for urbanites to support one of the most underutilized assets: empty lot gardens. These urban diamonds turn vacant lots, which are otherwise filled with shredded tires, rodents and debris, into bearers of community empowerment.

According to Green Guerilla, a nonprofit started by Liz Christy in 1973 amidst economic hardships, there are currently 600 community gardens in the City.

At East New York’s New Vision Garden — which is located by the Van Siclen 3-train station — youth groups, public schools, churches and community centers visit to plant their own patch of greenery. Whether they immediately notice it or not, their seeds reap the indispensable qualities of teamwork, patience, attentiveness, self-achievement and, one of the more undermined virtues in the inner-city, health consciousness.

Health

Unfortunately, there are virtually more fast food restaurants than patches of grass on any given block. By no surprise, the CDC reports that childhood obesity rates increased from 5 percent in 1980 to 17 percent in 2010; the percentage for non-Hispanic black females between the age of 12 and 19 increased to about 28 percent during the same period. When I look at the beauty and benefits of New Vision Garden next to the sugar and poverty blight that continues to go neglected, I ask, “What’s going on?” Brooklyn leaders should encourage community members to grow more and get youth involved in the process. The gardens save money and fortify families.

History

The use of urban gardens as a response to natural and economical disasters is not a new phenomenon by any stretch — their roots go as deep as six-and-a-half decades back. If you ever speak to an urban farmer from Brooklyn, you are likely to hear them recount of the glorious Victory Gardens that fed so many families both physically and spiritually during WWII. In 1945, the Civilian Defense Volunteer Office encouraged urbanites to utilize as many empty lots as possible to cultivate foliage turnips (for greens), New Zealand spinach, onions (from sets), leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, radishes and beets, which are still common novelties for urban farms. Eventually, the movement became so powerful that nearly 50,000 urban farmers were cultivating 17,000 farms in Brooklyn’s backyard — that is nearly 230 acres of land.

President Harry Truman was so impressed by the gardens that he urged citizens to keep up the work.

“The value of gardening in building strong bodies, healthy minds and happy people has never been greater. Today we need physical strength…we need moral strength to combat inflation and other economic dislocations; we need spiritual strength to see us through…trying days…We need relaxation, happiness and congenial relationships among our people. These needs can be met in great part by continuing a program which involves the participation of millions of Americans in home gardening.”

A Call for Leaders

Call me a romanticist, but I still envision a nation where it isn’t out of line for a politician to stand at a podium and laud the positive impact that a community garden can foster during economic hardships and natural disasters. And perhaps this is even more extreme, but I don’t think it should be too far out of touch to see First Lady Michelle Obama take her fight against childhood obesity to the empty lots of the inner-city. They are all so valuable, yet, they are seldom spoken about, nor are there a series of well-known incentives for those who take up the venture to stay afloat. Although the gardens take a lot of time and dedication, what they reap eclipses environmentalism: It is about empowering communities and its youth. I hope some leaders will emerge and take the gardens under their wing.

"Charise on your Health" Flu Season: Get Vaccinated Today

It is that time of year again. As the days get shorter and the winds gust a bit harder, pharmacies are stocking up on Kleenex and vaccination locations are loaded up for the flu season. But do not freight — there are some things you should now about flu to prepare you for the season of sniffles and sneezes.

Many people are infected with the flu each year. Nearly 20 percent of Americans will catch the flu this season (over 61,400,000 people), along with over 200,000 people being hospitalized for flu related complications. Elderly, 65 or older, and infants, 2 or younger, are most vulnerable to flu complications.

The flu can be contagious. Viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people who have the flu cough, sneeze or talk. Less often, a person might also get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or possibly their nose. You may be able to pass on the flu to someone else even before you know you are sick.

The single best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine each season. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common (type A, B and seasonal flu). Vaccination sites are set up at numerous pharmacies (including Rite Aid and CVS) and community centers.

Yearly flu vaccination typically begins in September, or as soon as the vaccine is available, and continues throughout the flu season which can last as late as May. While flu season can begin as early as October, most of the time seasonal flu activity peaks in January, February or later. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year.

Don't be a Germ Lover! These simple methods can help stop the spread of germs:

- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Stay healthy! Thoroughly wash those hands, cover your mouth and get vaccinated! And remember, for everything there is a season.

Black History: Chisholm Did It All, 'Unbought and Unbossed'

Before there was a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama, there was a Barbadian Brooklynite who tore down multiple barriers in her own lifetime. On November 5, 1968, Shirley Chisholm was elected as the first black congresswomen and the 33^rd black person in congress; she did it unbought and unbossed. Her remarkable tenure in congress spanned from the ninety-first through the ninety-seventh congress (1969 – 1982), in which she represented Brooklyn’s 12^th Congressional District. Chisholm will always be remembered as a bold black woman who adamantly jockeyed on behalf of the poor inner-cities, never forgetting her origins to the moment she passed on January 1, 2005.

Chisholm was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY. Born of humble beginnings, Chisholm and her 7 siblings spent most of their early years with their Grandma on a Barbadian farm. When she turned ten, her grandmother sent them back to live with their hardworking parents in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn during the height of the Great Depression. Despite her harsh socio-economic upbringings, Chisholm was able to excel in a predominately white classroom, which eventually garnered the attention of colleges and universities that were willing to offer her scholarships. Unfortunately, the scholarships were only able to provide for tuition and books; Chisholm did not have enough financial resources to fund her room and board. Chisholm went on to carry the issue of college affordability in her later political career.

From 1942 through 1964, Chisholm was able to build up an astounding educational and professional record. From graduating from Brooklyn College with honors in 1946, earning her Master’s in Elementary Education from Columbia University in 1952, becoming involved in the NAACP’s campus leadership team, teaching and directing early childhood education centers, joining the League of Women Voters and vocally challenging the societal and professional roles of women, Chisholm was able to earn a strong following in her community and beyond.

Her array of supporters and “it-girl” aura prompted her to run a successful campaign for the 17^th Assembly District in 1964. As an assemblywoman, she saw eight of her 50 proposed bills pass into legislation, including one bill that provided additional financial assistance for poor students to more comfortably fund their higher education and a bill that prohibited schools from denying or striping female teachers of their tenure on the basis of a maternal leave.

Finally, in 1968 she was ready to run for Congress. Her platform challenged the status quo of political party machine-made candidates and made a promise for honest and loyal representation of her constituents — thus, her slogan became “unbought and unbossed.” In a relative upset, she was able to defeat Freedom Ride organizer James Farmer, who ran under the Republican and liberal ballots, by a significant margin. On November 5, nearly 43 years before today, Chisholm made history.

It didn’t take long for the outspoken Brooklyn woman to make a splash into Congress. She immediately challenged the seniority system that the House practiced at the time when she was assigned to the Agriculture Committee. Chisholm lamented that her constituency did not elect her for agricultural issues, but instead to tackle pressing educational, labor and socio-economic issues that are rampant in inner-cities.

"Apparently all they know here in Washington about Brooklyn is that a tree grew there," Chisholm told a Washington Post reporter.

House Speaker John McCormack reluctantly agreed to reassign her to the Veterans Affairs Committee, and eventually to the Education and Labor Committees.

As a congresswoman0, Chisholm used her leverage to make a strong anti-war stance against the expensive and seemingly endless campaigns in Vietnam and Korea, as well as to bring women’s rights issues into political discourse — that includes controversial talks that may have bought abortion into political discourse.

Ms. ‘unbought and unbossed’ was never shy or hesitant to speak her mind. In one instance, she upset several officials when she criticized the government in a book that was titled after her slogan.

"Our representative democracy is not working," she wrote "because the Congress that is supposed to represent the voters does not respond to their needs. I believe the chief reason for this is that it is ruled by a small group of old men."

Despite her critics, Chisholm was able to build a strong enough following to make one of the most historical political moves, which was manifested and personified in the recent presidential primary battle between president Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 1972, Chisholm became the first black person and the 17^th woman to ever run for presidency. Though she was unsuccessful, receiving 152 delegates at the National Democratic Convention and ultimately coming up short at the primary ballots, she said that she ran "in spite of hopeless odds... to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo."

Perhaps the most symbolic and controversial moment in her campaign was when Chisholm visited well-known segregationist Gov. George Wallace of Alabama at a hospital following his attempted assassination in May 1972. Chisholm claims that she did it because it was the right and compassionate thing to do. The hardened politician, who would later apologize for his pro-segregation sentiments in the south, returned the favor by galvanizing southern support for Chisholm’s push to set a decent minimum wage for domestic workers.

Chisholm went on to serve in Congress for the next 25 years before retiring and becoming a college professor and scholar at Spellman College and Mt. Holyoke, a renowned all girl college. She retired in Florida and died on January 1, 2005. To this day, inspired women of all colors and nationalities pay respects at her grave site at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.