Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 10-7-16 Online Edition

Local
Pastor’s ‘Prodigal Child Project’ Hopes To Recreate Voter Awareness
Historic Church To Celebrates Its 123rd Anniversary
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Nationally renowned pastor, Kenneth Glasgow, said he’s on a mission to visit as many institutions of incarceration as he can to make sure people have access to the ballot. He has named his mission, “The Prodigal Child Project.”
“What’s not well known is you don’t necessarily lose your
PASTOR KENNETH GLASGOW
right to vote simply because you’re incarcerated. That’s why I’m drafting a bill that would give inmates automatic restoration when they are re- leased.
“I will be coming to Florida soon to initiate the Prodigal Child Project, and inform all of the inmates of the rights they have as inmates. I’m trying to make this a movement.”
Pastor Glasgow said if he’s successful more than 300,000 votes will be added to the existing role, and that’s something a lot of political groups don’t want to see.
“I expect a ton of opposition from those groups who have worked hard for years to make sure minority votes are im- pacted, and to discourage mi- norities from voting by making the process more difficult.
“I’ve already started getting some resistance from some ju- risdictions, but I’m not going to stop. I’m on a mission, and I will be enlisting soldiers along the way. This is far too important to not pursue.”
REV. O. JERMAINE SIMMONS, SR. ... Revivalist
Members of the historic Greater Bethel Missionary Bap- tist Church will gather to cele- brate its 123rd Anniversary. The celebration will take place on Sunday, October 16th, 2016, at 11 a.m., and the entire community is invited to come and participate in an exciting morning of praise and worship.
The day is also designated as Fellowship Day and Homecom- ing. Reverend Jerry G.
Nealy, of Friendly Missionary Baptist Church, will deliver the message. The theme for the Fel- lowship Day Service comes from Proverbs 3:5 and 6: “Trust In The Lord With All Thine Heart And Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding. In All Thy Ways Acknowl- edge Him, And He Will Di- rect Thy Paths.”
A Fellowship dinner will fol- low the Service in the Reverend Oscar Johnson, Jr. Fellowship Hall.
Greater Bethel M. B. Church was organized in 1893, as Ebenezer Baptist Church. It was reorganized in the first decade of the 20th Century in a newly built, wooden structure. The church then underwent a name change and became Greater Bethel Mis- sionary Baptist Church.
Pastor Jacob Wesley Rhodes became the Senior Pas- tor in 1936 and remained in that capacity until 1959. Under his leadership, a new brick building was constructed in 1949.
Greater Bethel’s location on the western edge of what was then known as the “Scrub” and near Central Avenue’s business district made it a focal point for many of the city’s African Amer- icans. In 2004, the City of Tampa recognized the long standing importance of the church when it was designated as one of the City’s landmarks in the historic Central Avenue area. The Historical Marker outside of the church was erected and ded- icated on May 22nd, 2011.
In addition to the Fellowship
Day and Homecoming celebra-
tion, the church will have its an-
nual Revival on Wednesday
through Friday, October 12th- 14th.
The dynamic and inspira- tional Reverend O. Jermaine Simmons, Sr., of Jacob Chapel Baptist Church in Tallahassee, will deliver the Revival sermons. Each night, featured choirs will provide the musical praise. The Gospel Choir at USF, the Greater Bethel M. B. Church Mass Choir and the Gospel Music Workshop of America – Tampa Chapter, will set the musical tone for each night’s message.
For more information, con- tact: Sister Sophia Dingwall at (216) 502-5071 or Sister Carol Lewis at (813) 785-9039.
REV. JERRY NEALY
... Friendship M. B. Church Fellowship Day Guest Speaker
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016