Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 12-19-17

Local
Rep. Shawn Harrison Distributes Books At Kimbell Elementary
State Representative Shawn Harrison presented books on Thursday (December 14th) to the students at Sylvia Rodriguez Kimbell Elementary School. Each child was able to pick a book to take home and was challenged by him to take an hour each night to read.
Officials present were: Ms. Tamara Shamburger, Vice Chair, Hillsborough County School Board; State Representative Shawn Harrison, District 63; Councilman Frank Reddick, Dis- trict 5, Tampa City Council; and Abigail Ebersole. Dave McMeen is Principal/Administrator of the school.
Reverend Dr. Jeffery Johnson Named Diocesan Of Churches Of Christ
Parks & Recreation Center Open During Winter Break
The City of Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Centers will present a special event dur- ing the winter break. The or- ganization is offering free activities at several locations.
The special events are free and being offered as part of the City’s ongoing commit- ment to provide residents with exciting and affordable programming.
The seven centers will have themed camp activities for all ages.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn
said, “As we enter the holiday season we are again opening our doors to our parks & rec facilities at a free or reduced cost.
“Safety of your loved ones is our main priority and we know that offering these ac- tivities when school is on break reduces stress and de- cisions parents need to make when balancing work and family.”
The hours of opera- tion are: Wednesday, December 27th – Friday, December 29th (week 1) and Tuesday, January 2nd – January 5th (week 2).
The recreation cen- ters that will be open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.,
for free are:
Benito Playground
Activity Center, 10065 Cross Creek Blvd., 33647; Copeland Park Commu- nity Center, 11001 N. 15th Street, 33612; Gwendolyn Miller Community Cen- ter, 6410 N. 32nd Street, 33610; and the NFL YET Jackson Heights Center, 3310 E. Lake Avenue, 33610.
Centers that will open from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., are: the Loretta Ingraham Complex (FULL), 1615 N. Hubert Avenue, 33607; Port Tampa Community Cen- ter (FULL for week 2), 4702 W. McCoy Street, 33616, and the Wellswood Center, 4918 N. Mendenhall Drive., 33603.
Stay & Play Site
Stay & Play will still take place and the centers will open from December 23rd, December 27th –30th and January 2nd –6th from 6:00 pm until 10:00 p.m. A Teen Rec Card (Free) is required to attend the program. Those centers are: Copeland Com- munity Center, NFL YET Jackson Heights Center, Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., Cen- ter, and Springhill Commu- nity Center.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The Very Reverend Dr. Jeffery Alex James Johnson has been elevated as the Diocesan of the Florida State Diocese of the United Covenant Churches of Christ (UCCC).
This affirmation service took place on Saturday, De- cember 9, 2017 with hun- dreds in attendance. Several Tampa pastors were in sup- port of this great event as well as members of the UCCC.
United Covenant Churches of Christ is led by Presiding Bishop Eric D. Garnes, D. Min., and the es- tablishmentarian is the Most Reverend Bishop J. D. Ellis of Cleveland, Ohio, who is also the Arch Bishop Met- ropolitan of the Joint College of African American Bish- ops.
Dr. Johnson is the Sen- ior Pastor and founder of Connections Community Church which is one church in two cities. His new role comprises as the administra- tive leader of all of the UCCC in Florida.
Dr. Johnson’s work ex- perience includes being a Student Intervention and Communication Specialist, Student Leadership Coach,
Dr. Jeffery Johnson, center, is flanked by Pastor Antonio Hawkins, left, and April Little.
Team Leader and Leadership Coach/Contractor.
“I’m humbled to lead the Florida Diocese for the United Covenant Churches of Christ. It’s my desire to de- velop pastors, strengthen all of our churches and their ministries, plant new churches and embrace pas- tors who desire fellowship and covering through an amazing church’,” Dr.
Johnson said. Educationally, Dr. John-
son has a Master of Arts De- gree from Warner University (2017); Master of Arts De- gree, St. Thomas Christian University (2010) Bachelor of Arts, Warner Southern Col- lege (2006); and graduate, Leadership Tampa Bay (2013).
Dr. Johnson is the fa- ther of 3 children.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9