We Can Help Ashante' Sloan Fight Aplastic Anemia

Ashante’ Sloan, the middle child of the late Dr. Albert J. H. Sloan II, former President of Miles College, and Mrs. Emma Lee Sloan of Birmingham, AL, was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia in October 2008.

With Aplastic Anemia coursing through your bloodstream are red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, which all are important to your health. These blood components are produced in your bone marrow—the red, spongy core of many of your bones.

Anemia occurs when blood is low in red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body. Without enough red blood cells, your body can't get all of the oxygen it needs and you feel fatigued.
In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells. This means that you have not only a deficit of red blood cells but also a shortage of white blood cells to fight germs and platelets to help blood clot. You're at higher risk of infections and uncontrolled bleeding. Aplastic anemia is not a single disease, but a group of closely related disorders characterized by the failure of the bone marrow to produce all three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Aplastic anemia is rare, affecting fewer than 1,000 people each year in the United States. The exact cause of aplastic anemia is unknown, although it has been linked to exposure to chemicals such as benzene and radiation. It is also believed that some cases of aplastic anemia are inherited and that some cases are due to a viral infection.
The cause is a mistaken immune system response that destroys bone marrow. A condition known as secondary aplastic anemia can develop when bone marrow is damaged by cancer, chemotherapy, certain medications, pregnancy or exposure to toxic substances. Treatments may include observation for very mild cases, medications, blood transfusions and bone marrow transplantation. Once considered nearly always fatal, aplastic anemia has a much better prognosis today thanks to advances in treatment.
Ashante’ is in need of a Bone Marrow Transplant, and organized three marrow transplant drives in Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; and Birmingham, AL. Four potential donors have been identified on the Be The Match Registry, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. Although none of the potential donors is a perfect match (they are all 9 out of 10), her specialist believes it is urgent that they move forward due to her condition.
Thanks be to God that one of the four potential donor’s matches and Ashante’ will receive the Bone Marrow Transplant on September 25, 2009.
The help of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is needed to continue this fight and to proceed with the transplant. The cost of this procedure is extremely expensive with bills mounting up daily. A foundation has been set up to assist Ashante’ with all remaining donations going to her fight against future aplastic anemia patients.
Your donation can be made payable to the Albert J.H. Sloan Transplant Fund, Account #2000049177688, at any Wachovia Bank. Please email her at ashantesloan@yahoo.com when you make your donation. We want to thank everyone personally.
Also, please save your receipts for your records and remember, A Life That You Save May Be Your Very Own.
Photo shows Ashante Sloan (center) with sisters Alescia (l) and Ashaki Sloan Means (r). Submitted by Carla L. Flakes, Ed.S, Miles Chapel CME Church, Fairfield, AL.

Commission on Women in Ministry Workshop

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Carter Temple Finds Deterrent for Youth

Drug Use and Violence

By Kim Driscoll,

Carter Temple CME Church, Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL—In a city where more than 30 students were killed during the past school year and the top of nearly every news hour includes shocking reports on children being

gunned down in the midst of gang rivalries, it was astonishing to observe a dozen youth to walk down the aisle one-by-one and join church—all during the same Sunday service. For members of Carter Temple CME Church on Chicago’s Southside, however, the Lord was just doing His work by adding increase to an already flourishing youth and young adult ministry.
Under the guise of the Rev. Dr. Sylvester Williams Sr., Carter Temple’s youth are spreading the word about a place where they feel a part of such a sacred institution.
Among those joining church that day was Anthony Ward, 21, who is not a gang member but knows people who are, decided to visit Carter Temple after a friend told him about the many youth and young adult activities held at the church.
“I didn’t come [to church] to join and had been scared,” said Ward. “But when the pastor opened the doors of the church, I just got up—I guess it was the Holy Spirit.”
Tangelia Walters, 19, also heard about the many youth and young adult opportunities at Carter Temple and decided to become a member.
“I feel like the Lord pushed me to walk [to join the church] because I had visited before but really had not decided to join,” said Walters. “I’m glad I did because I’d heard about Carter’s good programs for young people.”
Carter Temple youth and young adult ministries include the Alpha and Omega Praise Step Team, Youth and Young Adult Choir, Wilbert E. Thomas Junior Steward Board, D.I. Isom Youth and Young Adult Usher Board, Moments of Grace Praise Dance Ministry, Mattie E. Coleman Missionaries, Righteous Living (singing/Rap group), New Generation Mentoring Program, and GphiG (Glorify God praise step team).
The 12- to17-year-olds who attend weekly Christian Youth Fellowship classes are exposed to Bible study, life application classes, current news discussions, and rap sessions with the pastor.
Justin Jackson, 14, and a member of Carter Temple for most of his life, says, “Sometimes the older people don’t feel what we feel. I’m glad to have a pastor who thinks about us when we go home.”
Reaching out to youth seems to be paramount for Pastor Williams as it is commonplace to find him accompanying young church members on various activities, including “hanging out” with the youth for pizza after an evening of bowling.
Pastor Williams stresses, “It is imperative that we involve the youth and young adults in the church. We must reach what has been characterized as a Hip Hop culture, even though we don’t always understand them.”
Carter Temple’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry is rising to a challenge extended during the CME Youth and Young Adult Conference—to do a new thing for the Lord—and recently held a Youth and Young Adult Revival at their church. Those packing the pews included members of the Northwestern Football Team and the weekend of singing, poetry, and gospel rapping was highlighted by a series of sermons from guest minister, Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, Pastor, St. John United Church of Christ in St. Louis, MO.
Rev. Wilson, during his contentious and at times disturbing message about the affect of Hip Hop on today’s youth and its impact on the church, suggested that the “church” has been reluctant to embrace the genre because Hip Hop was formed out of chaos.
“Because we cannot define it, it frightens us [but] we forget that chaos proceeds community….God reaches out in the midst of chaos to connect it into community,” said Rev. Wilson. And in order to attract today’s youth, the “rapping reverend” stressed it is imperative that the church finds a way to connect to youth.
Carter Temple’s First Lady, Carmen Williams, who personally escorts the youth to Children’s Church each Sunday, also recognizes the importance of reaching out to young people and was pleased with the success of the youth revival.
“I’m excited and thrilled to death that our youth and young adults are allowed to express themselves with such exuberance!” Mrs. Williams exclaimed.
Carter Temple continues to be in the forefront of positively impacting youth, as it is home to the national program, One Church One School, a partnership between neighboring churches and community schools working together to improve the academic achievement, social behavior and personal development of children.
Chicago gangs proved no match for God, however, when a dozen children joined church in a single day. The implications of so many youth choosing Carter Temple speaks volumes to the leadership of Pastor Sylvester Williams and the determination of Carter Temple’s members to win young souls for Christ.

"Preying on the Unsuspecting:"

CME Church Scam Persists

By Dr. Paul Brown, Miles Memorial CME, Washington, DC

Times are hard these days! Finances are dwindling and churches are clamoring to save and retrieve all the members they can. However, it is in that spirit that these unscrupulous individuals are using to prey on unsuspecting pastors and church leaders to scam them out of hard earned cash and often benevolence monies from churches.

The scam works as follows: An individual will call a pastor pretending to be a pastor of a large CME Church whose neice, daughter or member is moving into the area of the unsuspecting pastor. She will be traveling by car with her two, three or four children. The next day or a few days later, the young girl will call the pastor who has been contacted about her coming and she proceeds to tell the unsuspecting pastor that she has broken down and is at a repair shop and her car repairs will cost about $800 (or some other amount) and she is in desperate need and will repay the funds once she arrives in the city. They will always give some fictitious road, highway or street as to where they have broken down but they will put the so-called repair man on the phone to confirm that he has her car and cannot release it until the bill has been paid in full.

Here is where the scam takes on its nebulous nature. The repairman will tell the unsuspecting pastor to wire the money by Western Union or wire it to a local Wal-Mart and then the matter will be taken care of. The unsuspecting pastor, in their desire to help a so-called stranded CME potential member, will wire the monies to these individuals who then have no paper trail to connect them legally!!

As one whose name has been a part of this scam, I suggest one thing. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER SEND ANY MONEY OVER THE WIRE TO PERSONS YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF OR HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE, EVEN IF THEY COME WITH A RECOMMENDATION FROM SOMEONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A WELL KNOWN PREACHER IN THE CME CHURCH OR A BISHOP!

While I realize the desire to help someone out of a compassionate spirit that most pastors possess, it is just plain good sense to contact the individuals whose names are being used first to authenticate any so-called story being told to you. On a side note, I find it difficult to believe that anyone leaving one church to go to another, will not first have a conversation with all parties involved, and then, to call a preacher and ask for money is not something I would readily recommend any member to do, much less a family member!

Please, should you get any such calls, get all the info, tell them you will get back to them, verify any and all information and then forward it to the local authorities so that we can finally catch these unscrupulous individuals once an for all!