The Clippings: African-American Pastors Unite to Revive Marriage and Fatherhood | Call to Action For Black Church
Group Issues “Call to Action” for the Black Church to Ignite New Social Movement
Maryland — An interdenominational group of African-American pastors has united to ignite a movement to renew marriage and fatherhood in the African-American community. The movement, led by 10 pastors in partnership with National Fatherhood Initiative, Urban Ministries, Inc., and The National Center on African American Marriages and Parenting, has been initiated by a “Call to Action,” which educates and inspires the black church to address the declines in marriage and father involvement that plague the black community. Clergy around the country will be recruited to sign the Call to Action, indicating their desire to join the movement to reverse these destructive trends. Since the 1960s, marriage and fatherhood have declined faster in the black community than in the rest of the population. In 1970, seven out of 10 African Americans between the ages of 20 and 54 were married; today, just four in 10 are (compared to nearly six in 10 in the general population). Today, one in three children in the country live apart from their biological fathers, but two of three African American children do. Roland C. Warren, president of National Fatherhood Initiative, said, “It is no coincidence that while the state of the black family has declined, that the state of the black community – in terms of poverty, incarceration, school failure, and other measures – has also deteriorated. Marriage and fatherhood must be renewed in order for these problems to be reversed.” Through the Call to Action, the pastors are calling upon their fellow African-American clergy to take on these five broad strategies: acknowledge and eliminate the barriers to promoting marriage and fatherhood in the church; be a voice and a guide for God’s plan for marriage, fathers, and families; advocate for strong marriages and help others to enjoy them; help and encourage men to be the fathers their children need; and enlist and guide the community in strengthening marriages, fathers, and families. The Call to Action provides several specific tactics for each of the five strategies and will be distributed nationally to clergy, along with a Pastors’ Toolkit containing sermon notes and information about programs provided by the movement’s partners. The leaders and founding signatories of the Call to Action are: Edwin Bass, Founder and Senior Pastor, The Empowered Church (Church of God in Christ) and President of COGIC Urban Initiatives, Inc., St. Louis, MO; Alex Gee, Founder and Senior Pastor, Fountain of Life Family Worship Center, Madison, WI; David Guy, Associate Pastor, Life International, Research Triangle Park, NC; Rob Harrison, Founder and President, 4ever Marriages & Families; Ray Johnson, Senior Pastor, Calvary Revival Church Peninsula, Newport News, VA; Bernie Miller, Founder and Pastor, New Covenant Fellowship Church, Chattanooga, TN; Johnny Parker, Men’s Ministry Director, First Baptist Church, Glenarden, MD; John Penton, Founder and Pastor, Greater Roosevelt Heights Church, Tacoma, WA; Clarence Shuler, President and CEO, Building Lasting Relationships; and Sherman Strong, Pastor, Restoration Temple (Church Of God in Christ), St. Louis, MO. Follow the Buzz via www.fatherhood.org/calltoactionThe Clipping — You just got the buzz from www.DryerBuzz.com — Combing the headlines. Transforming the way we look — at life.
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Buzzed by DryerBuzz April 28, 2011 · Browse More Stories Like This In The Clippings .
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