News and Views

By Bonnie McCubbin

On Wednesday afternoon, the Key Ballroom at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel, was filled with a somber and solemn but heartfelt tone during the Annual Service of Remembrance. Those remembered consisted of clergy, clergy spouses, and clergy children who have transitioned to eternal life since the last Annual Conference.

The families were seated with hugs all around from those who knew and cared about their loved ones. The congregation was reminded through Blessed Assurance that each and every person has a history, a past, and a story as they sang “this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.”

The stories of these saints who have gone to glory are also the story of all of us, who, “across time and space are knitted together,” said Rev. Eliezar Valentin-Castañon, District Superintendent of the Frederick District.

As the service progressed, the worship team dropped pebbles into a pond as a symbol of those who join us every time we come to the baptismal font. The sound of rocks cascading down the large, 200-pound shell-shaped baptismal font, on loan from the Peninsula-Delaware Conference, penetrated the silence as the Cokesbury College bell rang and echoed throughout the ballroom. The names of the saints were read as the congregation rose to honor those who they loved and lost.

The theme scripture for Annual Conference, Philippians 4:4-9, was the text of the service, and was followed by a spoken word poem written and delivered by Rev. Wanda Bynum Duckett, District Superintendent of the Baltimore-Metropolitan District.

Rev. Herbert Brisbon, III, Chaplain at Dillard University in New Orleans, LA is a native of Bishopville, SC and an Elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference who is active in denominational leadership, was the preacher for the service.

Rev. Brisbon began his sermon with rich, soulful strains of “I Need Thee Every Hour” to usher in the Holy Spirit, as he preached a message, asking, “What if our memories could be more than just looking backwards?” He took the congregation on a journey through the night of grief to a morning of joy, because “a believer’s joy carries us through the night, and it can be a long night!”

He sought to honor those who walked the journey of faith before us, to “testify to the hope, remember with joy, [and] embrace God’s promises for the future.” He named many of the saints lifted up in the service, proclaiming, “I can hear the great cloud of witnesses in me and in here!” He concluded his message by reminding the congregation that “as long as you live, live in the Lord, and when you die, you will die in the Lord,” taken from Romans 14:8.

The families represented were given gifts by Bishop Easterling and worship leaders before recessing out to the celebrated tones of “When We All Get to Heaven.”

Clergy Honored:
Donna M. Bennett
Paul Carr, Jr.
Arelene R. Carr
Kathleen Charters
Carrol A. Doggett, Jr.
Vicki M. Dotterer
Sandra M. Greene
George Edward Grove
Charles E. Harvey
William A. Holmes
Eric W. King
Kyong Gin Kim
Neva H. Leatherwood
Jeffrey V. Odom
Ralph D. Posey
Hallie Lawson Reeves
Jacquelyn B. Thorpe
Herbert W. Watson, Jr.
Nancy J. Webb
Alfreda L. Wiggins Ball
Mary K. Worrel

Clergy Spouses Honored:
Agnes D. Abernethy
Nargis L. Bunce
Mary Ann Adele Chambly
Priscilla “Lee” Delong
Constance Powers-Dickel
Dorothy Harper
Julia Ann Terrell
Winifred A. Johnson
Sally Ransom Knecht
Grace W. Lane
Harry A. Lewis
Joan C. Lockman
Therese M. Thomas
Dean A. Titcomb

Clergy Children Honored:
Donte A. Cross
Jordan A. McDonald
Duane L. Mitchell