A New Day for the Sons of Allen
By Brother Monroe Miller, Connectional President, Sons of Allen
Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” Historically, black women have always been in church. They have sung in the choir, served as ushers, and been in the congregation. They have cooked dinners, tended to the elderly, and shouted and praised the house down. Black men, historically, have stayed at home or have often been the bystanders to the church’s progress.
The AME Church initiated the Sons of Allen Men’s Ministry to address this very issue. Bishop Frederick Hilborn Talbot and others wanted black men to be mighty men of God who were spiritual leaders in our homes and the stalwart, mature men that our churches and families could count on; to be mentors to our young men and companions to our old men; to be drivers of change in our churches and communities; to be strong in mind, body, and spirit; and to be glad to come into God’s house and worship, praise, and help usher in the very will of God for this age.
Our priority, at this juncture, is to connect with and engage all of the Episcopal and presiding elderdistricts in ministry, fellowship, and worship. Our current technologically-based society provides many options to keep us in touch with each other and more easily maintain the “ties that bind” our hearts together. Our website is being updated so that you can find out the latest news affecting black men. We will include articles on our spiritual, physical, and emotional health. We welcome your contributions.
We believe that God is leading us into a new era. We encourage you to envision men’s ministries on every level of the church and provide opportunities for witness, worship, teaching, mentoring, and fellowship at every venue available.
We also want to share our successes as well as our ministry ideas. Therefore, we will put out a monthly newsletter. We are asking the corresponding secretaries at each level to collect articles and submit them to the general corresponding secretary. We will post these stories in our newsletter for all to see! Please start gathering an email list of the men in your church. The email address will serveas their “subscription.” Forward the listto your corresponding secretaries as well. This newsletter is for your benefit and belongs to you, so I am praying that we will all do our part to make it a success.
Additionally, you are asked to send in videos of your events, which will be showcased on our YouTube channel. This can be a great evangelism tool as you share events, teaching sessions, and other ministry activities with your friends, family, and work colleagues. As your ideas, thoughts, experiences, and solutions are gathered, they will be shared with others.Sharing this type of information is a powerful witness which demonstrates how God provides for us.
The AME Church has an impressive history and a proud heritage that demonstrates God has been good to us. It is a legacy and extraordinary story about how God has “brought us over” and used us through the periods of slavery, black codes, Jim Crow, and civil rights to champion the causes of justice, mercy, and walking humbly with Him. God requires that we do all, in this present age, to discern His will for us through prayer, fasting, study, and discussion. We must do what God says to the best of what is in us, using every tool at our disposal and pressing our influence as much as possible. It is our task and duty to aid in the coming of the kingdom and ultimately to the doing of God’s will on this earth—in our churches, communities, homes, and especially among our men.
We have an awesome opportunity and a great responsibility. I pray for your leadership, the causes that you champion, the activities you undertake, and for men that you engage in your churches, homes, jobs, and wherever men gather. May God’s best be ever yours.
