Letter to Editor
By James J. Hankins
Excerpt from my book —”What We Blacks Need To Do”—The Black church’s role in education—If your church (you) is accused of being Christlike, is there enough evidence for a jury to find it (you) guilty? Most Black churches have a well-built exterior with unique design furniture, accessories and climate-controlled interior.
It is a very expensive under- used consecrated building. It is used on Sunday, Bible study on Wednesdays, weddings, and funerals. Some have a church hall with a full commercial size kitchen for serving and sometime selling dinners. The tables in the hall would be perfect for the neighborhoods children to do their homework on and receive tutoring.
The kitchen can be used to serve our children a good tasty low-fat snack and to teach them how to cook simple food items. This would be a safe place for our children to spend quality time together without TV, games or cellphones. Being in their own neighborhood would eliminate the need for transportation. The parents could walk to the church to pick the children up and the older children could walk the younger ones home.
This would give the older children some responsibility and the younger ones a new friend. This would cut way down on bullying because all children would have a big brother and sister. The public-school system will never bring back praying in school, so if the churches do not accept any government grants, they can have prayer and read scripture in their Monday-Thursday after school/ tutoring program.
My namesake, St. James, said in James 2: 14 (paraphrased) If you proclaim faith, sing all five verses of gospel songs and pray long prayers, but never lift a finger to help someone, or give a ten dollar donation, you are worthless. I close with two questions for you that only you can answer truthfully: is your church guilty or not guilty of being Christlike? What will you do to help save our children?
