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Religion

Churches pitch in, welcome convention

The churches have worked for months to answer a call to host the Florida General Baptist Convention this week.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published April 3, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - When Hurricane Ivan tore through Pensacola last fall, it upset the well-laid plans of the Florida General Baptist Convention, which had intended to hold its 130th annual meeting in the devastated area.

What to do next was a concern, but organizers decided to ask St. Petersburg members to host the convention a year earlier than scheduled. In the months since, five St. Petersburg churches have worked feverishly to pull off a successful statewide gathering of 2,500 delegates that begins Monday and ends Friday.

The St. Petersburg hosts have had to make arrangements around two other big events in the city. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which began Friday and ends today, was expected to attract 60,000 fans. Also, the Festival of States goes into full swing this week.

The St. Petersburg churches, however, have managed to arrange lodging for convention delegates and their families from 800 predominantly black Baptist congregations across Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Most will stay at hotels on Ulmerton Road in Clearwater, organizers say. Others will stay with friends and family in St. Petersburg. Local churches will provide meals from breakfast to dinner.

State president the Rev. George E. McRae praised local organizers, especially the Rev. John A. Evans Sr., whose Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is a co-host of the event, for making arrangements so quickly.

"It has been a challenge," admitted Evans, second vice moderator of the West Coast Baptist District Association.

"In October, ever since that time, we have been working diligently." The St. Petersburg churches have rolled up their sleeves, he said.

The gathering will combine business meetings with spiritual revival, McRae said.

"I plan to address three serious problems in our community, drugs ... prison incarceration and HIV/AIDS. Those three things are paralyzing the African-American community," said McRae, who will address the convention at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"I think that if we are going to defeat those three problems, the churches in our community have to get involved. We have never accomplished anything in our community without leadership from our churches. I am going to propose that we start ministries across the state of Florida that will address these problems."

McRae, who heads the large Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, said he has instituted similar programs in his own church.

The Florida General Baptist Convention is part of the National Baptist Convention, USA, once headed by former St. Petersburg preacher, the Rev. Henry Lyons. Lyons is the former pastor of Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church.

He was convicted of racketeering and grand theft for his financial dealings as head of the national organization and served time in prison. He has remarried and is preaching again.

Each of the 800 churches in the Florida organization is allowed to send 10 voting members to this week's convention. The theme is "Jesus Christ Only, Always."

All meetings will take place at Friendship Missionary Baptist, 3300 31st St. S. The church can seat about 1,200.

The Rev. Wayne Thompson's First Baptist Institutional Church, 3144 Third Ave. S, is hosting the convention with Friendship. Other local churches involved in the convention are Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and New Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church.

Mayor Rick Baker, City Council member Earnest Williams and U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa are among the officials expected to attend a reception Monday night.

Evans is looking forward to being host for the five-day event.

"I can honestly say it is a great honor and perhaps one of the great pinnacles of my pastoral ministry," he said.

What happens next year?

"We're going to try Pensacola again," McRae said.

"If they can handle us, I think we owe it to them."

[Last modified April 3, 2005, 00:09:18]