The Abyssinian Baptist Church 132 Odell Clark Place | New York, New York 10030

Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III – Pastor

Worship Service March 8, 2015 62 nd Annua l Women’ s Day

“To all those who enter here, be thoughtful, be silent, be reverent. Before the service, speak to God. During the service, let God speak to you. After the service,

speak to others.”

GUEST SPREAKER MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

Founder & President – The Children’s Defense Fund Babies Blessed – 11:00 AM

Prelude 9 am 11 am Dina Foster Osbourne, Organist Call to Worship 9 am Deaconess Eleanor Olive 11 am Deaconess Susann Miles

Leader: On this day, O God, we thank you for the women; for we have risen and been called blessed!

People: We praise you for women of the past who shaped our lives

in purpose, dignity, and respect.

Leader: We thank you for the bold and courageous women of the present who continue to fight to educate our minds, nourish our bodies, and strengthen our spirits!

All: On this 62nd Annual Women’s Day Celebration, let us be renewed and revitalized as we march toward the higher calling of womanhood! AMEN.

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The Lord’s Prayer Processional "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" #158 Invocation and Chant 9 am Sister Lachone Plaskett 11 am Sister Stacey Maldonado

Responsive Reading/Litany “Black Women” #70 9 am Sister Marjorie Phillips 11am Sister Yvonne Thevenot Gloria Patri Prayer and Choral Response 9 am Sister Minnie Davis 11 am Sister Arlene Bascom Anthem 9 am 11 am The Women of Worship Chorale “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” arr. Rosephanye Powell Pastoral Emphasis Scripture Deuteronomy 6:5; Ephesians 4:23-24 9 am Sister Diane Simmons 11 am Sister Harriet Harrison Introduction of Guest Preacher 9 am Sister Greer Ellis Coleman 11 am Sister Modupe Robinson Meditation 9 am 11 am The WOW Chorale “Order My Steps” Glenn Burleigh Soloist: Mae Carrington (Please scroll down)

Sermon and Invitation Offertory Selections 9 am 11 am The WOW Chorale "Expect Your Miracle” Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark

Doxology Offertory Prayer 9 am Sister Frances Roxanne Scott 11 am Walking Deaconess Gwenette Reese

Remarks The Women’s Ministry Leadership Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor

Recessional “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” #368 Benediction and Amen 9 am Trustee Lily May 11am Sister Tanya Kennedy

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WOMEN’S DAY

We Remember and Give Thanks….

Today we give thanks to God, and remember the eleven women who were among the group of Abyssinian founding

members that left First Baptist Church on Gold Street in lower Manhattan, and are listed in the 1809 demission letter

Charlotte Johnson · Sally Allen · Sally Dean · Jane Jones

Pheba Green · Isabella Simmons · Freelove Slocum Pheba Cheeseman · Hagar Treadwell · Peggy Goldman

Jane Nickens

All Praises to God for these wonderful pioneers who made the tradition of Women's Day possible at

The Abyssinian Baptist Church!

62ND ANNUAL WOMEN’S DAY GUEST SPREAKER MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families. The Children's Defense Fund’s Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a (Please scroll down)

Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. Mrs. Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her career in the mid-60s when, as the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. In l968, she moved to Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense Fund. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in l973 began CDF. Edelman served on the Board of Trustees of Spelman College which she chaired from 1976 to 1987 and was the first woman elected by alumni as a member of the Yale University Corporation on which she served from 1971 to 1977. She has received over a hundred honorary degrees and many awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. In 2000, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings which include: Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change; The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours; Guide My Feet: Meditations and Prayers on Loving and Working for Children; Stand for Children; Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors; Hold My Hand: Prayers for Building a Movement to Leave No Child Behind; I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children; I Can Make a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children; and The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation. She is a board member of the Robin Hood Foundation and the Association to Benefit Children, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Marian Wright Edelman is married to Peter Edelman, a Professor at Georgetown Law School. They have three sons, Joshua, Jonah, and Ezra, two granddaughters, Ellika and Zoe, and two grandsons, Elijah and Levi.

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WOMEN’S MINISTRY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THINSPIRED Author, Mara Schiavocampo Evening of Christian Education Lecturer, Nnenna Agba

All Female Worship Service Preacher, Reverend Dionne Boissiere Three Night Revivalist, Reverend Lisa D. Jenkins

62nd Annual Women’s Day Speaker, Marian Wright Edelman

Committee Chairs Greer Ellis Coleman · Susie Drayton · Roz Graves · Modupe Robinson

· Frances R. Scott Louisa Tatum · Jacqueline Waiters

All Committee Members

Deaconess Eleanor Olive · Deaconess Gerri Warren Merrick Deaconess Susann Miles Westbrook · Deaconess Avis Yeiser

Walking Deaconess Gwenette Reese · Trustee Lily May · Arlene Bascom · June Broxton

Patricia J. Butts · Minnie Davis · Kordai DeCoteau · Greer Ellis Coleman · Dana Fleming

Harriett Harrison · Lisa Hayes · Caroline Jackson-Guerra · Tanya Kennedy

Princess Lyles · Stacey Maldonado · Robin Martin · Marlene Melton

Janine Myrick · Joanne Palmer Lloyd · Marjorie Phillips · Lachone Plaskett · Modupe Robinson Frances R. Scott · Delsenia Speller Glover · Lisa

Springer · Diane Simmons · Yvonne Thevenot

Marketing/Communications Shirley McLaurin · Susie Drayton

Archives & History Ministry

Dr. Martia Goodson · Craig Frierson

Devotion Leaders

Deaconess Board · Missionary Ministry · Health Ministry · Sunday School

Go Red for Women’s Heart Health Leaders

Mrs. Patricia R. Butts · Claudine Rucker · Linda Thompson

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Gospel Karaoke Leaders Patricia J. Butts, Chair · C. Anthony Bryant

Women’s Day Reception

Cake Man Raven · Chef Ken Collins

Women's Spiritual Advisors

Mrs. Patricia R. Butts · Rochelle Strong · Lisa White · Vicky Powell

SPECIAL APPRECIATION & THANKS Our Pastor, Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III & First Lady, Mrs. Patricia R. Butts

Reverend Itang Young · Reverend Nicholas Richards Minister Rashad Moore · Minister Pamela Mason

Deacon Gearald Barbour · Deaconess Eleanor Olive Trustee/Deaconess Alexis Thomas

The Diaconate & Trustee Board James Davis, Jr., and the Abyssinian Music Ministry

Christina Sparrock & Aby Finance Dr. Anita Underwood · Naomi Graham · Sade Arnold

AbyTech · Aby Security · Aby Maintenance · Aby United Ushers · Media Ministry Welcome & Hospitality Ministry

Saundra Parks · BLMish Creative All Women's Day Program Participants

All Abyssinian Members · Our Families and Friends All Donors and Contributors

With Love from the Women's Ministry Leaders

Deaconess Trilbi L. Knight, Chair · Tamisha M. Chestnut, Tiffanie A. Claude, Co-Chairs

To GOD Be The Glory

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UPCOMING MINISTRY EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

TOUR THE ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH Join the Archives and History Ministry for An Evening tour of

The Abyssinian Church and Community House Thursday, March 12th - 7:30 PM

Meet outside 1st Floor Conference Room

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The Joshua Ministry hosts an After Work Mix & Mingle in Midtown Friday March 13th | 6:00 PM

Frames Bowling Lounge | 550 9th Avenue (Corner of 40th Street) $25 (Includes 2 hours of bowling, shoes, hor d’oeuvres)

Purchase tickets in Elevator Lobby Today!

The Abyssinian Women’s Ministry presents

A Harlem Night of Family Fun & Entertainment Start your weekend “turn up”

Come Enjoy a Night of Jazz, R&B and Gospel vocalists, poetry, drama, karaoke plus Ongoing photo booth

Friday, March 20, 2015 | 6-8:30 PM In The Church Vestry

**TICKETS SOLD ONLY IN ADVANCE** In Elevator Lobby after worship services on Sundays

Adults: $25 | Children under 12: $10 (Includes light meal)

WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Sunday Morning Praying Band assembles Sunday mornings at 7:00 AM.

Sunday Morning Bible Study meets at 8:45 AM.

WE Youth Worship Experience Sundays, 9:15 AM – 11:00AM.

Monday Afternoon Bible Class resumes Monday, February 23rd at 12:00 Noon.

Mid-Week Manna Worship Service - Wednesday evenings 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

THE ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH 132 Odell Clark Place • New York, New York 10030 | 212.862.7474 (T) | 212.862.3255 (F)

www.abyssinian.org