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Pri6t'itive Baptists name new chief Charlotte's Elder Thomas Samuels elected national leader By JOE SOVACOOL Staff Writer

Elder Thomas Samuels, pastor of Greater Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist Church in uptown Charlotte, has been elected national leader of his denomination. Samuels, who has led the 104-

year-old Charlotte church since 1973, was elected Aug. 25 at the 88th session of the National Primi­ tive Baptist Convention of America in Savannah, said Bob Davis, a member of Mount Moriah's board of trustees.

As national leader, Samuels aims to restore the denomination's pub­ lishing function. In the 1930s, the group published its own Sunday =="'-----""-.....c-= school, theological and instruc- Samuels tional materials instead of using outside publishers as it does now.

He also would like to see an increase in educational training for clergy as well as an expansion in the number of Primitive Baptist churches participating at

the national level. "I want to bring about greater unity among the

churches," Samuels said Saturday. "I want to reach out to congregations not involved and bring them into a unified convention." About 2 million members attend the 3,000 Primitive

Baptist churches nationwide. Five of the churches are in Charlotte: Mount Moriah, Nazareth, St. John's Chapel, Friendship and Zion. Others are in Concord, Salisbury, Kings Mountain and Mount Airy.

It has been 82 years since a Charlotte pastor served as national leader. Dr. James Carey, also a pastor at Mount Moriah, led the convention from 1907 to 1913. The national headquarters is in Tallahassee, Fla.,

with other offices in Mobile and Huntsville, Ala. Samuels studied at Moody Bible Institute and

earned a B.S. degree from Bethune-Cookman Col­ lege. He later studied at Florida A&M, Florida State, Stetson and New York universities and the University of Miami.

Please see Samuels/page 4C

Samuels Charlotte pastor is elected national leader Continued from page 1 C

He taught 16 years in Lake County (Fla) Schools and retired in 1972 to become a full-time pastor. He served Primitive Baptist churches in Mount Dora, Eustis and Lakeland, Fla, before joining Mount Moriah. .

He also is president of the N.C.-Virginia State Primitive Bap­ tist Church Convention and, on the district level, president of the Southwestern District Church

School Convention. Mount Monah's congregation.

which will celebrate Samuels' 23rd year Sept. 9, has gathered at the brick building at WESt Trade and North Cedar streets br the last 31 years, but the original Mount Mo­ riah was built in 1891 at North Alexander and East 11th streets.

The fundamentalst denomine­ tlon traces its histoiy to John the Baptist who, according to the New Testament, baptized J~ Inter· preting the Scriptures literally has given rise to one of the unique ceremonies of the Primiti~ ~ tists - washing each other's feet twice a year as a part of eaeh parish's communion service.

000 Stan writer Joie La.Po/la contrib­

uted to this ankle. ~

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By KEN GARFIELD · · Religion Editor lotte's Park Road Baptist h will worship God with instead of words tomorrow g when the congregation

· third annual Mission SlUl· .

West Trade Street in uptown Char- program that adds a spiritual com­ lotte, will be the 11th president of ponent to those seeking emotional the group, which represents 2 mil- and mental support. lion members in 3,000 churches in The program focuses on Chris- 21 states. tian teachings and includes small Samuels' inauguration will take discussion groups and Bible read­

place at the annual meeting in ing and study. Cincinnati. Some 5,000 are ex- "The idea is that, for many pected to attend, including the Rev. people, their relationship to God is Clifford Jones of Charlotte, pastor important to their mental health," of Friendship Missionary Baptist said Dr. Craig Butler, a Presbyte­ and president of the Lott Carey rian minister and licensed social Foreign Mission Convention. worker, "We try to help them with 'Fi eo..1. _, that, try to help repair spiritual ~repower meren...:: scars that their emotional distress A faith-healing ministry new to might have caused."

---------- · Charlotte ,.will hold a "Firepower 'We are trying to teach respect bers' work at more than 15 +Conference", Sept 12-15 -at the -- and self-awareness. We want pa­ include feeding the home- · . Radisson Grand Resort in Fort tients thinking about their relation-

the uptown shelter, building . Mill, S.C. · . ship with God, looking at ways t for Humanity ~omes and .. , .. M8;hesh Chavda moved his orga- they can improve it." g hymns at Britthaven of nization from Fort Lauderdale, · •· Butler is available to talk to civic tte nursing home. Fla., to Paulston Road in Charlotte and church groups about the new idea o~ d~votin~ one Sunday ~o years ago: "!fe hol~ an all- program. For more information, to missions IS apparently night prayer vigil on Fndays and call Butler at the Center for Psychi­ g on. Mount Carmel - and claims to be able to help heal the atry, (803) 329-6861 anytime. ay United Methodist .sick, . H: · d h es in Union County held The conference, at the former ere an t ere - Send Out Sunday - in PTI.. complex, will include leaders I •In light of recent church bum-

. · · . from the Toronto Airport Fellow- ings, FBI and other law enforce- gave us this idea and sent ship, whose followers have been ment officers will hold a seminar e help," the Rev. Talbot known to erupt in spasms oflaugh- on church safety at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 wrote Park Road Baptist ter during worship. A ministry ad at First Baptist Church-West, 1801 pastor Allen -Laymon. said the conference will feature Oaklawn Ave. a lot." prayer for healing, laying on of The program is open to Caroli­ group picks Samuels . hands and ''training in releasing nas religious leaders. Call

the fire." · 372-1075, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

There have been more than 70 suspicious fires at properties be­ longing to predominantly black congregations in Southern states since 1995. An equal number have been reported at white churches in

ly 200 of the congregation's embers are expected to for a short time of prayer at m., then fan out across town

· table works. ·

Rev. Thomas W. Samuels of Moriah Primitive Baptist in tte is expected to be inaugu­ president of the National ive Baptist Convention on Tuesday. uels, whose church is on

Sanctuary started A new Christian ministry to psy­

chiatric patients has begun in Rock Hill. Piedmont Medical Center is now

offering "Sanctuary," a voluntary

the region. . First Baptist-West will also hold

its annual revival, Aug. 2&-29 at 7 nightly, featuring the Rev. William Jones of Bethany Baptist in Brook­ lyn, N.Y. •Aerobics and benevolence will

mix from 10 a.m. to noon today when Nations Ford Baptist in Charlotte holds a benefit 'Workout for Jonathan." People of all ages and' fitness

levels are invited to work out and leave a donation to help meet the medical expenses of Jonathan Conyers, a 5-year-old whose inju­ ries from a 1995 wreck left him quadraplegic and on a ventilator. , · Jonathan is expected to attend

Checks should be made out to "Jonathan" and 'mailed to Nations Ford Baptist, 7410 Nations Ford Rd., Charlotte, NC 28217. •The Rev. Donald Anthony has

been appointed to begin 'a Lu­ theran church in Charlotte to serve · the African American community. A Kannapolis native, Anthony was installed recently at a service at Ascension Lutheran. • Cherryville's First Baptist

Church will host a gospel show at 6 p.m. Sept. 8 featuring Down East of Reidsville. The concert is free. The church is at 301 E. First St. • Finally, here's a statistic to

think about if your church is con­ sidering a building project. The· average Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation, has property valued at $905,880 - and owes $79,673 on the building and grounds.

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AUG 29 9.6

Saniuels envisions united Primitive Baptists :t9 hil f hi d . . t t' few in the '50s, when my c - focus o is a rrnms ra .10n -

By Jeri Young dren were young, but that is youth and family. THE CHARLOTTE POST about it." "Services for youth to steer

A native of Miami, Samuels them away from kinds of and his wife Juanita moved to things that cause them to be Charlotte in 1973 to head victims of the prison system Mount Moriah Primitive and court system," Samuels Baptist Church. By that time said. "Things that will steer Samuels had held several key young women away from positions with the convention, becoming mothers before they including a nine-year stint as are adults." Superintendent/Presid_ent of Samuels hopes to insti~ute a the Florida State Primitive campaign featuring semmars, Baptist Sunday School workshop, and printed materi- Congress and two years as als aimed at PB youth, and General Secretary of the the communities in which national convention. their churches are located. These positions prepared Samuels also identified the

Samuels for the task of being president and cemented the

Elder Thomas William Samuels has a vision for his church. Installed last week as presi­

dent of the two million mem­ ber National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA, Samuels hit the ground running. He hopes to increase the visibility and viability of the denomination to which his father, also a minister, dedicated 55 years of his life. "I have been attending the

convention since 1937 ." Samuels, 62, said. "I missed a Rev. Samuels See CONVENTION on page 13A

Continued from page 1 OA

recent rash of church arsons as major thrust for the 89- year-old denomination. "We passed a resolution to

establish a task force to focus on the arson problem that impacts black churches, pri­ marily in the southeast," he said. Samuels hopes by studying

the problem, PB churches can educate themselves on ways to prevent church burnings as well as ensuring that minis­ ters and congregation have set steps to follow should an arson occur. In his first week in office,

'

Rev. Samuels t;k:;·;;0i~0; of PB conv~~~i~~ f Samuels has been instrumen­ tal in increasing term lengths for convention presidents. Beginning in 1997, the presi­

dent's term will increase to from one to two years, with a term limit of eight consecutive years. Samuels also hopes to unite

the "distinct PB camps," the anti-missions faction and the pro-missions faction. The Primitive Baptist Church broke away from other Baptists over the issue of for­ eign missions. Primitive Baptists originally believed that foreign mission should be limited. "Basically, we separated

because we held on to the tra­ ditional beliefs," Samuels said. "I can not very well keep the commission which Christ gave to the church in 28 Matthew, which is to go on into the world. That has become bogged down in our church." Samuels is also elated over

the ecumenical movement sweeping through the Primitive Baptist church. The church has formed alliances with the National Baptist Convention, American Baptist Convention ~s well as the United Methodist Church for education programs at several colleges and universities

throughout the country. They include Samuels alma mater, Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla. A schol­ arship has been named for Samuels that provides schol­ arships for Primitive Baptist youth to attend the historical­ ly black college. The $10,000 initial endowment is available this year. Samuels knows that change

will be slow, but he feels that the church is on its way. "I think that education is a

vital aspect of redirecting peo­ ple's thinking," he said. ''You cannot be a practitioner with­ out spreading .. I've got the Bible to back my position."