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Title
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Daniels, Bernardine Wormley
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extracted text
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Rev. Bernardine W. Daniels 1994-1997
New·church start
announced··i n. city
•
Jj6-)?7'
:Of .D etroit
he Rev. Bcrnardinc Daniels (1) and Detroit East District Supcrltcndcnt Dr. Linda Lee arc all s miles following Daniels' appoint:lent to a new church s ta rt in ,~e city of Detroit. (See story at
SHIRLEY COOK
MCA corr_e spondent
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Official announcement of a
new church s tart on the D etroit East District was m ade
Monday, Apr. 14, by Bishop
D onald A. Ott during a gathering of United Methodist clergy
and laity at St. Paul's U n ited
·Methodis t Church on Eight
Mile Road in Detroit. The area
to be served by this new start is
· bounded by I-94, Conner,
Schoenherr and Eight Mile
Road in Detroit.
The appointment of the
'organizing pastor, the Rev.
Bernardine Daniels, was also
made, with her new ministry to
begin on July 1, 1997. Daniels
is serving currently at Henderson Memorial UMC in D etroit
wh ere ·she h as been giving
leadership since Oct. 15, 1994.
Previously she had served the
Inkster Christ UMC.
Pastor Daniels is a native
Detroiter, former U .S. Marine,
and a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wesley
Theological Seminary. A single
parent and mother of two
young children, her . home
church is Ford Memorial
UMC on the Detroit West District.
Commenting on the appointment, Bishop Ott stated
"She has distinguished herself
with an emphasis in h er life.
and ministry on reaching new
persons with the message of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her
energy and articulateness have
led many to commend her for
a new church beginning."
Over two years of studies
and prayer has revealed the
receptivity to, and importance
of, a Christian witness in The
U n.ited Methodist ·tradition in
the selected area of the city,
according to the Bishop.
In his remarks, Ott contin. u ed, "This start represents a
reversal of too long a trend of
exodus from the city by our
denomination. It speaks of our
resolve to reclaim territory in
which. United Methodism was
for many years deeply involved . It is a part of our
denomination to be a part of
the renaissance of the City , of
Detroit."
, .
. ...
Others participating in the
celebrative announcement
were Dr. Linda Lee, Detroit
East·: District superintendent;
the Rev. Juanita Ferguson,
Detroit West . superintendent;
the Rev. William Verhelst, conference staffer in New Church
Development; Dr. Donald
Scavella, executive director of
the Methodist Union; and the
Rev. Charles Boayue, urban
missioner.
Dr. Lee viewed the new venture as God giving birth in
ways we have not before experience. Rev. Boayue stated,
·~we are on the new threshold
of ministry during the rejuvenation of the City of Detroit.
This _!I!~Y. not be the last
;-East....Ois'rrict
"superintendent;
.,., .,.
·the ·R ev. Jua~ita . Fergu'S~m,
Detroit Wesf.,s.uperintendent;
the Rev. William Verhelst, conference staffer in New Church
Development; Dr. Donald
Scavella, executive director of
the Methodist Union; and the
Rev. Charles Boayue, urban
missioner.
Dr. Lee viewed the new venture as God giving birth in
ways we have n ot before experience. Rev. Boayue stated,
'~\Ve are on the new threshold
of ministry during the rejuvenation of the City of Detroit.
This may n o t · be the l~st
announcement · of a new
church in Detroit." Dr. Scavel- ·
Ia added, "This is a true mission challenge - a long-term
project in which our efforts
and prayers will take strong
commitment by everyone."
D epicted as a mission field
for all pastors and laity, many
p erson s from churches in
Detroit attended the event and
watched as Bishop Ott presented Daniels with a women's
· devotional book entitled Sacred
Journeys and lighted a new
. candle signifying the beginning
of this church star t.
Shepherding . groups are
scheduled to meet monthly as
the development of the church
occurs, according to Verhelst,
who has done m any h ours of
groundwork in the past
months in preparation' for the
announcement.
In responding to the affirm ation of the gathered group,
D aniels stated she was deeply
ifumbled by the confidence
expressed and grateful to God
for the opportunity to honor
Him in this way.
NEW CHURCH START PASTORS COMMISSIONED
T he Rev. Linda Lee (c), Detroit East District superintendent, lead s in a prayer for the two n ew
church s tart pastors during a special time in worship. Joining Lee are Bishop Ott (1), and the Rev.
j!ernardine Daniels, D etroit n ew church start. Not pictured: the Rev. Brent McCumons, Aim Arbor
District superintendent, a nd the R ev. Mike Norton, Canton n ew church start.-mca photo/Erik Abgaard
The Rev. Bernardine Daniels greets p a rishioners on Easter Sunday, the o pening worship of Exous ia -A N ew United
Metho dis t Minis try, h eld at Mt. Hope UMC in Detroit. As
m a ny a s 400 people were in attendance. (Sec s tory a t l eft.)
The Advocate
ASIZS
The Rev. Bernardine
~ormleY=naruels has pastored
tlie Exous1a United Methodist
Church in Detroit since its
inception in 1997. She is also
adept at signing for the deaf
and does so throughout the
Detroit Annual Conference
meeting each year.
band and worship team, as
opposed to a traditional choir.
We use the drums, the congos,
the electric and bass guitar,
and keyboards.
MCA: What is your current membership?
D-W: We have 105 full
members and at least 50
preparatory members. Out of
MCA: What is the latest
that 105 at least three-fourths
news with Exousia UMC?
are under 45. So it's a very
W-D: We're in our building
young congregation.
now We had our grand openI preach every Sunday. We
ing in July and were fill ed to
have Bible study on Tuesday
capacity. In an "overflow" area
we had the service . - - - - - - - - - - - . nights.
projected on video.
MCA: How did
Last Sunday was
you get interestour big fall evangeed in signing?
listic event. It was
D-W: I staned
Friend Day. AH the
to
learn sign lanmembers brought
guage
when I was
·sumebody they
in seminary. I'm
knew who was
interested in lanunchurched or
guages, and it was
unsaved. We had
always something
over 160 a~ults
I
wanted to learn.
and at least 50
I
served as a stu-_
kids. Our sanctuary
dent assistant pasonly holds about
tor at a UMC for
135.
the
deaf.
I
took
some classes
Last night in lieu of Halin
signing
at
college
in Washloween, we had a Hallelujah
ington, D.C.
Harvest for the kids. We had a
I got involved with signing
puppet show, music, and a
at
Detroit
Annual Conference
hip-hop Christian rapper. We
when
people
turned in evaluahad booths with games, and a
tion
forms
that
said we should
full house again.
be doing something about
making conference accessible
MCA: Tell us about the
to people with handicapping
origins ofExousia UMC.
conditions.
W-D: My appointment
I'm one of those few peostarted in July of 1997, and by
ple who can speak and sign at
Easter 1998 we had our first
the same time.
service. We opened at Mt.
Hope UMC on the east side.
We worshiped there while our
building was being refurbished. We moved in in May
2000.
MCA: When you started
Exousia, was your intent to
plant a seeker-sensitive
church?
W-D: Yes. We were going
for people who were
unchurched or unsaved, or
who had been away from
church for a long time. Our
services are strategically nontraditional'. They're very contemporary with a lot of praise
and worship. We have a praise
MCA: What does it mean
to you to be pastor of a new
church start?
W-D: It is such a blessing
to see people who have never
had a relationship with Christ
come to the Lord. At our
Friend Day service last week
