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Southwest Memphis resident Rev. William Owens and pastors from
Jonesboro and surrounding areas organized The Sanctity of
Marriage rally held at Arkansas State University Convocation
Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
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Faith Ministers rally for sake of marriage
By Special to Whitehaven Appeal
October 17, 2004
Southwest Memphis resident Rev. William
Owens and pastors from Jonesboro and surrounding areas organized the
Sanctity of Marriage rally held Sept. 26 at Arkansas State
University's Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
Together Owens, president of Coalition of African-American
Pastors, and Adrian Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church,
arranged a biracial, nonpartisan, multidenominational group of
pastors in front of more than 4,500 Christians.
The attendees were on their feet with standing ovations and
thunderous applause throughout the rally. Rev. Stan Ballard, Pastor
of Nettleton Baptist Church and a key organizer of the rally, said,
"We are watchmen on the wall, and Christians everywhere must stand
up for biblical principles."
Rev. Greg Addison, pastor of East Side Baptist Church, declared,
"We as pastors are within our rights to inform our members of how
our political leaders stand on certain issues, and the Christian
community must stand up for righteousness and justice or the moral
values of our country will continue to decline."
The crowd was jubilant and receptive to the message from all
speakers. Rogers used a quote from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream"
speech and said that homosexual marriage is not the dream that Dr.
King spoke of, but a nightmare.
Owens emphasized the importance of black and white Christians
working together to see to it that the Federal Marriage Amendment is
passed. "Marriage between one man and one woman is a Christian issue
not a black or white Christian issue. It affects all of us, period.
The time is over for division between the races and doing their
separate things. The only way this fight can be won is when
Christians, regardless of their color, come together to see to it
that marriage remains between a man and a woman."
The famed civil rights photographer, Ernest Withers attended the
meeting as a guest of Owens.
"This meeting is by far the best meeting I have attended in my
life," said Withers. "Just seeing blacks and whites sitting together
and singing together and celebrating the sanctity of marriage was a
sight to behold."
The attendants were given a charge to call their members of
congress and tell them to vote what "thus saith the Lord" on this
vital issue. Rev. Richard Bott, of Bott Radio Network, closed the
meeting with a prayer and words of encouragement. |
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