DATE: Friday, June 20, 1997                 TAG: 9706180157

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BETSY MATHEWS WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

SMALL CHURCH MAKING FINAL PUSH IN 20-YEAR DRIVE FOR NEW BUILDING

WHEN IT HAS taken more than 20 years to build a new church, what can fire up a congregation to get the job completed?

Candlelight.

At least, that's what the pastor and leaders of New Mount Olive A.M.E. Church believe. On June 7, they held a Candlelight Luncheon and Seasonal Tea to raise funds - and to renew spirits - for the completion of their new church facility, being built at 1953 Campostella Road. Since 1976, the small congregation has been working on the new edifice, choosing not to borrow and build quickly, but to build and pay as they could. That choice has taken great faith and patience, but has also taken a toll. In the many years since the project began, some have grown discouraged, fearful that the church would never be completed.

Glenda Murray-Kelly, a lifelong member of New Mount Olive, is definitely not one of those nay-sayers. Murray-Kelly was the chairperson of Saturday's candlelight event - titled ``The Birthstone Event'' - which was held at Deep Creek Community Center. Murray-Kelly hopes the event will bring a new fire to her congregation, encouraging them to press forward and finish the job.

For ``The Birthstone Event,'' Murray-Kelly decorated 12 tables in the colors of each month's birthstone. Birthday cakes bore candles that were lit in sequence during the ceremony. Murray-Kelly explained that her inspiration came from the 21st chapter of the New Testament book of The Revelation, in which St. John describes the jewels of heaven's foundation.

Murray-Kelly said that just as the 12 birthstones - which are also the jewels of heaven - are listed in a certain sequence, God's people must trust in the sequence of events that comes with completing God's vision.

To address the gathering on ``The Importance of Completing A Task,'' the organizer brought in former New Mount Olive member Col. Thaddious Goodman. Goodman recently was promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer North Atlantic Regional Command and Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. After retelling the Biblical stories of some who left tasks incomplete and others who finished their tasks, Goodman encouraged the 50-some guests gathered to ``hold onto God's unchanging plan'' and ``maintain the faith.''

Also taking part in the ceremony was Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward and Norfolk State University Professor Denise Littleton.

New Mount Olive was founded in 1909 and had its first church at Pinner's Point in South Norfolk. Later the congregation moved to a larger one-room sanctuary at 916 Middle Street in the South Hill section of South Norfolk.

In 1976, then-pastor L.L. Carter said he received a vision from God, showing him that the church needed more than just a sanctuary, but also an educational building, kitchen facilities, offices and a choir room. The congregation accepted his vision.

First, land was purchased off Campostella Road. By 1990, the foundation was laid. Eventually walls, windows and doors were put into place. Currently workers are installing electricity and plumbing.

According to the Rev. James H. Johnson, 73, New Mount Olive pastor since 1985, the church decided early on not to obtain a single large loan for the new building. He said they knew it would take longer to build, but that members felt it would be better to pay as they built.

That payment tactic, in addition to the deaths of key church members and some vandalism of the unfinished structure, have caused years of delays. Those delays have been hard on the mostly elderly congregation, which has 150 members on roll, 60 of which are active.

Johnson said, however, that good has come out of the slow building process.

``Because of all we've been through, I feel the people here now really have unity,'' Johnson said, ``and that unity will keep us going. Our unity is our strength and that comes from the Lord.''

In March, the congregation took another step in faith and sold their Middle Street church. Since then, they have been meeting at Philadelphia Church of God in Christ at 921 Canal Drive. They hold worship services there every Sunday at 9 a.m. and hold a prayer service and Bible Study there every Wednesday from 7-9 p.m.

Johnson said he believes that if all things continue as planned, the congregation should be able to move into their new building by the end of August. Murray-Kelly said the group needs about $10,000 for that to happen.

``Our people are pretty much tired,'' Murray-Kelly said, ``but the thing we must remember is that this is a vision of the Lord . . . We must have renewal. Success is not the measurement of how long it takes to complete a task. It is the completing of the task that is important.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by BETSY MATTHEWS WRIGHT

Former New Mount Olive member Col. Thaddious Goodman encouraged the

50-some guests gathered to ``maintain the faith'' and complete the

task.

At the candlelight luncheon, the Rev. James H. Johnson, 73, said the

slow building process has unified the remaining members of the

congregation , and ``and that unity will keep us going. Our unity is

our strength and that comes from the Lord.''

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