DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997             TAG: 9710040335

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  138 lines

TONIGHT, PORTSMOUTH MINISTERS TO PRAY, IN PREPARING FOR SUMMIT

On the eve of their first citywide summit, members of the Jeremiah Project plan to gather in a midtown church for prayer.

The prayer vigil will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Mount Hermon Baptist Temple, 2901 London Blvd.

Anyone is welcome to join the ministers who are members of the group, and people can stay for the entire vigil or come and go, according to the Rev. N. LaMonte Newsome, pastor of Mount Hermon Baptist.

The Jeremiah Summit will be the first time the coalition has gathered to explain the mission of the Jeremiah Project, and tried to get more people involved in meeting the city's needs.

The Jeremiah Project started with a handful of ministers about seven months ago and has grown to include more than 30 clergy.

Many lay people have been represented at the project's meetings, which are rotated around churches all over the city.

From the beginning, the organization has been making plans for a citywide summit and calling on lay people from the pulpit. Organizers estimate that the event could draw as many as a thousand people if church members answer that call.

Newsome said he hopes to see 150 to 200 of his own church members there. They'll spread out over the nine workshops planned on everything from the impact of welfare reform to mentoring opportunities.

The Rev. Clifford Barnett of Brighton Rock AME Zion Church hopes to have 40 to 50 members at the summit.

Barnett will be leading a workshop on how lay people can become involved in social ministries.

``People want to help people,'' he said. ``They want to get involved, but they don't know where they can get plugged in.''

The Rev. James R. Luck of Congregational Christian Church has a small church but still expects to bring a half-dozen members to the summit.

Luck, and Brad Warner, a 25-year-old church member, worked on the graphic design that has become the Jeremiah Project's logo.

``We wanted to find something that symbolized the city,'' he said.

They went through graphics of city skylines and found a scaled-down version that they felt fit the small-community feel of Portsmouth.

``We gave each building a different color, which represents the diversity of the group that's come together,'' Luck said.

A cross rises over the skyline, the shared symbol of faith that ``oversees all that we do,'' he said.

Luck also worked on a committee that planned the worship service that will begin the summit.

``We wanted to make sure that it really did represent the diversity of the Christian churches in our city,'' Luck said.

Harriett Heath, music director of St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, took on the job of directing the mass choir that will provide music during the summit.

How does one blend the voices of singers from churches all over the city?

In this case, quickly.

There's no audition, and not a whole lot of rehearsal time for the hundred or so people expected to sing in the choir.

Heath just asks that willing singers show up an hour before the event.

Many will wear the robes of their churches, but Heath stressed that people do not have to be choir members to take a place on the stage with other singers.

The music selections will be as familiar as ``Amazing Grace,'' she said.

``We'll just get everybody together and have a nice, big sing-along for the city of Portsmouth,'' she said.

In addition to the linking of churches and voices, Luck hopes to see the citywide summit be the beginning of a stronger link between churches and secular social agencies.

``Personally, I think the church is going to look more and be more like the Jeremiah Project in the future,'' he said. ``Ministry is not going to be confined to what happens on Sunday from 11 to 12.''

What happens inside the church will be about training people to do the work outside the church, he said.

``We're going to have to go to them instead of them coming to us,'' Luck said. ``And I think the Jeremiah Project is about doing that.'' ILLUSTRATION: ABOUT THE SUMMIT

The Jeremiah Summit will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at

Willett Hall, 3701 Willett Drive in Portsmouth.

The goal of the summit is to bring together clergy, churches and

other concerned citizens and organizations in an ongoing effort to

meet the needs of Portsmouth.

The summit was organized by the Jeremiah Project, a growing

interdenominational coalition of clergy in Portsmouth.

The summit will feature workshops on welfare reform; mentoring

opportunities; helping the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and

senior citizens; what pastors need to know about community

resources; working with struggling parents; and involving laity in

ministries.

The schedule:

3 p.m. - Explanation of the Jeremiah Project.

3:10 p.m. - Worship.

4 p.m. - Workshops and exhibits.

5:30 p.m. - Reflection.

For more information, call Sister Anna Mae Crane at 398-4900.

Graphic

Who's Participating

Clergy involved in the Jeremiah Project and the planning of the

Jeremiah Summit:

Sister Anna Mae Crane, facilitator of the Jeremiah Project.

The Rev. Geoffrey Hahneman and Trinity Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Hank Scoggins and First Presbyterian Church.

Father Joseph Slovick and St. Paul's Catholic Church.

Father Joseph Green and St. James Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Curtis Edmonds and St. Mark's Missionary Baptist Church.

The Rev. Dr. N. LaMonte Newsome and Mount Hermon Baptist Temple.

The Rev. Vernon S. Lee and New Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

Father James Carr and Church of the Resurrection.

Father Brian Hobden and St. John's Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Roy Smith Jr. and Morning Star Missionary Baptist

Church.

The Rev. Elsie Woodard and First Church of Deliverance.

The Rev. Clifford Barnett and Brighton Rock AME Zion Church.

The Rev. J. Michael Little and Zion Baptist Church.

The Rev. Philip Parker and Calvary Baptist Church.

The Rev. Jane Flaherty and St. Christopher Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Harry Spear and St. Andrew's United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Walter Hunting and Green Acres Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Jack Stallings and Collinswood Baptist Church.

The Rev. Matt Matthews and Simonsdale Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Reginald Early and Martin Luther King Jr. United

Methodist Church.

The Rev. Raymond Edmonds and Monumental United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Kathryn Pigg and Broad Street United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Tom Becker and Redeemer Lutheran Church.

The Rev. John Ponder and First Baptist West Norfolk.

The Rev. Joel Palser and Liberty New Testament Church.

The Rev. James Luck and United Congregational Christian Church.

The Rev. Edward Strange and Churchland Christian Fellowship

Church.

The Rev. Tom Wood and Westhaven Baptist Church.

The Rev. Terry Riddle and Grove Park Baptist Church.

The Rev. Robert L. Baker and Fairwood Agape Church.

The Rev. Dr. Clint Hopkins and Churchland Baptist Church.

The Rev. Ken Bryant and West Side Christian Church. KEYWORDS: JEREMIAH PROJECT SUMMIT PORTSMOUTH CHURCHES

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