Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 17 January 2002 — Page 23

The Muncie Times, January 17, 2002, page 23

MILLBEN FROM PAGE 1 seminars on that day at Muncie Central High School. Church services are offered, as well as special celebratory events. This year Millben says a banquet has been added. The dinner will take place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Cardinal Hall at Ball State. Appetizers and conversation will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The dinner will be from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The speaker, Dr. Denise Stolle, is author of Practicing Therapeutic Jurisprudence: Law as a Helping Profession. She will speak from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Millben said the service was moved from his church to Ball State to attract more people from the community at large. However, Millben stressed that all the activities sponsored by the CCCC are influenced by the

community of faith that the group represents. Also, for the first time this year, with the help of Dr. Derick Virgil, head of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Ball State University, classes will be suspended so students and faculty can attend the festivities. The culminating worship ceremony, traditionally held at Christ Temple Church, which boasts 1,000 seats, will be at 7 p. m. The keynote speaker, Jeffery Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Baptist Church of Indianapolis, will deliver a sermon that focuses on the theme “To Walk Humbly with God.” Before Millben became a pastor of Christ Temple, he worked in human resources for Amway as a college recruiter. He was also a personnel recruiter for a truck line. He received degrees in psychology and pastoral studies. Millben,

Garfield teacher awarded Outstanding Music Educator

ordained as a lay minister at 17, moved into full-time preaching when he felt called by the Lord. His wife of 32 years, Denise, a teacher at Longfellow Elementary School, Muncie, is his co-pastor. The couple have three children: Stephen, Kismin and Brittany and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Sidney. As a pastor and the president of CCCC, Millben sees the organization’s mission as being to serve as an advocate and mediator for the African American community, while maintaining a spiritual tone. The faith-based CCCC sometimes serves as

a sounding board for the African American community to the larger community addressing concerns such as education or employment. Millben is also a member of a citywide church organization that has members from diverse denominations. One instance of the CCCC’s advocacy was when Dr. Sam Abram was running for Muncie Community Schools superintendent. According to Millben, there was some fear of someone being brought in from outside and given the job. So the CCCC stepped in and supported Abram’s ultimately successful bid for the office. Another example

of the CCCC’s work took place after the Rodney King incident. The videotaped beating of Rodney King, a black man, by white Los Angeles police officers, sparked race riots. In response, the CCCC activated study groups to examine and improve race relationships in Muncie. Millben’s hope for this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration, is that it will have more community involvement than ever before. “I hope we find new people drawn into the celebration partly because of the ... venue, (ultimately) resulting in greater harmony within our community,” he said.

&Y' Pastor Robert Harris Jr. and members of First Missionary Baptist Church reach out to minister to a growing community.

Muncie - P. J. Froenicke, music teacher at Garfield Elementary School, was recently selected to receive the Outstanding Elementary Music Educator Award from the Indiana Music Educators Association for 2002. Mrs. Froenicke was recognized by the Muncie Community Schools Board of School Trustees at a December meeting and will receive the state award at the Indiana Music Educators Convention General Session January 18, 2002, where she will receive an engraved plaque. Her photo and

biographical information will appear in the Indiana Music Educators Association Musicator magazine. A music teacher with the Muncie Community Schools since 1973, Froenicke taught at Washington-Carver Elementary School, Sutton Elementary School, Claypool Elementary School, and Wilson Middle School before going to Garfield Elementary. School in 1999. Froenicke was nominated by Mary Beucy of the Greenfield Central Community School Corporation.

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