Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 6 June 2002 — Page 17

The Muncie Times, June 6. 2002. page 17

Williams was exhortative as he said, “Who are we? We are the educator and the scholars. We are the teachers and the preachers, the environmentalists, engineers, the economists. We are the scientists and sociologists. We are the secretaries and the business men and women. We are the artists and orators, the strategists, the developers. We are men and women of substance who keep coming. “Who are we? We are Christian men and women with their eyes set on things eternal. Our efforts are concentrated on teaching and showing the way. Who are we? We are one in the spirit and one in the Lord./ We are Christians who testify to His goodness. For

through his life, we are living. “Through His breath, we are breathing. By His hand we are held. On His shoulder, we can lean. Through our faith, we cannot fail and through His power, we shall prevail. Through His death, we shall live again. “Who are we? We are lay people from the north and the south and the east and the west. We are heterogeneous. We are talented, creative and imaginative. Our capabilities are diversified. Our credentials are multifarious. “We are determined to achieve the victor’s cup. “We must find Christians who are willing to close the gap between what we say and what we do. Those who not only lecture by example but set an example.

Those who have something within that on one can affect from without.” Williams also talked about the importance of the church in the black community. It is, he said, a place of inclusion, not exclusion. The church has been central to the civil rights struggle, giving succor and hope, even in times of tribulation and despair, he said. “We must not only do church work, but we must be willing to do the work of the church. There is work to be done in this bruised and fractured, sick and ailing world, notifying even the most casual observer that this whole world is standing in need of prayer. “As I travel the width and

breadth of this country and beyond, as I sit with those in the high place and the low place, I would say to you that the executives who are surrounded by comfort, those who have the mahogany tables and the high back chairs and the fluorescent lights would have to tell me to tell you that he or she, too, is standing in need of prayer,” he said. Williams was introduced by Bea Moten-Foster, owner/publisher of The Muncie Times who chaired the Corporate Luncheon committee. She credited Williams with taking Indiana Black Expo to new heights.

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