Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference Held
Diocesan Press Service. April 9, 1973 [73095]
JACKSON, Miss. -- "God made of one blood all peoples for to dwell on the face of the earth. To deny cooperation, responsiveness, community is to deny the reality of God," said Bishop H. Ellis Finger to the nearly four hundred Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish participants at the Annual Meeting Banquet of the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference (MRLC) held in Jackson Saturday evening, March 31.
Bishop Finger heads the United Methodist Church in Tennessee and is a former president of Millsaps College in Jackson.
The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi and Chairman of the MRLC, presided at the banquet. Earlier in the day, the MRLC had held a business meeting and a workshop on Jewish-Christian relations.
Special honors were given to Mrs. Claire Collins Harvey of Jackson and Mr. Owen Cooper of Yazoo City. Both are Mississippians who hold national offices in religious organizations. Mrs. Harvey is President of Church Women United and Mr. Cooper is President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
In presenting an engraved plaque to Mrs. Harvey, Bishop Mack Stokes of the United Methodist Church read a citation noting that in her present position Mrs. Harvey serves the thirty million Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox members of Church Women United in more than two thousand local units in the United States. She is the first Southern woman and the first Black woman to serve as president.
Bishop Joseph B. Brunini of the Roman Catholic Church presented a plaque to Mr. Cooper. The citation called Cooper, "an outstanding citizen and Christian of the State of Mississippi whose influence in the cause of Christ has reached across the nation and the world. "
Bishop Mack Stokes was installed as the MRLC's new Chairman by out-going Chairman Allin. Other newly installed officers include three Vice Chairmen: Bishop Joseph Howze of the Roman Catholic Church, the Rev. T. B. Brown, President of Mississippi Baptist Seminary, and the Rev. Dudley Wilson, Pastor of Northminster Baptist Church. The new secretary will be the Rev. Richard Lessmann of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.
The MRLC used the banquet as an occasion to recognize Rabbi and Mrs. Perry Nussbaum. Rabbi Nussbaum will be retiring this summer after twenty years of service to Temple Beth Israel and the Jackson religious community. Dr. Henry Clay, MRLC Vice Chairman and United Methodist District Superintendent, read the citation to Rabbi Nussbaum. Recalling the Rabbi's courageous fight for human rights, the citation concluded: "Rabbi and Arene Nussbaum, we love you; we admire you; we will miss you. SHALOM. "
The MRLC presented a set of silver candlesticks to the Nussbaums, as well as a: pair of "his-and-her" gold automobiles, in miniature.
Mississippi humorist Jerry Clower was on hand to provide laughter and inspiration with his stories and his witness to the meaning of his religious faith.
In his address, Bishop Finger said, "Diversity need not negate mutual enrichment...God is the author of diversity -- but God is not the author of divisiveness. " He concluded, " In this assembly, each of us bears some labels that set us apart -- black or white, male or female, Christian or Jew, Episcopalian or Southern Baptist, young or old, liberal or conservative. But all of us bear common labels that bring us back together -- human beings, children of God, believers, fellow workers with the Creator, seeking minds, open hearts, eager spirits. Let us accept with great joy both sets of labels and by God's grace blend them into a harmony like His creation. "