LUMBEE NEWS
(August 2009) The United Methodist Church hosted the first annual Heritage Day Saturday, August 22, 2009 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Carolina Indian Cultural Center, where Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins honored the oldest, present-day preaching, American Indian reverend. 
“He had an influence in bringing my father to Christ,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins, as he began to express his gratitude and appreciation toward Reverend Bill James Locklear(pictured above at micrphone). “The most honorable thing I can do on behalf of 55,000 members is to present him with an Eagle Feather,” continuedChairman Jimmy Goins, “When deciding whether to give him an adult feather or a young feather, I decideda young feather would be most appropriate. Simply because his ministry is not yet over, it represents his excitement and passion to continue carrying on his mission.”Chairman Jimmy Goins’ tribute was then followed with an honor song by Southern Sun.
After generous recognition and honorable salutations were given by those who had been impacted by Locklear, he delivered a sermon titled, “The Heritage of Our Christian Faith and How It Was Founded.” The service was closed with an offering and songs of praise.
According to Reverend Sylvia Collins-Ball, a minister within the conference, the Rockingham District Native American Cooperative Ministries was formed in 1995 so that the Indian Methodist Church community could be mobilized and become collective in sharing Christ and meeting the needs within our communities. “What we are trying to do is bring our churches together today around the idea that we are one church, we are one body, we are one faith and when we come together as a community of faith there are so many more things that we can do and be about for the kingdom of God,” remarked Collins-Ball.
One of the coordinators for the event, Tribal Councilwoman Louise Mitchell(pictured left) also commented, “The roots of our people began in the Native American churches, that’s where our leadership came from and this is a part of leadership today in understanding what our heritage and culture is. I think it is very important that we teach our children about God’s value, and the history of our churches as to where our leaders began.” |
