Per The Associated Press, The Rev. James Lawson Jr., an apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 95.

Services for Rev. Lawson

Memphis

Sunday, July 21, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., Centenary United Methodist Church, 584 E. McLemore Ave., Memphis, TN 38106

Singers and Musicians: Contact Cynthia Haley at 901-482-1607 if you would participate with the music ministry. Please share this invitation with your congregation!

Keynote Speakers:

  • Rev. Ed Sanders, Pastor of Interdenominational Church
  • Clara Ester, National Vice President of the United Women in Faith, Vice President for People United to Advance the Dream, and Civil Rights Activist
  • Dr. Forrest Harris, President of American Baptist College
  • Dr. Phillis Sheppard, Executive Director of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements at Vanderbilt University
  • Bishop William McAlilly
  • Dr. Deborah B. Smith, Metro District Superintendent
  • Mayor Paul Young
  • And more…

Los Angeles (stream recordings)

Wake

The viewing is at Angelus Funeral Home on Friday, July 5, 2024, 3875 S Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm.

The Celebration of Life

Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 11:00 am at Holman United Methodist Church, 3320 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018.

Lawson’s History with Centenary

In the 1960s, Centenary’s role in the community, was vital, led by its 33-year-old pastor, Dr. James Lawson. Dr. Lawson taught non-violence tactics to national movement leaders and led many movement sit-ins. Youth members in the church were urged to become social activists, and being committed to action, made lasting contributions to the cause. In 1966, Centenary served as the site for strategic planning to ensure that James Meredith’s 220-mile March Against Fear, from Memphis to Jackson, MS continued after Meredith, the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, was shot. Centenary member, Atty. A. W. Willis, Jr., was Meredith’s local lawyer. Centenary quickly became a positive presence and was viewed as a center for civil rights action after moving to its present location at 584 E. McLemore Avenue in 1967.

When longstanding tensions between black sanitation workers and city officials erupted in February of 1968, Rev. Lawson held meetings with the mayor of Memphis to urge him to provide decent working conditions. Dangerous working conditions did not improve, and the sanitation workers met at Centenary to call for a strike. Dr. Lawson invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to come to the city to provide aid to the sanitation workers. Dr. King was shot and killed on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Hotel on April 4, 1968, before he could lead a second march in support of the workers. Centenary member, Robert Lewis, Jr., prepared Dr. King’s body for burial, at his funeral home on Vance Street. After the tragic death of Dr. King, several national news agencies broadcast Centenary church services to the world. His death also led to the founding of Memphis Area Legal Services at Centenary, by a group of black activist attorneys. On April 23, 1968, Centenary became a part of the United Methodist Church. Dr. Lawson served as pastor from 1961-1974.

Our New Bible Study on 1 Corinthians, led by Rev. Frank Jones, begins Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

Please check with the church office (901-774-7604) for information and materials for our new bible study.

About our Bible Studies

Bible Study is the study of the Bible as a personal religious or spiritual practice. If we are serious and really want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we must build a relationship with God, and Bible Study gives us the guidance we need.

About Centenary United Methodist Church

Our mission is to be a diverse community of faith, committed to worship, spiritual growth, and service through Christian love. Join us for worship service every Sunday at 10:30 am online and in-person. Follow us in the Bible App!

Register now for Our New Bible Study on 1 Corinthians

Project Transformation will be returning to Centenary in the summer of 2024! Project Transformation Summer Program is an eight-week summer enrichment experience for children in grades 1-8 hosted by a United Methodist church.

The children served come from the surrounding Memphis area. All the activities are led by a team of college interns who plan and organize bible lessons, recreation, and reading skills activities.

Graduate’s Day will be Sunday, May 26, 2024. Please see Robin Mathews or complete the form below if you or a member of your family will be graduating from high school, trade school, college, or graduate school.

The Memphis AFL-CIO Central Labor Council has joined with Centenary United Methodist Church and A. Philip Randolph Institute to host our first Workers Restoration Summit on April 27th from 11:00 AM- 3:00 PM at 584 E. McLemore Avenue, Memphis, TN 38106.

Together we will address the adverse social conditions that have systematically led to economic inequities and contributed to increased crime in the Greater Memphis area, especially in the Black and Brown communities including immigrants both documented and undocumented. We invite local vendors to
come to service the community with the following resources but not limited to:

  • Union Open Job Postings and Apprenticeships
  • Voter Registration and Restoration for purged voters or for recently expunged citizens
  • Free Legal Aids and Materials for Citizenship and Worker Protections
  • Access to Life and Health Insurance through Financial Specialists
  • Access to Dental and Medical Care
  • And many more family-supporting resources

SPREAD THE WORD!

RSVP & Share on Facebook

2024 Professional Administrators of the United Methodist Connectional Structure Annual Conference Worship

We invite you to join the TWK Chapter in Memphis, April 4-6, 2024, to learn and experience how spiritual rights and civil rights are bound together. Our eyes will be opened as we go back in history and learn more about a tumultuous and inspiring period of change. Through many movements today, and our steadfast prayers, we passionately believe that human rights and social justice will one day be bound together!

In place of the Celebration Banquet, the Tennessee Western Kentucky PAUMCS Chapter is hosting a Southern Soirée.

Our worship leaders are Bishop William McAlilly, Dr. Mark Matheny, and Reverend Keith Caldwell from Centenary United Methodist Church in Memphis. Also, a member of Centenary United Methodist Church, Dr. Cynthia Bond Hopson will be one of our annual conference speakers. Recent graduates of the Certification Institute will be honored, and previous classes will be recognized. The Soirée will also include a speech from the 2023 certification class and the installation of the National PAUMCS Officers and Executive Committee. We are going to party Memphis-style!

March is Women’s Month, and we will celebrate Women’s Day on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at the 10:30 a.m. service. Dr. Carolyn Hall, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success at Philander Smith College is the speaker. She is the daughter of Marie Lamon and grew up at Centenary.

Centenary’s unit of United Women in Faith (United Methodist Women) will conduct a mission project for the month of March, for Golden Cross Ministries. Please, join us in donating. Collection boxes will be located just inside the front church entrance and in the Family Life Center. Needed items for the senior citizens of Golden Cross are:

  • Toilet paper, paper towels
  • Paper napkins, paper plates. plastic plates, cups, bowls, forks, spoons, knives
  • Silverware, pots, pans
  • Facial tissues
  • Laundry soap
  • Laundry basket
  • Hangers
  • Hand soap/ hand sanitizer
  • Full-size shampoo, conditioner, body wash
  • Denture care items/oral hygiene products
  • Lotions
  • Deodorant
  • Men’s personal hygiene products
  • Bath powder, foot powder
  • Disposable adult undergarments

The Communal Healing Health Fair is an Event to address the adverse social conditions that contribute to the unsettling levels of economic poverty and, by extension, manage the crime levels in the Greater Memphis area.

Communal Healing Health Fair

JOIN US
January 27, 2023, 11AM – 3PM
584 East McLemore, Memphis, Tennessee 38106
For More Information Visit: MyCommunityHealthPartners.org

Any families wanting to add your child to our Angel Tree program, please complete the request form below, or contact the church office at 901-774-7604. The deadline to return your request is Friday, December 1, 2023.

We will need to the child’s gender, age, size, type of fun gift /clothing, and particulars to assist your Angel with gift purchasing. Each gift cost will be between $25.00 to $30.00.

Also, if there is more than one child per family, please indicate that information by using the family’s last name and specifying how many children are in the family and each of their names at the top of your request form (group example: Smith’s Family, (3) Children – 1. Anna Smith, 2. Brian Smith, 3 Carl Johnson).

You will need to complete each request for each child in the same specified numeric order provided. If you would like more information, please see Ms. Kierra Taylor or Mr. William Hines or call 901-774-7604.

A pattern of abusive behavior used to gain or keep power and control over another person in a relationship.  In the United States, domestic violence affects an estimated 10 million people each year.  Research has shown, up to 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men have experienced this type of abuse.  This number may be higher, as most individuals do not report abuse.

Signs of domestic violence:

  • Verbal abuse (says things to intentionally scare you, degrade you, or otherwise damage your self-worth)
    • Regularly yelling and screaming at you
    • Humiliating you in front of other people
    • Calling you names, swearing at you, or using other foul language
    • Putting down your physical appearance, job, interests, or anything else about you
    • Threatening to harm you, your loved ones, or your pets
    • Threatening to take your children away or keep you from spending time with them
  • Physical abuse (involves any unwanted physical contact or touch intended to hurt or intimidate you)
    • Slapping
    • Kicking
    • Holding you down
    • Shoving or pushing you
    • Pulling your hair
    • Choking you
    • Throwing objects at you
    • Grabbing your face to force you to look at them
    • Blocking a doorway to prevent you from leaving
  • Emotional abuse (Any behavior meant to control or manipulate you, or undermine your sense of individuality and independence)
    • Guilt-tripping you
    • Gaslighting you to deny your experiences or past events
    • Giving you the silent treatment to punish you
    • Controlling who you spend time with
    • Isolating you from loved ones
    • Making threats to get you to act a certain way
    • Starting rumors about you
    • Trivializing your feelings, boundaries, or accomplishments
    • Blaming you for all problems in the relationship
    • Spying on your devices
  • Sexual abuse (Pressuring or outright forcing you to engage in any unwanted sexual acts, or doing anything to control your sexual experience)
    • Unwanted touching or kissing
    • Refusing to use a condom or other barrier methods
    • Restricting your access to birth control
    • Unwanted rough sexual activity
    • Sexual coercion, or pressuring you into performing sexual acts
    • Forcing you to take sexual photos or sharing explicit photos of you without consent
    • Pressuring you to send them nude or sexual photos
    • Forcing you to watch sexually explicit material
    • Performing sexual acts with you when you’re unable to say no — for instance, because you’re asleep or intoxicated
  • Financial abuse (Controls your access to money or prevents you from earning an income)
    • Telling you to quit your job or calling your boss and quitting on your behalf
    • Hiding your car or office keys so you can’t go to work
    • Showing up at your work repeatedly and causing problems so you lose your job
    • Preventing you from accessing your bank account
    • Taking your money, debit and credit cards, or your wallet
    • Insisting on taking control of your finances and giving you a set “allowance” each week or month
    • Using a joint account or your account to make purchases without your consent
    • Selling your assets or property without your consent
    • Opening credit cards in your name or insisting you open credit cards for them to use
    • Refusing to pay child support
    • Telling you to get a second job so they can quit their job
    • Making you show them your receipts for every purchase you make
    • Telling you what you can and can’t purchase with money you earn
    • Making financial decisions that affect you without getting your consent
  • Other factors that may contribute to or escalate aggressive behavior
    • Drinking alcohol or using other substances
    • Social isolation
    • Jealousy and possessiveness
    • Low self-esteem
    • Emotional dependence on others
    • General hostility, especially toward the opposite gender

You can visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline online or call 800-799-7233 for free, confidential support at any time.