Enlarge Guest pastor The Rev. Tom Latimer preaches to a packed house. Photo: Lee Howard

Posted: March 12th, 2012 Lee Howard

We’ve all heard the story about how Jesus, in a moment of fury, rampaged through the Temple at Jerusalem, so incensed was he that his Father’s house had been turned into a marketplace.

Men were selling livestock and moneychangers had set up tables, even as Passover was approaching. Jesus, making a whip from cords, drove out the animals and overturned the tables, scattering the moneychangers’ coins.

Jesus was cleaning house. The Rev. Tom Latimer used the story from John 2:13 as a metaphor Sunday about the need all people have to clean their spiritual house. Latimer, pastor at the predominantly white St. Stephen United Methodist Church, was speaking as a guest minister at the traditionally African-American Antioch Missionary Baptist Church at 232 Skyland Ave in Grier Heights.

Meanwhile, Antioch’s pastor, The Rev. Donnie Garris, was giving his own sermon across town at Latimer’s church. His discussion focused on Philippians 2:5-8.

They were participating in Charlotte’s third annual Xchange Sermons, a program sponsored and organized by Mecklenburg Ministries and Crossroads Charlotte. 

As has been observed by many, the most segregated place in any city in a given week is a church on Sunday morning.

Latimer, shortly before his sermon, said he was “delighted” to participate in the exchange both as a personal cultural experience and as a means of building a bridge between races.

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Posted: March 11th, 2012 Crystal Dempsey

Winterfield Elementary’s Youth Orchestra presented a program Tuesday, March 6, that highlighted what the 65 students have been learning this year. The Connecting Families Through Music event was the second in a series that brings together students, parents and faculty at the East Charlotte school.

Among the student ensembles that performed with violinist Rosemary Furniss and Charlotte Symphony musicians were the student chorus and winds, string ensemble and the “bucket band.” Pianist Noel Freidline and soprano Dawn Anthony also performed with the youth orchestra.

The group’s final performance for 2011-’12 is set for May 1. 

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Posted: March 7th, 2012 Lee Howard

The CIAA swarmed into Charlotte last week with a kickoff luncheon at the Charlotte Chamber on Wednesday. The CIAA is a basketball tourney for traditionally African-American colleges. It marked its 100^th anniversary last week. As many as 200,000 are believed to have attended. Last year’s economic impact was more than $44 million.

Temple Beth El’s Rabbi Judy Schindler has been a fixture on the Charlotte scene for years, working on causes from eliminating homelessness to championing the right of same-sex couples to marry. Because of her “tireless and often courageous work” in the glare of conflict, Schindler has been named Charlotte's 2011 Woman of the Year by a committee of past winners of the 56-year-old award.

A state constitutional amendments panel met last week to "prepare an official explanation of the proposed Marriage Amendment” to the N.C. Constitution that will be put before voters in the May 8 election.

Some of Charlotte’s largest community and family foundations are about to provide nine public schools in West Charlotte with $55 million extra dollars. Project L.I.F.T. is intended to help some of the city’s most troubled schools.

First Lady Michelle Obama was in town last week as part of the CIAA tournament festivities to promote her “Let’s Move!” Initiative. It’s a health and fitness program she’s spearheading to help stem the tide of childhood obesity.

The lounge in Myers Hall at Johnson C. Smith University, along with the stairwells to each of the dormitory’s four floors, have been transformed into an artistic showcase for African-American women with powerful messages. Courtesy of a $1,000 grant from Duke Energy, local artist Lena Hopkins-Jackson created a mural she calls “Tapestry” for the women’s dorm.

Posted: March 5th, 2012 Lee Howard

At the offices of Norcom Development near Uptown, Lane McKinney answers the door. Through his closely cropped hair is a noticeable patchwork of fresh scars on the top of his head. In tie and slacks, he could be just another real estate broker with a bad haircut. But he’s not.

McKinney served four tours of duty in the Army’s Special Forces in Afghanistan. He’s been stateside about a year, working with returning vets who need help making the transition.

About 6,000 have already made the trip back from the Middle East to Mecklenburg County. An undetermined, but no-doubt larger number are on their way.

And their biggest challenge? Finding a job, says McKinney, 31, who is still on active duty but working as a liaison between returning service people and Charlotte-based Norcom on a project called Charlotte Bridge Home.

The nonprofit formed to help military people acclimate to civilian life. Many vets find getting employment, medical assistance, housing and support services a difficult path to navigate.

The nonprofit just won a $50,000 grant from the Foundation for the Carolinas. Norcom’s President Tommy Norman launched the effort almost 1 ½ years ago, and it has since caught the attention of other sponsors, including Wells Fargo and Goodrich. The goal eventually is to raise $1 million for local vet assistance.

“Many of these (veterans) are so young, they’ve been through so much, and you can only imagine what they’re going up against now that they’re home,” says Norman, who served in Vietnam in the Army’s Special Forces from 1966-71.

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