Cleveland Clergy Coalition Gives New Life
When all God children come together great things happen, through prayer and supplication along with faith the atmosphere will shift. A clarion call went out and the Cleveland Clergy Coalition raised $34,099.00 for the McCreary Center for African-American Religious Studies. Rev. Dr. William H. Myer founded the McCreary Center to educate and prepare African- American Clergies to serve in our community. The McCreary Center has served as an educational branch in our community for over 30 years, educating a wide ranch of Clergies from Senior Pastors to newly called Ministers to the Gospel. Recently, the McCreary Center has reached out to the Latino Community to prepare their Clergies to serve in their community.
Earlier this spring the McCreary Center was threatening to have their affiliation with Ashland Theological Seminary terminated for various reasons. Rev. Dr. C. Jay Matthews organized Historic Seniors Pastors such as Rev. Dr. E. T. Caviness of Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Pastor Emeritus of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church and Bishop Delano Ellis of Pentecostal Church of America to stand with Dr. Myers to ensure the McCreary Center remained in our community with full accreditation. Several Local Pastors and Ministers, as well as Alumnus and Students joined together to fight to keep the McCreary Center Program in our community.
After a further review the Ashland Theological Seminary reversed its decision to close the McCreary Center and will be maintaining and continuing to have the McCreary Center be a part of the satellite schools for Ashland.
However, the McCreary Center had to make some immediate cosmetic modifications to their facilities to stay in compliance with the Ashland Seminary Standards. The estimated cost for the modifications was $25,000.00 dollars. The Rev. Dr. E. T. Caviness committed the Cleveland Clergy Coalition to sponsor a fundraiser for the McCreary Center. Dr. Caviness commissioned Pastor Aaron Phillips, Senior Pastor of Sure House Baptist Church and Executive Director of the Cleveland Clergy Coalition to organize a fundraiser with a goal to raise $25,000.00 to cover the cost of the modifications.
The Fundraiser was held Thursday, July 12, 2018 at the McCreary Center. Dr. Caviness and Pastor Phillips gave the first $1000.00 each to lead the offering. Several other Pastors and Clergy followed their gifts: Minister Yonne Pointer, Pastor Ronald Maxwell, Senior Pastor of Affinity Baptist Church, Pastor Rushin from United Church in Akron, Dr. C. Jay Matthews of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Pastor Felix Munoz from the Latino community, and many others. Rev. Dr. R. A Vernon attended the fundraiser and brought a gift of $5,000.00 dollars. Other Pastors gifts
ranch from $50.00 dollars to $500.00. The Grand total that was raised by the Cleveland Clergy Coalition was $34,099.00 dollars.
Dr. Myers preached a profound, prophetic, and powerful message and committed to continue the work that God has commend to his hands. Rev. Dr. E. T. Caviness had final remarks and stated “The Cleveland Clergy Coalition mission is to Make Our Communities Better; ensuring the McCreary Center for African-American Religious Studies will remain a staple in our community as our mission statement.”
