The first night of the 2004 Summit (Thursday, April 15).
| From the volunteers moving three dozen tables and scores of chairs into place to the team laying out the materials for registration, the church was buzzing with activity all morning. Shortly after Noon the registration tables opened and people started arriving. There are 500 participants registered, from 28 states and from Canada. Sixty seven percent of the participants are from the northeast states. |
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| Shortly after 7:00 p.m., Maurice Upshaw, the chairman of the program committee, opened the first plenary session. |
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| Pastor Glen K. Caines gave his welcome and introduced Dr. Keith W. Reed, the senior pastor of Sharon Baptist Church. Dr. Read gave his welcome to the conference. | |
| Ms. Loredana George presented a reading relating the topic of this summit to the history of the host city and to the future envisioned in the Bible. |
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| The Bridgeway Worship Band from Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland led in worship. |
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| Mr. & Mrs. Wang presented her testimony through songs, "Happy Reunion in Heaven" and "The Father Gave Me Precious Treasure," which she composed in traditional Chinese music style. She sang in Chinese as her husband accompanied her on Chinese instruments; the English translation was projected for the congregation. | |
| Dr. Russell Begaye, Chairman of the Ethnic America Network, gave the first part of his overview of the ethnic changes in the USA as he presented Social & Economic Trends Of Ethnics in U.S.A. | |
| Dr. Begaye also introduced Brother Wali Ahmad, the Chair of the Philadelphia Ethnic Workers' Summit, and and expressed his appreciation to Brother Ahmad and the committee that has been working with him. | |
| Mrs. Marcia Ahmad presented a bouquet of flowers to Sister Rho Reed, the Sharon Baptist Church Director of Public Relations, who has done so much work from the host venue side to prepare for the Summit. | |
| Dr. Robert Bartlett took up the offering, gifts that will help cover the remaining expenses of the Summit. As the offering was collected, the Bridgeway Worship Band presented praise to the Lord through music ("Holy is the Lord"). |
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| Pastor Earl Peace introduced the speaker, Dr. David Anderson, pastor of the Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland. His topic: Proclaiming Liberty through Cross-cultural Leadership and Lifestyle. In his message, Dr. Anderson contrasted "racism" and "gracism"--one rejects, the other incorporates. He presented the seven graces spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12 and indicated how they are related to welcoming all peoples into the body of Christ: special honor, special modesty, special treatment, greater honor, no division, equal concern, and rejoicing with others. "Gracism liberates everyone to come." |
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