Wednesday, March 19, 2003
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Wednesday, March 19, 2003 |
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Community Christian calls Jerrie Bason as co-pastor Members of Community Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Fayetteville voted to call the Rev. Jerrie Bason as co-pastor in a congregational meeting held Sunday, Feb. 23. Bason, an African-American, joins the Rev. Dean Phelps on the ministry staff of the historically white congregation. Bason attended Spelman College, DeKalb College and Georgia State University and earned the Master of Divinity degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology. She completed clinical pastoral education through St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta and Campbell-Stone Apartments in Buckhead. Prior to joining the staff at Community Christian, Bason served as the program director for Women's Ministries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Georgia. Ordained ministry is a second career for Bason. She worked for 21 years in the federal government in addition to working for A.T.&T. She spent most of her years in the federal government working for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She and her husband, Clifford, have two sons who both live in the Atlanta area. Community Christian Church formed in 1896 as the West End Christian Church in Atlanta. In the 1970s the congregation moved to a location on West Fayetteville Road in Riverdale and changed its name to Community Christian Church. In 1986 the congregation moved into its present facility on Kenwood Road in Fayetteville. The neighborhood surrounding the church has experienced a shift in its racial makeup over the past decade as part of its population growth. According to 1990 census data, the population of north Fayette County was 87 percent white. By the 2000 census, the black population in the community had more than tripled, growing to 34 percent of the total population. According to Phelps, who has served the congregation for the past four years, doing ministry in neighborhoods with changing populations is a challenge that many congregations face. "These congregations choose whether to move, to close or to reach out," he said. "Community Christian hopes to reach out to an increasingly diverse neighborhood by demonstrating diversity in its leadership." |
