December 2024, New York, NY…, On Sunday, October 27, 2024, The Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, where Rev. Dr. Malcolm J. Byrd is Senior Pastor, celebrated its 228th Anniversary.
The service opened with the processional presentation of Anniversary Memorial Flowers to the beat of African drums as the Songhai Deli Ensemble played the gathering song “We Are Marching/Siyahamba.” The words to the song are powerful: “We are marching in the light of God. We are marching in the light of God. We are dancing; we are singing; we are praying.
The sanctuary was full, and over 5,000 people watched the service on the Mother Zion Facebook page and YouTube. Rev. Byrd thanked everyone for gathering on Anniversary Sunday. “For 228 years, God has had his incredible hands on the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church! It is my prayer that everyone will leave here feeling better than when they walked in.”
As he does every Sunday, Rev. Byrd emphasized that Mother Zion is not a theater. “It is our Cathedral and deserves the same respect and dignity afforded to other revered churches worldwide.” There was a loud round of applause of affirmation. He then offered the morning prayer. The morning hymn, The Church Is One Foundation, followed. Rev. Byrd acknowledged Dr. Hazel Dukes, President of the NY State Conference of the NAACP, and Dr. Wallace D. Best, Princeton University, Professor of Religion and Black Studies. He also asked his mother, newly consecrated Deaconess Elsie Byrd, to stand.
Rev. Bryd is a great historian and did an excellent job summarizing the Church’s impressive 228-year history. “This Church has seen some great days in the past, and we are doing our best to navigate through our present.” Befitting the occasion, Rev. Byrd called the names of some past members: Frederick Douglass, Madame C.J. Walker, Paul Robeson, Ruth Whitehead Whaley, Esq., Samuel Battle, the first Black New York City Police Officer, Philip Anthony Payton Jr., African American real estate entrepreneur and “Father of Harlem.” He told the congregation that Mother Zion was a stop on Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. In 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth at the altar of Mother Zion, and Mother Zion fought for 30 years to abolish slavery in New York State (July 4, 1827.)
Bro. Kermit T. Morris read the scripture, Jeremiah 8th Chapter, starting at verse 20.
Rev. Byrd invited Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, to the pulpit. Rev. Cook greeted the congregation with exuberance and joy. Paraphrasing Psalm 122:1, she said, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to Mother Zion for their 228th anniversary. I know Rev. Byrd said this is not a theater, but God picked someone with personality and charisma, who knows how to connect us to Christ and raised up Rev. Malcolm J. Byrd as pastor of Mother Zion.” She saluted Rev. Byrd and commended the congregation for the work being done in the community, adding “the best is yet to come.”
It is customary on Anniversary Sunday to recognize leaders who have made significant contributions to the community.
This year’s recipient of the Harriet Tubman Award was Rev. Ruth McDaniels, a decades-long activist in the Harlem Community and proponent of the New York State Clean Slate Act, effective November 2024.
Rev. Byrd presented the Paul Robeson Award to Rev. S. Raschaad Hoggard, Ph.D., a graduate of A&T College in North Carolina. “Rev. Hoggard is truly brilliant and has carried the Abyssinian Baptist Church for years.”
Rev. Hoggard was also the guest preacher for the Anniversary Service. There was thunderous applause, and the congregation stood as Rev. Hoggard took the pulpit. “Good afternoon, my brothers and sisters in the struggle.” Rev. Hoggard said he was “so grateful” and thanked Rev. Byrd for extending the invitation to preach on Anniversary Sunday. “We have come to celebrate this grand church and its long-standing, unwavering commitment to our freedom and liberation. We must both rejoice and lament because this church has been a bedrock and oasis in our community for the past 228 years.” He also thanked his family for being with him and Dr. Hazel Dukes for being one of his many second mothers. “She straightened us out, told us what to do, and put a little fire under our feet.”
Rev. Hoggard’s sermon was lifted from Jeremiah 8:20-22: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why, then, is there no healing for the wound of my people?”
Rev. Hoggard said Gilead was the center of healing in ancient Israel, and when Jeremiah asked the gripping question, “Is there no balm?” he was essentially saying if it can’t happen here, it won’t happen anywhere. “For 228 years, this Church has been preaching the good news and answering the question about who the physician is. This church has been steady in remaining connected to the great physician.”
Rev. Hoggard said, “The harvest has come, and we are NOT saved. Through our faith and native skills, we must stand up and save our communities, not run from them. It takes the hood to save the hood.” Rev. Hoggard said, “There is a Balm in Harlem. The challenge on Anniversary Sunday is unearthing the balm within you.”
It was an inspiring, thought-provoking sermon.
Mother Zion welcomed a new member as the Paul Robeson Ensemble sang, “There is a Balm in Gilead.”
Before the benediction, Rev. Byrd announced that Rev. Raschaad Hoggard would be the Rev. B.C. Robeson Scholar in Residence at Mother Zion Church. Rev. Benjamin C. Robeson served as Pastor at Mother Zion for over 30 years. Civil Rights Activist, actor, and renowned baritone Paul Robeson was his brother.
Flowers were placed at the Bishop James W. Varick crypt, which is housed in the Dabney N. Montgomery Museum on the lower level of the church. The celebratory reception that followed was a perfect end to the day.
