The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance: Forgotten Apostles By
Rodney Brown "We are committed to communities populated predominately by minorities in Syracuse," said Kenneth W. Reed, Pastor of Greater Evangelical Church of God and Christ, and president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Syracuse and Vicinity. "We are heavily involved and will continue to be." The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA) is a cluster of clergymen and churches. The organization's vision is to build a network of like-minded ministers, to empower communities and to exalt the name and works of Jesus Christ. Jokingly, Pastor Reed stated that he thinks many people have forgotten all about the IMA, because when he mentions the organization to people, many times the response has been, 'What are some of the things they do?' "The focus of our new agenda is to meet regularly with Mayor Miner, Police Chief Frank Fowler and organizations like Say Yes to Education," Reed said. "Working with them on important initiatives has [kind of] diminished our presence in an effort to do more on a bigger scale, but the fruits of our labor are still within 'communities of need', and our commitment and efforts will continue to grow." Despite the IMA's commitment to work closely with public officials, Reed stated, the continuance to create social programs in African American and Latino communities as a lone entity, is still a top priority where needed. Over the years, the IMA has been heavily involved with projects like Jubilee Time of Homes, a program similar to Habitat For Humanity, which builds houses for people in the city, and the Vivian T. Howard Adult Center, a nursing home facility that the IMA built from the ground up. The IMA created a program called the Ten Point Plan, aimed to reduce juvenile gang violence. In addition, a summer jobs program was also developed where youths are employed at different church sites in their communities. In response to statistics regarding health care, which shows that minorities [particularly African Americans] are disproportionately affected with serious illnesses and diseases that are commonly fatal, the IMA has prompted to develop a health initiative that offers free screening and health awareness programs which focus on diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. "The reasons the IMA began to work closely with public officials revolved around the need to deal more effectively with poverty and health issues, and to address educational initiatives," said Reed. In addition, Pastor Reed noted its new partnership with the Say Yes to Education program, which is designed to address all areas that impact a student's readiness for college as they progress through grades K-12, culminating with the promise of free college tuition for students who meet graduation, residency and college admission requirements. "We have a dismal graduation rate in Syracuse," Reed said. "That's not acceptable and it's something that keeps me awake at night." The Pastor also spoke about his disappointment with the lack of diversity on Syracuse's police force and Fire Department. "This is on our table. We are trying to make positions within these departments more accessible to minorities," Reed said. "We are continuing to address this issue with the mayor and police chief. Parties involved need to stop talking about it and do something," he said. Giving an overview regarding the mission for the IMA in the coming years, Reed pointed to Saint Luke, Chapter 4, verse 18; The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
Kenneth W. Reed has been the president of the Interdenominational Ministerial
Alliance (IMA) for five years, and the Pastor at the Greater Evangelical Church
of God and Christ for 19 years. |