HISTORY OF THE TREE OF HOPE



HISTORY OF THE TREE OF HOPE

Departmental Emblem

(As told to Mrs. Juletha French by the Rev. Medis Warren, General Chairman, LMC 1959-1967)

Prior to 1960, the Life Members Department was without a departmental symbol. While serving as General Chairman, Mrs. Medis G. Warren decided the department needed some kind of emblem, a visual she could use to inform members about the ministries funded by the Life Members department.

As she lay in bed listening to the radio, she learned of a plane crash in Brooklyn, New York which had taken the life of a young boy. In the eulogy, the priest used Job 14:7 “For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease”. Mrs. Warren listened intently. The Spirit moved within her. She recalled those turbulent years between 1916 and 1917. She remembered how the department had been discontinued in 1917 and revitalized in 1935. Truly, it was as if a tree had been cut down but, because the root system was still intact, new growth sprouted. The symbol of a new tree sprouting from a stump took root in her spirit for the Life Members Department was the epitome of this metaphor. Mrs. Warren grabbed a sheet of paper and, while sitting on the side of the bed, sketched out what would eventually become the symbol for the Life Members Department—The Tree of Hope.

The idea was presented at the 1960 Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary Summer Conference held on the campus of Lomax-Hannon Junior College in Greenville, Alabama. Mrs. Warren arrived on campus with symbol in hand. At the urging of Mrs. Alcestis Coleman and Mrs. Mable Jones, Mrs. Warren presented her idea to the Executive Board. It was accepted. The Tree of Hope became the official departmental symbol for the Life Members Department.

Branches of The Tree Of Hope

1. Salaries and Stipends for Field Workers

Field workers labor in the Overseas Conferences. These hard-working ladies work with the Missionary Supervisor in carrying out the responsibilities of the Women’s Home and Overseas Missionary Society within their districts. The Life Members Department provides salaries for full-time field workers and stipends for retired field workers. Field Workers present a quadrennial report at the Emma B. Watson Leadership Training Institute held the week prior to the Quadrennial Convention. These reports reflect their labors.

2. Scholarship Awards Program

The Margaret S. Willie Life Members Scholarship Award Endowment Program affords selected students an opportunity for financial assistance through a scholarship funded by the Life Members Department. The scholarship award is given to a student who will be entering an AME Zion Church college as a freshman. The student must meet qualifications and complete an application by June 30th of the year of the award. The scholarship is renewable three (3) consecutive years provided the student maintains a 2.65 or higher GPA.

3. Missionary Education Leadership Programs in America

Funds from the Life Members Department support our Missionary Education Programs in the United States. Leadership Training Institutes located in centralized areas as well as satellite programs in selected Episcopal Districts is necessary to equip missionaries for effective ministry.

4. Missionary Education Leadership Programs Overseas

Funds from the Life Members Department support our Missionary Education Programs overseas. Leadership Training Institutes located in centralized areas as well as satellite programs in selected Episcopal Districts are necessary to equip missionaries for effective ministry.

5. Support to Hood Theological Seminary

Hood Theological Seminary is the AME Zion Church’s training institution for men and women entering into various ministries of the Christian Church. The Life Members Department contributes funds to provide grants to qualifying students studying at Hood.

6. Support to Institutions of Higher Learning

The Life Members Department provides funds annually to AME Zion Church schools of higher learning. These include Clinton Junior College, Rock Hill, SC; Lomax Hannon Junior College, Greenville, AL; AME Zion University, Monrovia Liberia; Hood-Speaks Theological Seminary, Nigeria, Africa. Lomax Hannon Junior College serves as the extension site for Hood Theological Seminary.

7. Assistance with General Society Expense

If the need arises, funds from the Life Members Department area available to assist with the general operational expenses of the Women’s Home and Overseas Missionary Society.

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