What is a "Sankofa Anniversary"?
Sankofa Anniversary is our opportunity to give thanks to our all wise and gracious God for the first ten years of the Howard Thurman Bible Institute! As we congratulate our church for 40 years of grace and transformation, we, too, can celebrate blessing. We embrace a Sankofa memorial, the Akan symbol that connects us with ancient West Africa and a more contemporary African American tradition. It reminds us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward.
Dr. Jeremiah Wright expressed it in this way:
The Akan people have an important symbol known as Sankofa. It is expressed in the Asante Adinkra symbols as a bird whose body is heading in one direction, but whose head is turned in the opposite direction. What the symbol is teaching is that we cannot go forward without first going back to our past to understand how it is we got to where we are.
(In a Sankofa Moment, 2010)
As we celebrate the many preachers who completed their Ministry in Training, the many teachers who obtained their Teacher Leadership Certification; the many students who received their Certificates at Honors Graduation and the many members who took amazing courses – all under the HTBI umbrella, we give thanks. We have taught over one hundred different courses ranging from the Old Testament to Greek and Hebrew; from How to Study the Bible to True Love Waits; from the New Jim Crow to Jesus and the Disinherited. Rev. Giles taught some of the most popular classes; Sunday School had some of the most loyal students; and Commissioner John Wiley Price had the largest class.
How thankful we are for the revolutionary vision of our Senior Pastor, Dr. Frederick Haynes, III, and the evolving work of Dr. John Wilson, III, that has crystallized in the on-going ministry of the Howard Thurman Bible Institute. It is surely a vision and a ministry anchored in our faith.
A Sankofa Anniversary is about celebration and commemoration, but in order to be complete, it must also include continuation. We reach into our past and collect the strength of our rich history in order to move forward in unleashing the very promise of God. Thank you for your love and godly service. The HTBI ministry leaders work tirelessly with little recognition of their important contributions. They are the best! We also have the best teachers, the best classes and the very best students. Dr. Wilson is to be commended; Dr. Haynes is to be honored and our Heavenly Father is to be given all the glory!
Dr. Brenda Wall
Pastor of Christian Education
Dr. Jeremiah Wright expressed it in this way:
The Akan people have an important symbol known as Sankofa. It is expressed in the Asante Adinkra symbols as a bird whose body is heading in one direction, but whose head is turned in the opposite direction. What the symbol is teaching is that we cannot go forward without first going back to our past to understand how it is we got to where we are.
(In a Sankofa Moment, 2010)
As we celebrate the many preachers who completed their Ministry in Training, the many teachers who obtained their Teacher Leadership Certification; the many students who received their Certificates at Honors Graduation and the many members who took amazing courses – all under the HTBI umbrella, we give thanks. We have taught over one hundred different courses ranging from the Old Testament to Greek and Hebrew; from How to Study the Bible to True Love Waits; from the New Jim Crow to Jesus and the Disinherited. Rev. Giles taught some of the most popular classes; Sunday School had some of the most loyal students; and Commissioner John Wiley Price had the largest class.
How thankful we are for the revolutionary vision of our Senior Pastor, Dr. Frederick Haynes, III, and the evolving work of Dr. John Wilson, III, that has crystallized in the on-going ministry of the Howard Thurman Bible Institute. It is surely a vision and a ministry anchored in our faith.
A Sankofa Anniversary is about celebration and commemoration, but in order to be complete, it must also include continuation. We reach into our past and collect the strength of our rich history in order to move forward in unleashing the very promise of God. Thank you for your love and godly service. The HTBI ministry leaders work tirelessly with little recognition of their important contributions. They are the best! We also have the best teachers, the best classes and the very best students. Dr. Wilson is to be commended; Dr. Haynes is to be honored and our Heavenly Father is to be given all the glory!
Dr. Brenda Wall
Pastor of Christian Education