Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Community fund-raising efforts to pay for the legal defense of four suspects accused in the April 29 attack on truck driver Reginald O. Denny have been churning away for several weeks, but family members and lawyers representing the suspects say they have yet to see a penny. In part, that is because the leading fund-raising campaign--sponsored by Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and endorsed by several of the lawyers and family members--has just started.

Community fund-raising efforts to pay for the legal defense of four suspects accused in the April 29 attack on truck driver Reginald O. Denny have been churning away for several weeks, but family members and lawyers representing the suspects say they have yet to see a penny. In part, that is because the leading fund-raising campaign--sponsored by Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and endorsed by several of the lawyers and family members--has just started.

SAN FRANCISCO - In an unprecedented move, officials of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black pulpit in the city, have rejected the troubled Los Angeles pastor assigned to lead its flock. The Rev. John J. Hunter was recently transferred from First AME, one of the nation's most prominent black churches, after an eight-year tenure marred by a sexual harassment lawsuit, a federal tax investigation and the questionable use of church credit cards. Hunter was slated to make his pastoral debut at Bethel AME this month, but church officials drafted an emergency resolution barring him from taking control.

Archbishop George A. Stallings, the former Roman Catholic priest who founded the breakaway African-American Catholic Congregation in Washington in 1989, will speak at the inauguration Mass of a branch church in Los Angeles at 4 p.m. Sunday. The service will be held in the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7900 S. Western Ave. A regular meeting place and pastor will be designated later.

A memorial service for actress Esther Rolle is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at City of Angels Church of Religious Science, 5550 Grosvenor Blvd. Rolle, who is best remembered for her portrayal of the strong mother in the television sitcom "Good Times," died Nov. 17 at the age of 78. The funeral will be conducted at the same time Saturday in Pompano Beach, Fla., Rolle's home town, at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oxnard is sponsoring its first All Male Worship Service on Jan. 13. The Rev. Johnie Carlisle Jr. said the event stems from a church group called Sons of Allen that gives men an opportunity to exert a positive influence in church congregations--many of which, he said, are dominated by women. While comparisons with the recent "Million Man March" are inevitable, Carlisle said the event was planned before the rally in Washington, D. C.

The Rev. Cheviene Jones knows "it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing" in music and at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jones, 55, says he plans to blend his passion for the music of Duke Ellington with the Scripture as he sets out to capture the attention of his congregation and South-Central. The featured vocalist today at the church, he will sing traditional spirituals such as "Deep River" as well as contemporary gospel songs.

Each year in February, Black History Month inspires hundreds of events across the U.S. One of the new events is the Native Island Gullah Celebration on Hilton Head Island, S.C. The monthlong festival, sponsored by the Native Island Business and Community Affairs Assn., features the culture, food and crafts of the Gullah--African Americans living on the Sea Islands off South Carolina and Georgia.

Mayor Tom Bradley, lawyer Warren Christopher and Urban League President John Mack joined other government and civic leaders Saturday to open the South-Central Los Angeles headquarters of the campaign for greater civilian oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Members of a new community-based policing council in the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Division will be installed Nov. 2 at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7900 S. Western Ave. The 80 council members--including business leaders, youths, block group activists, church representatives and senior citizens--were selected this year during community elections. The installation ceremony and dinner were postponed by the riots.