By Wanda Clay
NASHVILLE, TN — The Black Methodist For Church Renewal (BMCR) will once again host the annual 2018 John G. Corry Scholarship Banquet to be held on Saturday, May 19th. The event will be held at Gordon Memorial UMC Reclamation Center, 2334 Herman Street, at 5:30 p.m. The keynote address will be given by Bishop James King.
The John G. Corry Scholarship Banquet is named in honor of Dr. John G. Corry, retired pastor of Patterson Memorial United Methodist Church where he was the pastor when the banquet began. “At this event we recognize those who share in his values, dedication, and practice of leadership in the church as well as raising funds to contribute to young people who are planning to go on to pursue higher education,” said BMCR leader, Shirley Corry.
“We look forward to this year’s speaker, Bishop James R. King, Jr.,” said BMCR coordinator, Stella Beene Venson. “It is not often we hear from Bishop King since he has been retired in the Southeastern Jurisdisdiction. Members of the community know that this will be a special treat to hear from Bishop King,” said Venson.
Bishop James R. King, Jr. is a native of Ashland, Alabama, where he was also ordained deacon and elder by Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson. He then served s a Minister of Divinity in Roanoke, Ala and in Richmond California following his graduation at the Interdenominational Theological Center. He then moved to Nashville where he served for one year at the Wesley Foundation at Tennessee State Univesrsity before being named associate director and then director of the Tennessee Conference Council on Ministries.
In 1984, he served as an evangelist on a mission team in Grenada, West Indies, and then ten years (1985-1995) as pastor of Clark Memorial United Methodist Church. Following his tenure at Clark, King was appointed as superintendent of the Murfreesboro District and in 1999 he was named pastor of the Brentwood Church, which held over 4,500 members. Upon completing his work there, King was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 1999 at Lake Junalusk, North Carolina. He was then assigned to the Louisville area where he served until 2008 as he was assigned to South Georgia.
James King is married to Rosetta “Rose” Hayden and they are parents to two sons and one daughter.
Each student who meets the expectations and application requirements of the John G. Corry Scholarship will receive a $750 scholarship. “The more funds we raise the more scholarships we will be able to present, therefore we are grateful for each ticket purchase along with sponsorships,” said Venson. Scholarship sponsorships are as follows:
Bronze level contribution is $50-99; Silver level is $100-249; Gold level is $250-499; Platinum level is $500-999 and Granite level is anything over $1,000.
Banquet ticket purchases are $50 for adults and $20 students.
For additional information, sponsorships or ticket purchases, contact S. Corry at scorry008@gmail.com
