Congratulations Jay Simms Jr and summary of Elizabeth Price memorial

At First Community Interfaith Institute Inc. we have had a blessed Black History Month. On February 16, we witnessed 11 year old Jay Simms Jr., Minister Lawrance Evans' protege student, receive an award for perfect attendance at his current school (school #7). Only two children in the Rochester City School District received this award. We congratulate Brother Jay Jr. and hope he continues to be a successful student as he transitions to high school in September.

For this year's Supporter Day program (our annual Black History Month event),  we included a memorial for a long time bottle campaign donor, the late Elizabeth Ruth Price, who passed earlier this month at age 88. As Sister Price was a foster mother in her younger days and continued to help family and friends into her golden years, Minister Evans has renamed his case management services the Elizabeth Price Case Management Services. Sister Price was a problem solver, and she loved herself. With that self-love she was able to help others.

By popular demand...

Minister Lawrance Lee Evans will continue his analytic collective review of four classic books divided as four chapters :Black Bourgeoisie by E. Franklin Frazier (chapter 1), Miseducation of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson (chapter 2), Long White Con by Iceberg Slim (chapter 3), and Strength to Love by Dr. Martin Luther King (chapter 4). Minister Evans invites everyone to hear him speak at 4 pm, First Community Interfaith Institute Inc., 219 Hamilton Street, Rochester NY. 

Please check out our Ohio chapter website

Our Ohio chapter, headed under the direction of Minster Lawrance Lee Evans' twin brother Gerald, has a brand new web page. Please visit First Community Interfaith Institute of Ohio at www.fciiohio.org. They also have a Facebook page as well. For information about their activities, especially the upcoming 33rd Festival in July, be sure to regularly visit our Ohio counterpart's web site and "like" FCII of Ohio on Facebook.

Come join us for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King program

On Dr. King's 83rd birthday, Minister Lawrance Lee Evans will give a collective analytical review of four classic black historical and culutral books, all written by black men:

• Black Bourgeoisie by E. Franklin Frazier
• The Miseducation of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson
• Long White Con by Iceberg Slim
• Strength to Love by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This special event, which is also a fundraiser for our current Kwanzaa Appeal fundraiser, will take place on Sunday January 15 (doors open at 4 pm), 219 Hamilton Street. Dinner will be served.

Minister Evans speaks at Monroe County Dept of Human Services

Minister Evans was invited by a good friend and former work colleague, Sister Latonya Wilcox, to be the guest speaker at the Monroe County Department of Human Services' first ever  Kwanzaa observance, open only to employees. He was received very well and the program, which included African dance and Brother Carlton Wilcox singing on guitar,  was overall excellent. Below is Minister Evans' speech to the social workers in the audience.

Biblical references for First Fruits celebration

For this year's First Fruits portion of our year end celebration, Minister Lawrance Lee Evans is using the following Old Testament verses as reference material for the daily gatherings:

• Exodus 23:16, 23:19 and 23:39
• Exodus 22:29
• Leviticus 23:10, 23:16. and 23:19
• Numbers 18:12
• Deuteronomy 26:2

You can ROCtheday for First Community Interfaith Institute in 2 weeks!

On Thursday, December 8, you will have 24 hours (12 am to 11:59 pm) to make an online donation to First Community Interfaith Institute Inc. (ideally we will be your first choice) through the RoctheDay platform roctheday.org, an effort coordinated by the United Way of Greater Rochester, along with several Rochester area community organizations, to encourage donors in the Rochester NY area (and elsewhere) to give to the 501c3 organization(s) of their choice. The Institute is, as of November 24,, the only black oriented 501c3 registered for ROCtheday. To save time searching for us, our link to donate directly to us is http://roctheday.org/agency/FIRSTCOMMUNITYINTERFAITHINSTITUTEINC.

Thank you in advance.