15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.  KJV

Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. Statement On The Trayvon Martin Incident And The George Zimmerman Not Guilty Verdict

Our prayers and sympathy are extended to the Trayvon Martin family.  May we all pray and work for the health and unity of our nation.

We mourn the loss of a potential-filled young life. This incident portrays much about the increasing sickness of our society where incidents of this nature occur.

If George Zimmerman had not carried a gun, he would not have been so emboldened to come into young Trayvon Martin’s space in an inappropriate way. Trayvon Martin should have been allowed to complete his trip to and from the store safely, without harassment.

We need the creation of and conformity to effective and appropriate gun control laws.

A friend indicated, “If George Zimmerman had been black and Trayvon Martin white, the verdict would have been different.”

This is a sad time for our nation.

________________________________________________

About the Church of God in Christ:

The Church of God in Christ is the fifth largest Protestant religious denomination in the United States with churches in 60 countries worldwide and an estimated membership of 6.5 million members.

Experiencing the Power of Jesus Christ, Pursuing His Mission and His Righteousness

(Philippians 3:7-15)

⁷ But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

⁸ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

⁹ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

¹⁰ That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

¹¹ If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

¹² Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.