AN OPEN LETTER: UNITED IN FAITH FOR REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK

Photo Screenshot @ReverendWarnock Twitter

 

The WNBA players have been outspoken about social injustice and racial inequality. After Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler  issued a statement against the Black Lives Matter movement in June, Dream and other WNBA players begin to wear shirts “Vote Warnock” in support of Raphael Warnock.

We are @wnba players, but like the late, great John Lewis said, we are also ordinary people with extraordinary vision. @ReverendWarnock has spent his life fighting for the people and we need him in Washington. Join the movement for a better Georgia at https://t.co/hC8iF9urak pic.twitter.com/mvN5e9m4oO

— Elizabeth Williams (@E_Williams_1) August 4, 2020

I am honored and humbled by the overwhelming support from the @WNBA players. This movement gives us the opportunity to fight for what we believe in, and I stand by all athletes promoting social justice on and off the court. #BlackLivesMatter

— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) August 4, 2020

Rev. Raphael Warnock is the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the same Atlanta church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., preached. Warnock is also the democratic challenger running against Loeffler for her Georgia senate seat and now he has gained the backing of religious leaders in Georgia.

Below is an open letter from Pastor Jamal  Bryant, 49, Senior Pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia.

The record-breaking turnout during the first few days of early voting has shown that voters in Georgia are engaged, excited and ready to make their voices heard in the 2020 election. It also shows that many Georgians are concerned with the direction of our state and our country and that there is a desire for new, audacious and progressive leadership. We know what’s at stake because we are living in the surreality of a year unrivaled by anything we’ve ever experienced. The COVID-19 global pandemic has proven the fragility of so much that we take for granted and has affirmed that without question – leadership matters.

As Bishops, Pastors and faith leaders, many of us have been stretched beyond our perceived capacity to lead families and communities through the unprecedented chaos and calamity of 2020. We have endeavored to stay positive, encouraging and hopeful even as so many who look to us for guidance and assurance find themselves closer to the brink of financial, emotional and mental ruin.  Indeed, these are perilous times, but our faith teaches us that hope and optimism is always available to us if we earnestly and actively pursue it. A glimmer of hope can present itself in many forms but for this state and in this season, hope is personified by the opportunity to elect a transformational leader like Dr. Raphael Warnock to the United States Senate.

We stand united behind Raphael Warnock because he is the principled and progressive leader that Georgia and this country needs. He will be an authentic and effective voice in the Senate. He will be uncompromising in the fight to protect the interest of working families in our state and he will bring civility and grace to our politics which is too often divisive and vitriolic at the expense of progress. He competently wields the spirit of an activist with the heart of a bridge-builder. He is steeped in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis and Fannie Lou Hamer to organize, strategize and mobilize those of good will in the pursuit of fairness, equity and justice for those too often marginalized and unseen by our decision makers. As a Pastor, he understands who and what he is fighting for; and he realizes that to achieve transformative progress for communities in need, it will take all of us working together and pulling together in one direction.

As Georgians from every corner of the state head to the polls in this election, we are blessed to have Raphael Warnock fighting for us. A Morehouse man, rooted in good Savannah soil, Warnock represents the next best opportunity to make real the promise of what Henry Grady and Maynard Jackson called, the New South, ripe with opportunity and prosperity for all God’s children.  This is our moment to forge a new path, to illuminate a new perspective and to turn up the volume with a new voice in DC – Raphael Warnock.

United in Faith for Rev. Raphael Warnock

Alonia Jones, Dream to Destiny Ministries, Inc.

Bishop Frances V. Mills, Tabernacle of Faith Christian Church

Bishop Johnathan Alvarado, D.min, Senior Pastor of Grace Church International

Bishop Kent Branch, Pilgrim Cathedral

Bishop Ruth W. Smith, Light of the World Covenant Fellowship Worldwide, Stockbridge, Ga.

Bishop William H. Murphy, III, The dReam Center Church of Atlanta

Dean, The Joint College of African American Pentecostal Bishops

Dr. Brian Keith Hodges, Gathering of Champions Church, Marietta, Ga.

Dr. Craig L. Oliver, Pastor of Elizabeth Baptist Church

Dr. Francys Georgia, Pastor in Statesboro, Georgia

Dr. Francys Johnson, Magnolia Baptist Church, Statesboro, Ga.

Dr. Grace C. Washington, Pastor of Love Life Christian Fellowship Church

Dr. I. E. Mack, Pastor of Unionville Baptist Church

Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant, Senior Pastor, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

Dr. Martha Simmons​

Hud J.A. Nation of Islam, Columbus, Georgia

Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, Ordained minister

Ms. Armelia Cartier, Faith Leader Activist Hosea Williams feed the homeless

Pastor Bob Thompson, Founder Compassionate Atlanta

Pastor Charles Hamilton, Pastor of New Morning Light Baptist Church

Pastor Christine Chavis, Atlanta, Georgia

Pastor Emeritus Gerald Durley, Providence Missionary Baptist

Pastor Karl D. Moore, Clarkston First Baptist Church

Pastor Le’Zaire D. Reese​, Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church

Pastor Tyler Joshua Green, Founder/President of The United Churches of America

Pastor Wanda Ackles, Senior Pastor of New Directions Ministries

Pastor Will D. Hayes, Pastor Atlanta, Georgia

Rabbi Edward Harwitz, Head of school, Weber School

Rabbi Peter Berg, The Temple Atlanta

Reverend Adrian Burgess, St. Mary’s Rd. United Methodist, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Rev. Adrian Chester, Greater Beallwood Baptist Church, Columbus, Ga.

Reverend Adrienne Fenner, clergy Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Alan Jenkins, Social activist and humanist Atlanta

Reverend Allen Hollie, Green Forest Baptist Church, Atlanta

Reverend Allison Henderson-Brooks, MDiv.

Reverend Andre Osbourne, Savannah

Reverend Andrea Franklin True Vine Worship and Deliverance Center, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Annika Culbreath, Associate Pastor Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church

Reverend Antonio Grissom, Sr. Chapel Hill Baptist Church, Atlanta

Reverend Basean Jackson, Lead Pastor of Fellowship of Love Church

Reverend Bernard Clark, African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy

Reverend Brady Radford, Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Ga.

Reverend Brandon Johnson, Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Brian Tillman

Reverend Brittany Powell, Pastor and activist

Reverend Burrell Billingslea, Seminarian ITC

Reverend Candace White, Seminary graduate of ITC 2020

Reverend Cassandry Redmond Keys, CME District Superintendent Greenville, SC

Reverend Charles Fischer, III, Episcopal clergy former Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal, Atlanta

Reverend Chaz Gipson, Associate Pastor Beulah Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Cherry Devore, Clergy in Atlanta

Reverend Rev. Chester Ellis, St. Paul Baptist Church, Savannah

Reverend Christi Jackson, associate Pastor Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church

Reverend CJ White (President Emerita), Morehouse School of Religion Baptist Fellowship

Reverend Rev. Clarence “Teddy” Williams Pilgrim Baptist Church, Savannah

Reverend Curtis Crocker, Metropolitan Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Damon Byrd, clergy in Atlanta

Reverend Danielle Brown, young activist and Pastor in Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Deewoine Davis, seminarian Atlanta

Reverend Dennis Patterson, Jr., Priest-in-Charge at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross, Decatur, Ga.

Reverend Dr. Andrew J. Young, II​

Reverend Rev. Dr. Antoinette G. Alvarado, Pastor of Grace Church International

Reverend Dr. Carolyn Ann Knight, Professor Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr. Senior Pastor Tabernacle Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga.

Reverend Rev. Dr. Clarence “Teddy” Williams, Pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church

Reverend Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale, Pastor, Ray of Hope Disciples of Christ

Reverend Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr. Senior Pastor Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church (House of Hope)

Reverend Dr. Eric Wendel Lee, Sr., D.min. Pastor of Springfield Baptist Church of Conyers, Georgia

Reverend Dr. Joseph Williams, Senior Pastor of Salem Bible Church

Reverend Dr. Joshua M. Noblitt, Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Dr. Kevin Murriel

Reverend Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr., Founding Dean of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel

Reverend Rev. Dr. Michael D. Stinson, Lead Pastor of East Point First Mallalieu UMC

Reverend Dr. Olu Brown, Impact United Methodist, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Dr. Robert Brown, Savannah

Reverend Rev. Dr. Steven N. Dial Sr., Rainbow Park Baptist Church

Reverend Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr. Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta.

Reverend Rev. Dr. William E. Flippin, Jr., Lutheran Pastor (ELCA) and Social Activist​

Reverend Rev. Dr. William E. Flippin, Sr., Senior Pastor of Greater Piney Grove

Reverend Elisha Browder Gray, Evangelist Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Emmitt Anniton, Friendship Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Eric Carswell, President of the Baptist Minister’sUnion Laurens and surrounding counties

Reverend Evita L. Smith, Pastor in Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Fred Douglass Taylor, Associate Pastor Trinity Baptist Church, Metro Atlanta.

Reverend George Moore, clergy African Methodist Episcopal

Reverend J. H. Flakes, III Fourth Street Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Rev. Jennifer Watley, Maxell, Smyrna, Ga.

Reverend Jermaine A. Smith, Pastor in Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Joy Ricart Brown, retired United Methodist Pastor

Reverend Kimberly Jackson, Associate Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Kristie Roberts-Lewis, pastor in Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Ladonna Williams, pastor in Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Leela Brown Waller, AME Pastor

Reverend Marco George, First African Baptist Savannah

Reverend Marion Brooks, Savannah

Reverend Mark Lawrence, Mt. Olive Baptist Church (Fortson, Ga.)

Reverend Rev. Markel Hutchins, Human & Civil Rights Activist

Reverend Matthew Jenkins, pastor of Greater Elizabeth Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Matthew Southall Brown, Jr.

Reverend Matthew Southall Brown, Sr. Pastor Emeritus St. John’s “Mighty Fortress” Savannah, Georgia

Reverend Matthew Williams, President Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta

Reverend Nancy Christensen, Senior Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church (ELCA), Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Norman Thomas, Jr., Pastor of First Baptist Gresham Road.

Reverend Portia Wills Lee, Senior Pastor Trinity Tabernacle Baptist Church, Smyrna, Georgia

Reverend R.L. White, Jr. Pastor, Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Reggie Williams, South Columbus UMC, Columbus, Ga.

Reverend Reginald Jackson, Bishop A.M.E. Church

Reverend Richard C. Flippin Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church

Reverend Ronald Bonner, Associate Pastor, Redeemer LutheranChurch(ELCA)

Reverend Senegal, Savannah, Ga.

Reverend T. DeWitt Smith, Jr. Pastor Trinity Baptist Church, Atlanta

Reverend T. Renee Crutcher

Reverend Terrie Patterson MPA, M Div.

Reverend Thaddeus Spencer, New Providence Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia

Reverend Rev. Thomas L. Hart, Associate Pastor Brownsville Baptist Church, Savannah

Reverend Thurmond Neil Tillman, First African Baptist Church, Savannah

Reverend Timothy McDonald, Senior Pastor First Iconium Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Reverend Torey C. Fountain, Pastor of Sandy Ford Baptist Church, Dublin, Ga.

Reverend Vincent Bell, The Edge Church, Columbus, Ga.

Reverend Vinton Copeland, Powell Baptist Church, Talbotton, Ga.

Reverend Waylon Knight, West Mount Sinai Baptist Church, Barnesville, Ga.

Reverend Wendell Dandridge, Jr. , clergy Atlanta

Reverend Wesley Snell, Jr. clergy Atlanta

Reverend William E. Flippin, Sr. Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church

Reverend William M. Townsend, IV, Founding and Managing Director Preachers for the People

Reverend Xavier Creekmur, Second African Baptist Church, Savannah

Reverend Yasmeen Hailes, Associate Minister Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church

Reverend, Dr. Louis L. Ferguson, Sr. Pastor of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Reverend, Dr. William Holmes Robinson, Pastor of The Olivet Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Subash Raaz, President of the Gandhi Foundation of America

Toni Belin Ingram, Presiding Elder Augusta North District 6th Episcopal District AME Church