| Norma Adams-Wade: Pioneering AME bishop to speak 01/17/2001 By / The Dallas Morning News A buzz of excitement usually fills the air when people mention Dr. Vashti Murphy McKenzie.
She is the first woman bishop in the 213-year existence of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
She is known as a riveting speaker. Ebony magazine's November 1997 issue named her one of the nation's 15 greatest black female preachers. Public television's Religion and Ethics show recently named her one of the nation's "top 10 people to watch."
AME church history is packed with drama, which began when Richard Allen founded the faith in 1787 in Philadelphia. It was the first organized black church in America.
Dr. McKenzie's election in July as the denomination's 117th bishop gave the faith an added distinction.
The former journalist, model and pastor of Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore presides over the AME's 18th district in southeast Africa, which includes Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho.
Speaking Saturday
Dr. McKenzie is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, and her grandmother and namesake, Vashti Turley Murphy, was a Delta founder. The bishop will speak Saturday at the Frederica Chase Dodd Founders Day Luncheon of Delta's Dallas Alumnae Chapter.
The luncheon time has changed from noon to 3 p.m. at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel on Stemmons Freeway at Market Center.
Chapter members and the public already have reserved more than 1,000 seats – an indication of the bishop's popularity. Tickets are $40. To inquire, call 214-428-7400 or Belinda Griffin at 214-740-5814.
ABOUT TOWN:
• In his visit to Dallas last week, National Urban League economist Dr. William Spriggs assessed President-elect George W. Bush's proposed economic policies.
Dr. Spriggs and leaders of other top black national organizations spoke Thursday at the National Newspaper Publishers Association's midwinter conference at the Adam's Mark Hotel downtown.
Black people must monitor the impact of the unemployment and interest rates, inflation, tax cuts and the federal budget, Dr. Spriggs said. "We have to really care," he said. Association national members publish more than 200 black-owned newspapers.
• Husband-and-wife entertainers Kim and Reggie Harris will perform in "Dream Alive! A Musical Celebration of Black History" at 7 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church, 1928 Ross Ave. Benefit tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children and will support a free Dallas-area children's arts festival scheduled for April 28 at Old City Park. Call 214-823-7644.
• Medical screenings, physical-fitness assessments, workout demonstrations, discussions and refreshments will be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the opening of Heavenly Bodies Personal Training Center's new facility in the Cliff View Crossing shopping center, 1111 W. Ledbetter Drive, Suite 750. To inquire, call trainer J. R. Houston at 214-948-3833 or visit www.heavenlybodies1.bizonthe.net.
Norma Adams-Wade can be reached at P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265 or by fax at 214-977-8319.
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