Gaston County Clergy & Citizens Coalition

The Gaston County Clergy & Citizens Coalition is a group of ministers and grassroots citizen advocates. Their goal is to provide a network to lead positive change in our community around issues including race relations and education.

An active member's list is available as well as an article written by Reverend Richard Boyce that appeared in the January 2004 issue of Chamber Matters regarding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Bridge and Plaza .

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 8 am at Unity Place at 201 West Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia. Please feel free to call the Gaston Together office or drop us an email if you would like to attend.

The following article appeared in the January 2004 issue of Chamber Matters.

Dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Bridge and Plaza
Guest Article by: Reverend Richard Boyce

On January 17, 2004, at noon, on the green space in front of the Gaston County  Department of Social Services, months of preparations will come to fruition. A gathering of citizens from across the county will give thanks for the ongoing dream of Dr. King for us as a nation, and the way that the dream has already come true in many ways here in Gaston County. It will be a day for the dedication of signs and banners; a day for the recognition of two individuals who have helped get us where we are; and a day for prayers, music and words of inspiration to keep the dream of unity alive and growing in our midst.

The signs and banners will mark the boundaries of this new public space - east and west, north and south. They are a project of the Gaston Clergy/Citizens Coalition and its sponsoring group, Gaston Together. They include a profile of Dr. King and the title of the plaza and Unity Bridge, and are the result of officials  in the city and county working together to make this new space a source of pride for us all.

The two individuals being recognized are Marshall Rauch and N. A. Smith. Senator Rauch and Mr. Smith were instrumental in bringing this community together at a time of much inter-racial strife in our history as a nation. The way these two men worked together, then and now, in public and behind-the-scenes, can serve as a model and an inspiration for us today and in the future.

The day will begin with a prayer and a march from Friendship Baptist Church, led by The Reverend John McCollough. It will continue with remarks by The Reverend Richard Boyce and The Reverend Bernard Sullivan, co-chairs of the Gaston Citizen/Clergy Coalition. It will include music, prayer, and greetings from city and county officials, and area clergy - male and female; black, white, and Hispanic.

There is much to celebrate in the past and the present of Gaston County. This is a place where the dream of barriers being broken and bridges being built is still very much alive and well. Please come - from east and west, and north and south - and join our celebration.

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Ministers and Churches
Active in the
Gaston Together Clergy & Citizens Coalition

Executive Committee:

Rev. Patricia Humphries-Bivens, Co-Chair
Christ United Methodist Church
3415 Union Road
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. Franklin Clark, Co-Chair
First Institute Family Worship
3908 S. New Hope Rd.
Gastonia, NC 28054

Dr. Richard Boyce
Professor, Union OSCE
112 Dorie Drive
Belmont, NC 28012

Rev. David Julen
First Baptist Church
235 Eighth Ave.
Cramerton, NC 28032

Mr. Bill Seabrook
Seabrook, LLC
312 Eagle's Walk Lane
Gastonia, NC 28056

Dr. Bernard Sullivan
Success, Inc.
292 W. Main St.
Gastonia, NC 28052

Active Participants:

Rev. Warren Alfaro
Ministerio Padre de Lucas
803 Dewey Street
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. Mark Andrews
First United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 748
Belmont, NC 28012

Rev. Bill Medlin III
First United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 218
Gastonia, NC 28053-0218

Pastor Joe Bell
Eastside Nazarene Church
3250 Redbud Drive
Gastonia, NC 28056
Mailing-P.O. Box 550030
Gastonia, NC 28055-0030
www.EastsideNC.org
Joe@EastsideNC.org 

Rev. Jerry Bron
Southminister Presbyterian Church
1404 Hoffman Road
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. Ron Caulder
First Baptist Church
409 Old Mount Holly Road
Stanley, NC  28164

Rev. Jim DuMond
Redeemer Lutheran
1915 S. New Hope Road
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. J. Darren Duncan
Calvary Baptist Church
207 Louise Ave.
Belmont, NC  28012

Rev. George Floyd
Words of Truth Ministries
P.O. Box 12923
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. Gregory Floyd
Neely's Grove A.M.E. Zion Church
4839 Greenwood Drive
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. Rodney Freeman
Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church
P.O. Box 1594
Gastonia, NC 28053

Rev. Susan Heafner
First United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 218
Gastonia, NC 28053-0218

Dr. Benjamin Hinton
Tabernacle Baptist Church
519 W. 19th Street
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. Darial Jackson
St. John Missionary Baptist Church
1282 Heights Rd.
Gastonia, NC 28052

St. Mark's Episcopal Church
258 W. Franklin Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. Ramey Lybrand
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
805 S. York Street
Gastonia, NC 28052

Pastor
All Saints Episcopal Church
1201 S. New Hope Rd.
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. John McCullough
Friendship Baptist Church
221 W. Bradley Avenue
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. Benjamin Morrow
St. Steven AMEZ Church
201 W. Franklin Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28052

Rev. John Stanley
Robinson Memorial Presbyterian Church
3106 Union Road
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. Edgar Valenzuela
Parkwood Baptist Church
1729 E. Garrison Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28054

Rev. Todd Wright
First Presbyterian Church
133 S. Main Street
Mt. Holly, NC 28120

Mr. Hugh Grant
Gaston County Human Relations
P.O. Box 1578
Gastonia, NC 28053

Mr. Bill Seabrook
Seabrook, LLC
312 Eagle's Walk Drive
Gastonia, NC 28056

Mr. N. A. Smith
801 Boulware Avenue
Gastonia, NC 28052

Dr. Chuck Williamson
First Presbyterian Church
Belmont, NC  28012