PASTOR ANTHONY ALFORD: "Butler Street is a church that's been located in the Atlanta community since 1882. We are 126 years old this July. The church was founded by former slaves and we are a unit of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, or CME Church is one of the three distinctly African American streams of John Wesleyan Methodism in the United States; the others being the AME or African Methodist Episcopal and the AME-Zion church.

"Today we all know the Methodist family by many names; CME, United Methodist, AME, AME Zion, the Wesleyan Church, and so on. Butler Street has been identified with social ministry, and with activities related to civil rights and social justice since its founding.

"We operate programs of ministry and mission that speak to the needs of our community. Because of where we are located, in this Edgewood - Auburn - Grady Hospital corridor, we are met with a myriad of needs, from people who are homeless to persons who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, to persons with various social needs. Of course we are challenged to seek ways by which we can meet those needs in all the facets of our worship and our various ministries.

"We are a small church, not a large megachurch by any stretch of the imagination. We have about five hundred members active in our congregation. Our members come from all walks of life. All social and economic levels are represented in our church. Some of Atlanta's most notable citizens have been members of this congregation for many years. We are constantly challenged to find new ways, new forms of ministry to meet the changing needs of the community. We like to say that Butler Street is the friendly church with the personal touch, and our ministries, our worship and our witness do reflect that."

ORR: Talk to us please, about the challenge of sustaining a church in the absence of a surrounding residential neighborhood.

PASTOR ALFORD: "It is a challenge. We are not alone in this. All the churches in the downtown corridor are facing this. I am not an Atlantan, but I'm told that as recently as 25 or 30 years ago, most of these same churches, Ebeneezer, Wheat Street and so on, as well as Butler Street, drew the bulk of their congregants from within a short distance of their doors.

"Currently, we draw from all of the metro Atlanta community, north, south, east and west. The smallest number of our membership are people who live in the city of Atlanta. Our members drive in, on the east from Conyers, Lithonia, Stone Mountain, and Decatur; on the west from as far as Austell, Lithia Springs and Dallas; from the south as far as McDonough, and from the north as far as Marietta, Kennesaw and Lawrenceville. So we have to have ministries that give people a reason to want to be part of the church, a reason to come back and be a part of the ministries of the church, not just on Sunday morning, but all week long.

"That is a challenge, People who may not live or work in the city need to have a very good reason indeed to come back to the church on Wednesday evening for Bible study, or on Thursday evening for choir rehearsal, or on Tuesday evening for men's Bible study class, or on Saturday morning for our youth activities. Those programs of ministry and mission and witness have to be appealing and attractive enough in their yield that people will want to participate. And so it is a constant challenge."

"We are also challenged by the fact that we're in an old facility. This building was built in 1919 following a fire on this location. It was built to meet the needs of ministry for another age. In this age, it is really not adequately or effectively equipped to meet the challenge of ministry. We are therefore constantly seeking and exploring ways by which we might expand or re-engineer the facilities to make sure we keep up with the demands this ministry places upon us. And of course in the long-term we are looking at a new location or a new facility even on this location."

ORR: Talk to us a little about the relationship between the Black church and the African American business community.

PASTOR ALFORD: "We have to further and support our own. We must do that. As we are active in the larger business and economic community, we must realize that the turnover of the dollar in our community is so important. There is an oft-made comparison between how often a dollar changes hands within our community compared to some other places, and that number isn't what it ought to be. It does not turn over enough times in the African American community.

"So what we certainly want to do is to get behind anything that addresses that problem. The OvergroundRR!! does speak to that and promote linkages between churches and Black businesses, so we do want to support every program that the ORR undertakes.

"The first business that African Americans have owned, if you want to think about it, was the church. For all of our history, we've been owners of a piece of dirt and a structure built on it we called our church. Our churches have been the spawning ground for many businesses in the Black community. Our schools were born in church basements. Our burial and insurance companies were born in the church. Many of our restaurants too, were born in the church. Many who are successful business people today got their first embrace with an enterprise through what they've done in and with the church.

"The church has to recognize that its partnership with the African American business community does indeed make for strong communities. The church is an anchor. So it is that you see churches today mobilizing and re-deploying their assets for business ventures. We have one underway right now on Edgewood Avenue on property that we own that we have been able to amalgamate with other community stakeholders. We are in the process of putting together a $21 million dollar economic development project on that land which will include mixed-use retail, residential and parking availability. You see another example of this in what Big Bethel in concert with Integral Properties is doing on Auburn Avenue.

"So the church is the strongest cheerleader and supporter for African American business enterprise because it is the point from which so many of these efforts have grown. I'm happy to have our church support businesses owned by members of our congregation, as well as businesses owned by African Americans throughout metro Atlanta, and to take part in the OvergroundRR!!(TM).

"Financial literacy is very important to the well-being of our community," declared George Andrews, president of Capitol City Bank & Trust at the opening of a student-run branch at Southwest Atlanta's Benjamin E. Mays High School. "We as citizens should know the difference between spending and savings, and what savings do for the community, in terms of helping our communities prosper and grow."

"We're excited about this," Daryl Hayes, the Career Tech Chairperson at Mays told us, "Our partners are excited, our students are excited. Where you have this much excitement you can't go wrong. Our students are going to get hands-on experience of the things that actually go on in the banking and finance industry."

The high school branch is staffed by advisor-recommended high school juniors and seniors, trained by bank staffers in the record keeping and other day to day requirements of operating a small financial institution.

"We couldn't be prouder of these students," Capitol City's Alyce Simmons said. "They really shine, they have worked very hard to make this happen. It's a win-win situation for the students in this program, and for the entire school community."

The student-run bank branch is intended to provide a positive experience of interaction with the financial world both for the students who serve in it, and for those who avail themselves of its services.

According to Andrews, Capitol City has about sixteen such programs in high schools and middle schools in Georgia, along with another four in church-based schools reaching several thousand students altogether.

"Financial literacy means a lot of things to a lot of people," continued Andrews. "For us it's the difference between surviving in this economy by amassing capital, and spending our way into poverty."

"Capitol City is committed to putting a student bank in every middle and high school in the city of Atlanta. We think this is a very good model. When you're in kindergarten, we want to start you on a savings program that will yield you a return of about $1,600. You can do that by putting aside as little as $10 a month. We're partnering now with parents to help their children save money, so they can start out on a solid footing, walking toward a financially secure life.

"We know our children are going to be successful, and that's one more reason that Capitol City is building a legacy you can bank on."

The clock is ticking down to the launch of the OvergroundRR!!'s new web site. ORR's new site will contain a wealth of information, connections and opportunities available nowhere else for member businesses, churches and community alliances.

On the new web site, ORR church affiliates can show videos of their special events, pastoral greetings, sermons, lectures and more.

Current ORR business members are invited to call 404-346-0808 for appointments to film their own video web commercials, anywhere from 30 seconds to two full minutes. The ORR will even assist you in writing the script for your promotional video. Alternatively, ORR businesses may film and edit their own promotional spots or special events, and send them into the ORR office. Edited videos should be in .AVI or .FLV format. Call 404-346-0808 for details.

The train is coming. Get on board!!

The train is truly leaving the station. The newspaper of the OvergroundRR!! will be available this week. If your church or business isn't getting it, call us at 404-346-0808 and let us know. A limited amount of ad space for the April issue is still available. Call 404-346-0808 for rates and full details.