Legacy pilgrimage to Africa

November 3, 2022

A Mission Immersion Pilgrimage to Africa is underway from November 2-11.

Dubbed a “Walk in the footsteps of Rev. Lott Carey in the Motherland,” it commemorates and celebrates the 200th anniversary of Rev. Carey’s mission to the continent.

The delegation of 31 persons includes Lott Carey President Dr. Gina Stewart, former president, Rev. Gregory Jackson, Women In Service Everywhere President Dr. Angelita Clifton, other Lott Carey leaders, and several pastors.

They will make stops in Ghana and Liberia.

The Rev. Lott Carey led a group of formerly enslaved African Americans to West Africa, arriving in what is now Liberia in 1822. He played a key role in the founding of that nation, Africa’s first republic.

In Liberia, pilgrims will explore Providence Island where Rev. Carey landed in early 1822. They will worship at Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia, the second oldest Baptist church in Africa, which was founded by Rev. Carey; visit and interact with students at the two campuses of the Lott Carey Mission Schools; and visit and worship with students at the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, among other activities.

Ghana is the ancestral home of many persons of African descent in the Americas and holds important historical landmarks of interest to persons of the African diaspora.

While in Ghana, pilgrims will visit Independence Square, the W.E. B. Dubois Center, and the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.

A highlight will be the trip to the Assin Manso Slave River and the slave castles in Cape Coast and Elmina. Assin Manso and the slave castles are infamous for their roles in the trade of enslaved Africans before their arduous and traumatic journey to North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

“We expect that this journey into the past will bring home to us the love and sacrifice of those who walked this journey before us,” said Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rev. Emmett Dunn.

“As we take this journey, we draw strength for the work to which God has called us as we build a better world through Christian mission,” declared Rev. Dunn, who was born in Liberia and was baptized at the historic Providence Baptist Church.

Rev. Dunn elected president of North American Baptists

October 27, 2022

Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rev. Emmett Dunn was elected president of the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF) during its annual meeting in Falls Church, Virginia, on October 24.

Dunn succeeds Rev. Dr. Samuel Tolbert, president of the National Baptist Convention of America.

The NABF represents 22 Baptist conventions, unions, and mission societies in Canada and the United States. It comprises almost 20 million members in 55,000 congregations.

NABF mission emphases include creation care, disaster relief, and scholars’ collaboration.

The 2022 annual meeting focused on hope. Participants explored issues of church revitalization, creation care and mental health.

The gathering provided opportunities for fellowship, inspiring conversation, and networking.

Rev. Dunn will serve a three-year term.

Dr. Mugabe to be buried October 29

October 28, 2022

Dr. Henry Mugabe, founding president and professor of the Zimbabwe Theological Seminary (ZTS), and his son, Munyaradzi Johannes Mugabe, are to be buried on Saturday, October 29.

Services are planned for the Mtapa Baptist Church in the city of Gweru in central Zimbabwe. The burial will be in their hometown of Masvingo.

Dr. Mugabe and his son were killed in a traffic accident on October 21, along with Dr. Dudzirai Chimeri, who succeeded Dr. Mugabe as ZTS president.

Lott Carey has been a partner of ZTS since its founding in 2011 and is offering support to the families.

Condolences are being received from the global Lott Carey community. These are to be shared with the Mugabe and Chimeri families, and the seminary community.

Expressions may be sent to lottcarey@lottcarey.org.

Dr. Henry Mugabe dies in tragic accident

October 24, 2022

Lott Carey mourns the tragic passing of Dr. Henry Mugabe, professor and former president of the Zimbabwe Theological Seminary (ZTS), his son, Munyaradzi Johannes Mugabe, and Dr. Dudzirai Chimeri, ZTS president.

The three died in a motor vehicle accident in Zimbabwe on October 21.

“The Lott Carey family has suffered a tremendous loss in the passing of Dr. Henry Mugabe,” said Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rev. Emmett Dunn. “He was a faithful co-laborer in Lott Carey’s groundbreaking missional engagement in Zimbabwe.”

ZTS, a Lott Carey partner, was launched in 2011 with Dr. Mugabe providing much of the outreach effort to get the fledgling institution off the ground. He toured the United States seeking funding and partnerships for the school.

Lott Carey became a significant partner for ZTS. Dr. Mugabe was an important link between the global mission agency and the school.

The seminary described itself as having a “distinctively Baptist heritage with an ecumenical commitment, a global perspective, and participation in the worldwide Christian mission.”

Lott Carey President Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart remembers Dr. Mugabe “as a gentle giant. A man of tremendous intellect, a faithful and committed partner of Lott Carey, an outstanding theologian, and a true ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Rev. Dunn declared Dr. Mugabe was “an innovative leader who combined the practical and spiritual in crafting the churches response to the ills of society, a provocative theologian who believed that the Word of God must be interpreted using the lenses of marginalized Africans, and a firm believer in the fight for justice in defending the rights of the indigenous church against foreign intervention. He enters heaven bearing the scars as evidence of his fight for justice.”

“I take pride in knowing that Lott Carey was very instrumental in his ministry from its infancy,” Dr. Stewart stated. “When the history of Lott Carey is written, the name of Henry Mugabe will be counted among those who touch lives with transforming love.”

Rev. Dunn mourned that “The church in Africa has lost one of God’s faithful servants.”

Dr. Mugabe is survived by his widow, Hermina, and children Grace and Tinashse.

“We pray for the Mugabe and Chimeri families who suffered such heartbreaking loss. Let us remember the seminary community, the church, and the people of Zimbabwe,” Rev. Dunn urged the Lott Carey global family.

Puerto Rico and Florida hurricane relief

October 13, 2022

Lott Carey is appealing to its partners and affiliates to make generous donations for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico and Florida.

Hurricane Fiona devastated Puerto Rico in mid-September. With winds of more than 110 miles per hour, Fiona affected parts of the Caribbean and Eastern Canada, with Puerto Rico bearing the brunt. 

Other islands and areas experiencing damage and loss included the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda.

At least 25 Puerto Ricans died from the effects of Fiona, a category 4 hurricane. It caused island wide power outages, with initial estimates of $2 billion devastation to the electrical grid. More than one million Puerto Ricans, one third of the population, were left without potable (drinking) water.

Hurricane Fiona is only the most recent disaster affecting Puerto Rico. It is yet to fully recover from Hurricane Maria that landed on the United States Territory from September 17-19, 2017. Maria resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and destroyed the entire electrical grid.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to further disruptions. 

Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Florida in late September. Also a category 4 cyclone, it was the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since 1935.

It affected other American states such as North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Hurricane Ian resulted in at least 137 fatalities, 126 in Florida. Damage is estimated at $50 billion.

Immediate needs include water filters, solar lanterns, and hygiene kits.

“I appeal to our churches, brothers and sisters in the Lott Carey family to remember Puerto Ricans and Floridians who suffer because of these recent disasters,” said Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rev. Emmett Dunn.

“We ask that you be generous with your donations and gifts as we seek to meet these urgent needs,” he stated.

“The longsuffering people of Puerto Rico need our help,” Rev. Dunn said. “Let us reach out and help them and those who are still in need in Florida, even as we lift them up in prayer.”

To donate, click the link below.

Lott Carey congratulates Dr. Goatley on Fuller Seminary appointment

September 13, 2022

Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, immediate past executive secretary-treasurer (EST) of Lott Carey, has been appointed the 6th president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, in the United States.

He is the first African American and the first person of color to hold the position of president at the institution.

Dr. Goatley, who led Lott Carey for 20 years, assumes this post after distinguished service at Duke Divinity School as the Associate Dean for Academic and Vocational Formation, the Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Research Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry, and the Director of Office of Black Church Studies.

“We are delighted that one of our own, Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, has been selected to lead one of the leading Christian seminaries on the American west coast, and indeed, the country,” said Rev. Emmett Dunn, who succeeded Dr. Goatley as the EST for Lott Carey.

“We congratulate Dr. Goatley on his appointment and assure him of our continued prayer and support.”

A noted missiologist, Dr. Goatley is also known for his work on Christian leadership and theology. He has had long experience as an academic theologian and engagements in justice advocacy, Christian mission, and global ecumenism.

Founded 75 years ago in 1947, Fuller Theological Seminary comprises approximately 4,000 students from 90 countries representing 110 Christian traditions. It is organized into schools of theology, psychology, and intercultural studies and offers a range of advanced masters and doctoral degrees.

In August this year, the Lott Carey board of directors approved a scholarship for students at Lott Carey mission schools in the names of Dr. and Mrs. Goatley. The board granted an initial sum of $5,000 to its launch. Other solicitations will be received to boost the fund.

“Dr. Goatley has been a great servant of the church. His commitment to global Christian mission through education, training, capacity building, healthcare, disaster relief and church planting, are well known,” said Rev. Dunn. “He successfully and expertly shepherded Lott Carey into its global outreach for two decades. We expect him to do the same in his tenure at Fuller.”

A graduate of the University of Louisville in Kentucky, Dr. Goatley holds an MDiv with an emphasis in pastoral care and counseling and a PhD in theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He will be inaugurated as the president of Fuller in January 2023.