Thomas Sets High Goals For Committee

The Ann Arbor News, Saturday, September 21,1974 9

Thomas Sets High Croats For Committee

SATURDAY SEP 21 1974 

BY GLENN GILBERT News Religion Editor

Charles Thomas Jr. apparently has taken his membership at First Presbyterian Church seriously since he joined a year ago.

He has assumed an active role in church functions and also is chairman of a Detroit Presbytery committee which he hopes one day will administer some $70, 000 in grants to self-development projects within the presbytery’s boundaries.

This $70,000 goal was termed realistic this week when the 13-member committee — call the validating committee of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.’s (UPCUSA) National Committee on the Campaign for Self-Development of Peoples—met here.

The committee normally meets at presbytery offices in Detroit, but this month accepted Thomas’ invitation to see television facilities demonstrated at the Black Economic Development League’s (BEDL) Multi-Media Center. Members come from all over southeastern Michigan.

Thomas is the 36-year-old president of BEDL who led sit-ins at local churches four years ago, demanding “reparations” for blacks under the so-called Black Manifesto. During one of those sit-ins, Thomas and his supporters occupied the First Presbyterian Church for three weeks.

The validating committee which Thomas heads screens applications for funding from projects which seek a part of the One Great Hour of Sharing annual collection of the UPCUSA. Three-fourths of this local collection goes to the national committee for distribution, but for those presbyteries which have validating committees, 25 per cent of the funds remain for funding of projects within the presbytery.

For the validating committee of the

Detroit Presbytery, this figure was just under $20,000 for 1974, but members of the committee said they hope this is something which can be built on. Thomas said a $70,000 goal was not unrealistic.

Three of the four projects funded by the validating committee are based in Detroit. They are Services and Equipment for the Multiply Disabled, Citizens for Better Care (composed mostly of senior citizens) and the North End Concerned Citizens Community Council (which has served as a watchdog on nursing homes). BEDL also received some of the funds. Thomas does not vote on matters which relate to BEDL funding and cannot be present while discussions related to BEDL funding are being held.

The committee faced a routine agenda at its meeting here this week, but met

the 83,000-member presbytery's new associate executive director for parish development, the Rev. Harry Maghakian. The Rev. Mr. Maghakian told the group his responsibilities will include working with church efforts to aid self development/ He gave this prelimenary evaluation of these efforts:

“Two things hit me. First, you do not have enough money. Second, public relations is poor. How do you let people see what their money is being used for... I can show you churches that spend thousands of dollars on music...We shouldn't penny ante around on this thing."

The Rev. Mr. Maghakian has just completed serving 12 years as inner-city pastor in St. Paul, Minn.

What proposals will the validating committee consider for funding?

That was a topic of discussion as the committee weighed a set of proposed by-laws. As they stand, the by-laws state that “a proposal must be initiated by and from within a community of need. The proposals must identify by name and historical background those persons originating the proposals, and those persons must be recognized as persons in need of self-development assistance. ”

Proposals will not be validated if they are economically unfeasible, prevent community control, the primary stress is on personnel rather than programs, the estimated benefit to any institution or to any individual exceeds the potential community benefit, existing services are duplicated, or government or other sources of funds are available for the same purposes requested by the proposal.

For example, the committee rejected a request from the Delray United Action Council because that group is receiving funds from the UPCUSA National Missions committee. But it will consider a request from the Your Heritage House cultural development program in Detroit because a majority of the members of the committee felt that, in a broad sense, the project meets the self-development criterion of the proposed by-laws.

The committee will be studying proposals for funding over the next few months with final decisions to be made around next Easter.

Members of the committee besides Thomas are Jody Ladio, also a member of First Presbyterian here, Alvin Coleman, James Kesler, Frances Pitts, Patricia Hollowell, Sharon Scott and Douglas McGarrity.

Thomas has been active with the committee since 1970, when it was then ar arm of the Southern Michigan Presbytery. But he did not become a voting member until a year ago when he joined the local church. He became chairman in March of this year.

In 1972, a reorganization in the UPCUSA resulted in formation of the Detroit Presbytery. The old Synod of Michigan became the Synod of the Covenant, and now includes Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.

Thomas’ active role as a Presbyterian has been confirmed by the Rev. Robert E. Sanders, senior inister of the local church, who says Thomas attendance is regular and he has served on a committee concerned with congregational renewal.

When Thomas joined the local church a year ago, many who remembered his angry sit-ins at a dozen local churches in 1970 were surprised. But as Thomas said at the time:

“If I have mellowed, so has the other side.”