REP. DANNY DAVIS (D-7th) presented Bishop John F. White with the coveted “LBJ Liberty & Justice For All” award on February 17, during a press conference at Josephine’s Cooking Restaurant, 436 E. 79th St. He called the Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District a “man of God” whose social and religious actions have impacted mankind and said he leads by example. (Photos by Chinta Strausberg
In presenting Bishop Franklin White with the coveted “LBJ Liberty & Justice For All” award, Representative Danny Davis (D-7th) thanked the popular Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District for the strong positions he has taken that not only increased leadership development but impacted legislative decisions.
Davis made his remarks during a press conference on Saturday, February 17, held at Josephine’s Cooking Restaurant, 436 E. 79th St.
Davis called Bishop White a “man of God, a terrific administrator, a great organizer and a real preacher of the gospel, a man who leads by example. I always take the position that you can’t lead where you don’t go, and you can’t teach what you don’t know.”
When presenting Bishop White with the award, Davis commended him for leadership development and service.
Before Davis presented White with the award, Reverend James Moody, former pastor of Quinn AME Chapel, lifted up the life of the awardee. Saying Bishop White “has defined himself as a man of excellence,” Moody honored White by showcasing his stellar pastoral leadership over the past 16 years.
Moody gave one example of Bishop White’s Episcopal leadership, his overseeing the elevation of four women of the 11 Fourth Episcopal District elders. Moody said the presiding women elders are in the St. Paul, Minneapolis District, the North and South Districts of the Indiana Conference and the South District of the Illinois Conference. “Women are leading the conferences,” said Moody.
He also praised White for securing a $1 million grant to foster leadership development in the Fourth Episcopal District. He led the development of a comprehensive two-year leadership training course for up-and-coming pastors.
Moody said they learned coaching skills, evaluation and learning skills “to guide and elevate the District’s elder pool.” White’s focus on leadership development produced a doctoral accord with a seminary that graduated 75 Doctors of Ministry and paid 75 percent of their doctoral fees and expenses.
White established community engagement, establishing an A.M.E. Day at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Each year hundreds of AMEs meet at the state Capitol as he met with legislatures, the Illinois Black Caucus, the legislative caucus and members of statewide executive offices.
Moody credited White for planning a two-year execution process to ensure the smooth transition of one of the strategic congregations in the Chicago Conference, Quinn AME Chapel, established in 1844.
“Bishop White afforded a two-year overlap of the predecessor’s successor so that the multi-million-dollar restoration would continue without a glitch. That’s excellent leadership,” said Moody.
White also transformed the financial procedures of the Fourth Episcopal District including establishing insurance programs for all AME churches. White officially resigns in six months.
In accepting the award, Bishop White said, “In the times in which we now live, it is not about us. It’s about the people. If we need the Lord, we sure need him now.”
White thanked Davis for his service to the community.
