United Baptist

The Rev. Collins C. Alexander, who established Eastside Baptist Church and was a leader in local Baptist affairs, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Northwest Baltimore. He was 79.Mr. Alexander began his pastoral career in 1949 at the First Baptist Church of Baltimore. In 1958, he organized Eastside Baptist and was still serving as pastor at the time of his death."He was such a marvelous example to us and a role model. He always said a person had to be accountable -- live a good clean life and be accountable," said a son, the Rev. Cleveland Alexander of Baltimore.

Martha B. Chandler, a churchwoman who had been active in the affairs of Macedonia Baptist Church for more than 50 years, died of cancer Oct. 1 at her West Baltimore home. She was 83. Martha Dreusilla Brockington, the daughter of a minister and homemaker, was born and raised in Kingstree, S.C. She was a 1944 graduate of Tomlinson Elementary and High School in Kingstree, and two years later, married Joseph Chandler Sr. The couple moved to Baltimore in 1947. In 1955, she joined Macedonia Baptist Church.

An activist Howard County pastor -- a leader of a black ministers' group that campaigned successfully to defeat the gay rights bill in the Baltimore City Council this month -- was elected last night as president of a statewide convention of Baptists.The Rev. John L. Wright, who will soon step down as Maryland president of the NAACP, was elected head of the United Baptist Missionary Convention and Auxiliaries by a nearly unanimous voice vote of the clergy and lay delegates meeting at West Baltimore's Concord Baptist Church.

The Rev. Nathaniel Higgs, a community activist who also had pastored the Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore for nearly four decades, died from complications after prostate surgery June 5 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Towson resident was 78. Dr. Higgs was born in Palmyra, N.C., and spent his early years on his grandfather's farm. He later moved to Baltimore and graduated in 1949 from Dunbar High School. After serving for several years in the Army, Dr. Higgs worked at Fort Meade and drove a taxicab.

A coalition of African-American and Korean ministers endorsed the re-election of Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend during a rally at a Northwest Baltimore Baptist church attended by nearly 400 people last night.Democrats Glendening and Townsend received the endorsement of the United Baptist Missionary Convention of Maryland and the Council of Korean Churches in Maryland during the rally at Concord Baptist Church. The event was not a fund-raiser, organizers said.

Monroe Hughes, who sang classical and gospel music in church and community choirs, died Friday of lung cancer at Fort Howard Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he had worked for 24 years. He was 64. Born in Spartanburg, S.C., the son of a Baptist minister, Mr. Hughes moved to Baltimore with his family in 1953. After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School in 1957, he joined the Army, where he was a driver and heavy equipment operator. The 12-year veteran was stationed in Korea and Germany, and served in the Vietnam War. In 1975, Mr. Hughes began working at the Fort Howard hospital, where he held several positions, including nursing assistant and driver.

Martha B. Chandler, a churchwoman who had been active in the affairs of Macedonia Baptist Church for more than 50 years, died of cancer Oct. 1 at her West Baltimore home. She was 83. Martha Dreusilla Brockington, the daughter of a minister and homemaker, was born and raised in Kingstree, S.C. She was a 1944 graduate of Tomlinson Elementary and High School in Kingstree, and two years later, married Joseph Chandler Sr. The couple moved to Baltimore in 1947. In 1955, she joined Macedonia Baptist Church.

As one convention of Maryland Baptists concludes this week in Baltimore, another -- representing a different association of Baptist congregations -- prepares to begin.The 68th annual session of the United Baptist Missionary Convention and Auxiliaries, which elected the Rev. John L. Wright its president Tuesday night, will hold its closing religious service tomorrow evening at Concord Baptist Church, 5204 Liberty Heights Ave.The Rev. Nathaniel Higgs, pastor of East Baltimore's Southern Baptist Church, who is ending his term as head of the organization, will preside.

Hailed as a triumph of Baltimore's urban renewal in 1963 but vacant and vandalized since 1989, the former National Cash Register Building near the state office complex is expected to begin a new life soon as headquarters for a group of Maryland Baptists.The Rev. John L. Wright, the recently elected president of the United Baptist Missionary Convention and Auxiliaries, said the organization of ministers and laity has agreed to buy the three-story, glass-walled building at Madison Avenue and Preston Street for $600,000.

A national watchdog group that guards against government involvement in religion has asked a federal judge to stop the city from giving $297,500 in public funds to an anti-hunger program to be conducted by local Baptists in advance of their national conference here next week. But the United Baptist Missionary Convention of Maryland, the group planning to distribute bag lunches to more than 1,000 people at area shelters and missions Saturday, says that Americans United for Separation of Church and State has based its complaint on outdated information.

A federal judge has ordered the organizers of a feed-the-hungry event sponsored by the city of Baltimore to make sure participants understand that they cannot include a religious message with the bags of food they distribute. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett denied yesterday the restraining order sought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, but he said organizers of today's event must read a statement to all participants before the distribution to make clear that the effort is not used to proselytize.

A national watchdog group that guards against government involvement in religion has asked a federal judge to stop the city from giving $297,500 in public funds to an anti-hunger program to be conducted by local Baptists in advance of their national conference here next week. But the United Baptist Missionary Convention of Maryland, the group planning to distribute bag lunches to more than 1,000 people at area shelters and missions Saturday, says that Americans United for Separation of Church and State has based its complaint on outdated information.

Monroe Hughes, who sang classical and gospel music in church and community choirs, died Friday of lung cancer at Fort Howard Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he had worked for 24 years. He was 64. Born in Spartanburg, S.C., the son of a Baptist minister, Mr. Hughes moved to Baltimore with his family in 1953. After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School in 1957, he joined the Army, where he was a driver and heavy equipment operator. The 12-year veteran was stationed in Korea and Germany, and served in the Vietnam War. In 1975, Mr. Hughes began working at the Fort Howard hospital, where he held several positions, including nursing assistant and driver.

The Baltimore branch of the NAACP has scheduled a second election for president on Dec. 21. The Nov. 21 election was overturned because candidate Larry Young's name was missing from the ballot. The incumbent, G. I. Johnson, said he was leading when the election was suspended. John C. White, national NAACP spokesman, said the election will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the United Baptist Missionary building at 940 Madison Ave. White was not sure whether the vote tally would be ratified by the national office or local NAACP officials would oversee it. The first election was suspended by Nelson Rivers, director of national field operations, after Young learned that his name was not on the ballot.

A group of Marylanders who belong to the National Baptist Convention USA, the nation's largest African-American church denomination, has formed a coalition to back a rival candidate to the convention's embattled president, the Rev. Henry J. Lyons.The committee of prominent ministers and lay people supports the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson of Mount Vernon, N.Y., who is among a half dozen candidates who will be running against Lyons when representatives of the 8.2-million-member convention meet in September in Tampa, Fla.Lyons, 56, of St. Petersburg, Fla., is running for re-election despite having been indicted on federal and state charges that include racketeering, grand theft and extortion involving the misuse of church funds.

A coalition of African-American and Korean ministers endorsed the re-election of Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend during a rally at a Northwest Baltimore Baptist church attended by nearly 400 people last night.Democrats Glendening and Townsend received the endorsement of the United Baptist Missionary Convention of Maryland and the Council of Korean Churches in Maryland during the rally at Concord Baptist Church. The event was not a fund-raiser, organizers said.

The Rev. John L. Wright, who steps down Saturday after seven years as president of Maryland's 24-branch NAACP, says he will remain active politically, addressing social issues from a religious platform in his new role as head of a state Baptist organization.Dr. Wright, 57, was elected president of the United Baptist Missionary Convention and Auxiliaries last Tuesday. Claiming 100,000 church members in about 100 congregations, the Maryland convention is one of several statewide associations of clergy and laity with ties to various Baptist denominations.

A federal judge has ordered the organizers of a feed-the-hungry event sponsored by the city of Baltimore to make sure participants understand that they cannot include a religious message with the bags of food they distribute. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett denied yesterday the restraining order sought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, but he said organizers of today's event must read a statement to all participants before the distribution to make clear that the effort is not used to proselytize.

The Rev. Collins C. Alexander, who established Eastside Baptist Church and was a leader in local Baptist affairs, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Northwest Baltimore. He was 79.Mr. Alexander began his pastoral career in 1949 at the First Baptist Church of Baltimore. In 1958, he organized Eastside Baptist and was still serving as pastor at the time of his death."He was such a marvelous example to us and a role model. He always said a person had to be accountable -- live a good clean life and be accountable," said a son, the Rev. Cleveland Alexander of Baltimore.

Henry N. FreemanCoppin music professorHenry N. Freeman, a retired Coppin State College professor )) of music, died of cancer at Liberty Medical Center on Tuesday, his 70th birthday.The Ashburton resident retired in 1984. He joined the Coppin faculty in 1958, had been head of the music department and founded the college choir.Born and reared in Gary, W.Va., Mr. Freeman graduated from high school there in 1941 and from West Virginia State College in 1945. A tenor who studied voice and conducting, he also played the organ and piano.