Expressions of Faith: Annual black history program

For the second year in a row, Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Baldwin held their now-annual Black History program.
There was poetry, skits and this year a dynamic speaker who also was chosen as this years’ community servant award recipient, Ricky Armelin.
“I thought the program was beautiful it gets better and better each year,” Greater New Hope Pastor Thaddeus Andrus said.
Helping the program get on its feet was Minister Ollie Logerman Harris.
The play was called, “Jesus Our Shepherd.” Our history tells us how our families were stripped apart but could not destroy the slaves’ faith. “Most other religions have a God as well,” Logerman Harris said. “But through our struggle we as a people learned to praise Jesus the living God and worship him.”
The process of choosing the right recipient of the award is a matter of who the members of the church feel has touched the community with their good works. This year’s recipient was suggested by Gloria Loston. The church’s choice was Ricky Armelin.
“It’s awesome. I never expected it,” Armelin said. “When I started on my journey, I definitely wasn’t doing it for an award, he said. But to be recognized by my community that says everything that says a whole lot.”
Armelin started his career as a math teacher, he studied and received his masters and led Franklin Senior High School as its principal for seven years; he then says God elevated him to become the Human Resource Director for St Mary Parish schools. Now retired, Armelin still every now and again lends his talent to area schools such as Jeanerette High School as a math teacher. “When you can step away from the job and see how many people you had an influence on, it makes it all worth it,” Armelin said.