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WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor James Henry McLemore followed in the footsteps of his parents, Cleveland and Daisy McLemore, to join Community AME Church in Cleveland, Ohio and answer the call to ministry at the age of 13; and,
WHEREAS, receiving a dual bachelor’s degree in Communications and Psychology from Cleveland State University, as well as a masters and doctorate in divinity from Ashland Theological Seminary, where he completed a dissertation on church-home fellowship, Rev. Dr. James Henry worked hard to become academically prepared for ministry; and,
WHEREAS, while serving at Bethel AME Church, Rev. Dr. McLemore founded Small Seeds Development Inc., which provided programmatic support to communities in need, such as the Mother-to-Son program, which supports single mothers raising sons between the ages of 9-13, and which can be found at Bethel AME Church in Pittsburgh, St James AME Church, Macedonia Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, the Rankin Center in Rankin, and at Wilkinsburg High School; and,
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Bishop Vinton R. Anderson, Bishop Richard Allen Hildebrand, and Bishop Henry Allen Belin, Jr., Rev. Dr. McLemore received ministerial appointments to the following: St. Mark AME in Cleveland, Ohio, 1980-1982; Christ Our Redeemer AME in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 1982-1985; Allen Chapel in Barberton, Ohio, 1985-1989; St. Paul AME on Lima, Ohio 1989-1996; Bethel AME in Pittsburgh, 1989-2007; and,
WHEREAS, Bishop Robert Vaughn Webster in 2007 appointed Rev. Dr. McLemore to the position of Presiding Elder of the Pittsburgh District of the Pittsburgh Annual Conference, as he has served as Presiding Elder under Bishop C. Garnett Henning, Sr., Bishop McKinley Young, and Bishop Frank Madison Reid III Prelate of the Third Episcopal District. There are 22 congregations that make up the Pittsburgh District. He has been elected delegate to the General Conferences in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012; and,
WHEREAS, an active voice for the community, Rev. Dr. McLemore serves as Chairman of the Board of Small Seeds Development, Inc., has served as a past member of the Cleveland Heights Ministerial Association, is an active Board Member of Female Offenders, active Board Member of the American Red Cross, past President of the Barberton Chapter of the NAACP, serves on the Board of Directors of the Schumann Center, Board Member of the AIDS Task Force, Board Member of the Mental Health & Retardation Department of Allegheny County, member of Lima Ministerial Association, and member of the Study Circle on Racism;
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare June 16, 2020 to be “Reverend Doctor James Henry McLemore Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.