International Head Quarters - Fourth Episcopal District

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisOn July 15, 2012 Ward Chapel AME Church had the privilegeto have Presiding Abraham and Sarah Peddiny from AMEIndia as our guest for morning worship services.After leaving the General Conference in Nashville, they cameto Peoria to visit with relatives. Rev Elaine extended theoffering for them to minister on Sunday morning at theMorning Service so Elder Abraham preached the word ofGod.We were also privilege to have as our guest the PresidingElder from the Super South of the 4th District, Presiding ElderGary McCants.Presiding Elder Abraham song in his native language andhis sermon came from 1 King chapter 17 verse 40: His topicfor the sermon: "Get Out of your comfort zone”.In his message to the congregation at Ward Chapel he statedthat when there's illness we call on God but not for a momentdo we not thank God for His blessing when he heal our bodies.He also stated that in America he noticed lots of waste and inIndia they eat 3 meals a day and nothing is left on the plate.He also stated that for 2 years he was unemployed but neveronce did his family go without food or shelter. PresidingElder and Sarah, both stated that they were delighted to be apart of the 4th District and that we are welcome to come andbe a part of their Annual Conference which will be held in themonth of May. Sarah gave us the benediction in theirlanguage.The Congregation received them and were so proud of themfor coming to our Local Church. Afterwards a reception washeld in the Fellowship hall.Submitted,Dorothy GranthamSouth East Area, Vice Chair/Illinois ConferenceDeborah FaggettPresident of Fannie J. Coppin Missionary SocietyBessie Mitchell Life MemberAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known asLou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive,invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks thenerve cells responsible for controlling voluntarymuscles. Lou Gehrig’s disease is a condition involvingthe slow but never ending decline of the body’smuscles.In ALS disease the upper and lower motor nerve cellscease to send messages to the muscles. The musclesslowly weaken, twitch and waste away as time goes by.Eventually, the ability of the brain to start andcontrol voluntary movements is lost. Patients losetheir strength and ability to move their arms, legsand body. When the muscles in the diaphragm andchest wall fail, patients lose the ability to breathewithout a ventilator. ALS generally does not impair aperson’s mind or intelligence. However, some patientsdo experience depression and problems with decisionmaking and memory. ALS does not affect a person’sability to see, smell, and hear, recognize or touch.Patients usually maintain control of eye muscles,bladder and bowel functions but in the late stages ofALS a patient become totally paralyzed. The averagelife expectancy of an ALS patient is two to five yearsfrom time of diagnosis. Death is attributed torespiratory failure.Based on U.S. population studies, a little over 5,600people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’sdisease each year. That’s 15 new cases a day. ALS isone of the most common neuromuscular diseasesworldwide and people of all races and ethnicbackgrounds are affected. It commonly strikespeople between 40-60 years of age. ALS is 20% morecommon in men than women. In 90% of ALS cases,the disease occurs at random with no clearlyassociated risk factors or family history. Theremaining 10% of ALS cases are inherited.