Forty Years of Excellence
Forty Years of Excellence
By LaDon McNeil
Do you remember what you were doing 40 years ago in 1976? Think about the significant things that were going on then.
In 1976, Gerald Ford was President and Jimmy Carter was elected that November.
In 1976, our nation turned 200 years old.
In 1976, Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl.
In 1976, the movie Rocky made its debut in theaters.
In 1976, Alex Haley wrote his masterpiece Roots.
And in 1976, a group of pastors, the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, decided to come together to create an organ for information for the Flint community that focused on issues that affected its people. And they called it, the CPSA Courier.
According to the Courier website, the CPSA Courier Newspaper was founded in 1976 by Dr. Avery Aldridge, the late pastor of the Foss Avenue Missionary Baptist Church. Also during that year, Dr. J. S. Hopkins, pastor of the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church became the president of the Courier Board of Directors.
The inspiration for the creation of the paper grew out of the need to provide a voice for the ecumenical community.
Now for many, turning 40 is associated with being “over the hill;” however, the number 40 has real significance that is often overlooked by the secular world, but not by those who understand the guiding hand of God.
It’s been said that the number 40 is used by God to represent a period of testing or the length of time needed to accomplish some major parts of God’s plan in dealing with various portions of mankind.
Remember the story of Noah and the Ark? Forty days and forty nights of rain.
What about Moses being on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights?
Do you remember how the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 days?
How about when Jesus fasted for 40 days?
During all of these times, there was a period of revelation and acknowledgment and understanding of God’s power and God’s plan.
It would not be a stretch to say that the CPSA courier has had its moments of tests and trials, but ultimately, as it continues to do and promote God’s work within the Flint community, we see that what God planted as a seed in the Concerned Pastors 40 years ago has now come to fruition and the best is yet to come.
During its time, the Courier has been respected as one of the oldest and most prestigious newspapers in the region.
