How far is the Promised Land?

That was the question posed by Howard McGee, pastor of the New Horizon Baptist Church, to a congregation Sunday night.

The program, called "The Church the Foundation of the Community," was held at the St. James AME Church, at 516 North St., to kick off Black History Month. Pastors and choirs from the host church, the New Horizon Baptist Church, the Blissett Temple COGIC, the Second Baptist Church, Futrell COGIC and the House of Prayer sang inspirational songs and delivered sermons.

"This is a great night," said McGee. "It does my heart good to see all of us together like this."

McGee compared the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to Moses.

"Moses faced death with courage and confidence," said McGee. "On the night of his death, King said `My eyes have seen the glory.'

"Moses died at a time when Israel was poised to attack with the Promised Land in reach," said McGee. "King proclaimed that he had been to the mountain top, had looked over and had seen the Promised Land. How far is that Promised Land today?"

McGee and other pastors speaking Sunday night urged the gathering to look to God in this age of uncertainty.

Michael Sterling, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, told the group that each person has a responsibility to themselves, to each other and to the community in which they live.

"Our children are being killed in the streets, our daughters are having babies before they enter high school and street gangs are recruiting our sons right here in schools like May Greene and Schultz," Sterling said. "Last year, AIDS claimed the lives of two members of the black community in Cape Girardeau. There are 32 black people with AIDS presently living in Cape Girardeau; one more will die this year."

Sterling remarked that it should not take a special occasion to bring members of the black community together.

"Let us go from here and work together to solve the problems of this community," he said. "We need to go forward with a plan, a mission. We need to be role models for our children."

The sermons were studded with dynamic performances by choirs and soloists from churches throughout the community. JoAnn McCauley, pastor of the House of Prayer, sang her version of "Amazing Grace," bringing people in the packed church to their feet, clapping, swaying and singing along.

Pastor Simon Perkins of the St. James AME Church talked of "the tragedy of inadequacies" in modern society.

"The black church must be the foundation of the community," said Perkins. "I am convinced we need to be concerned about being friendly; about being who we are and where we are."

McGee added: "Black History Month is about people who kept the dream alive. We need more than a month, we need to keep the dream and the spirit alive the whole year round."

Just how far is the Promised Land?

"It is as close as our faith that we will eventually triumph over evil," said McGee. "It is as close as our ability to fight against our children using drugs.

"The Promised Land is as close as our realization that we as black folk in America are still holding a bad check issued by this country," he continued. "This nation has defaulted and refused to honor it at the Bank of Justice. Because of that, we are perplexed, not in despair; persecuted, not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."