The Sensational Salisbury District

Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

Merry Christmas to the Sensational Salisbury District! Rev. Carla and I send our love and peace to each of you as we travel through the seasons of Advent, Christmastide and Epiphany and continue in this conference year. 

It is that third season, Epiphany, that I would direct your attention to. This is the older of the three seasons, focusing on the Wise Men visiting the young child in a house. Contrary to carols, pictures and other media, purporting to tell the story of this miraculous birth, the Wise Men arrived on a later date, not Christmas Eve. Again, the text in Matthew 2:11 speaks of the Wise Men, or Magi, finding “the child in a house,” not a stable or a cave. 

Also, even though the Wise Men brought three gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh, only tradition has asserted that there were three Wise Men. But, what if there was another Wise Man? In the classic novel , “The Other Wise Man,” by Henry Van Dyke, we find an account on a wise man that missed the fabled trip of the three, but lived to see the Crucified One on the cross. I won’t tell you anymore about that story, but I do encourage it for your seasonal reading. 

Let me conclude by saying just this - wise ones still seek Jesus, and can find Him, this day, with the help of those that “make disciples!” Blessings on the Journey, as you encounter and help the new wise ones find Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

In His Service,

Reverend Dr. Grant Harrison, Jr.

Presiding Elder

Reverend Carla Harrison

First Lady

Sister Camille C. Starnes 

Missionary Supervisor

The Right Reverend Bishop Darryl B. Starnes, Sr.

Presiding Prelate

The Sensational Salisbury District

Western North Carolina Conference

Piedmont Episcopal District

The A.M.E. Zion Church