Faces of our family

The search for a good Bible study program and Sunday school classes is what brought Sis. Audra Calloway to St. Matthew AME Church. She wanted something that would help her and her family grow spiritually. She joined in 2012, the last year Bishop Reginald T. Jackson was pastor of St. Matthew.

She found St. Matthew through its work in the community. "I took the kids to Orange Park where St. Matthew was giving out T-shirts," she said. She was so impressed she decided to check out the church services and stayed.

She brought her children to a New Year's Eve service, and when the pastor extended the invitation for anyone to join the church, she said her daughter got up and scooted past her to accept the invitation.

Her daughters joined the Dance Ministry, and Sis. Calloway became a member of the Flower Ministry, on which she is still active. All have been active in the Sunday school programs.

She is proud to share the good news of her children, who remain active in St. Matthew. She has twin sons, Donald and Baron, and daughters, Raven and Ava-Rae. Raven does public relations in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Rep. Strickland of Washington state. Ava-Rae is the student body president at SUNY in Albany. Baron is a notary at a UPS store in South Orange, and Donald works at a bakery and at T.J. Maxx.

Sis. Calloway, who lives in Orange, is a litigation claims agent for Allstate Insurance Co.

She said she still loves the work St. Matthew does in the community, and she loves the emphasis placed on education and outreach to the community. Pastor Wilson "not only talks it but walks it," she said.

She said she would like to be more involved with the church. She has been inquiring about the choir and hopes to be more consistent in her work with the church. "Pastor Wilson gives great energy; he makes everyone feel welcome," Sis. Calloway said.

The guiding force in her life is 2 Corinthians 4:8–9: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed."

"Pastor Wilson not only talks it but walks it."

By Sandra Long Weaver