Sis. Cynthia Mosley
Being a part of the St. Matthew A.M.E. family brings joy into the life of longtime member Sis. Cynthia Mosley.
She grew up in a Pentecostal church led by her great-grandmother, who was a pastor. Sis. Mosley looked for something similar when she moved to the North Jersey area with her husband, Jerry, more than two decades ago.
She was looking for a church home that was similar to what she knew as a child. But the churches didn't give her the feeling she was looking for until she attended St. Matthew. And she never stopped coming.
She joined when Bishop Reginald Jackson was the pastor, she said. "But the church is very different now. I didn't get the same friendly feeling like I get now. Pastor Wilson remembers names. He knows who you are and gets you involved. There's a closeness. I really feel like I am a family member."
Sis. Mosley, who has three adult daughters, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and lives in West Orange, doesn't always get time to be involved in ministries, but she does participate in Friends and Family Day and in the daily morning and evening prayer calls. She also participates virtually in Bible study. And she sometimes bakes for special occasions.
Her pineapple-coconut cake came in first place the first year she entered a baking contest and second place the second year she entered. She likes baking because it relieves stress.
And Sis. Mosley likes meeting people, she said. With her friends April Gaunt-Butler and Gwen Johnson, she enjoys coming to church each Sunday and supporting Pastor Wilson at different events, and sometimes visiting other churches with the pastor.
The 23rd Psalm is a guiding philosophy for Sis. Mosley. "The Lord is my Shepherd."
"I really feel like I am a family member."
Seeing how the pastor works with children in the church is also what keeps her coming, she said. "I've never seen a pastor work with children the way Pastor Wilson does. He is so involved in the community."
By Sandra Long Weaver