Mary Magdalene Coles Payne was born on October 9th, 1926 in Harlem Hospital, Lenox Avenue, New York City. She was the second child born to the late Harry and Carrie Coles. She also had a sister, Caroline Harriet Coles, and a brother, Charles Horace Coles who preceded her in death.
She attended the New York City school system from kindergarten to High School and graduated with honors from Central Commercial High School on East 42nd Street in New York City. She was united in marriage to the late Gordon Austin Payne in Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Bronx, NY in 1948. To this union, five children were born.
She accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at age 13 in the Prince of Peace Baptist Church in Harlem. She spent a number of years in the Bronx as a member of the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. She later became a member of The Unity Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, New York. She moved to Queens in 1966 and united with The Merrick Park Baptist Church in 1967.
She became the Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School in October 1967. She was a member of the Gospel Chorus for 34 years and served as its vice president from 1968 to 1983. She also served on the Pastor's Anniversary Committee and was appointed Church Clerk in 1979. She was secretary to the Woman's Day Committee for many years and served as co-chairperson of that committee in 1973. She was also one of the original organizers of The Free Woman of Christ. She was also Superintendent of the Sunday School until her resignation in 2005. Sister Payne also served as the secretary of The Senior Circle. She served and supported wherever she was needed. She tutored adults in reading at the Library on Merrick Blvd. from 1996 to 1999, logging 750 hours of service.
I once joked with my wife that Time had a macabre sense of humor. When you are young it tells you that you can become anything and reach new strengths each day. But around age twenty-five you start to understand its chicanery with the ebbing of everything that it promised. And the only promise that time will ever keep is the one that says: everything that we are, everything that we have, everything that we know, will surely come to pass.
Earlier this year I attended two funerals; both for grandmothers and both unexpected. But is it fair to say that these events should have been unexpected? Shortly after the funeral of my grandmother, I spoke with a good friend who was in New York to attend the funeral of his grandmother. As we talked, it occurred to us that what we had gone though should be expected and normal events of people in our age group. And when we reach our late fifties, early sixties, we can expect to start losing our parents.
Out of eight, my children may only know one of their great grandparents. How much of their great-grandparents or grandparents would they be able to know through me?
...New Year's resolutions? For me I plan to finally upload some of content that I have been promising. First on this list: the photographer's photos from our wedding.
We hope that everyone has enjoyed the holiday. This year Karlyn and I travelled through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and will complete our trip with more than 1500 miles driven.
Some time ago we received a message from the staff in our Accra office stating that the air-conditioner had broke. I have to say that I was less than sympathetic. But now that I am here, sweating, I have become a bit more understanding.
Karlyn and I will be here until Thursday of next. Our foundation has selected three students for awards this year. Please visit the website of our foundation, http://www.astrientfoundation.org
Remember point and shoot film cameras? Well until a few years ago they were the tool of choice for my generation. Here are a couple of scans from some our film collection.
used to be my favorite time of year. And as a recent tradition, Karlyn and I take a multistate trip to visit family and friends during this time of year. I must confess, the trip are lot of fun for me. Here are a few pics from trips past:
