Abatenjwa Alliance hosts gift bag giveaway outside Orange City Hall

ORANGE, NJ — The Abatenjwa Alliance women’s group, composed of the wives and widows of ministers from all religions, celebrated families and patriarchs by handing out gift bags filled with various products outside Orange City Hall on North Day Street on Saturday, June 16, in celebration of Father’s Day, which was observed the following day.

According to Gloria Fisher, wife of the Rev. Michael L. Fisher of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Newark, “‘Abatenjwa” means ‘trustworthy.’ We are awesome women of God. We are all sinners saved by Christ. We love our fathers and we want them to take their proper role as head of the family. As they follow Christ, we’ll follow them.”

According to Fisher, the organization’s president, the Abatenjwa Alliance is always looking to expand and become more inclusive.

“We welcome all ministers’ wives and widows to come join us from any denomination,” she said. “We come together to support one another in all that we do. We’re doing this in Orange, because I am connected with Orange. I live in Orange and I love the people of Orange, and so this is where we decided to do our community service.”

Alyssa Cross, a senior at Rowan University, is involved in the Abatenjwa Alliance although she isn’t the wife or widow of a minister.

“I’m a preacher’s kid. My father is the Rev. Earl Cross Jr. of Lydia Baptist Church in Newark,” said Cross on Saturday, June 16. “This is outstanding community service, so this gives a chance for us to give back to our fathers on Father’s Day. I love my father.”

Fisher said there’s more to the Abatenjwa Alliance than handing out gift bags for Father’s Day, although such activities are a big part of their activities. She also had some advice for people about what it takes to have successful, productive and positive relationships.

“We also raise money at annual luncheons and give out scholarships to our young people,” Fisher said. “Communication is key, but the word of God takes us through. It keeps us holding on.”

The Rev. Ileathern C. McCloud also doesn’t fit the mold of the typical Abatenjwa Alliance member, however, this associate minister at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark agreed about what it takes to have keep families, relationships and communities strong.

“God is our creator. God is our savior and we must trust in him,” McCloud said Thursday, June 16.

Michelle Harris, of Irvington, who also offered her support to the organization at the gift bag giveaway, said “Abatenjwa Alliance is a local part of a larger state affiliate. Our state affiliate is part of an international organization of 43,000 women worldwide.”

For more information about the Abatenjwa Alliance, call 862-250-1326 or email Abatenjwa@gmail.com.