🕊️ The Zion Standard Weekly

Reborn for a New Generation

Vol. 1 • Issue 1 (Digital Revival Edition)
February 26, 2026 – The Season of Lent
A Publication of the Zion Church of the Evangelical Association

✨ “Again We Rise in Print and in Spirit”

An Editorial Introduction to the Return of The Zion Standard Weekly

There are seasons in the life of a church when memory must become mission.

This Lenten season, as the Church enters a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal, we also reclaim a sacred instrument of connection — The Zion Standard Weekly.

Before the long-running official organ, Star of Zion, was established in 1876, the A.M.E. Zion Church spoke boldly to its people through earlier publications that shaped thought, sharpened faith, and unified a growing movement. Among them stood the Zion Standard and Weekly Review, produced in New York to inform and unite members, to disseminate church news, theological instruction, and community commentary.

It was edited by Rev. S.T. Jones — later Bishop Singleton T. Jones — whose editorial stewardship proved that the Black pulpit and the Black press were twin pillars of liberation.

Other denominational voices emerged as well. The Zion Church Advocate in Washington, D.C., chronicled church life and civic engagement in the nation’s capital. These papers were not merely ink and paper; they were instruments of spiritual formation, abolitionist courage, and denominational unity.

Out of those early efforts grew the enduring Star of Zion, which continues faithfully today as the principal official publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, offering news, commentary, and global updates to a worldwide communion.

But history is not only to be remembered — it is to be continued.

🕯️ Why Return Now?

February 26, 2026, falls within the sacred observance of Lent — a season of recalibration and return. In an era defined by digital noise, fractured attention, and rapid technological change, the Church must once again anchor its voice in disciplined, thoughtful, Spirit-led journalism.

The rebirth of The Zion Standard Weekly is not a replacement for existing denominational publications. It is a complementary revival — recognizing the deep need for a "Black Church Revival" and "Black Church Revivalist"

It is a digital-forward, spiritually grounded weekly edition designed to:

Provide theological reflection for contemporary believers
Highlight local and global Zion ministries
Engage young adults and emerging leaders
Address social justice with moral clarity
Preserve denominational memory
Encourage spiritual discipline during sacred seasons

If the 19th century required the Black press to fight for freedom and literacy, the 21st century requires it to fight for truth and spiritual depth.

📖 Our Editorial Mandate

As your editor, I understand that a church newspaper must do three things well:

Inform with accuracy
Inspire with conviction
Unite without compromise of truth

We return to the spirit of the original Zion Standard — steady, principled, pastoral — while embracing modern tools:

Digital subscription distribution
Weekly email editions
Social media integration
Archived searchable editions
Video devotionals linked to articles
Youth contributor columns
Clergy roundtables
Lenten and Advent special series

We are not nostalgic — we are faithful.

🌍 The Church and the Digital Pulpit

The early editors understood that print was a pulpit.

Today, the digital page is the new sanctuary annex.

In 1876, Star of Zion unified a denomination across miles of railroad and post roads. In 2026, we unify across fiber optics and satellites — but the mission remains unchanged: proclaim the Gospel, defend justice, and strengthen Zion.

🔔 A Lenten Charge

Lent is the season of return.

Return to prayer.
Return to Scripture.
Return to service.
Return to disciplined reflection.

And now — return to reading.

May this revived Zion Standard Weekly serve as:

A lamp for the clergy
A mirror for the laity
A record for historians
A training ground for young journalists
A prophetic voice in uncertain times

📜 From the Editor’s Desk

“Zion has always written her own story.”

The saints who printed the first editions did so under far more difficult conditions — social oppression, economic restriction, and limited access to publishing tools. Yet they wrote.

Today, with every digital resource available, we recommit ourselves to the sacred craft of denominational journalism.

This is not merely a comeback.

It is a continuation.

And by God’s grace, by the Power of the Holy Spirit it begins again.