HARLEM — Judynell Johnson-Groce is on a mission from God.
In July, the 58-year-old member of the Greater Refuge Temple on 124th Street heard a divine voice after waking up from a dream, she said.
“I woke up and asked, ‘God are you asking me to go and name Bishop Bonner Way?'” the retired teacher said. “Then I heard a voice said, ‘Yes, go out and name Bishop Bonner Way,’ it was a soft and gentle voice.”
Bishop William Bonner is the former pastor of the Pentecostal church who passed away in April. The charismatic leader was beloved in the neighborhood and went on to start congregations in Detroit, Washington DC, South Carolina, and Mississippi, according to an obituary from the Washington Post.
Since getting her holy marching orders, Johnson-Groce has carried around petitions asking for people’s support to co-name West 124th Street just west of Seventh Avenue Bishop William Bonner Way.
She has gone to birthday parties, pizza dinners, church basements, and lobbies of residential buildings to collect signatures. So far she has 1,400 signatures including the endorsement of Congressman Charles Rangel.
“I am very proud to offer my strong support and my highest recommendation on behalf of the renaming of the intersection of 124th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the good name of my late friend, Bishop William Lee Bonner,” the Congressman wrote.
And, on Wednesday night, Johnson-Groce and her church colleagues will see their proposal go up for a vote at Community Board 10 as part of their November meeting.
The group had asked CB10 to consider the plan in October, but it was postponed until this month because the group didn't have any signatures from people who live on 124th Street, she said.
The minor setback was not enough to deter Johnson-Groce. The next day she and the group went to the biggest apartment building on 124th Street and set up a table in the lobby, where she collected dozens of signatures which they plan to present to the board on Wednesday, she said.
“God opened doors for me,” she said. “We are very excited about the meeting.”
