THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER ONLINE ENGLISH EDITION (7/11/06)

Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor

1. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

The Center for Disease Control most recently reported that African American women now make up 73% of all newly reported cases of HIV infection among women.

2. EDITOR’S NOTE:

I have been out of the office for two weeks, first attending the General Board Meeting/Bishops’ Counsel and almost immediately drove to Orlando, Florida, with four grandchildren, to attend the 25th Connectional Christian Education and Youth Congress.

We have a Herculean amount of information from the General Board to share with you. It is important that we know how the AME Church functions and I hope that our readership will weigh through all of the information.

Outstanding presentations on the establishment and the work of the General Board were given by retired General Officer; Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams who delivered “The State of the Church” address, Sister Valerie Bell who gave the keynote address for the 50th Anniversary for the General Board Meeting. Bishop John Adams, Bishop Frederick James gave their recollections of the 1956 General Conference and shared with us “where it all began.” The presentations shared a wealth of knowledge and provided a superb background about where the Church is today, where we need to go and great information about the General Board’s legacy. This issue of The Christian Recorder is for AMEs who are serious about understanding the Church.

Also in this issue is a letter of thanks from the Right Reverend William P. DeVeaux for all of the assistance given in support of Morris Brown College.

Because of the large volume of information from the General Board, we are going to share the information in the next several issues.

The Official AME Website, http://www.ame-church.com/, has more in-depth coverage of the entire General Board Proceedings. The transcripts for Bishop Adams and Bishop James’ speeches were provided by Dr. Clement Fugh, General Secretary, African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The speeches are listed in the order that they were given: Dr. Jayme Coleman Williams, Sister Valerie Bell, Bishop John Hurst Adams, and Bishop Frederick James.

All of the acknowledged articles forwarded for publication in The Christian Recorder Online will be published and put in the queue for the print edition.

3. THE STATE OF THE CHURCH, ENTITLED, “HELP WANTED” PRESENTED AT THE GENERAL BOARD MEETING, AMEC, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA ON JUNE 25, 2006:

Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams
Retired General Officer

Bishop Chappelle, Bishop Cousin, Bishop Williams, Other Bishops of the Church, General Officers, Connectional Officers, Episcopal Supervisors, Distinguished Members of the General Board, Loyal AME Followers (We who follow all the meetings and serve on the Lobby Committee), My Sisters and Brothers in the bond of Jesus the Christ.

Let me first thank Bishop Chappelle for the honor and opportunity to be a part of this historic occasion which celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the General Board. I am always surprised when I’m asked to do something out of the ordinary for my connectional church. Nevertheless, I feel blessed that I have been-- for lo these 66 years-- a part of the connectional scene.

But I know some of you are wondering what in the world is Jamye doing up there! Or some of you who have heard me from time to time speak on some pressing issue or had to listen to my unsolicited advice about what was expected of you or what I wanted you to do—you may be like the late Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, who after his wife Catherine had served the family roast turkey for Thanksgiving, leftovers the next day, turkey hash the following morning, then turkey soup, Peter Marshall said that someone else would have to thank God for the meal because the Lord knew he was not thankful for any more turkey. The analogy, in this instance, I think is clear.

I was truly surprised recently when I got a call from Bishop Chappelle asking me to talk about “The State of the Church” on this occasion. I reminded him that the first such address had been delivered by our Senior Bishop—Bishop Cousin, son of my college schoolmate Sylvester, whose name I invoke when I want Bishop Cousin to do something. And last year Bishop Chappelle, President of the General Board and my former General Officer colleague, brought the message. When I asked him if he were sure he wanted me to do this, he told me he had been talking to the Lord. I said to myself “Lord, help me.”

On a more serious note let me say that here in the autumn of my sojourn in African Methodism I do feel blessed and humbled by Bishop Chappelle’s confidence in me. Thirty years ago—in 1976—the youth of our country had as a slogan “Never trust anyone over 30.” In that year when I was certainly over 30 years old, I received an invitation to speak at the Orientation Session for the youth delegates to the 1976 General Conference. Many of the youth most of whom were first-time delegates are now names you recognize as servants and leaders in the church—Bishop McKinley Young, Dr. William Watley, Dr. Rosa McCloud Baxter, Mr. Jesse Burns, the Rev. James Arnell, the Rev. Henry Green, Mr. Reginald McGill, the Rev. Taylor Thompson, and others. So I have truly come full circle in terms of youth and age.

The world in which we live today is a world beset by many problems. It is a divided world and a hurting world. It is a world divided between the haves and the have-nots; between the Third World and the First World; between the rich and the poor; between the whites and non-whites; Democrats and Republicans; conservatives and liberals; Moslems and Christians, divided among Catholics, Protestants and Jews. It is a world hurting because of the alienation between parents and children, between management and labor, between the oppressor and the oppressed. It is a world hurting because of the homeless, the hungry, the mentally ill, the sick, the alcoholic, the drug addict, and the destitute. It is a world beset by problems of all kinds despite the technological and scientific advances that have created great cities, made great strides in medical research, sent men and women routinely into outer space, even landing them on the moon.

Likewise, the church is confronted with many grave problems. A litany of problems facing the AME Church on which we take little action was addressed both by Bishop Cousin in his classic address on “The Winds Which Blow Across Our Bethel” and Bishop Chappelle in his creative approach with a focus on the “Trees of Our Zion.” Today’s problems are the same as they were last year, the year before, the year before the year before, ad infinitum. Today I simply want to reiterate the importance of our addressing the needs of the Church of Richard and Sarah Allen and more importantly the church of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Lest you think that these are only my personal issues, let me simply say that I am a reporter for the Lobby Committee, the silent majority, the vocal minority, the concerned clergy and laity who do not raise their voices, and the members of the NTLG—the Nothing to Lose Group

Matthew tells us that Jesus told his disciples that the harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few. He also reminded them that many are called, but few are chosen. In each instance Jesus was calling for help. And so it is today that He continues to call Christians to help.

I daresay if Jesus were living in the 21st Century and wanted to call some persons to work in His employ, one method He might use would be the classified section of the daily paper. His ad in the Charleston Post Courier of June 26 could read: “Wanted—Men who are willing to forsake everything and follow a dream that will save the world.” Or realizing that the 21st Century and the Church have moved in a small way from a completely male-dominated society, His ad could read: “Wanted—Men and women who are willing to give it all up and run with a message to do the right thing.” In this context I want to use as a subject this morning, “Help Wanted!”

All of us are familiar with the way in which the corporate world does "a needs assessment" before making any major decision. I want to lift up for your consideration and action some of our needs as African Methodists. I submit that help is wanted

1. To recognize the needs of our church
2. To make changes in its outmoded system

When we think of our needs and articulate them, they are those of so many of our bishops, general officers, connectional officers, ministers and laypersons. You, I am sure, will recognize many of your own personal concerns.

We need a spokesperson for the AME Church. At present no person or office is in charge of this great international church. There is no one who has the authority to speak out on national issues on which other denominations and organizations issue immediate responses. There is no one to follow up on actions we take or monitor our activities. We need a CEO. We need to muster the courage, forget our divisions, and name one of the bishops, active or retired, as the CEO. We do not need silence from the Church. Our legacy and history dictate otherwise. We do, indeed, need to be on the cutting edge of change.

We need to change the way we campaign for and elect persons to the highest, most sacred office in our church. We are operating today almost as we did over 50 years ago. We need campaign reform. It is the opinion of some that our antiquated method of electing bishops often financially and sometimes morally bankrupts our worthy candidates. The activities that are a part of our system are more appropriate for a Democratic or Republican National Convention than for the election of persons to be elevated to the highest office of our Church.

We need to be intentional about the actions of the General Conference. We meet every four years, spend thousands of dollars, waste countless hours, pass laws, print them in our Book of Discipline and promptly forget or ignore them or try to change them. We need to consider carefully all proposed legislation in order to make into law only that which is sound and warranted. Laws can be changed at the subsequent General Conference and undo what may have been done in haste or simply what in retrospect some think was not a good idea. A special session is an alternative only if an issue is so grave and critical that an immediate solution is required. But we need to respect our laws—obey them or change them.

We need to preserve our history, traditions, and identity, while at the same time we embrace change. We must understand the needs of the baby boomers, Generation X—especially those between 18 and 25. But just as one of our youths suggested that a Joshua generation cannot be led by Moses, I suggest that a Moses generation cannot be led by Joshua. There must be compromise. There must be balance in all that we do to meet the spiritual needs of all whom we serve. We do, however, need to avoid “spiritual arrogance,” a term I use to describe the notion that every Christian responds to the moving of the Holy Spirit in the same way. Not all of us can praise on cue or react to orchestrated worship. Let us respect one another and understand that each person is responsible only to God. The question is now being asked, “Is there a recognizable AME Sunday worship? The question is also being asked, “Should I not know that I am in an AME Church whether I am worshiping in New York; Wichita; Chicago; Waco; Monrovia, Liberia; Cape Town, South Africa; Port au Prince, Haiti; Samfya, Zambia; Maseru, Lesotho; Johannesburg, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe.

We need to redistrict our Church in order to make it more equitable in size of membership. There is a decline in memberships, in resources, in denominational loyalty—due to demographics, disillusion with our denomination, and the absence of men. It was suggested to me recently by one of our Episcopal leaders that salvation is beyond the walls—beyond skin color. We need to reach out to the many immigrants in our midst.

We have spent a great deal of time and money to develop a Strategic Plan, which was authorized by the Church. We need to take seriously the recommendations coming from it and not set it aside as we did a previous one by the Lilly Foundation some years ago. Leith Anderson in his recent book, A Church for the 21st Century, suggests that there is a decline in denominational loyalty. We facetiously refer to the fastest growing denomination as “I Used to Be an AME.” Our children and grandchildren will not settle for mediocrity in the church while they demand excellence in other areas of their lives. We must address this problem of declining membership.

We need greater fiscal accountability. There should be transparency in all of our financial operations—uniformity in accounting from the District to the Connection. Again, according to Leith Anderson, members are more inclined to tithe when they can see the results of their offerings. We need to think of creative ways to approach our giving. Churches urge their members to be tithers--to return 10% of their income to the work of the church. But should not these churches also tithe? A new paradigm could transform our church’s financial structure, enabling us to meet the many ever-present needs. This problem of fiscal accountability has special implications for the younger generations—the Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers –generations that not only can read but also do read. Generations of working adults who know about budgets and spread sheets and shortfalls and capital gains----and accountability.

We need to review our position on higher education. We need to ask ourselves if we are able to adequately support all of the AME connected institutions. For years the idea has been tossed around to combine some of them for more effective delivery of educational services. At the 1948 General Conference in Kansas City, Attorney Sadie Tanner Alexander introduced a resolution, which passed, to connectionalize all the properties of our schools and colleges. Others have recommended connectionalizing all of the institutions themselves.

A final need from the perspective of many is that we need to revisit our mission statement and re-commit ourselves to implementing it in places where we are not doing so. We applaud our many churches which are extending their ministries beyond the sanctuary and responding to human need. But we might remind ourselves that in many local churches the burden of the budget keeps them from going beyond their walls. As one of the Episcopal Fathers said to me on the way in, “We need to return to our first love—love of God and our Church.

In addition to recognizing the needs of our Church, we must make changes in its outmoded system in which position, power, and possessions can be seductive. We are seduced by position because we enjoy the prestige of being the Chair, the President, the CEO, the Pastor, the General Officer, the Bishop. We are seduced by power. We enjoy being like E. F. Hutton—when we talk, people listen. We must avoid this seduction, or we will make true the adage by Lord Acton, a 19th Century British historian, who suggested that “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We are seduced by our desire for possessions. We need to answer the question, “When is enough, enough?”

Finally, help is needed to carry out the mission of the church to minister to the needs of the hopeless, the helpless, the forgotten, and the underserved. Help is needed to tackle the thorny issues which beset us. Help is needed to produce floor leaders to keep us honest. Where are the strong voices of the past, ministers and laypersons, unafraid to ask the tough questions and demand clear answers? To provide help for our Zion we need men and women of courage who are willing to challenge the status quo and to change a system which impacts us in many negative ways. It makes us look the other way in the face of wrong. It has us, according to some of our younger members, concerned only with internal policies and politics and makes little effort to use our talents and abilities to impact the national scene.

I challenge all of us to have the courage to do the right thing and always be on the right side of history. May future generations not be able to say that we allowed our personal agendas, our status among our peers to isolate us from doing the right thing. May it not be said that we preferred to retreat into the middle ground of neutrality or the shadow of detachment. May it be said that when the ad went out “Help Wanted,” we had the vision and courage to stand up and be counted.

I want to close with one of my favorite prayers which emphasize our mission to meet the needs of a hurting world.

“Tie me to something eternal, O God!
I tie myself to things—houses, land, money—
And some twist of fate robs me of them.
I tie myself to love—husband, wife, children, parents—
But one microbe takes my loved one out of my life forever
I tie myself to a friend—a long-time friend,
A confidant—who ceases to understand me
Tie thou me to truth, God, ageless like thyself
Tie thou me to a purpose, endless like thyself
Tie thou me to human need, for thereby thou hast redeemed many

Help Wanted!

When the Help Wanted ad appears, only those persons need to apply who are willing to give it all up and run with a message to do the right thing and be on the right side of history.

May God bless African Methodism and each of you.

4. THE FIFTIETH CELEBRATION OF THE GENERAL BOARD:

Sister Valerie Bell

To the Bishops of the Church, and their Spouses, to the General and Connectional Officers, and their Spouses, To the Members of the General Board, To the Presiding Elders, Pastor, Missionaries and Laity, my brothers and sisters in Christ. I bring you Greetings from the Committee, whose honor it is to commemorate and celebrate the 50- Year Anniversary of the General Board of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

I would like to thank my Chairman, Bishop Philip R. Cousin, Sr. for this particular assignment, and I am always grateful for the opportunity to serve. I bring you greetings from the Sensational, Second Episcopal District, where I have been wonderfully blessed to live and serve, under the leadership of Bishop and Mrs. Adam J. Richardson, and finally from First A.M.E. Church, in Manassas Virginia, where the Rev. Ronald Boykin is my beloved pastor.

My task is to present a brief Historical Perspective, Recognizing the Birth, Mission and Purpose of the General Board, or “What the First General Board was created to do?”

Now this is a monumental challenge, in itself, however, not being a member of the Clergy or a Theologian, however, being elected in 1992, having been a member of the General Board, for the past 12 years, I would, ask, prayerfully, that you would indulge me a few moments of personal reflection.

The date is May 1956, the place is Miami, Florida, and the setting is the 35th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This General Conference, regarded by some, as the most important General Conference in African Methodism since 1816. The General Conference of 1816 brought together 16 independent Congregations to form our denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Between 1816 and 1956, the A.M.E. Church is now 150 years old, handling millions of dollars, but still operated without a budget. Each Episcopal District functioned as a separate autonomous entity. There was no consistency or continuity in the governance of these Episcopal Districts, and without a Connectional Budget, each Episcopal District functioned independently both financially and programmatically. Any discussion about the birth of the General Board or the development of the Connectional Budget must include the pivotal role played by “The Brotherhood Movement”.
The Brotherhood Movement, led by it’s charismatic, and shrewd President, Rev. H. Ralph Jackson, forged ahead, across the Church, calling for the adoption of a Connectional budget. Their slogan “Reconstruction Under God” was an attractive one to most members of A.M.E. Church, because of the many and numerous assessments.

In order that we get a clear picture of the work put into the Brotherhood movement, it is necessary to cite the letter dated January 29, 1956, send to every General Conference delegate, containing the entire proposed legislation, and asking for their support in Miami..

So in that auditorium in Miami, the proposed legislation was hotly debated, but ultimately enacted, passing, almost unanimously, calling for the following:

1. The establishment of a central fund known as the General Budget Fund. Each Church was assessed $4.00 per member to support the Connectional General Budget. Sometimes referred to as, “Four and No More.”

2. This Connectional Budget would fund the various agencies and Departments of the Church.

3. The creation of the “Board of Education”

4. And finally, the formation of an administrative Body, whose sole responsibility was supervising the financial program of all agencies and persons receiving monies from the General Budget Fund. This body was charged with the oversight of the A.M.E. Church, in the interim of the General Conference to the various Departments of the Church, and in particular, both the collection and disbursement of the Connectional Budget.

This administrative body would be called the General Board. Its composition would consist of the:

- Active Bishops
- The Treasurer of the Church
- The Secretary of the Church,
- The Secretary/Treasurers of the agencies receiving funds from the General Budget
- Elected representatives both Clergy and Lay, in equal numbers from each Episcopal District.

For the first time in the history of the Church, Lay people were given equal partnership to determine the destiny of the Church.
And in 1972, one (1) youth member was mandated from each Episcopal District, as a member of the Board.

The General Board would meet annually.

The General Board, whose members sit on the various Standing Commissions, would hear the reports of their respective agencies, reviewing and evaluating the account of their stewardship for the past year, as well as a projection of what they plan to do in the next year.
That is a summary of the birth of the General Board.

However, in the sub-section entitled the Duties of the General Board, It states the following:

“During the Quadrennium, the General Board shall have full authority to correlate the work of the various agencies, in the interest of co-operation, economy and effectiveness, as these relate to the financial interest of the Church”

That’s our mission, to Correlate, co-ordinate the work of the departments, doing what is best for the Church, in the interest of cooperation, economy and effectiveness.

That’s what the General Board was created to do, in 1956.

But the question we must ask ourselves is what are we doing today, in 2006?

Is the General Board functioning as we were designed?

Indeed, we have an awesome task. Our commissions meet only once a year, with members sitting on 3, 4 and 5, commissions, which meet at the same time.

Factor in the ever changing composition of Board members, like this quadrennium, when over 50% of the Board members are spanking, brand new, having never served on the General Board. .

Yes, our Work has increased, but at the same time, our business work day has grown shorter and shorter, consumed by non-General Board Activities, which have grown longer and longer.

Coupled with the ever increasing requests for additional funding, in the various departments continues to increase, while our financial resources decrease.

The resulting frustration from what seems to be an “Impossible Mission” can be overwhelming, and if we are not careful, one can fall prey to the prevailing litany of apathy, cynicism and negativity.

We are fast, approaching a crisis time like 1787, like 1816, and like 1956. If we are not careful, the dream of what 1956 was to accomplish will become the Nightmare of 2006.

While this is not an attempt to vilify the Administrative Arm of the Church, But it is an attempt to sound the alarm that we are creeping dangerously close to losing sight of why the General Board came into being, and what is was designed to do.

The General Board Meets once a year to and as I stated earlier, “with the authority to correlate the work of the various agencies, in the interest of co-operation, economy and effectiveness,...”but the General Board Meeting has evolved into the time for everybody else in the Church to meet, and our workday becomes compressed to the point of total ineffectiveness. In the morning, we must wait for the various District, School, and Organizational breakfasts to dismiss, before we can begin the General Board deliberations of the day.
That is not the way to conduct the business of this great Church.

The General Board Commissions meet to hear departmental reports to assess and evaluate their Stewardship, but at any given time 3 to 4, up to 7 Commissions are meeting at the same time.
That is not the way to conduct the business of this great Church.

If a careful analysis of the Roll is taken, there are some District representatives who sporadically attended the meeting, actually, “in the meeting.”

That is not the way to conduct the business of this Great Church.

Because of God’s goodness and the contributions of so many committed servants who have unselfishly served the Church, from 1956 to the present. Through God’s Grace, and their dedication we have been able to:

- Submit 11 Connectional Budgets

- Manage and coordinate the work of the _____ Departments

- Respond to the Church’s financial crisis

- Establish a Pension or Annuity Fund, now in excess of millions of dollars.

But we can’t stop there; there is so much work to be done. Yes the future lies ahead, but what role will the General Board play in making that future a brighter day for our Zion.

We can, through the work of the General Board, do God’s will.

And so, as we celebrate, our 50 year Anniversary. Now is a good time to revisit the story of 1956. Celebrating the gift, that the General Board was created to be.

We should commemorate our 50 year Anniversary. Retelling the story of 1956, for some have never heard. Never heard of Rev. Ralph Jackson, never heard of the Brotherhood, and the dramatic and pivotal role they played on the Stage of African Methodism.

To my fellow General Board Members, Now is a good time to Reflect on our 50 year past, and reflect on our successes and our failures. Now is a good time to refocus our energies on the mission and purpose for which this great body was created.

I believe that each one of you have been uniquely gifted, to serve the Church for this moment in time. The best and the brightest minds in all of African Methodism have been summoned together, not by luck, chance or coincidence, but by divine providential design, for 21st Century Kingdom Building”

We can seize the moment, to do more effective planning and preparation for Ministry in the 21st Century, if we have the Will.

The financial enterprise of the A.M.E. Church, rivals that of many fortune 500 Companies, both in assets and cash flow, so As a Guide, or a Business Plan, I would suggest the second Chapter of Acts.

Here the Apostle Luke records, what happens to another group of church folks, who met, in Jerusalem, for a one-day feast celebration, “The Feast of Pentecost.”

Luke recounts how the leadership followed the instructions to stay in Jerusalem, with a spirit of expectation, for empowerment, by the Holy Ghost, to further the spread of the Gospel.

Verses 43-44 record how the church leaders were able to successfully pool their meager resources together, for the collective good of the Church. They were successful in meeting the needs, not because they pooled what they had. They were successful, in meeting the Church’s needs, because, in verses 1-2 they came together on one accord. Because they were in the same place, at the same time, with the same mind.

This sounds very much like our Church Today. We meet regularly to review, assess, evaluate and we continue to find that the most of the time, the needs outweigh the resources. But that’s a situation, tailor-made for the Holy Ghost.

What would happen if we come together in the same place, at the same time with the same mind, expecting the Holy Ghost to show up and show out, doing for us, supernaturally, what we cannot do in the natural?

I believe that we have gathered in this day in Charleston, looking for a more excellent way.

Members of the General Board, my brothers and sisters, we have been given a tremendous gift, in The General Board. Many unsung heroes suffered, sacrificed, lived and died with crushed dreams and broken hearts to bring it into being.

We have been given an opportunity to work together, brothers and sisters, young and not so young, Clergy and Lay...all together, with a spirit of “Excellence”

Let us use this great gift, the General Board, to serve this Great Church...

God has put the ball in our hands, and He’s depending on us, not to drop the ball....

5. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BIRTH OF THE FIRST GENERAL BOARD MEETING - 1956:

The General Board as we know it today grew out of the need for reform in African Methodist Episcopal Church and thus the General Board was a major reform movement in 1956, precipitated by the Brotherhood, an organization of a group of reform-minded ministers from across the Church led by the Reverend Dr. H. Ralph Jackson.

6. GENERAL BOARD ANNIVERSARY REFLECTIONS:

By Bishop John Hurst Adams

Thank you very much Bishop Cousin, and to Bishop Chappelle, my commendation, my brother, for allowing this noon time for a few history lessons.

Bishops of the Church, General Officers, Members of the General Board, Brothers and Sisters, Ladies and Gentlemen, Sons and Daughters of Allen, good afternoon: I want to say first of all that the African Methodist Episcopal Church had a long and storied history before 1956. I do not want our celebration of the reforms which took place at that time to think that that was the beginning of the world. We had a long and beautiful history before then, and all of the functions which are performed now were performed then but in a different way.

In order to really understand the General Board and the subject which I must address, the General Board of our Education, you have to understand the context in which they were created.

The Brotherhood movement, and you can see a lot of the leadership if you have the little slip of paper that Bishop Cousin has prepared, their names at the bottom are called At-large Members of the General Board. And the key leadership of the Brotherhood movement is listed there, and some of us, as secondary members of the General Board, were not on there. We were conspirators without visibility. But it was a major effort to reform the church, and if my memory serves me right, it had the following intentions: To submit and have the African Methodist Episcopal Church operate on an inclusive General Budget, connectionalize fiscal policy in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and to bring accountability to the management of the money in the Church.

Another intention was to stop and correct abuses which were occurring both with finance and personnel by some of the bishops in the church. Yes, I have the right to talk about us, too. It passed legislation creating the General Board to fulfill the goals which it had established. And as a secondary matter, created a General Board of Higher Education in order to oversee the educational institutions in our church and the other functions of education were deferred to Commissions of the General Board. The final purpose was to democratize the oversight of money in the church by expanding a participation of those who made the decisions to equal representation on the General Board—two (2) clergy, two (2) lay originally, and later on, as Valerie (Bell) so clearly explained, a youth delegate. It was added, I believe, in 1972. These were the purposes of the Brotherhood movement, and the Brotherhood movement submitted legislation to the General Conference to accomplish these goals.

It was a radical surprise, to most of us who sponsored this, that we had such widespread support. But the General Budget and the accompanying General Board and all of the other goals which were submitted into legislation were overwhelmingly passed despite the opposition of most of the bishops of the Church.

What were its missions? To connectionalize—and I keep saying that word because I see the sense of connection being diminished in the life of our Church—but to connectionalize the oversight of money and programs in the life of the church. To bring accountability not only for money—and I hope we will expand our understanding of the word accountability, that accountability refers to anything you are authorized to do you are accountable to the people who authorized you to do it—and so we are accountable for our prerogatives, our authorities, our performance, as well as our money. Improve the quality of our schools, to assist our schools in the accreditation process and to assist our schools in building development capacity and to do something we did then but which has been now given the fantasy name of institutional effectiveness.

And for those of you who do not play around with the educational jargon, let me just explain that it ain’t that complicated. Institutional effectiveness is, you evaluate it, you recommend what you ought to do to improve it, you implement the recommendation, then you start the process over again and you repeat it, and repeat it, and repeat it, hoping every time you repeat it your institution performs a little better.

So, the General Board of Higher Education was created, and Christian Education and the other educational functions were put under the supervision of a Commission of the General Board. But, a General Board of Higher Education was created and represented by one (1) person elected from each Episcopal District and two or three positions at-large.

Now you all need to understand the politics of the church. The “at-large positions” were created so that the radicals who started this could get elected to something. There was no way Ralph Jackson or Ezra Johnson, or Edward Lamb or McCoy Ransom could get elected to anything, anywhere, by any bishop presiding over the meeting.

So the “at-large positions” were created from the floor of the General Conference so that these brothers could have their places. And so the—now let me show you how visionary this is all about, because I want to give Ralph and Ezra and all those credit. They did all that fancy rabble-rousing, and Ralph and a couple of others who were truly charismatic personalities, but they were going to get the rest of us in the back room and pick our brains until there was nothing left. And they would take our stuff and put it in their own stuff-line of words and sell their product.

I said context, mission, not structure. Listen; there was a General Board of Higher Education. There was at that time a general officer department called the Secretary of Education, and a subsidiary of the Board of Higher Education called the Executive Commission of Higher Education. The General Board of Higher Education was made up of churchmen and churchwomen from the Districts. The Executive Commission was made up of selected professional educators who were also members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. So you had a structure of church representation, an officer responsible for the administration of education, and an executive commission composed of professional educators to assist the schools in the technology of running an institution. So that was the structure.

The process, the Executive Commission was authorized to annually review the operation of every one of our institutions of higher education. And since 1956 when I was also elected President of Paul Quinn College, a visit from the Executive Commission was just like a visit from the accrediting association. They looked “under the bed and they looked at everything the institution was doing.”

So this annual review of educational institutions was based on Best practices. They looked at governance. The fact that many of our institutions are no longer composed only of AME’s elected by our annual conferences started here with recommendation from the Executive Commission that we needed to have on our boards, people with wisdom, wealth, or at least access to wisdom and wealth.

They reviewed administration and many of us, like me, were educated when we assumed the presidency of an academic institution. I was elected President of Paul Quinn College. I became an educator when I learned how to be President of Paul Quinn College. So there’s a difference between being educated and being an educator. And we thank you for the process.

They reviewed academic life, they reviewed student life, they looked at your facilities and how well you kept them, they looked at your financial information and management systems, and they looked at the religious life on the campuses of African Methodist Episcopal Colleges, which frequently had less religion on them than the state universities down the street. They reviewed the resources, the property. Do we really know how wealthy we are in property assets? Do we have anywhere a tabulation of the total value of the properties in the name of the African Methodist Episcopal Church?

And if you expanded that to include the properties of people who are members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, you would have an astronomical leveraging number to dance with the big bucks. We have assets in endowments. We have assets in money. We have remarkable assets in personnel. All of the educators put on the Executive Committee were members of the AME Church, and they were PhD’s from all of the country, all kinds of universities and schools. In our Church there is a reservoir of talent which we had better soon learn how to use more effectively.

One of our greatest assets is our fabulous history. Daniel Alexander Payne bought Wilberforce with no money and it is the linchpin of black higher education in America. I chastised the distinguished author, Lerone Bennett when he listed the 50 most important Black people in American History and left Daniel Alexander Payne off the list. I called him and cursed him out and asked him, “How dare you leave the Father of Higher Education in this country for Black folks out of the list of the 50 most important folk in our history.” He apologized. I said, “Yea, but that does not correct your record.”

Our other great asset and resource is our mission, and I really—Bishop (Chappelle) may I take a moment? You gave me a time limit and I have exceeded it, (smiling) but this is getting good to me now.

We need to remember our mission. Our schools were created because our children had nowhere else to go. Let me tell you that mission is still valid. The young people who are victims of poverty and living in the dangers of “the hood” need a place to go to college. The young people who can’t make a 1200 or 1400 on the SAT test need a place to go to school. And it is the mission of the Church to meet the needs of the needy and not the needs of the elite. And so we have a powerful mission. You know I like the way Bishop Bearden use to say it about Morris Brown, “Spellman and Morehouse were given to us by rich white folks. We put Morris Brown together for ourselves.” And, if for no other reason than our integrity as a people, we got to find a way to save Morris Brown.

Now let me do three things real quick and I will sit down. I went to a Black school, I taught at a Black school, I was President of a Black school, and I have been Chairman of the Board of seven of them. So you know you put me up to talk about Black Higher Education, you opened up an encyclopedia which may not ever close.

There were some negatives. I was talking to somebody about the candidate for President (Mark Warner) who spoke last night and I said wonderful, but I said I like Clinton. He (the person I was speaking with) said oh you can’t like Clinton, Clinton was flawed. I said, “So was everybody else I know.”

There were flaws, there were negatives.

One was the Executive Commission on Higher Education got a little “heady” and began to overreach and began to offend the presidents and board chairs in the various schools. Yes! So it isn’t bad to have power, but it is bad not to know how to use it.

Secondly, this made for growing resistance from the colleges and episcopal districts in which the schools were located and what we need to understand is that most of these schools are owned by an annual conference or an episcopal district, not by the connection, even to this day!

And because of this new creation, the General Board of Higher Education and the Executive Commission could not deliver a quick and easy fix to long and hard problems, we grew impatient and decided before it had time to really work, to cut it off and eliminate it to the great harm of higher education in our Church. But the Executive Commission and the General Board of Higher Education and the General Secretary of Education brought external professional assistance to our schools that were invaluable.

I know that in my first few years as a President of the College, my ability to call somebody who had years of experience and people who were professionals in the field of higher education and talk about showing me how to deal with stuff that I had never heard of before was a very valuable resource. The visionary recommendations of governance and financial management and endowment building and how do you separate policy from administration. That’s a big issue with Black church-sponsored schools; it is not an issue with church-sponsored white schools.

The Archbishop of Washington fired a faculty member at Catholic University and the Accrediting Agency didn’t open its mouth. You let an AME Bishop walk across an AME Campus too many times in one week and some snitch on the faculty will call SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) and say, “The bishop is interfering in our work…” We are frequently, as I heard earlier, our own worse enemy. And so, the Church decided to eliminate all of this. It cut out the “secretary-ship” of education, cut out the General Board of Higher Education and submitted it to a Commission of the General Board, it eliminated the Executive Commission on Higher Education, and I think we were too impatient and those premature executions were done before we had done a full “DNA exam,” and I hope that in the reconfiguration of our vision of education for the African Methodist Episcopal Church those same capacities can be reinvented in some way so that it can help us attain authentic excellence in higher education.

7. THE RIGHT REVEREND FREDERICK CALHOUN JAMES SHARES RECOLLECTIONS OF THE FIRST GENERAL BOARD MEETING:

By Bishop Frederick Calhoun James

Thank you Senior Bishop.

To Senior Bishop, Phillip R. Cousin; Bishop Richard Allen Chappelle Sr., President of the General Board; Bishop Preston Warren Williams II, President of the Council of Bishops; Fellow and Sister Bishops of this Church of ours; General Officers, Members of the General Board; and those interested AME’s who appreciate what we are trying to do here to the extent that they are here with us at the closing of this session.

You asked me to bring reflections and to share some reflections on the first General Board, and I am very pleased to do that.

You have heard a tremendous presentation as to what the significance of the first General Board was from our first speaker (Mrs. Valerie Gary Bell), and you have heard of the oratory from our second speaker (Bishop John Hurst Adams), so all I need to do is just to give a few reflections and be seated. And that’s what I really want to do.

But I want to first just express my appreciation and the appreciation of so many folks to the leadership of the Council and to the leadership of the Board for programming this moment of remembrance and reflection. This is a time when the backward look may inform us, not only in the present as to what we are doing and how we are doing it, but possibly as to what we should be doing in the future in our best interest.

But it really was a challenging time. It was a time of revolution, challenge and daring aspirations. The times were changing in this country. With just less than two years, or just about two years from the Supreme Court decision of 1954 to desegregate our schools with all deliberate speed; and, we know what that turned out to be. And just a year from the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and many other activities of less media note taking place across our country suggesting the order of time for basic change.

It was no accident, then, that in the life of our church, as well-run as we were, there were those of us in the church who felt, at that time, that this was time, and an important time, to change. And that group was personified by a group known as the Brotherhood. Now there were many persons who were sisters who were supportive and they permitted us to use the word, “brother,” and “The Brotherhood” was our designation. But let the record show that we had strong support from the sisters. We had a sisterhood and a brotherhood working together to bring some change to the church.

We came into the 1956 General Conference in the month of May at the Dinner Key Auditorium at Miami, Florida, and we achieved a few things that we hadn’t done before. One of them was to elect an African bishop. Sentiment was strong that the time had come, in the middle of the century, for us to elect a bishop from Africa—a real African bishop. All of us came from Africa to some extent, but we were talking about one who had just left there and still lived there. And his name was the Reverend Dr. Francis Herman Gow.

The politics that had been already set up for the General Conference to elect four bishops as they were expecting to elect--before the Episcopal Committee told us that we could definitely, and should elect five—but the decision was to elect an indigenous African bishop first. To get that African bishop elected first and let the politics do what we had planned to do for the other four. And that’s what it did. Bishop Gow was the first one elected, and that was done.

And, the second thing was the use of an opaque projector for the election process. We always had that “other system” of election. Now when I say the “other system,” a lot of the older ministers and laymen in here know what I am talking about. But Dr. Rembert Stokes, later Bishop Stokes, was President of Wilberforce, I believe at the time, or was Dean of the Seminary, was the leading spirit in bringing that opaque projector. Something that gave everybody at General Conference a look to see what was going on with those ballots, and although there were those who found a way, to find a way…but we saw more than we had ever seen before at the General Conference at election time in 1956.

And, of course, the third thing, and there were other things, but perhaps the great thing was the creation of the General Board.

Now, you know we were replacing the “dollar money” the almighty dollar money system. The dollar money system was the system in which the Finance Department got 48 percent, Pension Department got 31½ percent, Conference Contingent got 5 percent, Education Department got 5 percent, the Mission Department got 5 percent, Church Extension Department got 4 percent, and the Christian Education Department got the remaining 1½ percent of a dollar. To do everything that the AME Church was doing on all continents, everywhere we operated, it was a heading under a general title. All money matters in our church were headed under a general title called “Temporary Economy.”

When some of us came into the Church in the 40’s and 50’s and before then we had to learn what was meant by “Temporary Economy” on all levels, right on down to the church level. That meant that you were dealing with paying everybody—Bishops, General Officers, what you were paying for schools, what you were paying for missions, what you were paying for whatever money mattered--this was under “Temporary Economy,” and it was really at the discretion of the bishops of the Church and those who the Bishop had around them.

Some of the earlier speakers spoke eloquently of the “unaccountability” of that system, and how difficult it was for anybody to question, or get an understanding as to why, or wherefore, or get a total of what really went down as related to money. And so, it was in 1952 at the General Conference in Chicago that a small group of us got together. They had been talking about a Brotherhood, a group of foot soldiers of persons who were willing to lay their political lives on the line, who were willing to take the chances to become outcasts to lose whatever churches we had to somebody who would be very quiet and not rocking any boat. But I remember Archibald Carey, H. H. Cherry, and others at that time being real good hosts for those late night meetings and a group of us led on by some persons I want to name in a minute or so, who constituted the core of that Brotherhood from the various Districts.

Now there were many persons who participated, some more to a greater extent than others, but to be identified, to go to a meeting was a dangerous thing. Not good for your church-life and your future. Not real good for the health of your career. But we did, and during the four years the anticipation of an action to come up with a system with more transparency; a system that would give greater clarity; a system that would combine and “connectionalize,” as we said, and be accountable. A system certainly that we had not heard of before, we would go about our duties now in the very efficient way that we had gone about them, not realizing how different this was. This was another world, the General Board of 1956. And, so, we began to work on this program, The Brotherhood, to create a system for the betterment of the church at whatever cost we were to do that. And that is what really powered this movement.

Reflections of the first General Board were almost sentimental and nostalgic because so many of us felt that we were survivors, and were survivors. We knew the General Board--we knew the system better than anybody did because nobody paid any attention. Most of the bishops weren’t worried about it because they said, “We aren’t worried about it.” My Bishop said, “Yes, we’ll go to the meetings because we want our men to be regular,” and said to those, a few of us who went from our District, “You know nothing, it’s not going to pass, but I want my men to be regular. If they are talking about something, yes it’s radical. He said, “Yes, go to the meeting.” I said, “Thank you Bishop.” I felt that at least we wouldn’t lose our church at annual conference since the bishop told us that we could go. And so, Frank Veal asked Bishop Reid, the question of Bishop Frank Madison Reid, “Why do you say, Bishop that it can’t pass?” Bishop Reid responded, “It won’t pass because a bishop will be presiding every minute of the General Conference and no Bishop will let it pass.”

But that’s where he had made his mistake. There were two bishops who were friendly to the General Board and to the idea of some change. Many of the bishops were doing a great job, as is always the case, with the old system. To assume that every bishop was doing the wrong thing is a false assumption, as it is now, and as it always is. Like bishop, like people, like people, like bishop, we are all in this thing together.

And so, it was that in 1953 we started going from one part of the country to another. We assigned work of various areas of this General Board, and what we came up with was a larger umbrella for a centralized accountable of AME funding. We came up with a stipulated level of support and orderly system of support for all areas of the AME Church. We did not have that. We came up with a more representative connectional board by district and clergy, with so many guaranteed laypersons and so many guaranteed clergy persons from the various districts. I was fortunate enough to be elected at the age of 34 as a member of the first General Board and served as Secretary of the Commission on Finance and Statistics. Bishop William Reid Wilkes was Chairman of that Commission at that time. But the members of the Brotherhood bridged the success of the General Board, because the members of the Brotherhood had put it together and knew most about it, and what they did was obviously successful because it has certainly worked for 50 years.

Now I want to close my remarks by just naming some of the persons who were active in all of this growing, because all of us stayed broke. I have laid out some names, so understand some of which may be right and some of whom may be here right now, but I am talking about some core members with others who were also very, very active. It’s always dangerous when you start calling names, but on reflections like this at a time like this I think it is important to do so. A core Brotherhood, we all think of H. Ralph Jackson. I am going to start with the First District and just name some persons who just jump out in mind to me and you will add them in, and you will speak to each other and talk to other persons that I did not call, and they were truly part of the core. So I am telling you to start with don’t expect me to remember all of them, because when you pass your eightieth birthday you don’t remember all you did before you did. From that First District I think of M. E. Jackson. I think of the Rev. R. R. Stokes. From the Second District I think of the Rev. Sam Gow and A. R. Powell. They hardly missed a meeting. From the Third District, I think of the Revs. U. A. Hughey, Rembert Stokes, R. C. Everhart. These were some of the stalwarts. From the Fourth District I think of Arch Carey.

Bishop Gomez was so much against this; he was passionate against the change and against the movement at this time. One of our great bishops, and perhaps his system was just as good as this one, but men of the Fourth District, strong men and women did not join us but Arch Carey made up for a whole lot of them. Fifth District, the Reverends Woody Hall, James Oxley. These guys would stand on the floor and argue with St. Peter and argue long enough to make St. Peter laugh. F. Lemoyne Whitlock, who not only was a great speaker but was also a great writer, a great favor, a great organizer, having an analytical mind stood his ground. F. Lemoyne Whitlock, Frank Madison Reid Jr., leader—leader, not early on he wasn’t, but later Frank Jr. became very committed, very active in the Brotherhood. McCoy Ransom was the brains for us. Sixth District, the then Rev. H. I. Bearden. Always we think of Bearden who was only 20 years old. Seventh District, the Rev. Frank R. Veal, the Rev. H. B. Butler. The Eighth District, the Rev. G. H. J. Thibodeaux. The Ninth District, the Rev. Sam Davis and the Rev. C. E. Thomas, the Rev. R. W. Hilson. These were gorilla fighters, and Rev. Swanson from Mobile. Tenth District, the Rev. John Walker, the philosopher, and Ed Gibson from Waco. The Eleventh District, the Rev. R. E. Lamb and the Rev. E. J. Blackman. The Twelfth District, the Rev. Ezra Johnson—great architect and a great part of the brains for us. The Rev. Jim Hunter and the Rev. J. M. Granberry from Oklahoma. The Thirteenth District, there is where the Rev. H. Ralph Jackson, who was the undisputed ramrod, the leader of the Brotherhood, and Dr. Jamye Coleman’s brother (Frederick Douglas “Buster” Coleman Jr., M.D.), who was also very, very active coming out of that District. The Rev. Elmer Martin, the saintly, godly minister who was sincere through and through. I am leaving out a great number of the great laymen, and I told you to start with I was going to leave some out, but they were a great part of it as well.

Thank God for what was done, thank God for the General Board, thank God for its leadership down through the years. Upon this platform where you see these Bishops, where you see these General Officers, you see a whole lot of what has grown, what has been the result of that great leadership through all of these years. Because, see out there where you are, because some of you very active and very much in the leadership of doing this for our church we are moving forward. Our Church stands to lead. We are a great Church with members from all walks of life.
“THE AVERAGE MAN (WOMAN)”

The average man (person) is the man (person) of the mill,
The man (person) of the valley, the man (person) of the hill,
The man at the throttle, the man (person) at the plow,
The man (person) with sweat of his (her) toil on his (her) brow;
Who brings into being the dreams of the few,
Who works for him/herself for me and for you.
There’s not a purpose, a project, or plan
That does not depend on the strength of the average man (person).

The growth of a city, the might of a land,
Depend on the fruit and the work of his /her hand.
The road or the wall or the mill or the mart
Call daily to him / her that he furnish his / her part.
The pride of the great and the hope of the low,
The ebb of the tide as it toils to and fro,
The reach of the rails and the countries they span
Have shown us the worth of the average man (person).

So here’s to the average man (person), to the one
Who has labored on the tasks he has done,
Who has met as they came all the problems of life,
Who has helped us to win in the stress and the strife.
In the forefront of progress since progress began
He / She is worth of our tribute—and we salute the average man (person)!

The African Methodist Episcopal Church has always been the Church of the average man (person). Levy J. Coppin puts it this way, he said:

“Oh! The church is moving on, the church is moving on,
From lowland and from valley, from mountain top they rally,
The battle bow is strong, the banner is out-flung,
And giant wrong no more is strong, for the church is moving on.”

8. A WORD OF DEEPEST GRATITUDE:

The Right Reverend William P. DeVeaux

I want to express from the depths of my heart my sincere thanks for the support Morris Brown College (MBC) has received from every portion of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Lay people as individuals and as an organized body, the Women’s Missionary Society, clergy and bishops have responded with single-minded commitment to our beloved College. The Council of Bishops, the General Board and the Treasurer/CFO of the AMEC have all functioned with dispatch to insure the viability of MBC.

My gratitude comes from the members of the Sixth Episcopal District, the MBC Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students. We are all in a day-to-day encounter with forces that could do serious harm to the College. Past debts, administrative errors, managerial problems and the loss of accreditation have made the losing of valuable portions of the campus a real possibility. However, at just the right time, the Council of Bishops, the General Board, Dr. Richard A. Lewis (AMEC Treasurer/CFO) and the committed AME’s from across the Church intervened. This intervention came in the form of purchasing bonds and corporate indebtedness that insured that the largest portion of MBC remained under the control of the AME Church. I should also add that the AMEC bought the bonds under assignment, securing that we now hold a valid, enforceable safe first mortgage position. This means that this money will be returned to the Church even if the direst of circumstances should occur. A smaller, three-parcel section of the campus is encumbered by a bondholder. We intend to redeem these bonds through a partnership with developers.

The plan for the future embodies a parallel effort that is designed to secure the entire campus and restore to MBC to full accreditation and scholarly productivity. Ownership of the land is a crucial first step because accreditation can only be regained after financial stability has been achieved. The unfolding scheme must include partnership with development interests that are committed to higher education. In addition, we are seeking the participation of other educators, especially those at the secondary level.

Our vision is to have a campus fully integrated with multipurpose facilities that insure the integrity of the learning centers for MBC. This design we believe is critical to the restoration of MBC. We will be using all of our assets to bring in a stream of revenue and to provide learning opportunities for our students who are interested in the fields of management and commerce.

The AME Church’s involvement has provided much needed time to structure the business arrangement to keep the land under Church control, while opening a new opportunity for educational viability in the future. My pride in the rapid response of the Church to our dilemma is only exceeded by my tremendous sense of gratitude.

May God continue to bless our Zion.


William P. DeVeaux
Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church

9. THE REVEREND DEE HAIGLER, AN ITINERANT ELDER FROM THE SIXTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT IS RUNNING FOR THE STATE SENATE SEAT OF DISTRICT 43 IN GEORGIA AND SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP:

“With every generation there comes a person who will speak up for the least of these.”

The Reverend Haigler is in a heated and highly contested race for the state senate. Being one of five candidates, Reverend Haigler has steadily moved up to the top by garnering five of the top endorsements, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution (the leading print newspaper in Georgia).

The Atlanta Journal Constitution says “The best choice among the five is political activist Dee Haigler. When she lived in South Carolina, Haigler served on that state's Juvenile Parole Board, and she has also been a PTA president, a soccer and cheerleading coach and a political strategist, a résumé that would serve her well in the Senate.”

Reverend Haigler has offered herself to public service once again, and now she needs our help. With the election on Tuesday, July 18th (less than 7 days away), Reverend Haigler needs your financial support to WIN this race for the residents of District 43.

As an Itinerant Elder in the 6th Episcopal District and a member of the Board of Trustee’s with Turner Theological Seminary, Reverend Haigler has been compared to legendary public servants & speakers such as Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Bishop Henry McNeal Turner. Georgia needs Reverend Haigler and we must help her…help others!

Campaign funds have been exhausted and Reverend Haigler needs your help now!

Please give now, in any amount you can give. To give online now, please visit:

http://www.campaignwindow.com/dee4senate/contribute/index.cfm?Fuseaction=contribute

Or send a check or money order to:

Campaign to Elect Dee Haigler
6050 Kingston Wood Way
Lithonia, Georgia 30038

To contact the “Dee for Senate Headquarters”: via telephone, call (404) 788-9875 or visit www.dee4senate.com

10. TEN THINGS THE AME CHURCH SHOULD DO RIGHT NOW:

Bill Dickens*

In order to fulfill the eight point Mission Statement of the African Methodist Episcopal Church requires a clear and decisive plan of action. The proposal below seeks to fulfill our mandate. The AME Church is vitally important because she offers “H.O.P.E.” (History, Organization, Politics & Education) to her members. Let’s keep HOPE alive.

1. Start a $1 Billion Dollar Capital Campaign by asking one million AME members to donate $100 annually for ten years until the bicentennial year of 2016. This fund would be used specifically for infrastructure acquisition/improvements (e.g. elementary schools, colleges, hospitals, hotels, etc), salary adjustments for all clergy (including Bishops) and upgrading our rural churches.

2. Eliminate 30% of current Connectional Meetings. Teleconferencing should be emphasized to save time and resources. We meet entirely too much and spend too much money in hotels that don’t have any meaningful impact in our communities.

3. Restructure/realign the US Episcopal Districts. The current geographic configuration of our districts is short of gerrymandering. The 5th is too large and we have too many single-state districts. Consolidation is necessary.

4. Repeal mandatory retirement age for Bishops and clergy. We don’t require mandatory retirement for lay so it is unfair to impose this requirement on clergy. A better solution would be to allow Bishops after age 75 to serve only if they have been re-elected.

5. Develop a portable, pocket-size AME Discipline. We have pocket size Bibles for quick reference. The same convenience should extend to the Discipline. The current Discipline is too large to carry around.

6. Expand voting privileges at the General Conference to include non-delegates. Technology can enable all to vote not just delegates.

7. Require all AME Pastors to teach a regular Church School class. Interest in Church School is at an all-time low. The future of AME Church Schools depends on pastoral participation.

8. Require all local church officers to demonstrate basic Biblical and AME literacy. Too many stewards and trustees know very little Scripture or the inner workings of the AME Church. The habit of appointing individuals who do not possess the basic requirements of service should cease and desist.

9. Repeal the upper requirement of 19 maximum stewards and/or trustees. Why should a church with 2,000 members have the same number of trustees as a church with 200 members? The current ceiling creates an inefficient outcome. What is so special about the number 19?

10. Equip every AME Church with Internet connectivity (preferably broadband). Why do we continue to operate the 21st century church with 20th century technology?

*Bethel AME Church
Tallahassee, Florida

Asst. Church School District Superintendent for the Tallahassee District
Email - dickensb@comcast.net


11. THE 2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SERIES FOR THE FOURTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT:

Please Note: All Annual Conferences in the 4th Episcopal District begin on Monday (Evangelism) with the exception of Canada which begins on Tuesday (Evangelism).

Canada: August 8-12
Host Church: Campbell - Chatham, Ontario
Wheels! Inn, 615 Richmond Street, Chatham, Ontario
519-351-1100; 800-265-5257
Reservation Deadline: July 7th
Room Rate: Atrium - 109.00 per night; Tower - 99.00 per night

Michigan: August 21-27
Host Church: First Community, Grand Rapids
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, 187 Monroe NW, Grand Rapids
614-774-2000
Reservation Deadline: July 21st
Room Rate: 100.00 per night (single/double); 110.00 per night (triple/quad) Parking: 5.00 per day (unlimited in/out privileges); Valet - 15.00 per day

Illinois: September 11-17
Host Churches: St. Paul, St. John, and Faith Temple (Springfield, IL)
Decatur Conference Center and Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn Select)
4191 US Highway 36 West, Decatur, Illinois
217-422-8800
Reservation Deadline: August 10th
Room Rate: 94.00 per night

Indiana: September 25-30
Host Church: Turner Chapel, Fort Wayne
Hilton (Grand Wayne Center), 1020 South Calhoun Street, Fort Wayne, IN
260-420-1100
Reservation Deadline: September 1stRoom Rate: 99.00 per night (single/double); 109.00 per night (triple/quad)

Chicago: October 9-15
Host Church: St. John, Aurora
Wyndham Hotel, 3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL630-505-1000
Reservation Deadline: September 8th
Room Rate: 109.00 per night (single/double/triple/quad)

12. THE 12TH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Christian Leadership Congress
Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, Oklahoma
July 9-15

Oklahoma Conference WMS September 5

Oklahoma Annual Conference September 6-10
1st A.M.E. Church
Oklahoma City, OK

Central Northeast Oklahoma WMS September 12

CNE Oklahoma Annual Conference September 13-17
St. Paul A.M. E. Church
Tulsa, Oklahoma

East Northeast Arkansas WMS October 3

ENE Arkansas Annual Conference October 4–8
St. Luke A. M. E. Church Forrest City, Arkansas

Central Arkansas WMS October 10

Central Arkansas Annual Conference October 11-15
Curry Chapel A. M. E. Church Strong, Arkansas

South Arkansas WMS October 24

S. Arkansas Annual Conference October 5-29
Soldier’s Chapel A. M. E. Church
Hamburg, Arkansas

West Arkansas Annual WMS November 7

W. Arkansas Conference November 8--12
St. Paul A.M.E. Church Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Arkansas Conference WMS November 14

Arkansas Annual Conference November 15 - 19
Greater Bethel A. M. E. Church North Little Rock, Arkansas

Episcopal District Planning Meeting
December 7 - 9, 2006
Avery Chapel A. M. E. Church
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Submitted by: Ann Gilkey, 12th Public Relations Director

13. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

The Rev. Earl G. Harris, Pastor of Greater Allen A.M.E. Church, Dayton Ohio, received the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wilberforce University. He was also honored by the Dayton Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund and received the James E. Stamps Award for his efforts in providing and stimulating higher educational opportunities for the youth in the Dayton community by raising funds for historically black colleges and universities.

Congratulatory messages can be sent to

The Rev. Dr. Earl G. Harris, Pastor
Greater Allen A.M.E. Church
1620 West 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402-2910

Or

E-mail him at: GtrAllenAMEChr@aol.com

14. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Presiding Elder Leonard N. Williams, Sr. (Indiana Conference, North District) and Mrs. Delores L. Kennedy-Williams (Fifth WMS Connectional President) will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, July 8, 2006. Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow!

Congratulatory Messages may be sent to: DeeKW@aol.com, PElderWMS@aol.com or mailed to: 419 West 40th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208

15. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

Dwayne Teniko Hassell graduated from Bayside High School in Bayside, New York on June 27th, 2006 with Honors and the New York State Advanced Regents Diploma. He is the son of Rev. D. Terry and Mrs. Andrea Hassell of Carter Community AME in Jamaica, New York. He plans to attend Florida A&M University in the fall.

Congratulatory messages can be sent to: adhassell@juno.com

16. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

The Reverend and Mrs. Earl G. Harris, Greater Allen A.M.E. Church, Dayton, Ohio proudly announces the birth of their precious granddaughter "Morgan," born June 30th, 2006. The proud parents of the 7 lb, 1 oz. bundle of joy are Mr. & Mrs. Derrick Thomas. Mommy (Michelle) and baby Morgan are doing fine.

Congratulatory messages may be sent to Mrs. Harris at Wpajcph@aol.com and to Reverend Harris at GtrAllenAMEChr@aol.com.

17. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

Congratulations to Rev. Billy Rae Hunter and Sister Cristen Watson who were united in Holy Matrimony on July 1, 2006 at St. John AME Church, Norfolk Virginia. Rev. Hunter serves as pastor of Bethel AME Church, Onancock, Virginia. May God bless this union?

Congratulatory messages may be sent to:
Rev. & Mrs. Billy Rae Hunter
c/o Bethel AME Church
40 Boundary Avenue
Onancock, VA 23417

18. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

The Reverend Alexander Gatson, pastor of St. James A.M.E. Church, Dickson, TN received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Management on May 5, 2006 from Austin Peay State University, Clarksville TN.

Congratulatory messages may be sent to: gatsona@bellsouth.net

19. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY NOTICE:

Benjamin N. Thomas, Jr. will graduate from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Friday, July 28 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. Benjamin presently serves as Episcopal YPD President of the Fifth Episcopal District. After accepting his call to the ministry, he plans to further his education at ITC (Interdenominational Theological Center).

Benjamin is the son of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin N. and Beverly Thomas, Pastor of Tanner Chapel A.M.E. Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Congratulatory messages may be sent to wmsbev@aol.com

20. CLERGY FAMILY CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES PROVIDED BY:

Congratulatory Messages/Praise Reports are posted by the Clergy Family Information Center on Friday of each week. Clergy Family Births, Graduations, Weddings and Wedding Anniversaries (25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 75th)

21. EPISCOPAL CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: thburges@bellsouth.net
Office of the 13th Episcopal District
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Presiding Bishop

Funeral arrangements for Mrs. Carlita Murphy Jones, wife of the Rev. Leeland Jones, Sr. and aunt of Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie:Monday, July 10, 2006
Family Visitation: 12:00 Noon
Funeral: 1:00 PMBethel AME Church1525 Michigan AvenueBuffalo, New York 14209
716-886-1650 (Phone)
718-886-2311 (Fax)
Special note!

“When she, my mother and the rest - five daughters- were little they were dressed often in blue. Her last party was a blue party in May. So, everyone is wearing blue, blue flowers, blue cards, blue everything.” Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie

Condolences can be sent to:

The Rev. Leeland Jones, Sr
89 E. DepewBuffalo, New York 14214

Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie
500 8th Avenue South, Suite 201
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 242-6814 (Phone) (615) 242-2496 (Fax)

Email: 13th_episcopal@bellsouth.net

22. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: WaymanAME@aol.com

Michael McKinney, former President of the Young People's Division of the Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1987-1991) passed away on Sunday morning, July 9, 2006 in Madison, WI. He was the only son of Mrs. Barbara McKinney and the nephew of the Late Dr. Joseph C. McKinney (Former Treasurer of the AME Church)

The funeral service arrangements for former Connectional President of the Y.P.D., A.M.E. Church, Mr. Michael McKinney, who served from 1987-1991.

Memorial Services:
Friday, July 14, 2006
10:00 AM
Highpoint Church
7702 Old Sauk Rd.
Madison, Wisconsin

Home Church
S.S. Morris Community AME Church
3511 Milwaukee St.
Madison, Wisconsin 53714
608-249-4555 (Phone)
The Reverend Gregory Armstrong, Pastor

St. Louis Services:
Sunday, July 16, 2006
5:00 PM
Wayman AME Church
5010 Cabanne Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63113
314-361-4123 (Phone)
(314) 361-5358 (Fax
Dr. Timothy E. Tyler, Pastor

Condolences can be sent to:
Ms. Barbara McKinney (Mother)
1209 Dayflower Dr.
Madison, Wisconsin 53719
(608) 829-0635

A scholarship fund has been established in Michael McKinney's name at S.S. Morris Community AME Church.

Monetary contributions should be sent to:
The Michael McKinney Scholarship Fund
S.S. Morris Community A.M.E. Church
3511 Milwaukee Street
Madison, WI 53714

23. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: SmithAYH@aol.com
Angela Hawthorne Smith (7th District, AMEC)

The funeral arrangements for the Reverend W. David Shephard, Jr., retired pastor of the Central SC Conference, Seventh Episcopal District AMEC and husband of Mrs. Doretha Mazck Shephard.

Funeral Home
Eutawville Community Funeral Home, Inc.
440 Porcher Ave.
Eutawville, SC 29048
Phone: (803) 492-3150
Fax: (803) 492-3152

Family Visitation
Wednesday July 12, 2006 - (5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
Eutawville Community Funeral Home, Inc.

Funeral Service
Thursday, July 13, 2006 - (1:00 p.m.)
Greater Target AMEC
Hwy. 176
Holly Hill, SC
Phone: (803) 496-5979
Rev. A. R. Kollock, Pastor

Memorial Donation to:
Meals-On-Wheels
Greater Target AMEC

Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Doretha Mazck Shephard
7299 Old State Road
Holly Hill, SC 29059
Phone: (803) 496-3702

24. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: The Office of the First Episcopal District

The homegoing Service arrangements for the Reverend Dwayne Alfred Moore, Pastor of St. Mark A.M.E. Church, Jackson Heights, NY, Manhattan District, New York Annual Conference of the 1st Episcopal District. The Right Reverend Richard F. Norris, Presiding Bishop.

Viewing:
Thursday, July 6, 2006
5:00-7:00 p.m.
St. Mark A.M.E. Church
95-18 Northern Blvd.
Jackson Heights, NY
718-899-3306 (Phone)
718-899-1636 (Fax)
Email: stmarkamechurch@nyc.rr.com

Home Going Service:
Thursday, July 6, 2006
7:00 p.m.
St. Mark A.M.E. Church
95-18 Northern Blvd.
Jackson Heights, NY
718-899-3306 (Phone)
718-899-1636 (Fax)
Email: stmarkamechurch@nyc.rr.com

Viewing:
Saturday, July 8, 2006
10:00 a.m. - 12 Noon
Bethel A.M.E. Church
2720 Webster Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA
412-683-2160 (Phone)
412-683-5743 (Fax)

Home Going Service:
Saturday, July 8, 2006
12:00 Noon
Bethel A.M.E. Church
2720 Webster Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA
412-683-2160 (Phone)
412-683-5743 (Fax)

Expressions of sympathy may still be sent to his wife, Mrs. Yvette Moore and family in c/o of St. Mark A.M.E. Church, Jackson Heights, NY.

Or expressions may be sent to Bethel A.M.E. Church, Pittsburgh, PA.

25. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: dannyjack55@hotmail.com

This is to inform you of the tragic death of Brother William De Lilly, the father of the Rev. Marco De Lilly, Pastor at John Hurst Adams AME Church - Port Elizabeth. Bro De Lilly was a member at Gow Chapel AME Church, Kraaifontein in the Cape Annual Conference of the 15th Episcopal District, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Lawrence Green, Sr. the Presiding Prelate.

The funeral will take place on Saturday, July 08, 2006 at 08h00 from his house and at 09h00 from the church, the Rev Daniel J. Jacobs the Pastor, Presiding.

Messages of condolence can be forwarded to Rev Marco De Lilly at 011-27-21-9883931.

The Rev Daniel J. Jacobs

26. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT NOTICE:

From: 1wim@htcomp.net

The Reverend Cynthia Williams, Pastor of Grace Temple A.M.E. Church, Corsicana, TX (North Texas Annual Conference) and wife of the Rev. Dr. R. Charles Williams, Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church, Greenville, TX passed on to be with THE LORD

(Texas) Service arrangements for The Reverend Cynthia Williams:

Wake
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
6:00 PM –8:00 PM
Bethel A.M.E. Church
2109 Wesley Street
Greenville, TX 75401
PH: (903) 455-2510Homegoing Service:

Wednesday, July 5, 2006
1:00 PM
Bethel A.M.E. Church
2109 Wesley Street
Greenville, TX 75401
PH: (903) 455-2510Rev. Dr. R. Charles Williams, Pastor

Professional services in Texas provided by:
Cozin -Tarver Funeral Home
1608 King StreetGreenville, Texas 75401PH: (903) 455-5330 OR (903) 268-5591FAX: (903) 454-2677

(Arkansas) service arrangements
Wake:
Friday, July 7, 2006
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Mitchell Funeral Home
1809 Caddo Street
Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923
PH: (870) 246-2611FAX: (870) 246-2964

Homegoing Service:
Saturday, July 8, 2006
1:00 PM
Pleasant Hill A.M.E. Church
2711 Country Club Road
Joan, Arkansas 71923
PH: (870) 246-2266
The Rev. Jethro Harris, Pastor

Professional services in Arkansas provided by:
Mitchell Funeral Home
1809 Caddo Street
Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923
PH: (870) 246-2611FAX: (870) 246-2964

Condolences may be sent to:

The Rev. Dr. Ray Charles Williams & Family
14833 Spring Creek Road, #126
Dallas, TX 75248

PH: (972) 404-1872
And/Or

The Grace Temple A.M.E. Church Family
402 E. 14th Avenue
Corsicana, Texas 75110
PH: (903) 874-2667

Please continue to pray for the Rev. Dr. R. Charles Williams, the entire Williams family as well as the Grace Temple A.M.E. Church family in Corsicana, Texas.

The Rev. Dr. Sherryl A. Matlock-Pastor
St. James A.M.E. Church
1107 E. Oak Street-Denton, Texas 76205

27. CLERGY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PROVIDED BY:

Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Chair
Commission on Social Action Clergy Family Information Center
Ora L. EasleyEmail: Amespouses1@aol.comPhone: (615) 837-9736Fax: (615) 833-3781Voice Mail: (615) 833-6936Cell: (615) 403-7751

28. CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FROM THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER:

The Chair of the Commission on Publications, the Right Reverend Gregory G. M. Ingram; the Publisher, the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour and the Editor of the Christian Recorder, the Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III offer our condolences and prayers to those who have lost loved ones. We pray that the peace of Christ will be with you during this time of your bereavement