I was humbled with the honor of serving as a delegate to the 48th Quadrennial Session of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church (further referred to as 48GenConf). Amidst the ongoing recognition of Reverend Fathers, General Officers, Missionary Supervisors, visitors and friends, work was done. Zion’s “Pomp and Circumstance”, although agonizing at first, is a reality that one could grow to love.

Tuesday Evening was the Evangelism Service. Rev. Dr. W. Darin Moore, pastor of Greater Centennial AME Zion Church in New York brought the message. Before he preached he asked his brother, Rev. Scot Moore pastor of Judah Temple AME Zion Church in Mitchelville, MD, to bless him in song. When he sang “Never Would’ve Made It”, the whole house went in!! Rev. Dr. W. Darin Moore preached from the subject “We Had to Go Through It” reminding us that its in our struggle that God gives us revelation. It was a wonderful way to began this week of work.

As we all know, WHENEVER Zion comes together we have to have a communion service (my comments on that will be saved for another blog.) Considering that this service was the official opening of the 48GenConf, I’d have to say we did pretty okay. Zion is a “grand” church. So you know we had an organ playing, anthems & hymns were sung (including “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”, “And Are We Yet Alive”, “Zion Stands with HIlls Surrounded”, and we all know that the Invitational Hymn was “Just as I Am”), Rev. M.J. Byrd & Rev. Dr. C.B. Marshall led us in the Via De La Rosa–at every service. The WORD was great though. Bishop Clarence Carr, who retired this year, brought a word!!! “Giving Hope a Chance” Bishop Carr is a preaching man, and no one can say any different. Yall are gonna have to hit up Dove Conference Services and get that sermon. (the link is provided…lol)

The first session followed the Communion service. Now, the program read:

Devotion
Greetings-The Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States of America
Organization of the General Conference

Let me just say a few things here. First of all, I’m glad that he didn’t speak before we organized the General Conference. I was further blessed that he didn’t come at all. I was expecting, however, to hear from Obama and McCain…that didn’t happen either. They were nowhere on the program, but the Board of Bishops says that they did extend invitations to both candidates. I know that Obama is overseas, I’m considering forgiving him…

So anyway, the 48GenConf officially convened and we had a total of 664 delegates. Bishop Jarrett and Bishop Monroe read the Quadrennial Address, which is basically an address from the Board of Bishops to the entire church. The address was commendable. Its focuses were Evangelism, Education, Empowerment, and Expansion. The address also asked that the church employ the theme:

“Maximizing Our Mission by Managing Our Ministry”

Quotes from the Quadrennial Address:

“The traditional maintains its value, but it must yield sufficiently to embrace the new. In turn, the new must be sensitive and appreciative of the old. Perhaps we are talking about no more than mutual respect. To the degree to which we are led by the spirit, we can learn from each other, from our past and from this current moment…In order to succeed one must know the selected group, appreciate what it values and be opened to diversifying our approaches in order to win them for Christ.”

“We must rekindle the flame that once burned so brightly in the field of education. We can demonstrate our commitment to do this by raising our standard for the ordained ministry, especially for candidates seeking elder’s orders…We must also discover ways of forming partnerships with the public schools in order to prepare our children for success.”

“The extension of our boundaries is not an option. It is a mandate….Expansion demands critical decisions being made based on a strategic plan….We became a great church by following the migratory patterns of our people.”

I would venture to say that Bishop Jarrett was one of the great minds of this writing. All these things are issues he has been raising for decades. He also retired this year. I hope that many of you will do research to learn about the great things he’s done for the CED and particularly for the VCYC.

During the evening session there were a lot of greetings from a lot of people. In all honesty, I took a nap, but I heard we had some big wigs come through. After I had the understanding that Obama wasn’t coming, the greetings meant less to me. That was Tuesday and Wednesday…I believe we started out pretty good.

-Ruth D. LaToison
VCYC Executive Vice President

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Atlanta, GA at the 48GenConf, I believe that had someone established protocol at some point we would’ve preserved about 30 minutes everyday…lol–hence the title of today’s blog. But we all know how we Zionites hate to be remissed (and I want you all to know that remissed isn’t a real word. I asked Merriam and Webster; they both confirmed that for me.)

So Thursday, Bishop Battle presided over the session in the morning and we heard the reports of the Bishops. I don’t really have much to say about that…except that after Bishop Jarrett’s report, I stood up to give commendations to him and his service. That was my first time at the mic on the General Conference floor. Mic 6 to be exact. Bishop Battle kept cutting me off…lol! I wasn’t even up there long! That’s the nature of the beast though. I was one of many that offered thanks to the bishops, especially those that were retiring. He was just trying to move the session along. The Bishops reports pushed us back. Therefore most of the other reports that were scheduled for Thursday evening weren’t heard until the Friday morning and Friday afternoon sessions.

I’ll only lift up one report, and that is the report of the Overseas Missions Department. The secretary-treasurer of that department is Rev. Dr. Kermit deGraffenreidt. He was one of the few reports that included media. He ended his report with a simple slideshow of pictures of various events that occurred overseas. That’s a major contrast from the WH&OMS reports that were given in Orlando, FL. I think just about every report included videos, pictures, and slideshows. The point is, however, that Dr. deGraffenreidt has given much service to the AME Zion church. Zionites from all across the world spoke to his efforts in overseas missions. Every overseas conference has an endearing nickname for him and a wonderful story about his stalwart accomplishments. Even Bishop Monroe publicly thanked him for traveling with him the first time he journeyed to Africa for his episcopal assignment. Selfishly, I’m devising a plan to go overseas with him…I guess I should get his number first, huh?

-Ruth D. LaToison
VCYC Executive Vice President

This was the big day! If people came to the 48GenConf for nothing else, they came for Elections, the Report of the Episcopal Committee, and the Consecration service…in that order. The Friday Evening session provided the excitement the people were looking for.

The company that the 48GenConf used probably didn’t think through the entire process of our elections. However, who shall we blame? In actuality, whoever was assigned to or elected to find that company that facilitated the process should have thought through certain points as well. Although this was my first General Conference as a delegate, I attended the 47GenConf as a member of Rev. McKain’s Youth Ambassador program in 2004. I remember plainly that the keypad company that facilitated elections had the delegates to vote 4 times by inputting the number that was assigned to each candidate followed by an enter sign. It went something like this:

1Holmes
2McCoy
3Hunter
4Monroe
5Somebody Else

So when we voted you just input “1, enter; 2, enter; 3, enter; 4, enter”

This new company brought up a slide for every candidate’s name and you input 1 for “Yes” and 2 for “No.” Now we all know that was some hoopla. It caused a lot of drama because, the company had no way of preventing the delegates from saying “Yes” to more than 3 candidates. Of course, the chair, among other delegates who came to the various mics, asked for “Christian people to vote with integrity.” All in all, it didn’t matter because the 3 candidates that received 443 votes first became bishops-elect, and as people dropped out of the running voting became less complicated.

It was the 9th ballot that gave us the 96th Bishop in line of Succession. With 456 votes, Rev. Dr. Darryl B. Starnes, Sr became the first bishop in the class of 2008. Now delegates were instructed to vote for 2 candidates. Two ballots later we elected Rev. Dr. Dennis V. Proctor, with 446 votes. During the 13th ballot, Bro. DWayne Chapman (a member of the YACM Steering Committee) had a seizure along the wall to the left of the bar. He was whisked away, and was fine by morning. Amid the confusion, by the 14th ballot we elected 3 bishops. With 456 votes, the Reverend Doctor Mildred “Bonnie” Hines was elected the 98th bishop in line of succession of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church. So the atmosphere can be accurately conveyed, I’d ask you to view the following videos:

Bishop Ekemam Announcing Rev. Dr. Mildred \”Bonnie\” Hines

Rev. Dr. Mildred \”Bonnie\” Hines adressing General Conference

It was truly an experience that I’ll never forget. Women were screaming from the time that we saw 456 next to Dr. Hines’ name until Bishop Holmes came to the podium reminding us that we still had the task of electing General Officers before us. What made the experience more memorable was that the women weren’t the only ones cheering. Even those who were soliciting votes for candidates that were not elected stood, with pride in their denomination, for electing the first female bishop of Zion after 212 years. It was truly amazing.

Thereafter the following General Officers were elected:

General Secretary-Auditor: Dr. W. Robert Johnson, III
Chief Financial Officer: Mrs. Shirley A. Welch
Editor, Star of Zion: Mr. Mike Lisby
Editor, The Quarterly Review: Rev. Dr. James David Armstrong
Secretary/Editor, Dept of Overseas Mission & Missionary Seer: Rev. Dr. Kermit deGraffendreidt

Secretary-Treasurer of the Brotherhood Pension & Ministerial Relief: Rev. Dr. David Miller
Secretary, Department of Christian Education: Rev. Dr. Raymon Hunt
Editor, Church School Literature: Dr. Mary A. Love
Secretary-Treasurer, Dept of Church Extension & Home Missions: Rev. Terrence J. Jones
Director of Public Affairs: Rev. George E. McKain, II
Director of Evangelism: Rev. Dr. Otis T. McMillan
Director of Health & Social Concerns: Dr. Bernard H. Sullivan, Jr.

The only new general officer was Rev. Dr. Otis T. McMillan, and the buzz is that he will do great things with the department.

After the elections, you really couldn’t do anything but close and Bishop Marshall Strickland prayed us out. Afterward people just stood around in awe trying to catch glimpses of the new bishops…especially Bishop Hines.

-Ruth D. LaToison
VCYC Executive Vice President

On Saturday of the 48GenConf, the day was made up of mostly voting on resolutions. Again we used the keypads. This time wasn’t as trying as the elections. A simple yes or no vote was good for resolutions. A couple days before resolutions were voted on, the Resolutions Committee came before the body and declared whether resolutions had merit or not. Those resolutions that had merit were sent to various committees that reported back whether or not they believed the resolution should be passed. Of the 163 resolutions that were submitted, 78 were said to have merit, and 38 passed (meaning that they are now laws that govern The AME Zion Church) Below you’ll find a list of the resolutions that passed as well as a small summary of them. There may be a couple that you’ll find interesting:

Resolution GC48R-01 Affirming Full Communion of Pan Methodist Churches

• So basically, this resolutions talks about various Methodist denominations recognizing each other as equals and recognizing our common beliefs and traditions

Resolution GC48R-03 Forgiveness and Reconciliation with the United Methodist Church

• The United Methodist Church apologized for the participating in acts that perpetuated racial divisions that led to the separation of the Methodist church into various denominations in May of 2000. This resolution basically confirms that we’ve officially acknowledged and accepted their repentance and have forgiven them for those acts.

Resolution GC48R-04 Criteria for the Office of Bishop in The AME Zion Church

• This resolution reinstated the qualification that an elder must have only one living wife in order to be eligible to run for Bishop.

Resolution GC48R-06 Qualifications for the Ordination of the Office of Elder:

• In order for a deacon to become an elder in the church he/she must have 2 years of Seminary training under their belt.

Resolution GC48R-08 Towards a Covenant of Shared Ministry

• This resolution established guidelines for moving a pastor from a church & it calls for pastors to come up with a tool to evaluate the ministry of their church.

Resolution GC48R-12 Qualifications for the Office of Bishop

• Now preachers are required to have atleast a Master’s from a Seminary or Divinity school in order to run for bishop.

Resolution GC48R-14 Qualifications for the Ordination to the Office of Deacon

• In order for a preacher to become a deacon in the church he/she must have atleast 2 years of undergraduate schooling training under their belt.

Resolution GC48R-23 Consider Proposed Legislations &/or Resolutions Early in the Deliberations of the General Conference

• Basically every new proposal or resolution that could be passed, now has to be heard towards the beginning of the General Conference so the people who create the budget for the church can consider them in their planning.

Resolution GC48R-27 Lay Activities report to the Annual & District Conferences

• The Lay Council of each church is now required to give a report at Annual Conference and District Conference

Resolution GC48R-29 Amendment to the duties of the Lay Delegate

• The Lay Council for each church must report on whether they are in existence and they must report on their activities throughout the year.

Resolution GC48R-44 Electronic Voting

• It is mandated that the General Conference use electronic voting and a committee will be formed to make sure the company we use can facilitate voting that is within our laws and procedures. After they secure a company the process will be tested a year before we use them.

Resolution GC48R-48 Restructure the Committee System of the General Conference

• After the Resolution Committee determines what resolutions have merit, they send those resolutions to intermediary committees that say whether they believe a resolution should be passed or not. Well there are over 45 of those committees that overlap. This resolution brought it down to 10 widening the scope of their work.

Resolution GC48R-51 Conference Studies

• Preachers that are in a master’s program at theological schools do not have to participate in conference studies if they are taking or have taken AME Zion Church History, Polity, and Methodist Doctrine.

Resolution GC48R-59 Church Growth West of the Mississippi

• 32 of the 50 largest populated cities are West of the Mississippi River and the majority of our churches are on the East Coast, so the church is going to develop a strategy to expand westward.

Resolution GC48R-60 Establishment of Dept of Church Growth & Development

• The Department of Extension and Home Missions will be merged with the Bureau of Evangelism into one department called the Department of Church Growth and Development. This department will research ways and placed to plant churches in the right areas.

Resolution GC48R-71 A Standard for Ritual and Protocol

• The resolution calls for a committee to come together to study and interpret what the church deems acceptable in terms of ceremonies, manners, dress, and practices

Resolution GC48R-72 Monies Received at Board of Bishops & Connectional Meetings

• All connectional meetings have to report how much money is given to the church at each session/service and what is done with the money.

Resolution GC48R-78 Zion Solvency

• This resolution calls for an endowment to fund different areas of the church in 20 years.

Resolution GC48R-84 Vacation for Pastors

• Pastors are now granted certain weeks of service based on years of service.

Resolution GC48R-94 Providing AME Zion Clergy w/ Supportive Counseling Services

• The Department of the Health and Social Concerns will now began to research ways for clergy to receive counseling services, even if by recommendation, without the fear of retribution.

Resolution GC48R-95 Reasonably Adequate Benefits for Pastors, Widows, & Children

• This resolution calls for the Brotherhood Pension department to to provide reasonable pensions and benefits for clergy and their families

Resolution GC48R-106 Proper Use of the Name: The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

• The resolutions calls for us to use the name of the church properly. The use of “The” as a part of the name, as well as the “T” being capitalized was mandated here.

Resolution GC48R-116 Executive Director Concept for Heads of Departments

• Now instead of calling people who are in elected to serve as heads of certain departments “Secretary-Treasurer” we’re calling them Executive Directors. The following departments will be changed: CED, Evangelism, Home Missions, Overseas Missions, and Brotherhood Pension

Resolution GC48R-120 Extract Listing of Dept Location in Discipline

• The Discpline states that the department of Public Affairs is housed in New York. It’s not, so the statement will be removed.

Resolution GC48R-127 Public Affairs Name Clarified

• Because 3 departments were merged to become the Department of Public Affairs, the language in the discipline ineffectively spoke to that new position. The name is being called to clarification and uniformity.

Resolution GC48R-128 Adopt Logo, Colors, Benediction

Resolution GC48R-129 Dept of Public Affairs by Definition
Resolution GC48R-131 Calling for Creation of Connectional Music Ministry
Resolution GC48R-132 Abolish (Post General Conference) Independent Connectional Council
Resolution GC48R-134 Connectional Usher Board Council of AME Zion Church
Resolution GC48R-137 Official Logo of AME Zion Church incoporated into Celebrated History and Traditions
Resolution GC48R-140 Establishment of New Commission to Examine Merger with CME Church
Resolution GC48R-144 Wallace Chapel AME Zion Church a Historic Landmark
Resolution GC48R-145 Harriet Tubman Home to Continue Negotiations with National Park Service
Resolution GC48R-146 Mother AME Zion Church as a Historical Site
Resolution GC48R-147 Pan-Methodist Resolution
Resolution GC48R-152 Property Resolutions
Resolution GC48R-156 Property & Casualty Insurance Program Opt-Out

Too much to post…!

-Ruth D. LaToison
VCYC Executive Vice President