Rev. Craig T. Robinson, Jr., 4th Episcopal District
“Time is filled with swift transition,” asserted hymn-writer Jennie Wilson. As the 51st Session of the AME General Conference prepared close on Saturday, July 10, the Church gathered to celebrate a transition of power and responsibility after the election of General Officers and new members of the Judicial Council. The brief Service of Installation had all the trappings of grandeur that one would expect during a General Conference. The newly elected General officers marched into the main auditorium in their robes to “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” Members of the Judicial Council were also part of the grand processional, with some members wearing their regalia of office.
The Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, The Right Reverend Adam Jefferson Richardson, installed the General Officers and Judicial Council. The brief liturgy included a powerful prayer by retired Bishop John Richard Bryant, a scripture lesson by Bishop John Franklin White, and a solemn oath administered by other Bishops of the Church. The newly installed answered a bevy of pointed questions with, “I will by God’s Grace.” The hymn “I Am Thine O. Lord” affirmed the depth of each new officials commitment to serve God and the Church.
The AME Church welcomed four new General officers to helm the AME Church’s administrative departments: Dr. James Miller (Department of Retirement Services), Dr. Marcellus Norris (Department of Church Growth and Evangelism), Dr. John Green (Global Witness and Ministry), and Mr. Marcus T. Henderson (Treasurer and CFO). The new Judicial Council members included: Rev. Jay Augustine, Rev. O. Jerome Green, and Ms. Thabile Ngubeni. All were excited to begin their work on behalf of African Methodism.
The election of General Officers and the Judicial Council saw two very significant results. Mr. John Thomas, the incumbent Editor of The Christian Recorder, was re-elected to his office for another quadrennial. Mr. Thomas is the first to become a General officer from the Millennial Generation. His reelection bid was unopposed. “I am the first Millennial, but I will not be the last,” Thomas remarked during his quadrennial report to the General Conference.
The other significant election result for the July 10 election was the ascension of Ms. Thabile Ngubeni as the newest lay member of the Judicial Council. An attorney in the Republic of South Africa and a member of the Nineteenth Episcopal District, Ngubeni is one of only two women elected on Election Day (the other being the Reverend Francine Brookins to the Episcopacy) and the only elected official coming from the continent of Africa. She is also amongst the young adult population of the Church.
Every four years, the AME Church makes a transition. New officials are elected and installed to new offices. Each new officer is expected to bring the best of their gifts in service to the Church.
We look forward to all that these new leaders will do on our Zion to make it better. After the benediction by Bishop Julius McAllister, the General Conference prepared for the consecration service for our newly elected Bishops and the closing ceremonies and reading of Episcopal Appointments.
The Reverend Craig T. Robinson, Jr, is the Senior Pastor of St. James AME Church in Chicago, Illinois.
