Rev. Craig Robinson, 4th Episcopal District
The evening’s candidate’s forum focused solely on those men and women who are aspiring toward Episcopal service. Three Bishops: Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Bishop Gregory Gerald McKinley Ingram, and Bishop McKinley Young (deceased) are scheduled to retire at the close of the General Conference. Twenty-two men and women from every corner of the AME Connection are vying for those three confirmed spots.
According to the Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2016, the Bishops are the; “General Superintendents, chief executive, chief pastor, administrative head of the AME Church, who is an elder elected and consecrated to the office of a Bishop by the General conference.” The Bishops are charged with the task (among many tasks) of making pastoral appointments and being the shepherd of his or her flock.
The election of Bishops at the general conference is an electrifying event under normal circumstances. Large crowds would normally (pre-pandemic) pour into the seat of the General Conference on Election Day to see all who will be elected Bishops. However, the hybrid General Conference has not dampened the excitement.
In Wednesday’s forum, sponsored by the Social Action Commission, People for the American Way, and Door Dash, Bishop candidates reflected on two questions presented by retired Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, who participated via zoom. One of the questions was borrowed from the earlier forum, where candidates were asked: “What keeps you up at night?
Responses were diverse. Rev. Francine Brookins (5th Episcopal District) asked herself: “will my episcopal service make a positive difference?” Another candidate, the Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman (1st Episcopal District), responded with his own desire to make ministry “relevant,” saying; “nobody will be excited about ministry if it is not relevant “a relevant church is an exciting church, an exciting church is a growing church, a growing church impacts the community.”
The Business sessions have been plagued by technical difficulties that made communication with members from districts on the continent of Africa extremely difficult. Undeterred, candidates from the mainland could share their hearts as it pertained to their desire to serve as bishop. The Reverend Dr. Katurah York Cooper(reflecting on the forum’s first question) asked: “Where are we going? How do we get there in one piece?”
Bishop Guidry ended the panel with a second point of discussion asking each candidate “How would you explain your calling to be a Bishop?” Candidates were very sincere in their responses. Presiding Elder Willem Burger (15th Episcopal District) was emphatic about his decision to run for bishop saying; “God called me to lead…God called me to be a Bishop.”
“So high a mission. So holy a calling.” This motto grounds the work and witness of the AME-sponsored Payne Theological Seminary. The call to the Episcopacy in the African Methodist Episcopal Church is a weighty one. It is not for the faint at heart. The 51st Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church stands in eager anticipation of welcoming new leaders that have answered the call to take our Zion forward.
Rev. Craig T. Robinson, Jr. is the pastor of St. James AME Church in Chicago, Illinois.
