By Rev. William E. Cooper Jr.
The election of Bishops and General Officers is the highlight of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) General Conference which, this year, will be held here July 6-10. Typically, the atmosphere is electric, with candidates and their constituents campaigning throughout the General Conference.
Campaign banners usually decorate the convention center, while volunteers march and chants echo through the halls. With each passing day, a sense of hope builds among supporters who anticipate their candidate will ascend to lead the denomination.
But not this year.
That is because the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced AME leaders to scale back, with Host and Senior Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr. acknowledging that the pandemic forced change at the 51stQuadrennial Session of the General Conference of the AME Church, which is this year’s convention.
“We won’t be the way we were in 2016 or any other year of General Conference,” Bishop Richardson told The Christian Recorder during a recent segment of TCR Dialogues, “You won’t have 12,000 people under one roof.”
The General Conference Commission approved a hybrid model, consisting of both virtual and in-person sessions, and rescheduled the Conference, which had been slated for July 8-15, 2020.
So, not even a global pandemic could keep the African Methodist Episcopal Church from doing God’s work.
The General Conference meets every four years to elect officials, create laws and receive reports from components. It has done so since 1816, when a small band of former slaves organized the denomination.
In fact, the AME Church planned to host the General Conference between two continents for the first time in its 205-year history. The West Orange County Convention Center was to serve as the host site, here in Orlando, with a satellite location in Cape Town, South Africa, at the Cape Town International Convention Center.
Yet, on June 27, just days before the opening session, the South African government ordered a 14-day shutdown due to a surge in a coronavirus variant in the country. AME leaders swept into action, seeking to ensure that delegates from Districts 14-15, 17-20 could fully participate in the General Conference.
“Our mantra, like the political and scientific leadership in South Africa, called for a unified voice on both sides of the ocean – “safety first,” according to a statement from the AME Council of Bishops.
COVID-19 restrictions have tempered the normally politically charged environment. Campaigning has been regulated to virtual ads and a small area of the convention center.
And AME leaders, along with the 11th Episcopal District, which is the General Conference host, have taken great strides to ensure the safety of participants. Bishop Richardson, who presides over the 11th Episcopal District that includes Florida and the Bahamas, said the task has been daunting.
“What we envisioned in the Eleventh District for hosting the General Conference is significantly different from what is now demanded of us,” he wrote in a statement to the denomination.
Bishop Richardson encouraged AMEs early on to get vaccinated, especially those attending the General Conference. He shared video messages, participated multiple national faith vaccine forums, and even shared a photo of himself and Supervisor Richardson getting vaccinated through social media. “It just makes sense to have that layer of protection against COVID-19,” he said.
At the General Conference, attendees must adhere to strict protocols. They include daily COVID-19 screenings, temperature checks and social distancing. In-person gatherings are limited, with worship services and business sessions live streamed to partnering hotels where delegates will participate remotely.
Worship services will live streamed via social media platforms such as the AME Church YouTube channel, Facebook and AME-Church.com, denomination’s website. The public can also follow the General Conference on Twitter and Instagram.
“A part of what we do will be virtual,” Bishop Richardson said.
On a historical note, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the denomination’s first female elected Bishop, is retiring. Elected in 2000, Bishop McKenzie blazed the Episcopal trail for women to hold the denomination’s highest office. She also serves as the Program Chair for this General Conference.
An electrifying orator, Bishop McKenzie will give her swan song when she preaches the Quadrennial Sermon at the opening worship service on July 6. She concludes her tenure in the Episcopacy as the Presiding Prelate of the 10th Episcopal District, which is the state of Texas.
The Rev. William E. Cooper Jr., is the pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church in Belle Glade, Florida and a member of the11th Episcopal District media team for the General Conference.
