By Erskine W. Lytle, III, 13th Episcopal District
Mother’s Joy
By Erskine W. Lytle, III, 13th Episcopal District
Founded in 1863 by Bishop Daniel Payne, St. John AME Church, Nashville is the Mother Church of African Methodism in Tennessee. Today, we celebrate having two General Officers serving and one retired General Officer who was elected and served while an active member of St. John. A fourth layperson, the late Eustace Alexander Selby (1887-1986), served as Secretary-Treasurer of the AME Church Sunday School Union from 1936-1964.
Dr. Jayme Coleman Williams, Ph.D., was the first woman elected a General Officer in the denomination’s history in 1984, serving as Editor of the AME Church Review for eight years. She was the AME representative to the National Councill of Churches of Christ USA, Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University, and the 13thEpiscopal District Lay President. She was the 1st recipient of the Living Legacy Award given at the thirty-fourth session of the Connectional Lay Organization and has been a delegate to every General Conference since 1964. During her forty-five years of membership in St. John, Dr. Williams’ service included the Pastor’s Aid Board and the Lay Organization. She was active in the Nashville community with the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Red Cross, and human relations and historical commissions, among others. Dr. Williams lives in Atlanta with her daughter Donna Williams. Though retired, Dr. Williams remains a source of inspiration and sought-after counsel.
John Thomas, III attended Morehouse College, Princeton University, and is currently completing doctoral work at the University of Chicago. Though not a son of the parsonage, John Thomas III listened ardently to his father, Dr. John Thomas, Jr., a lifelong AME, and student of the denomination. Dr. Thomas often engaged in long discussions about St. John and AME Connection with friends Doctors Jayme and McDonald Williams. Young John listened with an insatiable curiosity, not just about St. John, Nashville but the denomination as a whole. That same energy and intellect he had listening to those adult conversations began unfolding as he progressed in his education. Some of this was evidenced as Thomas participated with the Morehouse College team in the Honda College Bowl. The same was true when he represented Saint John in Bible bowls sponsored by the Board of Christian Education of the AME Church.
Brother Thomas was very active in all church youth activities at all connectional levels of the church. The support of his mother, Harriett, and Dr. Thomas, along with the mentorship of the Doctors Williams, nourished his desire to work and serve the AME Church at the connectional level. His energy and willingness to serve are a source of pride and excitement about the future.
Marcus T. Henderson, Sr., was elected the Chief Financial Officer of the AME Church in 2021. He is President and Chief Financial Officer of the highly successful Henderson Financial Group, Inc. Among his many memberships are the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Financial Planning Association, the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table, and the celebrated Top of The Table, which accepts only 5% of the members of the Round Table internationally.
A lifelong member of St. John, Brother Henderson has served as a Steward, Church Treasurer, and member of the Lay Organization. He is the son of Lelia and the late Reverend Samuel Henderson and the nephew of the late Reverend Joanne Allen. He and his wife Yolanda have five children and live in Franklin, Tennessee.
On August 21, 2021, members of the St. John Lay Organization under the leadership of local president Paula Y. Holmes gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, to celebrate these laypersons elected to serve the AME Church. The Rev. Lisa Hammonds, the church’s current pastor, states, “Like all mothers, St John is excited for and proud of the General Officers who were nurtured within our walls.”
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