Mysterium Tremendum: The Terrible Mystery

Mysterium Tremendum: The Terrible Mystery

Day Two of the General Conference 

Dr. Brandon A. A. J. Davis, Contributing Columnist, 

Some have described the General Conference as a mysterious machine that is sometimes difficult to understand. There are moving parts that make up the entirety of a major political wheel that sometimes rolls its way through deep, concentrated, and specifically organized political actions and leaves in its wake a disrupted people, left to question the authenticity of our Christian conversion. For this moment, I would only try to separate by context the complex and compounded realities of our AME Methodology and the brevity of our Christian perfection. The intricate nature of the General Conference’s proceedings can be fascinating and challenging. 

The AME Church’s supreme governing body, the General Conference, is empowered to legislate new laws, delete old laws, elect and retire General Officers, and elect and retire Bishops. It is also within its right to hear the voices of the people, which, from time to time, will overshadow the will of the conference and its titular heads: The Episcopacy. This is the serious and weighty work of the general conference, which far outweighs any other church body. Yet, no other conference within the machinery of African Methodism works like this.

Another aspect of its work is a well-articulated but unpublished agenda that fluctuates from the stage and throughout the delegation. Members of varying episcopal districts will weave in and out of each other’s delegations and seek support, from a particular bill to an agenda item slated to come later in the day. Understanding the mechanics of the General Conference, coupled with a modicum knowledge of Roberts Rules of Order, is crucial. It can enable a person to secure their most heartfelt issue of concern and usher it to the chair’s attention, eventually becoming the will of the House. 

It is called mysterium tremendum, the Latin phrase for terrible mystery. For anyone attending this general conference for the first time but plans to return, the feeling of mysterium tremendum will not disappear. It will, however, lessen its effects on you until something else within the life of the Church happens to shake you to your core. Day Two of the business session of the General Conference included a myriad of high-energy events and a complex but not utterly unheard-of action that rocked the floor of this 52^nd Quadrennial Session. 

Following the previous day’s work, the annuity fund issues were the order of the day. Without recounting in specific order, I can highlight those hot-topic moments that stirred everyone’s emotions and feelings. Concerning the sensitive nature of the annuity scandal that has taken a body blow to our beloved denomination, clergy from around the connection sought from this august body both clarity, answers, and solutions that would, post haste, remedy the circumstances of befalling our retired clergy persons whose financial wellbeing lie in the balances. The collective determination to address these issues was palpable, uniting us in a common cause. 

From across the floor and even from the stage, persons sought information regarding forensic audits, whether Bishops moved their money from the same fund to another after they were warned and or informed of the pending collapse of the current annuity system, and if any bishop benefited from monies that belonged to the annuity fund. Serious debates took place along with heartfelt pleas that came from Rev. Dr. Dale Synder of the 3^rd Episcopal District – Pittsburgh-West Virginia Annual Conference, who vowed to suspend the rules every chance he got to bring the concerns of the annuity situation back to the general conference floor. 

Amid questions, answers, and the desire for answers that could not be provided due to pending legal action that is already underway, I must admit that for the past two days, all of us felt the intense and heart-throbbing sentiments of clergy, laity, and Bishops who from all sides sought to mend broken hearts and fractured trust within the African Methodist Episcopal Church regarding the present condition of the Department of Retirement Services. 

Each of the Presiding Bishops who presided over day two of the General Conference appeared to be in discord amongst the bench of Bishops. Throughout today’s deliberations, there was an air of disunity among the purple brigade, signaling to the floor that either something was afoot amongst the bench or personal feelings and opinions were creeping their way to the floor. Still, one could not overlook smart-alecky responses or an attempt to undercut each other regarding closed-door issues above everyone else’s pay grade. Let me further that creativity by suggesting that some Bishops pursuing a new district to serve clarified their feelings and thoughts regarding specific, extremely sensitive topics. The bravado of episcopal mysterium was on ready alert as certain bishops displayed their ability to manage one of the most formidable machinery of the Church. 

The emotional impact of Bishop Erroneous Earl McCloud, Jr.’s comments was palpable. As the 127th Elected and Consecrated Bishop of the AME Church, his statement that he no longer felt wanted by the church he has served throughout his life left the general conference. Bishop McCloud stated that an exchange of words between him and Elder Mayberry had led him not to request an appointment to an episcopal district but rather to return home to Georgia. 

While it is uncertain what Bishop McCloud intended by his actions and remarks during today’s business session, Senior Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., reminded us that we needed to look at these matters fully and pray for one of its episcopal leaders, his wife, Supervisor Patricia McCloud, and Third Episcopal Church. 

What becomes of the Church remains to be seen, as we still have several more days of work and legislation to sort through. Still, I remember Dr. Joel Gregory’s sermon at the 1988 Southern Baptist Convention. That year, he was the featured preacher and preached on the subject “The Castle and the Wall.” The story, in short, recounts how one of the oldest and finest castles in the Emerald Isle was left in disrepair for years. 

When one of its surviving heirs visited, he noticed the pillage and plunder of his family estate. The owner decided that a wall would be constructed to prevent people from pillaging the stone from his family home. After years of work, he visited the property to discover that the wall was built, but the castle was gone. Only the wall remained of the finest well-cut and crafted stones that once was the castle. For some, the General Conference without the show, the sparks, and the controversy mean nothing, while for many of us, the castle (the Church) without which the wall means nothing disappears. What would it profit the AME Church from gaining its wall and losing what the wall was to protect? Hmm!