By Dr. Michael W. Waters, 10th Episcopal District
Under the dynamic and prophetic leadership of the Right Reverend Ronnie Elijah Brailsford, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the Tenth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Tenth Episcopal District met November 13-15, 2025, for the 2025 Tenth Episcopal District Planning Meeting at Baker Chapel AME Church in Fort Worth, Texas. On Friday, November 14, 2025, the Social Action and Social Justice Ministry of the Tenth Episcopal District presented the workshop “Bending the Arc: Forecasting Social Action and Social Justice Ministry in 2026.” The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters, chair of the Tenth Episcopal District Social Action and Social Justice Ministry and founder and lead pastor of Abundant Life AME Church in Dallas, Texas, and Ms. Stephanie Williams, Texas Senior State Organizing Manager for the Black Voters Matter Fund, led the workshop.
During the workshop, Dr. Waters provided a contextual analysis of social action and social justice, grounding the work of the Tenth Episcopal District by combining Bishop Brailsford’s episcopal mandate to 1) Rise Up, 2) Speak Out, and 3) Act with Paulo Freire’s seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) which offers instruction towards co-creating in solidarity with oppressed people an educational mode whose goal is the cultivation of a critical consciousness in oppressed people as they ruminate on the source(s) of their oppression and take action in the liberation struggle, a mode that is continuously updated amid struggle as education is being constantly recreated through reflection and action. Dr. Waters also provided a “year-in-review”, noting the District’s efforts in social action and social justice, activities ranging from active protest of the unconstitutional treatment of youth in Texas detention centers, Tenth Episcopal District’s AME Day at the Texas State Capitol, and the testimony of the Tenth Episcopal District before the jurisprudence committee of the Texas House in favor of criminal justice reform. Throughout the year, Dr. Waters represented the Tenth District at several forums, including providing the Invocation for the swearing-in ceremony of U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, serving as a panelist for The Texas Tribune’s conference Telling the Story: Religion in Texas through Journalism” alongside professor and New York Times best-selling author Dr. Robert P. Jones, as the moderator for Mother’s Against Police Brutality’s Clinton R. Allen Speakout in Washington, DC, as a presenter for the AME Social Action Townhall at the General Board Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK, as a presenter at the Connectional YPD Leadership Training Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, as an invited speaker for the 5,000+ attended Stop the Trump Takeover Texas Capitol Rally and National Day of Action, and as the closing speaker for the 10,000+ participated in the October 18, 2025, No Kings Rally in Dallas.
Preparing to “bend the arc” toward justice in 2026, Dr. Waters provided an overview of the political landscape in Texas, from the racist gerrymandering of congressional districts and food insecurity, of which Texas leads the nation, to opportunities to expand the electorate through the ongoing “GOTV” efforts of the Tenth Episcopal District. Noting the myriad threats to Black life in Texas, Dr. Waters also emphasized the critical need to expand food distribution networks, further solidify crisis response teams in the District, and strengthen partnerships for legal defense, movement fundraising, and nonviolent direct action training. Ms. Stephanie Williams provided an overview of the Black Voters Matter Fund’s work and the support it can provide to the Tenth Episcopal District’s GOTV efforts, including training and phone-banking lists, as well as grants. Black Voters Matter’s fruitful relationship with the AME Church began under Bishop Brailsford’s tenure as president of the Council of Bishops.
Also in attendance during the workshop was Dr. John Thomas, III, General Officer and editor of The Christian Recorder. Acknowledging the scholarship of Dr. Tad Stoermer, author of the forthcoming A Resistance History of the United States of America, Dr. Waters noted that the Black press serves as a parallel structure of Black resistance beyond white control and celebrated the vital, ongoing legacy of the Recorder. In addition to chairing the Social Action and Social Justice Ministry, Dr. Waters announced that he is assuming a new position as the national director of Black Voter Engagement for Vote Common Good. In this capacity, Dr. Waters looks forward to partnering with communities across the nation to empower the Black vote.
Without question, the Tenth Episcopal District of the AME Church is committed to bending the arc toward justice in 2026, “until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).
