Historic Moment caught on camera: Bishops and AME Leaders Pray with Obama

Each time that I've attended the General Conference, there has been a moment when I've realized like Moses that I was standing on "holy ground." That moment occurred this year when the presumptive nominee for president of the Democratic Party, Barak Obama, addressed the Conference. The afternoon was truly electric! It must've been the way it felt to see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak at the March on Washington.

Like many others, my eyes began to fill up with tears, so overcome by the emotion of the day. My mother and my aunt, both born in Arkansas were there that day in the packed out St. Louis Convention Center. All I could think about was how they were barred from the movie theater growing up (and confined to the balcony on days they could attend) in their hometown. How they were forced to attend segregated schools and use public accommodations for "blacks only." Yet, there they were looking at something no one could have dared to believe just 40 years ago.

I'm indebted to my cousin, the Rev. Reginald Terry, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska. Knowing my love of AME history, he forwarded this photo by email after he received it from someone else. It is so rich, I simply could not keep it to myself. It is meant for sharing. I do not intend to suggest that prayer be taken lightly or that Mr. Obama's devotional life should be intruded upon like the person who took his prayer out of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. I hope that readers know that this posting comes from a different place.

It comes from a deep and profound sense of appreciation of just how far God has brought us. This picture of Bishops and leadership of the AMEC, the spiritual descendants of Richard Allen, Sarah Allen, Morris Brown, Jarena Lee, William Paul Quinn, Daniel A. Payne, and Henry M. Turner, praying over a black man who is only a few days away of potentially doing the "impossible," is bigger than just the few hands that could reach him that day.

When the Bishops stretched out their hands to pray, they prayed with Obama on our behalf. We couldn't all fit in that little room behind the stage to pray with him, but our Bishops prayed for us. They prayed on behalf of AMEs not just in the United States, but in Canada, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Liberia, South Africa, Tanzania, England, and parts all over the globe. They prayed for the ordained and the laity. They prayed for those with fancy titles behind their names and they prayed for Aunt Jane on the last pew.

That's why I wanted to share the picture. I wanted to share it because it belongs to all of us. May God continue to show Mr. Obama favor and may we all continue to pray with him and his family.

***The photo above was taken by Vashti-Jasmine McKenzie and is posted with her permission.***

Revisiting the Historiographer Campaign and the General Conference of St. Louis, 2008

First of all, congratulations to Dr. Dennis C. Dickerson on his re-election to the office of Historiographer. It was a long shot (to be sure) to win the election over an incumbent, but we ran a very competitive race. More than anything, however, we had fun running last week. The campaign allowed me an opportunity to display what I truly love, the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Special thanks to Mr. Chester and Mrs. Lillie Owens of Kansas City, KS for allowing us to display the holdings of Bishop John Gregg. The display was a big hit during the week and drew many visitors from the military, Edward Waters College, Wilberforce University, and South Africa to view photos and artifacts specific to each of those interests. Also, a big thanks to Linda Kennedy, Brian Purlee, and the St. Louis Black Rep Theater for sharing their teens from the Summer Youth Program. In the words of one person, they were an "instant hit" at the Conference. They were dressed each day in 1800s clothing, sang in the hallways of the Convention Center, and performed on the stage each day (check out these links to see them on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3emUYCsaXDs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng-AfUZewtA).

I would also like to thank each of the 519 delegates who cast a vote for me. Wow, 519, to God be the glory! Also, I would like to thank each person who contributed, who volunteered, and who prayed for the campaign. I'm truly thankful for my congregation, Macedonia AMEC in Camden, NJ, for the continued support they have shown. I thank my co-campaign managers, Rev. Bruce Butcher and Sis. Jackie Weary, the members of my congregation, and my family (my mother, aunt, and sister) who traveled to St. Louis to help. I certainly thank Bishop Richard Franklin Norris and Mother Norris for their support, Presiding Elder Robert C. Wade and Sis. Wade, and all the members of the First, Third, and Fifth Episcopal Districts for not forgetting their son. Lastly, I thank my wife Leslie M. Tyler and my children for supporting me in this time-consuming effort this past year.

I often look to historical events to place current situations in perspective. I must say that I am not totally surprised by the turn of events in St. Louis. I feel that God gave me a warning in advance. Just before flying out to St. Louis, I picked up my copy of The Pilgrimage of Harriet Ransom's Son (the autobiography of Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom). Incredibly, my eyes fell to the page when Ransom ran unsuccessfully for bishop in 1920. The General Conference that year, just like in 2008, was held in St. Louis. Although he did not win that year, he was successful in the following General Conference in 1924 in Louisville, KY.

There are many reasons that Bishop Ransom is one of my favorite bishops: his consistent commitment to social justice, his care for "the least of these," and his innovation, to name a few. But the most important reason that I've always felt drawn to his story is that he lived his life following the voice of God, rarely concerned with the political fall-out of his choices. Over and over, he made moves that simply made no "AME sense." Yet, he still rose to the highest position the Church had to offer and will be remembered as one of the most important AME voices in the first half of the 20th century.

Perhaps that is why he entitled his autobiography "the pilgrimage" and not "the rise" of Reverdy Ransom. A pilgrimage defined is "a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion." Ransom's life was truly a long, winding, religious journey that often seemed to veer off course in the eyes of his peers. His rise in African Methodism was not a straight line, but more like a winding road. Yet, he still made it where God intended for him to go.

Maybe someone else, other than just me, can relate to that experience. I entered the race for Historiographer because that is what I felt God placing on my heart. Now that it is over, we shall see how God causes this experience to fit into the rest of the tapestry God has done in my life. I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but I am sure that God already has some ideas. For those of you who like me, find that following God is truly an adventure and a pilgrimage, I offer the life and witness of Bishop Ransom as evidence that things still work out in spite of what may appear to be a setback. If you are in the midst of your own journey right now, take comfort in the words of that great hymn:

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand.