A.M.E. in G.C.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church has, this day, entered into their quadrennial General Conference.  Delegates have gathered in Nashville, TN for this 49th quadrennial meeting.

News and information concerning the A.M.E. General Conference can be found at this website.

As followers of this blog will know, this is the third major (U.S. based) Methodist denomination to hold their General Conference, this year.  (The other two were the United Methodist Church and The Wesleyan Church.)  The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church will hold their General Conference July 18-24 of this year, while the Church of the Nazarene's General Assembly will take place in 2013, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church will not meet again until 2014.

One highlight noted on the schedule for this quadrennium's meeting is that First Lady Michelle Obama will be the keynoted speaker, tomorrow, June 28.  Then Senator (now, President, of course) Barack Obama addressed the 2008 meeting.

The Conference will conclude (with a bang?) on the 4th of July.

Founded in 1787, the African Methodist Episcopal Church is understood to be the oldest Black religious denomination in America, today.  The first A.M.E. General Conference took place in 1816, when the A.M.E. became an official religious denomination.  The church claims a membership of more than three million people worldwide with approximately 7,500 churches throughout North and South America as well as Europe, Africa and India. The Church has established and supports 12 higher education institutions.