AME Church announces retirement settlement agreement during General Conference

United States RNS The African Methodist Episcopal Church announced a settlement agreement with a number of its clergy who had sued the denomination, accusing it of mishandling their retirement funds. The settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, came on Monday as delegates to the AME Church General Conference are meeting in Columbus, […]
As AME Church meets for General Conference in the US, retirement plan questions continue

United States RNS When Rev Carieta Cain-Grizzell reached age 75, she had expected to retire after a lifetime as an African Methodist Episcopal Church member who became a pastor of several of its churches. Instead, the Washington, DC, native-turned-Californian is now “on loan” to the United Methodist Church, first pastoring a Fair Oaks congregation and […]
AME official Jerome V Harris dies under a cloud of alleged corruption

RNS Rev Jerome V Harris, a retired general officer of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, died in Memphis, Tennessee, on 8th May. At his death, Harris was involved in a lawsuit with the denomination over alleged mishandling the church’s retirement pension funds. John Thomas III, a general officer of the church and the editor of […]
African Methodist Episcopal Church leaders call for halt to all US funding of Israel

United States RNS The African Methodist Episcopal Church’s top officials have called for the US Government to halt all its funding of Israel, citing the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Hamas-Israel war. “The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church calls on the United States Government to immediately withdraw […]
US Vice President Harris critiques Florida’s slavery view at AME churchwomen’s meeting

United States RNS In a speech to a women’s convention of the African Methodist Episcopal Church on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a written invitation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to discuss the state’s controversial standards for teaching the history of slavery in public schools. “I’m here in Florida and I will tell you there […]
Essay: Five lessons recent church leadership failures can teach us

In an article first published on Religion News Service, JENNIFER R FARMER, author of ‘First and Only: What Black Women Say About Thriving at Work and in Life’, says there are clear reasons why our leadership is not performing to the standards we should expect…
In the US, report says AME Church suspends payments to retirees, investigates missing pension funds

RNS One of the nation’s largest Black Protestant denominations has stopped making payments to retired ministers on its pension plan, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The paper reported on Thursday that the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has reported as many as 2.5 million members in the past, suspended payments to […]
In the US, AME General Conference votes to form committee to study LGBTQ issues

RNS A day after its General Conference voted down a bill that would have allowed clergy to perform same-sex marriages, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, meeting in Orlando, Florida, passed a resolution on Thursday to appoint a sexual ethics discernment committee to make recommendations to the denomination about LGBTQ matters. The ad hoc committee will […]
In the US, AME Church bishops address COVID-19, critical race theory as major meeting opens

RNS The bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church opened their denomination’s major meeting – a year after it was delayed due to the coronavirus – with a call for greater worldwide access to COVID-19 vaccines and testing. “Joining our ecumenical and interfaith partners, we call on the United States government to expedite equity in […]
Essay: How a national emergency order in the US endangers the “other”

US rabbi JONATHAN PERLMAN and pastor ERIC SC MANNING express their concern about US President Donald Trump’s recent declaration of a national emergency on the country’s southern border…