The Centennial General A. M. E. Conference
The Centennial General A. M. E. Conference held its twenty-fifth quadrennial meeting in Mother Bethel Church, Philadelphia, Pa., on Sixth street below Pine, just two blocks from Old St. George Church, where Richard Allen and his followers left one hundred years ago and organized the first A. M. E. Church in a little blacksmith shop on the spot where Mother Bethel now stands.
Conference was called to order May 3rd, and was presided over by thirteen Bishops, fifty-one general officers and attended by six hundred thirty-two delegates, one hundred alternates and two hundred visiting ministers. These delegates came from all sections of the United States, Africa and other foreign lands, where the A. M. E. Churches are located.
Senior Bishop Lee presided over the first session and the following sessions were presided over by the Bishops in their turns of elevation.
It was sad to note the absence of twenty members that met with the twenty-fourth General Conference who had passed away during the past four years, three of which were Bishops of the Church and one a very prominent minister and officer in the Conference, and beloved pastor of Bethel Church, Chicago. The following were greatly lamented.
Bishop Henry McNeal Turner—Twelfth Bishop of the Church, at Windsor, Canada, May 8, 1915.
Bishop Moses Buckingham Salter—Twenty-first Bishop of the Church, at his residence Charleston, S. C., March 21, 1913.
Bishop William Derrick—Twenty-third Bishop of the Church, at his residence Flushing, N. Y., April 15, 1915.
Rev. James M. Townsend—Ex-Secretary of Missions, at his home, Richmond, Ind., June 18, 1913.
Rev. T. M. Smith en route to his home in Georgia, June 1, 1913.
Rev. Wm. Conwell Banton—At his home in Montgomery, Ala., June 25, 1913.
Rev. Horace S. Graves—At Asheville, N. C., where he had gone in quest of health, July 4, 1913.
Rev. W. H. Jones—At Gordon, Ark., March 12, 1915.
Rev. H. W. Bennett—At his home, Charleston, S. C., Oct. 1, 1913.
Rev. Theobald A. Smythe—Beloved pastor of Bethel Church, Chicago, at his home Jan. 25, 1916.
Rev. J. W. B. Jackson—Florida, Sept. 7, 1913.
Rev. A. J. Bennett—Florida, July 2, 1915.
Rev. James Dean—Florida, Dec. 19, 1914.
Rev. A. Scott—Florida, Dec. 5, 1915.
Rev. R. M. S. Taylor—Georgia Conference, Feb. 19, 1914.
Rev. A. J. Wilkinson—North Georgia Conference, April 10, 1916.
Rev. T. F. Boddie—Macon, Georgia Conference, Feb. 22, 1916.
Rev. Bruce H. Williams—His home, Charleston, April 9, 1916.
Rev. L. W. McMillan—South Georgia Conference, Feb. 22, 1915.
Mrs. Francis E. Booker Watson—Wife of Dr. B. F. Watson, Sec. of Church Extension, Jan. 10, 1915.
Mrs. Laura Lemon Turner, widow of Bishop H. M. Turner, Oct. 11, 1915.
Two of the lamented Bishops were among the most prominent leaders the race had. They were born leaders and men with remarkable characters and abilities. Their loss is keenly felt not only by the A. M. E connection, but by the race in general.
Mother Bethel should be highly complimented on the arrangements made for the convenience of the delegates. A telegraph office, post office, dining room and all other necessary things were located in the church. In spite of arrangements the throng that filled the church the first few days of the Conference to pay their respects was so large and the confusion so great that very little was accomplished until May 7.
On May 7 the ministers listened to what they declared the finest addresses ever heard, delivered by Dr. Isaac N. Ross of Baltimore, Md., and Dr. W. H. Mixon, Selma, Ala. It is believed by all present at the time that Dr. N. Ross’s address had a great influence on the ballots cast in his favor in the race for Bishop.
On May 8 the big fight started for the election of Bishops. Many ministers and Bishops did not endorse an elevation of any more clergymen to the bench, as they felt that their present number could take care of the business and under the existing unsettled conditions and increasing expenses that it would not be advisable; but the sentiment among the majority was so strong for new Bishops that the Episcopal Committee passed on the election of two.
Fifty-three ministers entered the race. They began a systematical campaign. Three or four districts had their headquarters together and they kept a printer busy day and night putting out all manner of cards and pamphlets explaining why each of the fifty-three individuals would be best suited for Bishop.
After weeks of campaigning two Bishops were finally elected. Before the ballots were cast Rev. R. C. Ransom asked for prayer and Bishop Parks prayed. It would be a hard matter to eradicate from the minds of Bishops, candidates, delegates, and visitors that fifteen minutes of prayer. All minds were lifted to higher planes and the two weeks of campaigning were forgotten along with personal aims and selfish ambitions as they turned their thoughts to God and voted for the men whom they sincerely believed would help make his kingdom on earth what he would have it to be.
The ministers elevated to the bench were Revs. I. N. Ross and W. W. Beckett.
Rev. Dr. Beckett was born in Edisto Island in 1856, and was educated at Clarke University and Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. From 1908 he served as missionary secretary of the A. M. E. Missionary Board. How well his services to his Church were appreciated was shown in his elevation.
Rev. Dr. Ross comes from a grand old Tennessee family. Four of his brothers, now deceased, were A. M. E. ministers. He served the Church since 1880 as pastor. His fame as an orator and his faithful and tender leadership over the flocks that he was appointed to lead were two chief factors that stood out in his success.