A.M.E. Zion Church turns 140
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, popularly referred to as the A.M.E. Zion Church, which was established in 1875, turns 140 this year.
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To mark its 140 years of serving God and humanity in Africa, the church has lined up series of programmes which would commence in Keta in the Volta Region, where the church started in Ghana.
Announcing this at an encounter with the media last Tuesday, the Head of the West Africa Episcopal Church and 100th Bishop in succession, Bishop Seth Osibisa Lartey, said programmes to commemorate the anniversary would include a joint annual conference in Cape Coast, which would raise funds for educational projects.
The church
The A.M.E. Zion Church came out of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is in 20 African countries and on five continents of the world in 12 Episcopal areas presided over by bishops.
The church has about 403 congregations in Ghana with a membership of over 50,000 and hosts the office of the West African Episcopal Church.
Education
Bishop Lartey said “one of Africa’s greatest setbacks is illiteracy”, adding that there were more than 150 million illiterates on the continent.
He said it was in view of that, that the church attached great importance to education and was at the forefront of education in Ghana. It has established four senior high schools in the country and one in Liberia, with plans for a second university in Ghana. The only university is in Liberia.
The A.M.E. Zion Church has also established over 550 junior high schools in Ghana. Saying “we are not just satisfied to be a congregation in the corner,” Bishop Lartey stated that the church had also built a hospital and embarked on many other projects in Ghana.
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He listed some future plans as seeking partnership with some companies to fix some of the poor roads, which he said had held the country hostage, and also establish a company to convert waste to energy to support the country’s efforts at solving the energy crisis.
General Conference
The church will hold its general conference in the United States of America next year, at which it would elect its next bishop for the West Africa Episcopal District.
Three members of the church in Ghana – Rev Dr Richard Gadzekpo, Rev Felix Ofosu and the Chief of Staff at the Bishop’s office, Rev Dr Hiiliard K. Dela Dogbe, are standing for the election.
Bishop Lartey, who believed an African would be elected as Bishop, said three Africans had so far occupied the position of Bishop since the church was established.
He said an African Bishop was desired because “indigenous leadership has always expanded the work of the church”.