On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. Also in 1952, Mason revised the constitution to determine the leadership and succession of the church after his death. Vice chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Bishop Marcus Ways. As a compassionate advocate for the advancement of Gods Kingdom, he is committed to accomplishing Gods agenda as both a leader and a laborer, reaping a harvest of souls. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. During the 1950s and 60s, during the height of the civil rights movement, COGIC ministers and congregations played host to many significant events. Owens continued to serve as a jurisdictional bishop and member of the General Board until his death in 2011. Organized in the South and having a predominately African-American membership, COGIC has had a long history in advancing civil rights. C. P. Jones was elected the General Overseer, C. H. Mason was selected as Overseer of Tennessee, and J. President, International Music Department Dr. Myron Williams, General Assembly and Call Meeting (April) Memphis, General Council of Pastors and Elders (May), International Women's Crusade and Convention (May), Auxiliaries in Ministry (AIM) Conference (July), Bishop Mason's Birthday/Founder's Celebration (September), International Holy Convocation and General Assembly (November), Mother Lizzie Woods Robinson first general supervisor (19111945), Mother Lillian Brooks Coffey second general supervisor and founding president of the Women's International Convention (19461964), Mother Annie L. Bailey third general supervisor (19641975), Mother Mattie McGlothen fourth general supervisor (19751994), Mother Emma F. Crouch fifth general supervisor (19941997), Mother Willie Mae Rivers sixth general supervisor (19972017), Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis seventh general supervisor (2017present), Evangelist Emily Bram Bibby#, longest-serving national female evangelist, Missionary Pearl Paige Brown#, foreign missionary. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the chief ecumenical officer of the church, and the leader and caretaker for the bishops of the synods. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. [27], Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr. was elected in November 1968 as the first presiding bishop of the church by the General Assembly at the Sixty-First Holy Convocation of the church. As has been stated, COGIC does not ordain women as elder or bishop, however, COGIC would not have become the largest predominately African-American Pentecostal church in the world, nor have the largest Women's convention of any major denomination without the contributions of women. She developed the role of the State Minister of Music and traveled the world conducting seminars and workshops perfecting the quality of choir music, their performance, appearance and demeanor, and the COGIC sound. All rights reserved. Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. Green. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. Blake has also formerly served as an Advisory Committee Member of the Pentecostal World Conference, and as the founder and Co-chair of the Los Angeles Ecumenical Congress (LAEC), an interdenominational coalition of religious leaders and pastors for the city of Los Angeles. The church is thought to have nearly two million members in 7,000 churches on the continent of Africa. The result of sin is the depravity of man, broken communion with God, shame and guilt, and physical and spiritual death. In 1982 during the Seventy-Fifth Holy Convocation, the diamond jubilee of the church, COGIC published its own hymnal, Yes, Lord!, which included many arrangements and songs written by COGIC and African-American musicians and songwriters. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. General Treasurer Bishop Charles Harrison Mason Patterson Sr.. Financial Secretary Bishop Frank A. [29], Bishop Charles E. Blake assumed leadership and was elected Presiding Bishop of the church after the death of Bishop G.E. Amen. COGIC believes, though, that even then in the case of saving the life of the mother, that abortion should still only be considered as a last resort, if all other options to help the mother and the unborn fetus have been thoroughly exhausted. Known for the achievements of her students and school alumni, she had also served during these years, by invitation and appointment, on national federal commissions and with noted African-American women's groups. Vice Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Enoch Perry. [1] [2] Early life [ edit] In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. He was denied such trial in 2016. Recognizing the significance of women to the ministry, COGIC has created numerous positions that allow women to work as counterparts to the department presidents as chair ladies (YPWW) and Elect ladies (Evangelism). We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God. In 1982, Patterson led COGIC in its Diamond Jubilee, in a celebration of the International Holy Convocation. The court ordered the church to convene a constitutional convention in February 1968. COGIC policies and bylaws have also been established regarding sexual misconduct of COGIC clergy and laymembers for disciplinary purposes. Mason. The constitutional convention drafted and approved a new constitution which dissolved both the office of the Senior Bishop and the executive board; it also established the General Assembly, which meets biannually, as the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. Each jurisdictional bishop appoints a jurisdictional supervisor to lead the work of the women on a jurisdictional level. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. In 1975, he resigned as co-pastor, withdrawing his membership in the COGIC because of leadership disagreements with his uncle, J. O. Patterson Sr. concerning an establishment of another jurisdiction in the city of Memphis. Patterson, former presiding bishop of the Church of God In Christ.. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. For many years, West Angeles has been one of the fastest growing churches in the United States and remains the largest COGIC local congregation with a membership of 25,000. Bishop Sheard has over 30 years of leadership in the Church of God in Christ. He self-identifies as Bishop/CEO of his newly organized fellowship called the 7000 Club (not to be confused with The 700 Club from Pat Robertson). Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. During her leadership, several new buildings were constructed on the 350-acre campus to serve this expansion. The racial climate in the post WWI years, when there was high competition for jobs and housing and violent unrest in many cities in 1919, would not sustain this relationship. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Church of God in Christ announced it has elected a new Presiding Bishop to lead the organization. During the tenure of Bishop G.E. Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr., Presiding Bishop Emeritus of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest Black Christian denomination in the country with a membership of 6.5 million, and an international statesman and humanitarian, has been named to the National Advisory Panel of The PuLSE Institute (Institute for Public Leadership and Social Equity), Mother Dorothy Exume#, foreign missionary, Evangelist Reatha D. Herndon#, first and longest-serving elect Lady, church organizer, national evangelist, Supervisor Deola Wells Johnson, national evangelist, jurisdictional supervisor, Evangelist Maria Gardner Langston, COGIC pastor, national evangelist, former Elect Lady, Mother Elsie Washington Mason#, third and final wife of Bishop Mason, Mother Lelia Washington Mason#, second wife of Bishop Mason. Young, James Brewer, Daniel Spearman, and J. H. Boone. The human soul is immortal and will spend eternity either in heaven as the redeemed or in hell as the damned. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. [5] Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. In 1951, the first separate National Sunday School Convention convened in Kansas City, Missouri. The Department of Evangelism was officially organized on a national level by Overseer L.C. According to a 2015 statistical study by the Pew Research Center, the denomination was estimated to have a United States membership of approximately 84% African-Americans, 5% White Americans, 8% Latino-Americans, and roughly 2% Asian-Americans. Since 2007, Ebony has recognized Bishop Blake annually, as one of its 100+ most influential African Americans. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Faye M. Butler. The designated church mother along with other "older and seasoned" women of the church provided the practical teaching of holiness in daily life and practice. Holy Temple COGIC was the first church to open its doors to the garbage workers. Three years later on October 12, 1955, he added three more bishops to the hierarchy: Bishop U. E. Miller, Bishop S. M. Crouch, and Bishop O. T. Jones Sr. From 1985 to 2009, he maintained the position of Prelate for the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of California, where he was responsible for overseeing over 250 churches. In the 1920s, Arizona Dranes, a blind Evangelist Missionary became one of the first gospel artists to bring the musical styles of COGIC to the public in her records for Okeh and performances. The school enjoyed its greatest growth and success under the leadership of Dr. Arenia Conella Mallory (19041977). Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. "Bishop Mason was one who lifted African Americans who were former slaves and the children of slaves, lifted them up from the degradation of slavery, ex-slavery, the brokenness of poverty,". The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. He served faithfully as an Ordained Deacon, the Sunday School Superintendent and the Guitarist. [10] After testifying to being sanctified, members of the church referred to themselves as "Saints", believing that they were set apart to live a daily life of Christian Holiness in words and deeds.[11]. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. COGIC became a major force in the collective Black Church and worldwide Pentecostal movement. Second Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Attorney Amos Smith. Dr. Mattie Moss Clark#, second and longest-serving president of Int'l. Pentecostals have been criticized because of their noticeable absence from the official record of activism that has been largely overshadowed by black ministers of other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists; however, there is evidence to verify and document the role and response of COGIC ministers and other Pentecostal denominations to the cause and struggle for Civil Rights in the United States during the 20th Century. In April 2018, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake along with Lee Saunders, Andrew Young, DeMaurice Smith, and Brian Dunn coordinated the "I AM 2018 Mountaintop Conference" at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. COGIC believes marriage is a monogamous sacred, civil, and legal union between a husband and wife that is recognized as a covenant between them and God for the purpose of the couple being a helpmate to each other and raising a family together. Timothy Wright, Myrna Summers, Rev. Not everyone in the church were willing to accept "speaking in tongues" as the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Ghost. During the tenure of Bishop L. H. Ford as Presiding Bishop in the 1990s, he helped gain COGIC membership into the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, a more diverse, international caucus of different Pentecostal church denominations and organizations that sought to heal the racial divides in the North American Pentecostal movement.[57]. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. He was a speaker at the Democratic National Conventions first Ecumenical Service where he eloquently, challenged all to protect the unborn by advocating pro-life. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Sideary King. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. Drew Sheard was born on Jan. 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson 1968-1989* *Tenure as leader of the church: Presiding Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson 2000-Present: Bishop Louis Henry Ford 1990-1995* Bishop Chandler David Owens 1995-2000* Presiding Bishop J. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ, United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God, Incorporated, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation, Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Edward_Blake_Sr.&oldid=1138808010, People from Los Angeles County, California, Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ, African-American television personalities, Interdenominational Theological Center alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, April, 2007, November 2008, November 2012, November 2016, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 19:00. She organized the sewing circle and after meeting Elder Searcy, she encouraged the women to support mission work through the Home and Foreign Mission bands. His passion for meeting the needs of the whole man reaches globally through his humanitarian efforts. The first meeting was held in Memphis, Tennessee around 1937. Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who had previously been elected to the General Board in 2012 and 2016, was reelected to the General Board and subsequently elected as the current Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021, in the first-ever virtual online election for the denomination. It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. The Holy Spirit is the agent that equips, empowers, leads, and guides the church until the return of Christ. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. One of her contributions was to divide the women's fellowship in the local congregations into two groups: The Christian Women's Council for the middle aged and senior women, and the Young Women's Christian Council (YWCC) for the younger women. On November 14, 1968, the General Assembly of the COGIC elected the first general board and presiding bishop of the church. The beliefs of the Church of God in Christ are briefly written in its Statement of Faith, which is reproduced below:[41] It is often recited in various congregations as part of the order of worship and all national and international convocations. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. She formed her daughters into a singing group who became known as the legendary "Clark Sisters" who helped introduce and became leaders of the contemporary gospel music era. She was the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for California Northern First Jurisdiction. The Church of God in Christ is the fifth largest Protestant religious denomination in the United States, the largest Pentecostal church in the country and the second largest Pentecostal organization in the world with churches in 60 countries worldwide and an estimated membership of nearly 6.5 million members. A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. Charles Blake was born on August 5, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the late Bishop Junious Augustus (J. Patterson, as Presiding Bishop of the Church in the 2000s, he helped bridge denominational barriers and encouraged non-COGIC ministries and denominations to work collaboratively with the COGIC denomination to help support charity efforts for poor and disadvantaged African Americans and people affected by poverty and disasters in foreign countries through the COGIC Charities Department and the COGIC Missions and Evangelism Department. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). The current leader of the International Music Department is recording artist Dr. Myron Williams, succeeding Dr. Judith Christie McAllister of Los Angeles, California, who is also a praise and worship national recording artist. The presiding bishop is part of a general board, consisting of eleven other bishops elected by a general assembly consisting of pastors, elders, chaplains, bishops, missionaries, supervisors, and designated lay delegates. Bishop Elijah Hankerson III - Board member (2021present), Bishop Charles E. Blake Presiding Bishop Emeritus. They exist today as adversaries to the kingdom, purpose and will of God. Many mainline denominations and countless nondenominational churches that once rejected these beliefs and practices have adopted these distinctions in their worship liturgy and lifestyle practices. The study also found that over 70% of COGIC members overwhelmingly opposed the legalizing of same-sex marriage, and considered relationships from infidelity, polygamy, polyamory, and sex outside of marriage as sinful and unbiblical as well.[56]. Mason as General Overseer and Chief Apostle. COGIC considers any physical, sexual relationship outside of the sanctity of marriage to be outside of the sovereign will of God and unbiblical. He believed that the name, taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14, was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. On April 24, 2022, while addressing his local congregation at the West Angeles COGIC for their sunday morning service, he announced that he has been dealing with and coping with Parkinson's disease, "for the past ten years", and that as of April 2022, he was going to be retiring as the senior pastor of West Angeles COGIC, and that his two sons who are also COGIC elders and ministers, Reverends Charles, Jr. and Lawrence Blake, would be taking over as the de facto pastor and assistant pastor of the West Angeles congregation, respectively. B. McEwen made conflicting administrative and executive decisions. Between 2009 and 2011, in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, Blake founded and was the first president of the Pan African Children's Fund (PACF). On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. In 2017, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed gospel artist and Evangelist Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole of Detroit, Michigan as the Elect Lady. Driver, who was the overseer of California and pastor of the Saints Home COGIC led an interracial congregation made up of many Blacks, Whites, and Latinos, for many years. Bishop Sheard was inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. In 1915, after years of court litigation over the name of the organization and use of the name "Church of God in Christ" by the two groups; Mason's group was granted the use of the name and Jones's group organized a legally chartered Holiness body called the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.[14], After moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Bishop Mason established a local congregation called Temple COGIC. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and is part of a consortium of the Interdenominational Theological Center. After the death of Mother Coffey in 1964, Dr. Annie L. Bailey (19641975), became the third General Supervisor. (RNS) A Detroit bishop of the Church of God in Christ has been named the new presiding bishop of the nation's largest historically Black Pentecostal . Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). Historically, women in ministry in COGIC are known as "Missionaries" and are designated in two categories: Deaconess Missionary, and Evangelist Missionary. Bishop Blake is the senior pastor of the West Angeles Cathedral COGIC in Los Angeles. Bishop J. COGIC also teaches that all the spiritual gifts are for believers today. As a result, many local congregations, foreign missions, and schools were established through the leadership and efforts of women in COGIC. He began production of the YPWW Quarterly Topics to train the youth of the COGIC in the faith, doctrine, and polity of the church. [42], COGIC teaches that angels are messengers sent from God who served during the creation, throughout the Old Testament, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the church and the ministry of the apostles, and continue to be at work in the Kingdom of God. COGIC believes "that if such a case arises, the mother should pray and seek the wisdom and guidance of God and the Holy Spirit on whether or not they should resort to emergency abortion if it is necessary to save her life," but if not, the Church traditionally encourages expecting mothers to "seek God's guidance for other options and choices regarding their unborn child so that they do not have to choose aborting it, and can safely go through with their pregnancy until childbirth. He re-ignited the church to be a flagship Pentecostal denomination. According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. Gilbert. He established the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches. Bishop Prince E. W. Bryant Sr. Board member (2021present). Mrs. Anna Broy Crockett Ford was the first organizer and director of the National Music Department, which was formally established in November 1949. The presidium includes a separately elected international presiding bishop by the general assembly who serves a term of four years, who, then appoints two assistant presiding bishops. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Nate' M. Jefferson. Bishop Sheard was first elected to the General Board in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. They exist primarily in the spiritual realm and are organized according to duty and function. These departments include: the Women's Department, the Sunday School Department, the Youth Department known as Y.P.W.W. Her life story led many African-Americans into the Holiness movement, including Mason. According to the press release, The COGIC General Assembly, the legislat [29], Bishop Gilbert Earl (G. E.) Patterson began his ministry as co-pastor of the Holy Temple COGIC with his father, Bishop W. A. Patterson. COGIC clergy are also allowed to be married. Bishop Carter came into holiness in 1952 at the Jones Avenue Church of God in Christ, under the leadership of the late Bishop George Briley. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). Evangelist Missionaries are licensed to preach the gospel, conduct gospel meetings, and may be given the oversight of local congregations serving as the church administrator. [2][4] The church teaches three separate and distinct works of grace that God performs in the life of believers: salvation, entire sanctification, and the baptism or infilling of the Holy Ghost. They rejected denominational names such as Baptist, Methodist, or Episcopal. He also served as the Presiding Prelate of the New Jersey Garden State Jurisdiction and the Central Georgia Jurisdiction. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church."
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