WS Chronicle

The Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity (MCWSV) recently held elections for their new officers.  The conference elected Tembila Covington as their new president.

Covington’s election marks the second time a woman has been elected as president of the conference. The other officers are: Rev. C. A. Jones Jr., 1st Vice-president; Rev. Alvin Carlisle, 2nd Vice-president; Rev. Constance Lowery, Secretary; Rev. Reginald McCaskill, Assistant Secretary; Dr. Dennis Leach, Treasurer; Elder Deborah Jeter, Parliamentarian; and Dr. Charolette H. Leach, Chaplain.

Covington succeeds Rev. Dr. Lamonte Williams as president of the conference. Following last week’s elections, she laid out her plan for her term, focusing on social and food justice, education, faith and health, community economics and the MLK Jr. seed fund.

“I am excited and honored to be not only a member, but the next president of this conference,” Covington said.  “This prestigious conference has been going strong for the past 88 years and so it is definitely an honor and is humbling.

“I believe this is our season, not only as women, but as a conference,” she continued.  “Basically, we have to grab hold of the mission as faith leaders, which is to engage one another and engage the community and being proactive, not reactive to things.”

Covington earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy from Shaw University and has recently completed her MS in Agricultural Education at North Carolina A&T State University. She is a certified life coach and pastoral care counselor.

Covington is the founder and senior pastor of Crossing Red Sea Ministries in Rockingham, N.C. The church mission is to earnestly seek and promote the unity of God’s people, Godly love and respect and faithful cooperation.

A servant leader who is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get things done, is how Covington describes herself.  She has served in different capacities in the conference and she feels this will serve her well in her new role as president.

“It gave me some experience and I was able to learn about the politics of the conference,” she said.  “It is a very vigilant and strong conference, where our mission continues to bring us together. We always have to remember our goal, which is to build on unity, strengthen our collaborations, and doing effective work for the oppressed and those with limited resources.”

Covington says she chose to focus on those strategic points during her term because many of the points are in the mission statement of the conference.

“It’s not about reinventing the wheel, I believe it’s about getting back to our base, understanding what we are here to do,” she said. “We just need to focus on what’s right here in the city of Winston-Salem and the vicinity.”

For Covington, she said she is proud to be a part of a conference that is so progressive. She said her being elected speaks more to the conference engaging everyone.