St. James hosting AME gatherings
(pictured above: Rt. Rev. William P. DeVeaux Sr. with his wife, Patricia Ann.)
The 121st Session of the Western North Carolina Conference and the conference’s Branch Women’s Missionary Society will convene in Winston-Salem at the Embassy Suites from June 10 – 13.
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, under the pastorate of the Rev. Steven. L. Lyons, is serving as the conference convener and host church. Nikki W. Lyons, First Lady of St. James, is president of the Branch Women’s Missionary Society.
Pre-conference activities will include the Young People’s and Children’s Division’s Annual Day on June 7 and the Christian Debutant Masters Ceremony on June 8; both events will be held at St. James Church, 1501 N. Patterson Ave.
Women’s Missionary Society events on Tuesday at the Embassy Suites will include the Tanner Turner Memorial Breakfast, a recognition luncheon, a business session and worship service, featuring AME Church Women’s Missionary Society International President Dr. Shirley Cason-Reed. Gospel singer Beverly Crawford is slated to perform Tuesday night at the Night-in White Service.
On June 11, the Western North Carolina Conference opens, under the leadership of the Right Reverend
William P. DeVeaux Sr., the Presiding Bishop of the Second Episcopal District of the AME Church. Speakers will include Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Owens, Robert L. Goode, Rev. Gwendolyn I. Benjamin and Rt. Rev. Paul J. M. Kawimbe.
This is the third time St. James has hosted the WNC Annual Conference. More than 1,000 members and friends are expected to attend. The Conference is open to anyone who wishes to see “The AME Church in Action.”
