Host Locations

ALLEN UNIVERSITY REID CHAPEL AME CHURCH

1530 HARDEN STREET 704 GABRIEL STREET
COLUMBIA, SC 29204 COLUMBIA, SC 29203

Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr.

Presiding Bishop

Mrs. Phyllis N. Green

Episcopal Supervisor

Dr. Ernest McNealy, Ph.D.

Allen University Interim President

The Reverend Joseph Postell

Host Presiding Elder

The Reverend Rosalyn G. Coleman

Associate Presiding Elder

The Reverend Dr. M. Charmaine Ragin

Associate Presiding Elder

The Reverend Carey A. Grady

Host Pastor

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 Celebrating the 257th Birthday of
BISHOP RICHARD ALLEN
Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Richard Allen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
a slave to Benjamin Chew, in the year of 1760. Life
for his first few years was relatively easy; he, his
three siblings and his parents worked at maintaining
the house and assisting in the raising of the Chews
children. Although Chew was a wealthy lawyer
and an important political leader, hard time
fell upon him, which created a need for
him to sell the Allen family in order to
escape bankruptcy. The Allens were
sold to Stokeley Sturgess in Dover,
Delaware where their lot was changed
from household help to field hands;
they became subject to long hours of
backbreaking toil. In time, however,
in order to stave off creditors, Stokeley
Sturgess was forced to sell Richards
mother and three sisters.
At age 17, Richard Allen was spiritually moved by the
preaching of a Methodist circuit rider. This preacher
gave more than mere hope and consolation to the
black congregations, but also taught from the Bible
and vigorously attacked the system of slavery. The
impact of this experience dramatically changed
Allens life; he came to see himself as a human
being who was loved by God and who was above
and beyond any human Master. He soon joined
the Methodist societies and, under the tutelage of a
preacher named John Grey, also became a preacher.
Although Stokeley Sturgess permitted Richard and
his brother to attend weekly worship meetings, both
of the men continued to be diligent in their work.
Sturgess will, in time, was also converted under the
preaching of Richard Allen.
In 1778, Richard Allen a former slave who had
purchased the freedom of both he and his brother,
religious leader in the black community and later
founder of the African Methodist Episcopal church
(AME Church) had begun preaching with other
Methodist preachers, and was frequently called
upon to preach at the St. George Methodist Church in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The message that he had
for his people, according to most records, was always
a message of hope. He went out to his neglected,
forgotten and defeated brothers and sisters and
encouraged some to come and brother others with
him to worship at St. George. As more black people
became inspired by the preaching and teaching
of Richard Allen, more attended church
services; in time, the number prompted
church officials to designate seats and
standing room in a specific area of the
church for black worshipers; an area
which was not the most desirable. As
the number continued to increase, the
designated area became even less
desirable. Harsh and unkind treatment
toward Richard Allen and his people
became commonplace, yes even in the
house of the Lord.
Despite the pure and keen moral and religious
teaching of the day and the supposed adherence to
the law, the attitudes of most of the members of St.
George Church toward the black Christians seemed
unalterable. The negative attitudes coupled with
the harsh and the inhumane treatment had become
facts of life which black people had learned, not to
accept, but to live with; they seemed to have felt that
in time, things would change.
One Sunday morning, however, as Richard Allen,
Absalom Jones and William White were leading
their people into service of worship, the prayer was
begun. As they had always been taught, they knelt
where they were. Several officers of the church,
seeing black people kneeling in an area other than
designated for them, rushed over and directed them
to move on. After prayer! was the response that
was given. The officers, not being satisfied with the
response, summoned others who came and literally
tried to pull the worshipers from their knees. A final
response was: After prayer, we will trouble you no
more. The group of black worshipers left St. George
that day after prayer, formed the Free African Society
and later the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
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 Dr. Riggins R. Earl, Jr.
Riggins Earl is a professor of Ethics and Theology
at the Interdenominational Theological Center of
the Atlanta University Center where he has served
for thirty plus years. He holds the Ph. D. degree
from Vanderbilt University in Social Ethics. He has
done post-doctoral studies at Harvard and Boston
University respectively. Earl has done research at
the London Institute for African Studies; taught in
the Religious Studies Department of the University
of Tennessee at Knoxville; and taught religion in
the university and seminary context for forty years.
During that tenure, he has sought to be at the forefront
of intellectual conversations about religion and the
ethical and moral life particularly as it relates to
black Americans.
Besides his numerous articles in print, Earl has
published two major volumes on the subject of black
religion and ethics: Dark Symbols, Obscure Signs:
God, Self, and Community in the Slave Mind (1993);
Dark Salutations: Greetings, Ritual, and God in Black
America (2001). Earls work has earned him several
national research awards, the most recent of which
was The Lilly Professor Research Fellowship for the
academic year 2001-2002 (sponsored through the
Association of Theological Schools). In November
2007 and in 2009-2010, Earl was appointed by
Tuskegee University as a Visiting Senior Scholar
at The National Bioethics Center. He published
the following articles from this research and study:
The USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee: Rethinking
the Horizons of Beneficence in The Search for the
Legacy of the USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee,
edited by Ralph V. Katz and Ruben Warren. Lanham,
Maryland: Lexington Books 2011; Sankofan Socio-
ethical Reflections: The Tuskegee University National
Bioethics Centers Decade of Operation, 1999-
2009 in Journal of Health Care for the Poor and
Underserved volume 21, number 3 supplement
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press August 2010; The
American Constitution: Its Troubling Religious and
Ethical Paradox for Blacks in Ethics That Matters:
African, Caribbean, and African American Sources,
edited by Marcia Y. Riggs and James Samuel Logan.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2012; Black Theology
and Human Purpose in The Cambridge Companion
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To B l a c k T h e o l o g y
(Cambridge Companion
to Religion) edited by
Dwight Hopkins and Edward
Antonio Cambridge University Press 2012. Earl is
presently writing an article on Breaking Interfaith
Sound Barriers: Louis Armstrongs Creative Jazz
Response to Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism
and A Commoners Uncommon Life of Ministry:
Pastor Johnny Flakes Jr. 1934-2013.
Earl is presently writing the following book
manuscripts: No Balm in Gilead? The Ethics of
Complicity in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and The
Jesus Crisis In Black Consciousness: The Theological
and Ethical Dilemma
Professor Earl, an ordained Christian clergy (Baptist),
advocates teaching and preaching the gospel to
meet the needs of the whole person. He does this by
building communication bridges between the black
church and the academy.
From July 2011 August 2012 Earl served as interim
pastor of the Beulah Baptist Church in Vine City
Atlanta, Georgia. During that period, he launched
a weekly Wednesday noonday Bible study service
where better than two hundred homeless people
were taught and fed at some week day sessions.
Earl has formerly pastored for more than twenty
plus years at churches in Shelbyville, Tennessee
specifically, and the Knoxville, Tennessee suburban
areas of Alcoa and Louisville respectively. Professor
Earl is seriously committed to the teaching and
preaching of the Christian gospel locally, nationally,
and internationally. For a ten-year tenure, Earl
taught during the summers in Vision Quest: An
Ethical Leadership Academy for Youth in cities such
as Atlanta, Detroit, and Rochester. He has done
volunteer work at the Lindsey Street Baptist Church
in Atlanta, conducting Bible classes for ex-felons.
Professor Earl is married to Natasha N. Coby Earl.
Riggins was married to the late Lovelene Thornton Earl
with whom he fathered two sons and one daughter.
Earl is the grandfather of two grandsons, Nathan
and Caden Earl.
 The Reverend LeRoy Elliott

Motto: To fill the people with church, not the church with people.
Born in Limestone County, Alabama, Rev. LeRoy Elliott and his family relocated to Louisville, KY. While residing
in Louisville, he was educated through the Jefferson County School system. Rev. Elliott attended the University
of Louisville and continued his theological education at Baltimore Theological Seminary.
In 1975 Rev. Elliott was joined in holy matrimony to his wife, Mrs. Katie Elliott. To this union two sons and
one daughter were born.
In 1978, Rev. Elliott was called to New Greater St. John Community Missionary Baptist Church located at
3101 W. Warren Boulevard, Chicago, IL where he serves as Pastor.
Since then, Rev. Elliott has received many prestigious awards. He has been privileged to have been the
spiritual mouth piece during the midnight service of the National Baptist Convention USA, of which he is a
faithful and active member.
Rev. Elliott has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the Nation & beyond the borders of America. He
has given the word in some of the most prestigious pulpits and is one of the premier revivalists of this country,
as well. He is not only actively involved with the spiritual part of man, but also the physical part of man. Rev.
Elliott has participated in numerous marches to enhance the quality of the entire human race. His concern
for the homeless, hungry, disenfranchised and all others in need is second to none.
Rev. Elliott knows that God is concerned about the total man and this motivates him to set a goal to accomplish
the same, through the power and will of God.
Rev. Elliott believes and often says; When time shall have ended and eternity has begun, remember me as
being a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 FEB. Founders Day
10 Lecture Series

Allen University
(The Chappelle Auditorium)

The Gathering and Fellowship.................................................................................................. 9:00 AM

Lecture I - The Reverend Dr. William Swinton, Convener............................................................ 10:00 AM

Dr. Riggins Earl, Ph.D., Professor of Ethics & Theology
The Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Lunch.................................................................................................................................................. 12:00 PM

Lecture II - The Reverend Melissa Green, Convener...................................................................2:00 PM

Dr. Riggins Earl, Ph.D., Professor of Ethics & Theology
The Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Clergy Meeting with the Bishop............................................................................................... 4:00 PM

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 Founders Day FEB.
Worship Service 10

Reid Chapel AME Church

Worship Service 7 PM
The Reverend Dr. Allen W. Parrott, P.E., Worship Leader
The Kingstree District

The Prelude

The Processional Weve Come This Far by Faith (page 9)

The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow: Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen

The Call to Worship (page 10) The Reverend Joseph Postell, P.E.
The Lancaster District

The Hymn of Praise #226 (Amazing Grace) The Reverend James S. Cooper, P.E.
The Sumter District

The Invocation The Reverend Malachi Duncan, P.E.

The Charleston District

The Choral Response #307 Choir and Congregation

Spirit of the Living God

The Worship through Music The Founders Day Choir

The Scripture
Old Testament The Reverend Judy M. Richardson, P.E.
The Greenville District

The Epistle The Reverend Eddie Gaston, P.E.

The Manning District

The Gospel The Reverend Dr. Juenarrl Keith, P.E.

The Mt. Pleasant District

The Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, World without end. Amen, Amen.

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 FEB. Founders Day
10 Worship Service

Reid Chapel AME Church

Worship Service 7 PM

The Worship through Music The Founders Day Choir

Gift for Missions The Reverend Dr. William Smith, Jr., P.E.
The Marion District

The Founders Day Litany (page 11) The Reverend Rosalyn G. Coleman, P.E.
The Columbia District

The Worship through Music The Founders Day Choir

The Offering The Episcopal District Finance Team

The Introduction of the Preacher Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr.

The Worship through Music The Founders Day Choir

The Sermon The Reverend LeRoy Elliot

Pastor, New Greater St. John C.M.B. Church

The Invitation to Discipleship The Reverend Joseph Darby, P.E.

The Beaufort District

The Announcements

The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow: Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen

The Benediction The Reverend LeRoy Elliot

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 Weve Come This Far by Faith
Chorus:
Weve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord;
Trusting in His Holy Word, Hes never failed me yet.
Oh, oh - -, oh - - cant turn around - -
Weve come this far by faith.

Repeat Chorus

Verse 1
Dont be discouraged, when troubles in your life.
Hell bear your burdens, and move all misery and strife.
Thank God weve

Repeat Chorus

Verse 2
Just the other day I heard a man say
He didnt believe in Gods word.
But I can truly say that God has made a way.
And Hes never failed me yet.
Thats why weve

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 The Call to Worship

Minister: I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house
of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.

People: For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather
be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the
tents of wickedness.

Minister: Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good.

People: Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in
the courts of our God.

Minister: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. Lord, I have loved thy
habitation and the place where thy honor dwelleth.

People: For the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence
before Him.

Minister: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be

acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

People: O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous
things. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth, and sing
praises.

10
 The Founders Day Litany
(Litany written by Bishop John Hurst Adams, the 87th Elected and Consecrated
Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church)

Reverend Coleman: It is with grateful hearts that we give thanks to God for the gift
of empowerment, liberation and community in Jesus Christ our
Lord.
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the Apostles, martyrs and heroes of the faith
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the Ecumenical Christian Community to which all Christians
belong, sharing a common origin and destiny despite our
diversity in worship, polity and theology
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the new insights and fresh fervor brought by the reformers
and prophets in our history
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the African Methodist Episcopal Church and its unique
place and special contribution to the church and community
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.

Reverend Coleman: For the experience of two centuries of liberation struggles and
reconciliation gifts, and for the prospect and promises of a
third century
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For that unique Prophet, Apostle of Freedom, and the Model of
Ebony Excellence, whose blessed name is Richard Allen
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the beloved of our history and their special emphases:
Daniel Payne, Paul Quinn, Henry McNeil Turner, John R.
Hawkins, Lucy Hughes and all the Bishops and Leaders of our
Church
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the obscure and unsung heroes of the Faith; Presiding
Elders, Pastors, Laypersons, Missionaries and Youth who have
kept the Faith in hard and remote places
PEOPLE: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH.
Reverend Coleman: For the Genius of the Conference System which recovers the
Story, renews the Faith, deepens the Commitment and
preserves our Holy Heritage generation unto generation
ALL: THE LORDS NAME BE PRAISED, HALLELUJAH AND AMEN!

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 Seventh Episcopal District Presiding Elders
Palmetto South Carolina Annual Conference
The Reverend Dr. Allen W. Parrott, Kingstree District
The Reverend Dr. Juenarrl Keith, Mt. Pleasant District
The Reverend Dr. Sandy W. Drayton, Georgetown District

Northeast South Carolina Annual Conference
The Reverend Dr. William Smith, Jr., Marion District
The Reverend Dr. James S. Cooper, Sumter District
The Reverend Remus Harper, Florence-Dillon District

Columbia South Carolina Annual Conference

The Reverend Rosalyn G. Coleman, Columbia District
The Reverend Joseph Postell, Lancaster District
The Reverend Dr. M. Charmaine Ragin, Newberry District

South Carolina Annual Conference
The Reverend Malachi Duncan, Charleston District
The Reverend Joseph A. Darby, Beaufort District
The Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr., Edisto District

Piedmont South Carolina Annual Conference

The Reverend Samuel L. McPherson, Abbeville-Greenwood District
The Reverend Judy M. Richardson, Greenville District

Central South Carolina Annual Conference

The Reverend Eddie Gaston, Jr., Manning District
The Reverend Phillip Anderson, Wateree District
The Reverend Dr. Charles Young, Orangeburg District

Retired Presiding Elders

The Reverend Lorenzo T. Baker
The Reverend Robert Cooper
The Reverend George T. Devlin
The Reverend James R. Glover
The Reverend Charles Graves
The Reverend Oscar A. Klugh
The Reverend Robert L. McCants
The Reverend Alonzo Middleton
The Reverend Samuel Myers
The Reverend Lee M. Seward