Then the Lord spoke saying “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Often, I am asked “When were you called to preach?” This Scripture in Jeremiah is the answer to that question. October 28, 1995 is when I was called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. July 11, 2010 is when I recognized my calling. I am a licensed minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I am also the appointed Youth Pastor of my church, St. Paul AME Church.
What is the African Methodist Episcopal Church? Here is a simple way of explaining it:
African– We recognize that we are descendants of African slaves that fought for our people to have their own church. Methodist– Our traditions and beliefs are rooted in the Methodist Church, for we started out of a Methodist Church, St. George’s Methodist Church in Pennsylvania. Episcopal– The Episcopacy is our form of government for our denomination. Our leaders are our Bishops, Presiding Elders, Pastors, and Ministers.
I take my faith seriously. Anyone who knows me knows that I do a lot of work for my church, locally and internationally. My faith is no different from the Catholic faith or any other Christian faith because we all believe in God. Like other faiths, we all believe that He sent His son, Jesus Christ into this world to save His people, and we believe that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Our traditions and man-made beliefs are what make each our denominations unique.
When I first came to Ignatius, I was concerned about how I would be accepted as a non-Catholic. As time went on, I found that many of my classmates and teachers were interested in learning about what being an AME means. The AME Church holds a ton of meetings and we sit in church for 2-3 hours(on a good Sunday), and our main purpose as the AME Church is to preach the adulterated Word of Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, this is our goal as Christians! Whether we are Catholic, AME, Baptist, Pentecostal, Luthern, or non-Denominational, our purpose while here on earth remains constant. The difference is in how we go about spreading the Word.
For me, Saint Ignatius High School has strengthened my walk with Jesus Christ. From masses to prayer services, to the Theology classes, I feel that my walk with Christ has become more intimate and personal. Although I cannot partake in Communion at school masses, I still feel the presence of God through the rest of the mass.
The Psalmist David reminds us “Oh brothers, how good and how pleasant it is for us to dwell together in unity.” David’s words are prevalent now. How wonderful would it be to see different denominations of Christianity worshipping together on a regular basis? Ecumenical and interdenominational worship is my goal when I become the pastor of a church one day. I’ll look back and remember that Saint Ignatius High School was my motivation to do so. A.M.D.G.
