Rev. Sherrie Dobbs Johnson has been elected the first full-time executive director for the African American Methodist Heritage Center (AAMHC). Rev. Johnson is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Belmar, NJ, and has held positions as Conference Council Director, District Superintendent, Managing Editor of Response Magazine, contributing liturgist to Africana Worship Book for Years A, B and C; and contributor to worship services at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference.
“The search committee was delighted to have some outstanding candidates for the position,” said Bishop Forrest C. Stith, president of the AAMHC board of directors. “Rev. Johnson’s background and experience, in addition to her resourcefulness, are exceptional advantages for the Heritage Center as it takes the next step in preserving and telling the story of African Americans in Methodism from inception. We are grateful that the General Conference of 2008 approved a resolution that provides $400,000 for the quadrennium to enable this propitious ‘dream.’”
Rev. Johnson started as AAMHC Executive Director February 2, 2009. The African American Methodist Heritage Center is a repository for the documents, artifacts and memorabilia that tell the story of Black people in Methodism. The center is an Advance Special project. The main office for the Heritage Center is at the Commission on Archives and History, 30 Madison Avenue, P.O. Box 127, Madison, NJ 07940. For more information contact Rev. Sherrie Dobbs Johnson at AAMHC, Inc., (973) 494-3322 or via email: AAMHC@aol.com.
Joshua
4:21-22 And he spake unto the children of
Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in
time to come, saying , What [mean] these stones? Then ye shall
let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan
on dry land.
Mission “To
establish and provide for the maintenance of an African
American Methodist Heritage Center, connected with
a historically Black institution that, will preserve
and protect artifacts and be accessible for research
about African American people in Methodism.”
Vision
There shall be a repository for the artifacts that tell the story of African
Americans in Methodism.
Just as Joshua directed instructed the people to take the stones from the River
Jordan, these artifacts will be
our symbol
so that generations-to-come will always remember
the trials and triumphs of our journey.
Goals of the Initiative
The Task Force perfected and adopted the following Goals
of the Initiative:
To provide for the ongoing collection, preservation, and cataloging
of artifacts, including documents, objects, audio, visual and
other manifestations, related to African Americans and Methodism.
To provide for archiving of such collections in the interim
in the United Methodist General Commission on Archives and History
until a permanent facility is available.
To provide a facility to accommodate the hosting of conferences,
workshops and research related to our heritage; and
To obtain the financial support necessary to establish and
maintain African American the trials and triumphs of our
journey in the Methodist Heritage Center.
You can make a difference!
Local Church members and pastors can help to make the vision for
an African American Methodist Heritage Center a reality.
Prayerfully consider the following:
Tell other members of the United Methodist Church
about the vision and emphasize the importance of keeping a record
of our history.
Describe the vision for an African American
Methodist Heritage Center.
Ask people to search through their artifacts
and donate them to The Heritage Center.
Consider sharing the artifacts of a loved
one with The Heritage Center.
Talk with longtime members of the UMC and
ask if they are willing to be interviewed about their experiences
in the Methodist Church.
