Changing of the Guards: London Midland Conference

Tens of thousands of visitors come to London annually to see the historical precision-driven ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremonies. This ceremony first began during the reign of King Henry VII (1485-1509) and marks the moment when the soldiers currently on duty, the Old Guard, exchanged places with the New Guard. It currently occurs at three sites in London: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, and Wellington Barracks.

Four and a half miles away, in a ‘church on the hill’ in Battersea, London, there was another changing of the guards from 22 August to 25 August 2024. Bishop George C. Crenshaw and his Missionary Supervisor, Mrs. Laurenna Y. Crenshaw, landed in the United Kingdom. They were there to hold the first annual conference of the North-Eastern Episcopal District since the 52^nd general conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Greensboro, North Carolina.

They flew into the British Isles to hold the London-Midland’s 54^th annual conference in the aftermath of race riots across a dozen British cities and during Storm Lilian. These 73 mph winds brought with it 16 hours of torrential rain. Despite these factors, the Ransom Pentecostal A.M.E. Zion Church was crowded with members wishing to get their first glimpse of their new episcopal leaders.

Bishop Crenshaw lit up the house with a sterling call for strategic actions to grow the conference and to use his teaching as an inspirational springboard for church growth across Europe. The bishop painstakingly spent two hours teaching the five-fold ministry of Evangelism, Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship, and Service.  He peppered his lecture with anecdotes from his ministry as a pastor of both rural and urban congregations in Alabama.

Bishop Crenshaw was supported in the annual conference by presiding elders Rev. Dr. A. Alfred Carson, London District; Rev. Daren Jaime, Midland District; and overseas clergy, Rev. Keith I. Harris and Mrs. Tawanda Harris, Presiding Elder Long Island; Rev. Dr. Derrill Blue, Presiding Elder Rochester-Syracuse; Rev. Kevin D. Coakley, Presiding Elder Buffalo NY; Rev. Milton Stubbs and Mrs. Stubbs, Pastors Newburgh; Rev. Marvin Hooks, Pastor First A.M.E. Zion Church, Brooklyn, NY;  The conference integrated ministry from the local conference and the overseas delegation. 

The business sessions of the conference were expedited, the word of God was preached powerfully and uplifting, the worship was indeed heavenly, and the fellowship most unifying. Presiding Elders were challenged to develop strategies for establishing new societies in the United Kingdom; pastors to innovate new ways of engaging with their disparate communities; members were entreated to be more welcoming and loving towards newcomers; and departments were urged to be intentional and focussed with their programmes. 

Sinners were called to repentance and believers to a greater commitment to Jesus Christ and his Church. As the conferees spilled out of the ‘church on the hill in Battersea’ and began to make their way back to the diverse boroughs of London and the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Wiltshire, and Wolverhampton, they left with the stirring words of the Sunday morning sermon that there was ‘Unfinished Business’ to do across the nation of the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe.