THE JOURNEY TO THE 15th QUADRENNIAL SESSION
By L.C. McBride
10th District Quadrennial Planning Meeting
By L.C. McBride
Bishop McKinley Ingram, Presiding Bishop, and Dr. Dorothy Jackson Ingram, Episcopal Supervisor, met with the committees and chairpersons of the W.M.S. and the Y.P.D. for their first official planning meeting before the 15th Quadrennial Convention scheduled to be held in Dallas, Texas July 30-August 7, 2003. The meeting was held at Bethel AME Church, 1638 E. Ann Arbor Avenue, Dallas, Texas, November 26, Rev. N. Jordan Mkwanazi, Pastor, and wife Rev. Henrietta Sullivan Mkwanazi, was the host.
Regardless of the weather conditions, the turnout was great. Each of the seven Conferences that help to make up the Macedonia AME Church was represented. They were greeted with a continental Breakfast at 8:00 A.M. When it was finished, Bishop Ingram opened the meeting with an appropriate song, “We Praise thee O God.” Then Dr. Dorothy Jackson Ingram, District Supervisor, expressed her feelings with an humble tone of voice accompanied with a wide warm smile and said, “I’m so glad to see all of you.”
When she was finished with her greetings, she presented the 10th District W.M.S. President, Mrs. Gloria Brody Foster, followed by the presentation of the Director of the Y.P.D., Mrs. Sharon Turner Blaylock. These presentations set the pace for the real purpose of the meeting. Some of the people present were meeting for the first time. The “Talented 10th District W.M.S.” has been having Brainstorming sessions since Convocation 2001. As a result of those sessions they have put together seven Committees of which they are so proud of until they named both, the Committees and the Chairpersons, “The Magnificent Seven.” The Chairpersons assembled with their Committee members, for the first time, during the planning meeting to exchange ideas and discuss plans. When they were finished they re-assembled and presented their thoughts and plans to the rest of the congregation for discussion, questions, and feedback. Each committee has their own agenda to work out, and they are all equally important. However, there seem to be more intricate details to be worked out in the Transportation, Publicity and Hospitality Committees. When the dust had settled, all committees were in agreement that there is still a lot of work to be done between now and the 30th of July 2003.
With that thought in mind, Dr. Dorothy Jackson Ingram, District Supervisor, read the following schedule for future meetings before the closing Hymn and Prayer of the First 10th District Quadrennial Planning Meeting:
 | Planning Mtg.-Nov. 14-16, 2002 in Dallas |
| Dec. 13,--2003 Quadrennial Site, Program Planning Review at 2002 Wyndham Anatole with Dr. Dorothy A. Peck. President, WMS. |
| 10th District Leadership Mtg. - January (Date T.B.A.) |
| Connectional WMS/YPD 2003 Executive Board Mtg. Jan. 30th - Feb. 1, 2003, Orlando, FL. (Dr. Dorothy A. Peck) |
| Founders Day-Feb. 27-March 1, 2003, Houston, Texas |
| 10th District Leadership Mtg. March/April, (Date T.B.A.) |
| May Day, May 8-9, 2003, Lubbock, Texas |
| Final 10th District Leadership Mtg. June/July 2003 (Date T.B.A.) |
| 15th Quadrennial Convention, July 30th - August 7th, Dallas, Texas |
When the meeting had come to a close, everyone was excited and satisfied over what had been accomplished during this first meeting. The WMS Chairpersons seem to remember their original Theme, “Praying Our Way To and Through.” Now they will also have to keep in mind the Fifteenth Quadrennial Convention Theme, “Fulfilling Our Mission: God’s Word, God’s Will, God’s Way.”
Mrs. Gloria Brody Foster, President of the 10th District WMS, said; “It will be a joy, why? “ Because we are going to make the difference.”
