On March 5, 2021, the board of the General Commission on Archive and History (GCAH) of The United Methodist Church (UMC) unanimously voted to resume their annual gift of $30,000 to the African American Methodist Heritage Center (AAMHC) for the next five years in honor of the late commission member and colleague, The Rev. Dr. William Bobby McClain.
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The concept for the AAMHC originated with the Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) in 2001 when Bishop Forrest C. Stith challenged the BMCR leadership to provide a way for assuring that the contributions of African Americans to Methodism were recovered and remembered. Their mission is to provide research, preserve artifacts and other memorabilia, and to protect and promote the stories of African American people in Methodism.
“Given the bishops' call last summer to dismantle racism within our own ranks and in society at large and given our emphasis on Methodist efforts to dismantle racism throughout history,” said GCAH General Secretary Dr. Ashley Boggan Dreff, “it is time that we, to be frank, put our money where our mouth is!”
“Dr. Dreff and the GCAH Board have invested in an important mission,” stated Mollie M. Stewart, President of the AAMHC. “On behalf of the African American Methodist Heritage Center Board of Directors and all of those who will benefit directly and indirectly from its work, we thank you as the leader of GCAH and the entire board for the generous inclusion of the African American Methodist Heritage Center and its work as part of your budget. We are partners in our mission, we are partners in life.”
“In one of his last acts, Bobby McClain called on the church to press forward in the struggle to dismantle racism,” stated Bishop Jeremiah Park, chair of the GCAH.
"My predecessors did an outstanding job forming and sustaining our relationship with the AAMHC as well as beginning conversations within the commission and denomination on dismantling racism through honest engagement with our past,” said Dreff. “Conversations necessarily need to lead to action. Our increased financial support of the AAMHC during a time when our agency, and others, are facing decreased annual budgets and unknown financial futures, is the first step in acting to dismantle racism. Through our partnership with the AAMHC, we are encouraged to find the next steps to not only dismantle racism, but to continue to promote and preserve the various histories of the Methodist tradition."
Press Release, General Commission on Archives and History
The World Service Fund provides basic financial support to program-related general agencies, which are especially important to the common vision, mission, and ministry of The United Methodist Church. Through World Service funding, agencies support annual conferences and local congregations in living out God’s mission for the worldwide Church. General agencies also provide essential services and ministries beyond the scope of individual local congregations and annual conferences through services and ministries that are highly focused, flexible, and capable of rapid response.
