United Methodist Church​
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For Immediate Release
June 22, 2017
Madison, NJ
CONTACT- Carol L. Travis, Executive Assistant – info@aamhc-umc.org

The African American Methodist Heritage Center Offers New Grant Opportunity

The African American Methodist Heritage Center (AAMHC) announced today a new grant opportunity to local United Methodist African American congregations doing/planning innovative ways to recover, preserve and/or present their histories; or to individuals doing historical research or projects on African Americans in Methodism. The grant, totaling $5000, will be available every other year.

The grant is named in honor of Bishop Forrest C. Stith, one of the founding members of the AAMHC and the first president. Forrest was elected to the episcopacy at the 1984 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference. He was assigned to the New York West Area; and later was assigned to the New York Area in l992. Upon his retirement in 1996, he and his wife, Josephine, served the United Methodist Church of East Africa, providing episcopal oversight to areas of Uganda, Rwanda, and Southern Sudan, where the late Bishop J. Alfred Ndoricimpa was unable to travel because of political strife. Returning home in 2000, the Stiths served an interim pastorate of one and a half years at Gibbons Resurrection United Methodist Church, Brandywine, MD.

In retirement, Forrest continues to study, to teach, to lecture, and to preach. He serves as Bishop in Residence at Asbury United Methodist Church, Washington DC. He is a Life Member of the Black Methodist for Church Renewal (BMCR) and serves on the Board of Directors of Cameron Grove Community in Upper Marlboro, MD, where he and Josephine, his wife, live.

Submitted proposals should be postmarked no later than July 31, 2017. Grant recipients will be announced by October 2, 2017. Selection of grant recipients will be made by a committee consisting of at least 3 persons, one member of the Board of Trustees of the African American Methodist Heritage Center, one person from General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) and one other person who has exhibited knowledge and interest in church history.

For more information on the grant and directions on how to apply, please visit: http://gcah.org/research/grants-and-awards

For more information on the work of the AAMHC, please visit: http://aamhc-umc.org/​