Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church
2233 Main Street
Hartford, CT 06120
860-525-8208
www.allenchapelhartford.com

ANNUAL CONFERENCE REPORT

2007-2008

Rt. Rev. Richard Franklin Norris, Presiding Prelate

Rev. Herbert L. Eddy, Presiding Elder

Rev. Dion S. Greer, Pastor

Pastoral Greetings

       We bring greetings to the 157th Session of the New England Annual Conference with the joy of Jesus, praising God from whom all blessings flow.

            It is truly an honor and privilege to serve under the Episcopal leadership of Bishop Richard Franklin Norris and Mother Mary Norris.  I am extremely grateful for the continued support and counsel of Presiding Elder Herbert L. Eddy and Rev. Amelia Eddy.

            Truly, the work is all divine.  This conference year the Lord has continued to shower manifold blessings upon the Allen Chapel family and we are grateful to be servants of our God.  Our effort to promote spiritual and physical growth is evident through the development of new ministries at Allen Chapel. 

            A special thanks to the Allen Chapel family for their love and remarkable commitment to the work of the Lord.  It is an honor to serve and be part of such a great church.

             Yours in His Service,

       Rev. Dion S. Greer

            Pastor

Dept of Evangelism

Rev. Betty Al-Sagaf , president has a ministry for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the community and she extended this ministry to include assistance to our neighboring John C. Clark School.  This conference year we provided school uniforms to 4 of their students.

Lay Organization

 We celebrated our Annual Day with a special service honoring the a good and faithful servant, the late Brother Crosby (Joe) Waite, who served as the President of the Lay Organization for many years.   During the service we dedicated a new stained glass window in his memory.

 A special thanks to Rev. Genevieve-Nicholas Tweed and the congregation of Macedonia AME Church, New York for supporting us in making this day special.  

Mary Lee Tilley Missionary Society

Sister Maggie Lynch has taken the lead and directed our focus this conference year to building on what we had already begun.  We have expanded our ministry to include an “Adopt a Social Worker” program.  This program is geared towards assisting mothers and children.  This year we were able to supply a mother and her 7 month old baby with a high chair, toys and clothing.

Young People Department

Sister Victoria Glasscock has lent of her talent for fashion to our youth ministry and we were able to hold our first “Back to School Fashion Show” an occasion for the Allen Chapel youth to show off their talents as well as their fashions.     

Christian Education

   “Train up a child in the way he should go” is the guiding principle of Sister Pauline Greer’s exceptional leadership.  We have begun a children’s church where Sister Pauline brings them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord by teaching from the same scripture lesson as the Pastor’s sermon to children ages 5 – 13.    

Music Dept.

Our children’s choir praises God through song every fourth Sunday.  We have a new addition to our musical staff, Bro. Donal Walker  made it possible for us to form a gospel choir.  

Christian Fellowship – We continue to share in and spread the love of Jesus through our many Christian fellowship activities.  We held our annual “Harvest Party”  where the children and adults  created crafts.

We also held for the first time  “A Night of Elegance”.    It was a night for gowns and tuxedos,  fun and laughter.

Black History Month – In observance of Black History Month, our YPD created a pictorial exhibit displayed in our social hall.  We also held “Black History “Jeopardy” with questions to stump even the best of us.  Members were dressed in historical costumes to aid us in getting the answers to the toughest of questions.

It was with great delight to welcome Bishop Richard Franklin Norris as we hosted the Bishop’s business meeting.

This 2008 conference year marks Allen Chapel’s 71st anniversary of service to our Lord in the capital city of Hartford.  We thank Rev. James Walker and the membership of Phillips Metropolitan CME Church for worshipping with us on this wonderful occasion.

During our annual Winter Revival we were blessed with three powerful messages from the Lord through the Rev. D. Terry Hassel of Bethel A.M.E. Church, Springfield.  We thank him and the Praise Dancers    for lifting our hearts and reviving our spirits.          

We completed the renovation of our social hall with repairing and installing of a new floor, removing old wall coverings, painting the ceiling and walls. 

We also completed needed repairs the stairway and rail.

We were also the beneficiaries of the generosity of the Hartford Neighborhood Center, through which we acquired a parcel of land located directly behind the church.

We are preparing for the renovation of the kitchen area.

It was for the grace of God that we were able to accomplish all that we did.

 TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!