Joint event for three denominations

In an effort to promote unity within the Methodist tradition, three congregations joined forces for The Great Gathering in Columbia S.C., March 1-3, 2010. Approximately 12,000 attendees from the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion and Christian Methodist Episcopal churches convened in the Carolina Coliseum to address issues such as the breakdown of the family, challenges with education and the need to rebuild the African-American male.

“This gathering of three powerful denominations will be a major signal to all that the church will now take an even more proactive and aggressive role in addressing the critical problems that are hurting our communities nationwide,” organizers of the event said before the event took place.

The gathering marked the first time in more than 45 years that the denominations within the African-American community have met collectively. The event had an impact of more than $500,000 on the city.

“We were able to secure this meeting because of another major conference going on in our city at the same time,” says Twila Jones, sales manager at the Columbia Metropolitan CVB. “The Women’s Missionary Council CME Church is hosting their event in Columbia and so the organizers of The Great Gathering decided it would be a good idea to meet where the ladies are meeting. We’ve been very busy making sure the event organizers of both events were well taken care of and everything has been fantastic.”