Commission Members
Endorser
The Reverend
Vergel Lattimore, Ph.D.
Chairperson
The Right Reverend
Melanie R. Miller, Ph.D, D. Min.
General
Secretary-Auditor
The Reverend
J. Elvin Sadler, D. Min.
Chaplaincy Peer Support
Reverend Cherlyn Tribble
Reverend Dr. Kevin Weston
Specialized
Ministry
Dr. Anastasia Holman
Reverend Michael Neal
CPE
Certification
Reverend Rose Bryan
Dr. Myrtle Bowen
Connectional Lay Council Report
The Reverend
J. Elvin Sadler, D. Min.
Ecclesiastical Endorsements
How to Apply
For this process, you will need to:
1) fill out the attached application and complete all
required requests
2) provide us with official transcripts, and
3) pay the application fee of $100.00, which includes
the fee for providing a background check.
Once received, we will proceed with the process
of endorsement. You may send all reference documents
electronically to Endorsement@AMEZion.org. Once we receive
all information, a video conference will be set up between you and Dr. Sadler.
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Application w/ instruction attached
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Please see link to pay your application fee
🌟 Ecclesiastical Endorsement for Chaplaincy
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
🕊️ Welcome
We are honored that you are pursuing chaplaincy ministry under the covering of the A.M.E. Zion Church. This page outlines the steps to receive your Ecclesiastical Endorsement, a vital credential affirming your spiritual readiness and denominational support.
📌 Application Steps
Please complete the following steps to begin your endorsement process:
1. 📄 Complete the Application
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Download and fill out the Ecclesiastical Endorsement Application
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Ensure all required fields and supplemental information are provided
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Download Application Form
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2. 🎓 Submit Official Transcripts
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Provide transcripts from accredited theological institutions
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Transcripts may be submitted electronically or by mail
3. 💳 Pay the Endorsement Fee
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A non-refundable fee of $100.00 is required
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This includes the cost of a background check
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Click here to pay your application fee
4. 📧 Submit All Materials
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Email your completed application, transcripts, and reference documents to:
Endorsement@AMEZion.org
📅 What Happens Next?
Once all materials are received:
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Our team will review your submission
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You will be contacted to schedule a video conference with Dr. Sadler, who will guide you through the final phase of the endorsement process
🙏 Questions?
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at Endorsement@AMEZion.org. We are here to support you on your journey.
Peer Support Committee
Congregational
Provide guidance to local churches that encourages
support for chaplaincy. This outline of suggestions will introduce the framework that local churches can adopt to actively support chaplains and those whom they serve. The role of a military chaplain is profoundly significant yet inherently challenging, as is that of a hospital chaplain, prison chaplain, university chaplain,
or a corporate chaplain. This necessitates robust community
and administrative backing. This is not just a role, but a calling that requires the full support of the local church. By fostering an environment conducive to peer support, churches can help mitigate the psychological and emotional challenges that chaplains face within various contexts.
Sharing Social Challenges
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Educate clergy and laity about the ministry of chaplaincy.
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Articulate the value of specialized ministry.
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Claim pastoral authority in specialized ministry (“I am not just a chaplain.”).
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Encourage church leadership to utilize chaplains as preachers, presenters for panels, School of the Prophets at annual conference, presenters at leadership conferences, workshop facilitators at retreats.
Community and Administrative Framework for the Local Church
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Formulate a dedicated group comprising church members with insight into military
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life, healthcare challenges, academia, and/or prison life. This can be the foundation for evangelistic work associated with the encounters of the chaplains in the congregation, i.e., nursing home worship services, care packages for military personnel, prison worship services, outreach to university students, etc. The work would be dependent upon the community in which the church is situated.
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Educational Programs could be developed to provide workshops and seminars to educate both clergy and laity on the unique challenges of military service, campus life, prison life, hospitalizations, etc. life.
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Foster understanding and empathy within the broader church community
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regarding the spiritual and emotional needs of persons in these various contexts.
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Encourage regular prayer and intercession for chaplains, as they are often in great danger due to their presence either in war zones, or places such as university campuses and hospitals, where the occurrence of violence is on the increase.
Giving
Support
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Identify chaplains in various contexts of chaplaincy who can mentor new chaplains.
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Provide support for those who are seeking various certifications, career advancement through various systems, and opportunities to become certified to train others. For example, this can be achieved through mock certification committees, essay reviews, and discussions about theory.
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Collaborate with others who are in vocations who may interact with chaplains, i.e., healthcare professionals, military officers, prison wardens, corporate executives and those who can help the chaplain navigate these systems.
A.M.E. Zion Clinical Pastoral Education Program Description
The AME Zion Clinical Pastoral Education Program (CPE) will offer both clergy and lay an opportunity to develop and expand professional caring skills for addressing a person’s spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. Students may experience direct spiritual care for parish and hospitalized patients.
CPE is an outcomes-based program that has provided trained seminary students, pastors, ministers, rabbis, imams, and other religious workers in parish and clinical settings.
The AME Zion CPE program will offer one level of CPE credit.
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Internship (Part-time)
Program and admission requirements:
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AME Zion CPE application packet includes the following:
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Completed ACPE application (www.acpe.edu).
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Attach recent academic transcript (official or unofficial).
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Include your resume or a five-year work history.
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Brief description of your reason for enrolling in the AME Zion CPE Program.
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Letter of recommendation and support from your local pastor. If you are an assigned pastor-in-charge include a letter of recommendation from your Presiding Elder.
Program Objectives:
Pastoral Competence
CPE helps the pastoral caregiver understand and integrate the disciplines of theology and the behavioral sciences. This includes not only a broad knowledge of religious practices and spiritual assessment, but also of the emotional and social dynamics of personal and interpersonal relationships.
Pastoral Reflection
The program helps pastoral caregivers identify spiritual and theological foundations of their pastoral ministry. Pastoral reflection is prompted by relationships with individuals in crisis, peers, ACPE Certified Educator, church members, and the hospital staff. The primary activity for this type of education has come to be known as the clinical method of learning or the Action/Reflection/Action Model.
Pastoral Formation
CPE encourages students to move toward a clearer understanding of their personal and pastoral identity, their gifts, and graces for ministry. Students will also explore a variety of appropriate responses and interventions within the context of pastoral relationships.
Act, Reflect, Act Methodology
CPE’s core learning methodology is Action/Reflection/Action. Developed more than 75 years ago by the Rev. Anton Boisen, this method encourages students to “act,” “reflect,” and “act” again with a renewed sense of professional competence and skill.
Program Structure
During a typical week, CPE students will experience:
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Pastoral care with patients and families in assigned areas of a hospital or local parish.
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Clinical seminars including verbatim accounts of patient encounters, video role play and practice session, theological case conferences, preaching/worship reflections, and group development.
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Didactic seminars with lectures on a variety of spiritual care topics, presented by diverse faculty to include ACPE Certified Educators, denominational instructors, local hospital, and other health care professionals from your community.
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Hospital assignments will include health care team rounds with interdisciplinary staff during patient care planning sessions.
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On-call opportunities to experience being a primary spiritual care provider for an entire hospital community, ministry setting or parish assignment.
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Worship, prayer services, and grief recovery offer opportunities for preaching, leading healing and memorial services, and participation in hospital-sponsored grief recovery programs.
Clinical Pastoral Education
Specialized Ministry Assignment
• Examine the need for pastors to nurture and develop local preachers, exhorters, class leaders, deaconesses and officers who engage in specialized ministry and provide ministry to the general membership
• Review the Book of Discipline to identify the different categories of specialized ministry.
• Create a curriculum and establish a culture for Specialized Ministry
• Broaden the notion of Specialized Ministry beyond ordained clergy to include lay ministers
• Create a framework for Specialized Ministry that includes both ordained and lay ministers
Specialized Ministry (Defined)
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The 2021 AME Zion Book of Discipline says (pg. 490), under the glossary of commonly used terms in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, specialized ministry is defined as “The ministry of an ordained Minister in full connection, active in the Annual Conference, and appointed by the Presiding Bishop on Special Assignment”, in and outside of the A.M.E. Zion Church.
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Additionally, the 2021 AME Zion Book of Discipline says (pg.98 para 2) “A minister on special assignment serving in a ministry setting outside of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church expand its inclusions of and specifications for Clergy in Specialized Ministry. Clergy in Specialized Ministry are ordained Deacons and Elders who are active Members in Full Connection of an Annual Conference and approved by the bishop for a special assignment.”
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Also, the 2021 AME Zion Book of Discipline says (pg. 98 para 3a) “….special assignment outside of the A.M.E. Zion setting…”. It also speaks of (pg. 99 para 3b) “In A.M.E. Zion settings…..”. Therefore, specialized ministries apply to both inside and outside of the A.M.E. Zion Church.