139th Session of the Desert Mountain Annual Conference
CLOSING and COMMISSIONING SERVICE
Saturday,September 6, 2025 10:00 AM
RISE UP and SING!
Worship Leader
Rev.Sheriolyn CurryHodge,PresidingElder,MountainValleyDistrict
The Praise & Worship....................................................Desert Mountain Conference Adult Choir
The Processional..................................................... YPD, Clergy, Presiding Elder, and Bishop
The Doxology............................." Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow"..............................
The Call to Worship................................................................................................................................... TheReverendEricTaylor Arabella Stembridge, YPD,PrinceChapel,Tucson, AZ
The Opening Hymn...................Lift Every Voice and Sing……………………..…..Hymn #571 Tatiyana Mack,DMCYPD President
(1)
Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won.
(2)
Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
(3)
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to Our God. True to our native land.
The Invocation ................................................................The Reverend LeSean Tarkington Greater Bethel AME Church, Phoenix, AZ
SpecialYPD Prayer................................................................ BrendenPrentice-Brooks, YPD FirstAME,Pueblo, CO
The Prayer Response......................'Let the Church Say Amen" ...............................................................
The Scripture Readings
The Old Testament Psalm96:1-6............................The Reverend Hilton J. McClendon Allen Chapel, Cheyenne, WY
The Epistle Philippians 2:1-4 .............................The Reverend Brenda Hector Embry Chapel, Ogden, UT
TheGospel John 10:7-10......................................................... Raven Long, YPD Tanner Chapel, Phoenix, AZ
The Preface Hymn to the Decalogue ..................“From All That Dwells Below the Skies”
The Summary of the Decalogue.................................. The Reverend Dr. Shaime Okunor Howard Chapel, Gallup, NM
Minister: He said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The Gloria Patri Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Commissioning Litany Janiyah Dixon, YPD Greater Bethel, YPD
Leader: O people of God, let us gather in spirit andin truth: "O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!'(Psalm 96:1)
People: We riseup and sing!
Leader: God calls us from every generation and walk of life-children who are a heritage from theLord (Psalm 127:3), youth whose strength is renewed (Isaiah 40:31), adults bringing many gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-6), and elders who dream dreams (Joel 2:28).
We are sent to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives(Isaiah 61:1), and to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
People: We rise up and sing!
Leader: Some go to sanctuaries filled with joyful noise; some to chapels where two or three are gathered in Christ's name(Matthew 18:20).
We travel with both joy and uncertainty, trusting God who says, "I willnever leave you or forsake you"(Hebrews 13:5).
People: We rise up and sing!
Leader: We sing with the cloud of witnesses who ran their race before us(Hebrews 12:1), with the mothers and fathers who sang songs of freedom in hope, and with all who wait for God's justice to roll down likewaters (Amos 5:24).
No one is too young or too old, too new or too seasoned; all are called God's beloved (Galatians3:28).
People: We rise upand sing!
Leader: So, clergy and laity, families and friends, children and elders-let the Spirit send us out to seekJustice, to love mercy, to serve with compassion, andto lift every voice and sing a new song of liberation and peace.
People: We rise up and sing a new song! Amen
The YPD Offering .............................................................
TheReverendMichael Permillion Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church
The Ministry of Music .........................................................YPD Annual ConferenceChoir
The Presentation of the Bishop ................................... The Reverend Dr. Timothy Tyler Shorter Community A.M.E. Church
Introduction of the Preacher..................................Bishop Francine A. Brookins, Esq.
The Ministryof Music YPD Annual ConferenceChoir
The Closing Sermon ........................................................... The Reverend Richard Holmes Associate Minister, Tanner Chapel, Phoenix, AZ
The Invitation to Christian Discipleship ...............................................................................
The Reverend Quanta Crews Malachi Crews, YPD, Tanner Chapel
The Offering .........................................Desert Mountain Conference Finance Committee
The Announcements .......................... The Reverend Charles Wright, Payne Chapel
The Resolution Committee Report
The Finance Committee Final Report
The Award and CertificatePresentations
The Commissioning Hymn
TheReverend MiriamJ. Burnett, MD, MPH
EpiscopalSupervisor of Missions,5th Episcopal District
The Right Reverend Francine A. Brookins, Esq. Presiding Prelate, 5th Episcopal District, A.M.E. Church
THE COMMISSIONING SERVICE
1
Go, preach My Gospel, saith the Lord, Bid the whole earth My grace receive; He shall be saved that trusts My word, He shall be damned that won't believe.
2
I’ll make your great commission known, And ye shall prove My Gospel true, By all the works that I have done, By all the wonders ye shall do.
3
Go heal the sick, go raise the dead, Go cast out devils in My name; Nor let My prophets be afraid. Though Greeks reproach and Jews blaspheme.
Prayer.....................................................................................................................................
Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 NRSVUE .............................................Jaylen Holmes, YPD Tanner Chapel, Phoenix, AZ 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
The Reading of the Appointments ........... The RightReverendFrancine A. Brookins, Esq. PresidingPrelate, 5th Episcopal District,A.M.E.Church
The Doxology and Benediction ................ The Right Reverend FrancineA.Brookins, Esq. PresidingPrelate, 5th EpiscopalDistrict,A.M.E. Church
APPOINTMENT OF PRESIDING ELDER
Mountain Valley District
APPOINTMENTOF PASTORS
Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, Cheyenne, WV ...............................................................
Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church I Denver, CO ................................................................
Embry Chapel A.M.E. Church I Ogden, UT ........................................................................
First A.M.E. Church. Pueblo, CO.............................................................................................................
Grant Chapel A.M.E. Church, Albuquerque, NM .........................................................
Greater Bethel A.M.E Church, Phoenix, AZ
Harbert Chapel, Flagstaff, AZ ......................................................................................
Howard Chapel A.M.E Church, Gallup, NM
Holy Trinity Community A.M.E. Church, Mesa, AZ
Jordan Chapel A.M.E. Church, Denver, CO...............................................................
Mt Moriah Community A.M.E. Church, Phoenix, AZ ................................................
Owen Chapel A.M.E. Church, Alamogordo,NM.............................................................................
Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, Colorado Springs, CO .................................................
Prince Chapel A.M.E. Church,Tucson, AZ................................................................................................
Sierra Vista Community A.M.E. Church, Sierra Vista, AZ .....................................................
Shorter Community A.M.E. Church, Denver, CO..................................................................
St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Winslow, AZ....................................................................................
Historic Tanner Chapel A.M.E. Church, Phoenix, AZ
Historic Trinity A.M.E. Church, Salt Lake City, UT .................................................................
The Word of God A.M.E. Church, Rio Rancho, NM