On March 1, at St. James AME Church, the Pittsburgh Conference Women’s Missionary Society (PCWMS) of the Third Episcopal District of the AME Church held their inaugural Trailblazer Mission Celebration. The afternoon of celebration was a sold out event and the room was filled with praise and thanksgiving for three men who have been true trailblazers.
In order to tell you all about the three outstanding men that were honored, it would take several pages. We will tell you a little about each. Presiding Elder Rev. Samson Manoah Cooper was born in Edenborn, Pa., on Oct. 5, 1931. He preached his first sermon at the age of five. He was affectionately known as the “boy preacher” and was invited to preach throughout the states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Following his retirement in 2007, after sixty-six years of active service, he united with the St. James AME Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., to render service above self.
The next honoree, Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. Eric L. Brown was born in Johnstown, Pa. On Nov. 13, 2004, history was made when Rev. Brown was appointed to serve as the presiding elder of the Allegheny Scranton District, where he serves as the youngest middle manager in the history of the Pittsburgh Annual Conference, charged with supervising 27 churches and pastors in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. He is also a published author of his first book, “A Dictionary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Volume 1.”
The third honoree Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. James Henry McLemore answered the call to ministry at 13 years of age at Community AME Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Fast forward to the present and while serving at Bethel AME Church, Rev. McLemore founded Small Seeds Development Inc. Small Seeds has received grants from CYF, the Heinz Foundation, Grable Foundation and the Birmingham Foundation. In its early days the program was valued at $60,000. As of 2011, Small Seeds is valued at $1.2 million. One if its premiere programs was the Mother–to-Son Program, which supports single mothers raising sons between the ages of 9-13.
Each trailblazer was presented with a beautiful plaque and Rev. Brown even got a sweet potato cheesecake.
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