Bible Belt Blogger: Biggest Memphis funeral since Elvis died

Frank Lockwood

The presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, who died last week, will have an extraordinary farewell. Church officials have organized three "homegoing services" to honor the late G.E. Patterson today, Friday and Saturday.

COGIC, the nation's largest African American Pentecostal congregation, claims to have 5,499.875 members in the United States. If the figure is correct, COGIC would be the fifth largest denomination in the U.S., trailing only the Catholics, Southern Baptists, United Methodists and Mormons.

Bishop Patterson was scheduled to lie in repose at Mason Temple last night -- COGIC's mother church and the site of Dr. Martin Luther King's final sermon the night before his assassination.

Among those expected to attend one of Patterson's three services: former President Bill Clinton and Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

Bishop Patterson was a renowned preacher. The acting presiding bishop, West Angeles Church of God in Christ pastor Charles E. Blake, is also an extraordinary preacher.

VIP’s scheduled to attend the Home Going Services Of Church Of God In Christ Presiding Bishop G. E. Paterson

(March 28, 2007 – Memphis, TENN) The following is a list of confirmed guests to one of the three memorial and funeral services of Church Of God In Christ Presiding Bishop G.E. Patterson. Confirmed for the International Funeral Service on Saturday, March 31, Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and President Bush’s representative, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, will participate in the program. This is not a complete list of VIP attendees.

· Former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton

· U.S. Secretary of HUD, Alphonso Jackson

· Aaron Lackey Sr., City of Fairburn, Representative

· Mayor A.C. Wharton, Shelby County, Tennessee

· Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Mayor of Detroit

· Mayor Willie Herenton, Mayor of Memphis

· U.S. Representative Steve Cohen

· Bishop Paul S. Morton, Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, New Orleans, Louisiana

· Bishop Eddie Long, New Birth Missionary Baptist, Inc., Atlanta GA

· Bishop J. Delano Ellis, Joint College of Bishops/Pentecostal Churches of Christ, Cleveland, OH

· Bishop Larry Trotter, Pentecostal Churches of Christ

· Bishop C.W. Goforth, Pentecostal Church of God Headquarters

· Bishop Vashti McKenzie, African Methodist Church, Presiding Bishop

· Bishop David Copeland, Kingdom Council of Interdependent Christian Churches and Ministries, San Antonio, TX

· Bishop Norman Wagner, Pentecostal Assemblies of the World

· Bishop Spencer Lackey Sr., President, United Churches of God, Inc.

· Bishop Dewey Long, Metro Atlanta Bible School, Dean

· Archbishop William E. Brown, World Bishop Council, Washington D. C/Virginia

· Archbishop Timothy P. Baymon, President of World Bishop Council

· Bishop Ira Hilliard, Association of Independent Ministries, Houston, TX

· Bishop Wiley Jackson, Word in Action Fellowship for Pastors, Atlanta, GA

· Bishop Elijah Williams, United Holy Church of America

· Bishop R. J. Burt, Presiding Bishop, Grace International Fellowship

· Bishop Kenneth Robinson, Full Gospel Baptist, Wisconsin

· Bishop Darryl Brister, Beacon Light International Ministries/Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship

· Dr. Samuel Holloway, United Pastors International/Breath of Life Ministries

· Bishop Cornelius Showell, Bibleway Churches Worldwide

· Dr. Steven Thuston, President, National Baptist Convention

· Dr. William Timothy Glynn, Vice President, National Baptist Convention

· Shirley Caesar, Gospel Artist

· Pastor Donnie McClurkin, Gospel Artist and minister

· CeCe Winans, Gospel Artist

· Pastor Marvin Winans, Perfecting Church, Detroit, Michigan

· Beverly Crawford

· Hezekiah Walker, Gospel Artist and minister

· Pastor Rance Allen, Gospel Artist

· Dorinda Clark Cole, Gospel Artist

· Dr. Venora Johnson

· Bishop Shelton Bady

· Bishop Albert Jamison, President of G.M.W.A.

· Rev. Clay Evans, Fellowship

· Bishop Ryan Warner

Comments

Frank, you reckon Rev. Al Green will be at any of the services, and if so will he either sing or preach or both?

Now THAT would be something to make you want to go to a funeral.

Editor's note: A who's who of the gospel music world will attend, including Shirley Caesar and Bishop Paul S. Morton, but I haven't seen Al Green's name on the list...

Posted by:Caleb Powers |March 29, 2007 at 07:30 PM