Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler held his last sermon as pastor of the Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Sunday, November 3, writes Valerie Russ for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I know I’m going to have to fight back the tears when I give it,” said Tyler in the days prior to stepping down from his position at the historic church.

Last summer, Tyler announced to his congregation that he would seek election to become one of the international African Methodist Episcopal Church’s nine general officers. In August, he won the election to become the denomination’s next historiographer, as well as executive director of the church’s Department of Research and Scholarship.

He continued to serve as the pastor of Mother Bethel until a new pastor was assigned to the church.

“It’s been a time full of mixed emotions,” he said. “On the one hand, I will miss serving in the role of pastor. But on the other hand, there is a lot of excitement for the opportunities to do something different by focusing on the history of the AME Church and the history of Black people overall.”

Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green Sr. will announce the name of the new Mother Bethel pastor on Saturday, November 9.

Read more about Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler and his new role in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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