A house RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr., Presiding Elder of the Edisto District for the South Carolina Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

Whereas, Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr., will begin a well-deserved retirement after years as an eminent church leader, the last ten of which have been as the distinguished presiding elder of the Edisto District for the South Carolina Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church; and

Whereas, on November 14, 2014, Reverend Goff was appointed as presiding elder of the Edisto District of the South Carolina Annual Conference by the Right Reverend Richard Franklin Norris, presiding prelate of the 7th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and

Whereas, Reverend Goff formerly served as pastor of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Danbury, Connecticut; Baber AME Church in Rochester, New York; and Reid Chapel AME Church in Columbia; and most recently as interim pastor of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston; and

Whereas, during his ministry, over two and a half thousand individuals gave their lives to Christ and joined in Christian church membership, and the financial stewardship of each of his churches increased by over two hundred fifty percent, allowing them to eliminate church and school mortgages; and

Whereas, Presiding Elder Goff currently serves as the Seventh Episcopal District's treasurer and vice chair of the Allen University Board of Trustees, and he also holds offices on several AME Church district and conference boards and committees throughout South Carolina; and

Whereas, an active and productive member of the Connectional AME Church, he served as a delegate, spanning twenty years, to six Quadrennial Sessions of the AME Church General Conference and as a member of the AME Church's Episcopal Committee. He is a member of the AME General Board; and

Whereas, dedicated and committed to transformative ministry, Presiding Elder Goff travels extensively conducting workshops and seminars on church growth and management, parliamentary procedures, stewardship, the role and responsibility of pastors, members, and church polity; and

Whereas, he has been an active participant in civil rights, economic justice, and peace for more than four decades as a teacher, lecturer, writer, and outstanding orator. In Connecticut, he served as an elected member of the Town Committee, majority leader of the Hartford City Council, president of the Hartford NAACP, and the first comptroller of the Connecticut Convention Center Authority; and

Whereas, in Rochester, New York, Presiding Elder Goff served as a member of the NAACP and established the Baber Center for Economic Development and Social Change that allowed the church facility to grow to include three major parcels of property valued in excess of two million dollars; and

Whereas, he served as treasurer of the Western New York Annual Conference, member of the First Episcopal District AME Church Self Help Board, associate dean of the Rochester Area Ministerial Institute, and adjunct professor at both Northeastern Seminary in Rochester and Columbia International University in Columbia; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to Norvel Goff for his long, eminent service to the AME Church as he transitions to a richly deserved retirement, and the members wish him many years of continued success and enjoyment. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr., Presiding Elder of the Edisto District for the South Carolina Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, upon the occasion of his retirement after years of outstanding service, and wish him continued happiness in all his future endeavors.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr.

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