COGIC Moving Holy Convocation to St. Louis

[Rachel2]

Church moves convocation from Memphis to St. Louis
ASSOCIATED PRESS
04/15/2009

MEMPHIS -- Ending a century-old tradition, the Church of God in Christ is moving its annual convocation from Memphis to St. Louis.

The denomination will conduct its 2009 Holy Week convocation in Memphis in November, but then plans to move the 2010 event to St. Louis, which church leaders said made a better off er.

The Commercial Appeal reported the announcement came late Tuesday after a closed-door meeting of denominational leaders in Memphis, where the church is based.

The annual convocation attracts up to 50,000 members.

The ending of what the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau said is the largest annual meeting in the city is expected to cost the area about $35 million annually in lost revenue.

[krazeeboi]

WHAT??!!!!!!?!!!!!

Wow....never thought I'd see the day Holy Convocation would leave Memphis.

[Rachel2]

Apr 16, 2009 11:50:24 GMT -5 krazeeboi said:

WHAT??!!!!!!?!!!!!

Wow....never thought I'd see the day Holy Convocation would leave Memphis.

The thought did occur to me after Bishop Patterson died that the convocation would be moved. My initial thought was that it would be moved to California since that's where Bishop Blake lives.

Who knows, it could still happen. Maybe this is just a prelude to get people use to the idea. A change of this magnitude would have to take place gradually.

I'm not sad about it. I live in St. Louis, so I see this as a blessing for me. I just pray to God they don't start having it in a different city every year like the P.A.W conferences. Now that would be tragic!!!!

[krazeeboi]

Actually, I like it when conventions move around. I just think it would be boring and predictable to have it in the same place every single year--unless we're talking about NYC or LA.

[krazeeboi]

I just read through some comments on the Memphis subforum of a non-religious forum I frequent that has to do with urban development, and from some of the things I've read, there may be those in Memphis (including hoteliers and restauranteers) who might be a bit happy that COGIC won't be meeting in Memphis in 2010.

[Rachel2]

I'm not surprised. Frankly, I know the "saints" can be difficult to serve and too many of us do not believe in leaving a tip for service. I have read and seen how we can leave an unnecessary mess in hotel rooms.

The problem I have with a religious conference being held in a different city every year is too often many people cannot afford to attend because prices vary widely from state to state. This is a problem for many people who are members of the P.A.W. And it was a problem for me when I was a member of the organization.

I am a firm believer that religious conferences/conventions should be planned with EVERYONE in mind, from the Bishop to the single mother who has young children.

I would like to believe this is the reason the COGIC convention was held in Memphis every year. Though prices may have fluctuated here and there, the cost was still within reach for most people.

[krazeeboi]

But one cost you're forgetting is the cost of traveling. You have a convention one place every year, and it puts more of a travel burden on the saints who live in the far reaches of the country. At least when the convention goes from city to city, a person who might not otherwise have the means to travel could actually attend if it were held in his/her city that year or within a reasonable driving distance.

And the only reason why it was held in Memphis every year was because of tradition. Memphis is COGIC's headquarters city. It certainly isn't during the most convenient time of year--November (another tradition, having something to do with when Southerners would harvest their crops and have some extra cash to make it to convocation back in the day). The vast majority of other organizations have their national gatherings during the summer when its easier to travel, bring the kids, etc.

[Nikkol]

And what I was thinking was that same thing. Not having it in the same place gives others a chance to go. It being in TN is good for those in the vicinity but may be too expensive for someone who lives in a different area. But moving it allows other ppl to get a chance to go.

While there are others that would've went but may not like TN and wouldn't go and now that it's moved they may attend.

[Rachel2]

Very good points from a different perspective. However, I will say tavel is the least expensive cost these days. You can get a flight to just about anywhere in the US roundtrip for a little more than what you would spend on gasoline, including car rental if you plan far enough in advance. The real cost is hotels, meals, and recreation. I just booked a flight online for one of my friends who lives in Phoenix AZ. She's coming here in June for a wedding. Airfare round trip was $189.00.

I have only been with the COGIC organization for a little over 2 years and am not that familiar with all of their history and traditions. My church is a young church, only 10 years old. I believe they became members of COCIG maybe 4 years ago, so we are not steeped in the COGIC traditions.

I always thought November was a strange time to have a convention as well.

[stillfocused]

Rachel2..that was a good rate from Phoenix. When I read through this post..it came to me that St Louis is the midway point. There have been many times I have wanted to go to a conferencej and I couldn't because the airfares where through the roof. I agree it good to go to other places..because it gives others the opportunity to attend who make never otherwise do so.

[Rachel2]

It was a very good rate....I was surprised. I agree change is good and St. Louis is midway. Not to offend anyone but, I lived in Memphis for two years and have no desire ever to return even for a visit.

I've never attended a COGIC Convocation but was planning to go last year just to see/hear Bishop Patterson in person because I had enjoyed him on television and radio for many years. Well, when he passed away, I immediately abandoned my plans to attend the convocation.

Truthfully, I am only planning to attend this year because two of my friends (who have been COGIC forever) are pleading with me to go. One of them is an Assistant District Missionary. Apparently, they take their positions (no matter what they are) very, very seriously.

[krazeeboi]

Another thing you have to consider is getting time off from work to attend the conventions. So perhaps someone could foot the cost for travel, but may not be able to leave work. Moving it around affords people in that city and surrounding areas to at least attend night/weekend services.

[Rachel2]

Apr 21, 2009 20:58:58 GMT -5 krazeeboi said:

Another thing you have to consider is getting time off from work to attend the conventions. So perhaps someone could foot the cost for travel, but may not be able to leave work. Moving it around affords people in that city and surrounding areas to at least attend night/weekend services.

I am not disagreeing that moving the convention around is a bad idea, but I do think moving it every year is a bad idea. Just my opinion. AND I still believe if Bishop Blake stays in office as long as Bishop Patterson did, the convocation will eventually move to California permanently. I would be shocked if it stayed in St. Louis because most major conventions come once and never return. St. Louis is very RACIST and SEGREGATED.

[krazeeboi]

I think the convention is going to start moving around. I don't see how it's a big deal; besides COGIC, I can't think of any other large organization that has its annual meeting in the same city year after year. I think if it were more feasible to do so, more organizations would be doing it. The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship started out like that, meeting in New Orleans annually, but quickly saw the benefits of moving the convention around, although they do return to New Orleans periodically. Furthermore, it's also good in that you get to get the organization's name out there in a city that might not otherwise have a presence there. For instance, with COOLJC, at least two holy convocations have produced local churches being planted in cities where there was either a small or no COOLJC presence. I just think that the benefits of having the conventions move around are significantly outweigh any disadvantages. Personally, when I go to conventions, I also like to explore the city and what it has to offer. After about three years in the same city, things would get quite repetitive.

I do not think that the convention will move to California permanently at all. Bishop Blake knows that will inconvenience over half of the constituency and it won't be long before he is voted out. COGIC has learned how to vote out officials who act the fool (e.g., Bishop C.D. Owens), so Blake's position wouldn't be secure if he pulled such a stunt. Perhaps a good compromise would be to have it in Memphis every other year. I know that's in the by-laws of COOLJC where holy convocation is to be in NYC every year (where the church is headquartered), but the Mother Church waived that right.

[vin]

One downside to having a convention in the same place every year is that after a while the city you're coming to begins to take advantage. They stop competing for your business because they take for granted that you will be there.

We have to move our local women's conference around in our city every couple of years or so because the hotels start trying to give us less for more. They start skimping because they think we are automatically going to come back. So we switch up.

I like the idea of them moving it around. Every year the COGIC Women's convention is in a different city. It was in KC a year or two ago.. and I was able to go one night. It opens up the opportunity for people who would never be able to go to Memphis to be able to go if it's in their state, or no more than a few hours away... COGIC is big enough that they could move it around every year and they would always have a full house.