First Things First, and Make It Happen, were some of the keynotes that marked the closing Sunday of the 127th Session of the Bermuda Annual Conferene of the African Methodist Church and the ‘Re-Commissioning’ for another year by the Presiding Bishop, of the Presiding Elder, the Rev. Mrs Betty L. Furbert and each of the pastors of the eleven local churches.The Seat of the six-day conference was the Fairmont Southampton. It was packed with delegates from each of the local churches, conference officers, the AME Ministerial Alliance and spouses, when they resoundingly endorsed a Special Resolution citing as ‘invigorating,’ the start of the tenure of the Rt. Rev. Gregory Gerald McKinley Ingram and his wife Dr. Jessica Ingram as Prelate, and Episcopal Supervisor, respectively of the First Episcopal District.An impressive civic welcome was accorded Bishop Ingram and his accompanying large entourage of First District Presiding Elders, District Officers and Pastors among others.The visiting Presiding Elders were Rev. Herbert L. Eddy and Rev. Amelia Eddy, Rev. Charles H. Lett, Rev. Alvan N. Johnson, Rev. Henrietta Fullard, Rev. Howard Grant, Rev. Jocelyn Hart, Rev. Richard Worthy. District Officers included Rev. Kenneth Saunders, Rev. Earl Jefferson, Mrs. Jewel McAshan, Mrs. Mary Mootoo, Rev. D. Albert Turk, Also Bro. Lamone Gibson YPD President (WNY), Mr. Keith CostonThe Service of Welcome on the eve of the formal opening of the conference was at the cathedral of African Methodism in Bermuda, St. Paul AME Church, Hamilton where the Rev. Nicholas Tweed is Pastor. He was Presiding Elder of the New York District up until his posting to Bermuda two months ago.Joining in the civic welcome were Bermuda’s Acting Governor Mr. Arkley, political leaders, clergy and representatives of various fraternal and sorority organisations. They included, Sen. NaIton Brangman, standing in for Premier Craig Cannonair; Assemblyman Derrick Burgess, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Progressive Labour Party; the newly elected Anglican Bishop of Bermuda, Bishop Nicholas Dill, Overseers of the First Church of God Bishop Vernon Lambe and Mrs. Lambe; Bishop Lloyd Duncan of the New Testament Church of God. along with Pastor Clarke MinorsThe First District embraces Bermuda, New Jersey, New England, Western New York, Delaware and Philadelphia. Traditionally the Presiding Bishop has used the Bermuda Annual Conference as the launching pad for annual conferences in other parts of the District.The Report of the Special Resolutions Committee was presented by the Rev Lorne Bean, Pastor of Bethel AME Church, Rev. C. Maaureen Clemendour and Sisters Donn-Lee Chandler, Eunice Jones and Elizabeth Davis-Smith. It addressed several community of concern to the church in Bermuda; and how the conference had endorsed the guideposts embodied in Bishop Ingram’s vision of “First Things First” for the First District envisioning Workshops on Worship, Membership, Discipleship, Health, Stewardship and Philanthropy. Those elements were debated beforehand by the conference delegates in separate sessions.