GREETINGS, BOARD OF BISHOPS AND THE
MINISTER'S AND LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION,
ST. JAMES A. M. E. ZION CHURCH

SALISBURY
January 12, 1966

Thank you, Reverend Mack, Bishop Lord, other distinguished mem-
bers of the clergy and laymen, ladies and gentlemen.

The State of Maryland is exceedingly proud of the fact that St.
James Church in Salisbury was chosen as the site for this important
policy-making meeting of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church. As the Governor of the State, I am highly honored to be
present at the opening session of the conference, and, on behalf of all
the citizens of Maryland, I extend greetings and a warm welcome to all
of you who are here, and particularly to those of you who have come
here from other states and from foreign countries. We consider our-
selves particularly fortunate in having with us Bishop John Wesley
Lord, of the Washington area.

As a native Eastern Shoreman, and as a Methodist, I have a
keen consciousness of the tremendous influence Methodism has had
on the lives of the people of this area since its earliest beginnings
nearly two centuries ago. In the troubled times in which we live, it is
comforting and consoling to observe the progress and the religious zeal
shown by the churches which are represented at this convention. This
zeal, and the faith and conviction of the members of this great
church, and other churches like it, are a vital force in the great struggle
that is going on in most parts of the globe against communism and
ungodliness.

At a gathering such as this, I am reminded of the religious spirit of
the people who settled Maryland in the 17th century—of the men who
founded the colony as a haven for those of all religions and left to us
the precious legacy of religious toleration. As Methodists, we honor and
cherish our great heritage. And what is this heritage? It is the heritage

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