As reaction begins to pour in from the passing of Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson, the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Bishop Charles E. Blake has been named interim presiding Bishop.
In addition to presiding over his West Angeles COGIC membership of over 24,000, Blake is the Prelate of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California, which oversees more than 250 churches. He knew Patterson for over 50 years.
”Bishop Patterson was a great man of God,” Blake said. “He was an anointed preacher, visionary leader, innovative in his organizational style and approach and he brought a season of positive vitality to the Church of God In Christ.”
Patterson died Tuesday from heart failure. He has led the COGIC, which at 6.5 million members is the largest Pentecostal congregation in the world, since November 2000, Patterson, who died Tuesday from heart failure, has led COGIC.
”He and I were young teenage preachers that conducted revivals together occasionally,” Blake said of the late Patterson. “He was always a very serious young man focused on his ministry.”
Bishop Patterson served for over 30 years as the leader of Temple of Deliverance church in Memphis, Tennessee, and he also established Bountiful Blessing Ministries, a popular television ministry that was frequently shown on BET.
”We have a lost a great leader, a man of great vision and motivation. He promised to take us to greater heights and we shall miss him dearly,” said Bishop Wilbur Hamilton, the Secretary on the General Board of COGIC who is the Prelate of the Northwest Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of California.
It is unclear at this moment how COGIC, which had been planning its Centennial Celebration, will proceed in the near future.
”COGIC church will now have to pull itself together,” said Hamilton, ”We’ve always responded with new leadership equal to the task but we will miss Gilbert E. Patterson greatly.”
Bishop Blake, who will face the daunting task of presiding over COGIC for now, wants to remind all that no matter what, ”God is still alive and He still rules in the affairs of men.”
”Whenever there is the loss of a leader, an organization is tremendously impacted,” Blake said. “He (Patterson) was a spiritual father and pastor to all of us and we believe that with the Lord’s help we will be able to move on.”
The Gospel Scene
On Sunday April 8 the Greater Grace Church, 2410 Gardner Dr., will host the illustrated sermon “I Have Fallen, but Can I Get Up?” The special sermon will be held during the Easter services at 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m. Call (314) 867-1233.