Meet The Presiding Elder

The Reverend Doctor Goodwin Douglas
Presiding Elder of the Capitol District, Washington Conference, 2nd Episcopal District of the A. M. E. Church

Since 1993, the Rev. Dr. Goodwin Douglas has been the Presiding Elder of the Capitol District of the Washington Conference in the 2^nd Episcopal District where the Bishop is the Right Reverend Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr. At the time of his appointment to Presiding Elder, there were only 25 churches on the Capitol District. Presently, there are 40 churches which have a membership of over 20,000 members. The Capitol District is larger than many Episcopal Districts and boasts of being the best district in the AME church!

Presiding Elder Douglas is a visionary and believes that our youth are not just our future but are a part of the church today and that they need the resources to become empowered to become productive citizens. Thus each year Dr. Douglas conducts an informative and empowering church school convention on a college campus to expose young persons to college life and with the necessary tools to handle issues relevant to their lives. The workshops speak directly to the needs of our youth. Additionally, Dr. Douglas values education and holds an annual Christian Education Conference for the purpose of equipping the saints. Dr. Douglas’ Capitol District Conference is held each year over a two day period and provides outstanding leadership training to pastors and the laity, worship services, and a forum for young persons to display their gifts and talents.

The son of the late Elder Charles and Sis. Rosa Lee Douglas, Rev. Douglas was born and raised in Somerset , Bermuda and he received his early childhood education, through junior high, in Bermuda . In 1960, Rev. Douglas left Bermuda and came to the United States to attend Kittrell High School in Kittrell , North Carolina . After graduation from high school, he attended and graduated from Kittrell College . Rev. Douglas has also studied at Virginia Union University and the University of West Virginia earning a certificate in Labor Relations. He has received several honorary degrees including an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from B. F. Lee Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida; an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Jackson Theological Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Monrovia in Monrovia Liberia.

Rev. Dr. Douglas received his call while at Kittrell College and has been in ministry for 48 years and has been ordained 47 years. Dr. Douglas was the senior pastor of Kittrell Chapel AME in the North Carolina Conference and South Boston and Beulah AME churches in the Virginia Conference. In 1965, Rev. Douglas was transferred to the Washington Conference where he became the pastor of the Metropolitan (Cumberland, Maryland)/Dickerson (Frostburg, Maryland) circuit; St. Paul, District of Columbia and Turner Memorial, Washington, DC (now located in Hyattsville, Maryland).

Rev. Douglas became actively involved in the civil rights movement in 1960. While in North Carolina , he along with the students of Kittrell College worked with the textile workers who were on strike and were pressing for greater involvement of African American employees in the company. It was here that he first challenged the actions of the Ku Klux Klan.

As a student at Virginia Union University , he led many protests in a city rife with racism. African Americans were not allowed to eat at lunch counters or to use department store dressing rooms. Rev. Douglas formed the first College Human Relations Commission which consisted of students from different colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia . While pastor of Beulah AME church, he led a protest to re-open the public schools of Prince Edward County, which closed in 1959 to avoid court-ordered desegregation resulting from the Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that stated "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It was at Beulah that Dr. Douglas realized that “since the church is the major cookie cutter in society, it should make a difference in any given community.” He led students in massive protests which crippled the economy of that county. At this time, Rev. Douglas assisted the late Robert Kennedy and the Justice Department in re-opening the schools in Prince Edward County in 1964.

In 1963, Rev. Douglas took over 120 people to the “March on Washington ” to be a part of that historic moment in the life of a people who were denied their civil rights. This march not only changed life in America , but also globally.

While senior pastor in Cumberland , Maryland , Dr. Douglas successfully held up federal funds to major industrial plants until they employed African Americans. The first black brakeman for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad received their tests for employment in the basement of Metropolitan AME church in Cumberland , Maryland . Today those individuals who took the tests are now brakemen, mechanics and engineers. In Washington , DC , Dr. Douglas was part of the movement to create a holiday for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. He called for people of color to observe “black Friday” where no one went to work, no one used electricity and all domestics stayed home. The end result is that we now have the “King” holiday!

Dr. Douglas has served on municipal commissions at every location in his pastoral ministry. He has worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He has been president of several NAACP chapters throughout Maryland and Virginia .

Dr. Douglas’ philosophy of ministry is that we must consider a holistic approach to ministry if we are to help humanity. He believes that our church needs to deal more with spirituality and less personality. His favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Presiding Elder Douglas and his wife Cynthia have been married 39 years and are the proud parents of three adult children: Beth, Douglas and Matthew and one grand daughter, Summer, who brings great joy and happiness to their lives.

The Reverend Doctor Goodwin Douglas Presiding Elder of the Capitol District, Washington Conference, 2nd Episcopal District of the A. M. E. Church
	Since 1993, the Rev. Dr. Goodwin Douglas has been the Presiding Elder of the Capitol District of the Washington Conference in the 2^nd Episcopal District where the Bishop is the Right Reverend Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr. At the time of his appointment to Presiding Elder, there were only 25 churches on the Capitol District. Presently, there are 40 churches which have a membership of over 20,000 members. The Capitol District is larger than many Episcopal Districts and boasts of being the best district in the AME church! Presiding Elder Douglas is a visionary and believes that our youth are not just our future but are a part of the church today and that they need the resources to become empowered to become productive citizens. Thus each year Dr. Douglas conducts an informative and empowering church school convention on a college campus to expose young persons to college life and with the necessary tools to handle issues relevant to their lives. The workshops speak directly to the needs of our youth. Additionally, Dr. Douglas values education and holds an annual Christian Education Conference for the purpose of equipping the saints. Dr. Douglas’ Capitol District Conference is held each year over a two day period and provides outstanding leadership training to pastors and the laity, worship services, and a forum for young persons to display their gifts and talents.
The son of the late Elder Charles and Sis. Rosa Lee Douglas, Rev. Douglas was born and raised in Somerset , Bermuda and he received his early childhood education, through junior high, in Bermuda . In 1960, Rev. Douglas left Bermuda and came to the United States to attend Kittrell High School in Kittrell , North Carolina . After graduation from high school, he attended and graduated from Kittrell College . Rev. Douglas has also studied at Virginia Union University and the University of West Virginia earning a certificate in Labor Relations. He has received several honorary degrees including an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from B. F. Lee Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida; an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Jackson Theological Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Monrovia in Monrovia Liberia. Rev. Dr. Douglas received his call while at Kittrell College and has been in ministry for 48 years and has been ordained 47 years. Dr. Douglas was the senior pastor of Kittrell Chapel AME in the North Carolina Conference and South Boston and Beulah AME churches in the Virginia Conference. In 1965, Rev. Douglas was transferred to the Washington Conference where he became the pastor of the Metropolitan (Cumberland, Maryland)/Dickerson (Frostburg, Maryland) circuit; St. Paul, District of Columbia and Turner Memorial, Washington, DC (now located in Hyattsville, Maryland). Rev. Douglas became actively involved in the civil rights movement in 1960. While in North Carolina , he along with the students of Kittrell College worked with the textile workers who were on strike and were pressing for greater involvement of African American employees in the company. It was here that he first challenged the actions of the Ku Klux Klan. As a student at Virginia Union University , he led many protests in a city rife with racism. African Americans were not allowed to eat at lunch counters or to use department store dressing rooms. Rev. Douglas formed the first College Human Relations Commission which consisted of students from different colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia . While pastor of Beulah AME church, he led a protest to re-open the public schools of Prince Edward County, which closed in 1959 to avoid court-ordered desegregation resulting from the Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that stated "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It was at Beulah that Dr. Douglas realized that “since the church is the major cookie cutter in society, it should make a difference in any given community.” He led students in massive protests which crippled the economy of that county. At this time, Rev. Douglas assisted the late Robert Kennedy and the Justice Department in re-opening the schools in Prince Edward County in 1964. In 1963, Rev. Douglas took over 120 people to the “March on Washington ” to be a part of that historic moment in the life of a people who were denied their civil rights. This march not only changed life in America , but also globally. While senior pastor in Cumberland , Maryland , Dr. Douglas successfully held up federal funds to major industrial plants until they employed African Americans. The first black brakeman for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad received their tests for employment in the basement of Metropolitan AME church in Cumberland , Maryland . Today those individuals who took the tests are now brakemen, mechanics and engineers. In Washington , DC , Dr. Douglas was part of the movement to create a holiday for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. He called for people of color to observe “black Friday” where no one went to work, no one used electricity and all domestics stayed home. The end result is that we now have the “King” holiday! Dr. Douglas has served on municipal commissions at every location in his pastoral ministry. He has worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He has been president of several NAACP chapters throughout Maryland and Virginia . Dr. Douglas’ philosophy of ministry is that we must consider a holistic approach to ministry if we are to help humanity. He believes that our church needs to deal more with spirituality and less personality. His favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
	Presiding Elder Douglas and his wife Cynthia have been married 39 years and are the proud parents of three adult children: Beth, Douglas and Matthew and one grand daughter, Summer, who brings great joy and happiness to their lives.