MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Norwood, Frazier, Simmons (13th), Simmons (12th), Jordan, Horhn, Blount, Turner-Ford, Barnett, Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETIREMENT CELEBRATION OF 49 YEARS OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP BY REVEREND GEORGE WILLIS TYLER ON JANUARY 14, 2017, AT THE PEARL STREET AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.
WHEREAS, Reverend George Willis Tyler has over 49 years of pastoral experience as a Leader, Counselor and Administrator in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He has served 20 years as a Pastor and as a Presiding Elder for the past 29 years. Reverend George W. Tyler has served as a Conference Trustee, Conference Treasurer, Conference Chairman of the Board of Examiners, Eighth District Christian Education Congress Chairman, President of the Meridian Ministerial Alliance, member on the General Conference Commission (1984-1992), General Board member (1992-2000), and President of the Turner Theological Seminary National Alumni Association (1997-2001). Reverend Tyler was honored as a Turner Theological Seminary Hall of Fame recipient in February 2015. Presiding Elder George W. Tyler is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and a 32nd degree member of the Prince Hall Affiliation of Masons. Presiding Elder Tyler is an entrepreneur having created two businesses, ER Tyler Real Estate Management (1985) and Tyler-Henry Trucking (2014); and
WHEREAS, Presiding Elder George Willis Tyler is the third of three children born to Mr. Robert Lee and Mrs. Ethel Johnson Tyler. Reverend Tyler was nurtured in the Christian faith by his parents and New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi. He received his elementary and high school education from the Public School System of Jackson, Mississippi. Reverend Tyler served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged. His undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Religion was obtained from Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Mississippi. Reverend Tyler received his graduate degree in Psychology of Pastoral Care from Turner Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend George Willis Tyler is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Southwestern Christian Theological School in Dallas, Texas; and
WHEREAS, Reverend George W. Tyler has been a full-time itinerant Minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church since 1975, before becoming a Presiding Elder in 1987. Presiding Elder Tyler ran two times for Episcopal Service in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Presiding Elder Tyler's desire to become a Bishop carried him three times to the continent of Africa: South, Central and West Africa. For the last 29 years, Presiding Elder Tyler has served as the Presiding Elder of five districts in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana: Jackson-Meridian District, Jackson-Greenwood District, Natchez-Port Gibson District and Central New Orleans Bogalusa District. He now retires as the Senior Presiding Elder of the Eighth Episcopal District and the proud Presiding Elder of the Jackson-Vicksburg District in the South Mississippi Conference in the State of Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Presiding Elder George Willis Tyler is married to the former Miss Mattie L. Rosenthal. He is the father of Mrs. Amy Michelle Tyler-Henry, who has blessed him to be the grandfather of five boys and one girl: Tyler Ashford Rosenthal, Jeremiah Nathaniel, Zachary Caleb, Anthony Joseph, Philip Corin and Paige Symone Henry, respectfully. Presiding Elder Tyler is the Spiritual father of many sons and daughters in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana and across the length and breadth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and we pay tribute to the spiritual and civic leadership of this public-spirited Mississippi citizen.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Legislature on the occasion of the Retirement Celebration of 49 years of Christian Leadership by Reverend George Willis Tyler on January 14, 2017, at the Pearl Street African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and extend our best wishes to Reverend Tyler and his family on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Reverend George Willis Tyler, forwarded to the Deacons of Pearl Street African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.