Historical Commission Announces Conn Historical Writing Award Winners
The Church of God Historical Commission recently announced the winners of the Charles W. Conn Historical Writing Award. The 2020-2022 award winners are Dr. Clifton Clarke and Dr. Wayne Solomon for their co-edited book, Skin Deep: Pentecostalism, Racism, and the Church (Lanham, MD: Seymour Press, 2021), and Rev. Dr. Xenobia Poitier-Anderson for her article, “A Quiet Giant: Harcourt Garfield Poitier,” Church of God Evangel, 111, no. 1 (Jan/Feb 2021).
The Historical Commission selects both a book and an article each General Assembly period to receive the writing award and to encourage the writing and publication of books and articles related to the heritage and history of the Church of God.
Dr. Wayne Solomon is a professor of sociology, religion, and African American studies with more than 40 years of experience in ministry, administration, and education. He has served the Church of God as an Administrative Bishop, university professor, pastor, and church planter with a global emphasis. He is author of numerous books and booklets.
Dr. Clifton Clarke has over 30 years of ministry, leadership, and educational experience as a pastor and university professor in the United Kingdom, Africa, and the United States. His areas of academic emphasis are theology, Black Church studies, and World Christianity. Currently, he is the research fellow at Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Studies. He is author of several books, including The Love Remedy: The Cure for a Racially Divided World.
Dr. Xenobia Poitier-Anderson is an educator and ordained minister with 40 years of active ministry in the local church as a church elder and Bible teacher. She regularly preaches and speaks at conferences and has served as an instructor for the Ministerial Internship Program in Florida. Her broader service to the Church of God includes serving on the World Missions Board and as a past member of the Division of Discipleship Board, including the International Women’s Discipleship Board, and the Board of Trustees for the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. An educational and religious leadership consultant, she has more than 30 years’ experience as an educator and administrator with the Florida public school system.
The Church of God International Executive Council created the Charles W. Conn Historical Writing Award in 2002 to honor long-time Church of God author and historian Dr. Charles W. Conn. Conn penned his history of the Church of God in 1955. When Like a Mighty Army was revised in 1977, the Executive Council designated Conn as Church Historian. Pathway Press released a tribute edition in 2008.
For 2020-2022, Dr. Floyd D. Carey and Dr. James E. Cossey served as co-chairs of the Historical Commission and Assistant General Overseer J. David Stephens as the Executive Committee liaison. The Writing Award subcommittee consisted of Dr. Louis F. Morgan, Dr. David G. Roebuck, and Lance Colkmire.
(Source: Church of God Historical Commission)
