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Location: Benbow Hall Brossman
Keynote Speaker: The Rev. Dr. Mark Kelly Tyler
The Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, PhD is a native of Oakland, CA and a graduate from Bishop O’Dowd High School. He began preaching the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ in 1987. He is an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
He is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University (B.A., Religion), Payne Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), and the University of Dayton (Ph.D., Educational Leadership). Since 1994, Dr. Tyler has been in full-time ministry in the AME Church. As an itinerant pastor in the AME Church, he served congregations in Missouri, California, Ohio, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For 16 years, Dr. Tyler had the esteemed honor of serving as the 52nd pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, the congregation founded by Bishop Richard Allen.
In August 2024, delegates of the 52nd session of the General Conference elected Dr. Tyler, the Historiographer of the AME Church. In this role, he also serves as the Executive Director of Research and Scholarship for the denomination on five continents and thirty-nine nations. The Historiographer serves as the authoritative source for AME history, directs the AME Church Research Program, maintains the repository of AME Church artifacts and documents, and directs production of the scholarly magazine The AME Church Review. Dr. Tyler also consults with clergy and members about preservation projects related to preserving the AME story.
Dr. Tyler is a documentary filmmaker. He has worked on and produced multiple projects, including Bishop Richard Allen: Apostle of Freedom (The Documentary); The Anvil: Echoes from the General Conference; The Anvil: The Spirit of African Methodism; and The Anvil: Preaching on the Frontline. He has been consulted as an on-air expert on numerous other documentaries, including Dr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates’ PBS documentary The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross and various episodes of Sam Katz’ Philadelphia: The Great Experiment.
Dr. Tyler has also been active in the world of theological education, currently serving as a Fully Affiliated Faculty Member at the Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio. He has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Payne Theological Seminary, Northeastern Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Missio Seminary, and United Lutheran Seminary. Additionally, Dr. Tyler is the past Director of Church Relations and Alumni Affairs at Payne Seminary and the past Director of Church Vocations at New Brunswick Seminary.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Alpha Boulé). He and his wife, Leslie, are proud parents and grandparents and live in the greater Philadelphia area.
