Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff Sr. was appointed Presiding Elder of the Edisto District of the South Carolina Annual Conference by the Right Reverend Richard Franklin Norris, Presiding Prelate of the 7th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church on November 14, 2014.
Prior to his appointment as Presiding Elder, Reverend Goff served as the Pastor of Reid Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina for ten years. During his tenure as pastor of Reid Chapel 700 individuals became members and the financial stewardship of the church increased by over 250% which allowed the church to eliminate their church and school mortgages within the first two years of his tenure. |
Under the leadership of Bishop Samuel L. Green, Reverend Goff currently serves as the Episcopal District’s Treasurer and serves as Vice-Chair of the Allen University Board of Trustees. He served as the Columbia Annual Conference Christian Education Director and Chairman of the Ministerial Efficiency Board. He holds offices on several other district and conference boards and committees throughout the state of South Carolina. He is truly dedicated to the transformative ministry of our Zion. Reverend Goff travels extensively conducting workshops and seminars on church growth and management, parliamentary procedures, stewardship, the role and responsibility of a pastor (and members) and church polity. He was reelected and served during the 49th Session of the 2012 Quadrennial General Conference as delegate, a member of the General Board and represented South Carolina as a member of the Episcopal Committee.
Prior to his appointment to Reid Chapel he served as Pastor of Baber African Methodist Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York. During his tenure in Rochester, the church membership and stewardship more than quadrupled. In an effort to expand the church’s outreach, he established the Baber Center for Economic Development and Social Change. The church facility grew to include three major parcels of property valued in excess of two million dollars. He served as Treasurer of the Western New York Annual Conference, member of the First Episcopal District Self Help Board, Associate Dean of the Rochester Area Ministerial Institute, and represented the 1st District as a member of the Episcopal Committee during the 47th Session of the General Conference of the AME Church in 2004. He also founded and served as Chairman of the Faith Community Alliance, an organization representing over 40 churches throughout the Greater Rochester/Monroe County communities whose primary mission was to address the issues of violence and inequities in the community. He also worked as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY and most recently at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina.
A teacher, lecturer, writer and outstanding orator; Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff Sr. has been an active participant in civil rights, economic justice and peace for more than four decades. During his tenure in Rochester, he served on numerous community boards and committees which included: Monroe County Public Defenders Advisory Board, Community Energy Board, Minority Achievers Steering Committee, Fleet Bank’s Community Development Corporation Board (which included the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York), the Consultation on Church Union Planning Committee (a group committed in their efforts to find theological agreement among divided churches), the Martin Luther King, Jr. Greater Rochester Commission and the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. Reverend Goff also served as President and CEO of the Greater Rochester NAACP and Chairman of the Black Ministers Alliance who founded the Footprints Program, a partnership with local banks that has provided more than 10 million dollars in mortgages for first time homeowners. Highly respected in the community, he was appointed by the Chief of Police in Rochester to serve as the Chairman of the Faith Community Sub-committee initiative against illegal drugs in Rochester. His tireless encouragement and advocacy in the areas such as diversity, pay equity, and inequity in employee recognition and promotions have resulted in changes in both public and private work environments.
His service extends near and far as he currently serves as the Chairman of the Eastman Kodak Company’s External Diversity Advisory Panel. As Chair of the Diversity Panel he reports directly to the President/CEO of Eastman Kodak. This panel provides over site and review of the company’s polices and strategic plans relating to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In addition, serves as a valued consultant to CEO’s and corporate management throughout the United States.
Since his return to South Carolina, he continued his commitment to our youth by serving as a member of the Richland County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, the Richland I Middle College Foundation, and the W.G. Sanders Middle School Community Board. He served as chairman of the Ministerial Alliance of the Midlands and serves as chairman of Mayor Benjamin’s Faith Coalition Sub- Committee on Workforce and Investment.
Reverend Dr. Goff has received numerous awards for his accomplishments in the areas of civil rights, business, community and areligious affairs.
A native of Georgetown, South Carolina, he attended Howard High School, after which he matriculated and graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Goff's graduate education includes studies at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute, Hartford, CT; Business Management Certification from the John F. Kennedy School of Governments, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA; Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT; Yale University School of Divinity in New Haven, CT where he received his Masters of Divinity; and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, NY where he received his Doctorate in Transformative Ministry.
He and his wife, Anna Marie, are the proud parents of two sons: Norvel Jr., Esq., attorney/entrepreneur and Jon-Sesrie, independent filmmaker, photographer and adjunct professor.
Prior to his appointment to Reid Chapel he served as Pastor of Baber African Methodist Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York. During his tenure in Rochester, the church membership and stewardship more than quadrupled. In an effort to expand the church’s outreach, he established the Baber Center for Economic Development and Social Change. The church facility grew to include three major parcels of property valued in excess of two million dollars. He served as Treasurer of the Western New York Annual Conference, member of the First Episcopal District Self Help Board, Associate Dean of the Rochester Area Ministerial Institute, and represented the 1st District as a member of the Episcopal Committee during the 47th Session of the General Conference of the AME Church in 2004. He also founded and served as Chairman of the Faith Community Alliance, an organization representing over 40 churches throughout the Greater Rochester/Monroe County communities whose primary mission was to address the issues of violence and inequities in the community. He also worked as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY and most recently at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina.
A teacher, lecturer, writer and outstanding orator; Reverend Dr. Norvel Goff Sr. has been an active participant in civil rights, economic justice and peace for more than four decades. During his tenure in Rochester, he served on numerous community boards and committees which included: Monroe County Public Defenders Advisory Board, Community Energy Board, Minority Achievers Steering Committee, Fleet Bank’s Community Development Corporation Board (which included the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York), the Consultation on Church Union Planning Committee (a group committed in their efforts to find theological agreement among divided churches), the Martin Luther King, Jr. Greater Rochester Commission and the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. Reverend Goff also served as President and CEO of the Greater Rochester NAACP and Chairman of the Black Ministers Alliance who founded the Footprints Program, a partnership with local banks that has provided more than 10 million dollars in mortgages for first time homeowners. Highly respected in the community, he was appointed by the Chief of Police in Rochester to serve as the Chairman of the Faith Community Sub-committee initiative against illegal drugs in Rochester. His tireless encouragement and advocacy in the areas such as diversity, pay equity, and inequity in employee recognition and promotions have resulted in changes in both public and private work environments.
His service extends near and far as he currently serves as the Chairman of the Eastman Kodak Company’s External Diversity Advisory Panel. As Chair of the Diversity Panel he reports directly to the President/CEO of Eastman Kodak. This panel provides over site and review of the company’s polices and strategic plans relating to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In addition, serves as a valued consultant to CEO’s and corporate management throughout the United States.
Since his return to South Carolina, he continued his commitment to our youth by serving as a member of the Richland County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, the Richland I Middle College Foundation, and the W.G. Sanders Middle School Community Board. He served as chairman of the Ministerial Alliance of the Midlands and serves as chairman of Mayor Benjamin’s Faith Coalition Sub- Committee on Workforce and Investment.
Reverend Dr. Goff has received numerous awards for his accomplishments in the areas of civil rights, business, community and areligious affairs.
A native of Georgetown, South Carolina, he attended Howard High School, after which he matriculated and graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Goff's graduate education includes studies at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute, Hartford, CT; Business Management Certification from the John F. Kennedy School of Governments, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA; Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT; Yale University School of Divinity in New Haven, CT where he received his Masters of Divinity; and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, NY where he received his Doctorate in Transformative Ministry.
He and his wife, Anna Marie, are the proud parents of two sons: Norvel Jr., Esq., attorney/entrepreneur and Jon-Sesrie, independent filmmaker, photographer and adjunct professor.