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TO HONOR CHAPLAIN EFFSON CHESTER BRYANT OF THE COLUMBIA VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM FOR HIS NEARLY SEVEN YEARS OF MINISTRY WITH THE VA, TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT, AND TO WISH HIM GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS AS HE CONTINUES TO SERVE THE LORD.
Whereas, it is a great pleasure to honor those individuals who give tirelessly of themselves to nurture the souls of men. Chaplain Effson Chester Bryant of the Columbia VA Health Care System stands among their number as an outstanding minister of the Gospel, one much admired by pastoral colleagues, VA medical staff, and VA patients alike; and
Whereas, this ordained minister is also a self-taught photographer, storyteller, historian, genealogist, writer, and decorated military veteran. He is a graduate of Allen University in Columbia, the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., and several military schools; and
Whereas, as an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) since 1983, Effson Bryant has served numerous churches in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas. Presently, he serves as senior pastor of Cumberland AME Church of Sampit. In addition, he served in the United States Air Force Chaplaincy Corps for nearly thirty years, during which he was deployed to more than twenty different countries; and
Whereas, Chaplain Bryant took up his duties with the Columbia VA Health Care System in June 2012. Since that time, he has served veterans' spiritual needs in numerous ways. In providing exceptional chaplaincy care to veterans, their families, and medical center staff, he has ministered in the Warriors Walk (hospice unit), pre-op and post-op units, and acute care unit and has provided on-call duty rotation to ensure chaplaincy availability twenty-four hours a day, every day. Further, in several locations throughout South Carolina, he has conducted Rural Clergy Training Outreach, a VA initiative that educates local churches about the dynamics of our veterans and how to steer the veteran to receive VA support; and
Whereas, in March 2019, this outstanding chaplain will retire from his labors at the VA, but he will not retire from serving the Lord; and
Whereas, Chaplain Eddie C. Davis, chief of the VA Chaplain Service, has this to say about Effson Bryant's ministry to our veterans: "Chaplain Effson Bryant is not only a dynamic chaplain to the many veteran patients, families, and staff he has supported; he is also a chaplain's chaplain"; and
Whereas, he finds strength for his duties in the strong support of his family: his wife, Queen Bryant, and the couple's grown children, Brewington Eff and Zilcia Elizabeth; and
Whereas, to honor him on the occasion of his retirement, Chaplain Bryant's colleagues will gather for a celebratory event on Monday, March 25, 2019; and
Whereas, for his longtime spiritual nourishment of the people of South Carolina, most particularly its veterans, Chaplain Bryant is due grateful thanks and wishes for God's best as he continues to run the race the Lord has set before him. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor Chaplain Effson Chester Bryant of the Columbia VA Health Care System for his nearly seven years of ministry with the VA, congratulate him on the occasion of his retirement, and wish him God's richest blessings as he continues to serve the Lord.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Chaplain Effson Chester Bryant.
This web page was last updated on March 21, 2019 at 12:03 PM