Emerson Pope Jr., the new minister for the Robertsdale Church of God of Prophecy, is excited about his new job. “I’ve been waiting for this all my life. God prepared me for it,” he said.

Pope, who grew up in Chicago, came to Alabama for a job in the healthcare industry five years ago. After working in Birmingham, he took a position with Springhill Hospital in Mobile. Little did he know that his search for a church would ultimately lead him to the pulpit.

Pope and his wife Shaana, who is a dialysis nurse, and their children, Charles, 12, and Jayden, 6, live in Beulah. The family began attending a Church of God of Prophecy in West Mobile. Someone at the church told Pope about the Robertsdale church when he said he lived in Beulah. The family began attending the church about a year ago.

The Pope’s stood out at the church because of their friendly manner and their enthusiasm for worship, but they stood out for another reason, also.

“We were the only black family in the church,” Pope said. When the previous minister left and the denomination held its annual convention July 19, Pope was appointed fill the pulpit at the Robertsdale church.

“This is my first pastorate and I’ve been given the greatest church in the world. I’m just really humbled by the appointment,” Pope said.

On Aug. 5, the church held an installation service for Pope and the building was full of people of all colors offering their congratulations to the new minister. The music, led by Shaana Pope, was upbeat and there were joyful shouts and heartfelt murmurs of “praise the Lord” from those in the audience.

Jeanette Hadley, who gave the welcome at the installation, has been a member of the Robertsdale church for 20 years and after the service, she said Pope wasted no time inviting people to visit and worship at the church.

Hadley said race has never been an issue either at the church nor in the denomination, which has never been segregated.

“People see skin color but God doesn’t. We feel blessed to have him. We’re pleased to have a pastor who was called by the Lord. He’s been knocking on doors and leaving cards at convenient stores and service stations,” she said, adding that he has already brought new people to the church. “He’s very joyful,” she said.

Pope’s joy was written on his face by the huge grin he couldn’t seem to contain as people he had met in the state (some came from as far away as Birmingham) made their way through the crowd to shake his hand or give him a hug.

Hadley said since his installation, Pope has been calling on the members, visiting the hospitals and meeting the people who live around the church. “He’s been knocking on doors and we’ve had new people come,” she said.

Recently, Pope admitted that he was a little bit anxious about moving from Chicago to Alabama.

“I had a perception in my mind. I was born and raised in Chicago and you hear things about Alabama and the South,” he explained. His parents were originally from Mississippi.

“My mother was born in Shaw and my father was born in Rosedale. They moved to Chicago as small kids, but they remembered things and they heard things,” he said.

The things the elder Popes remembered involved racial violence and a life of disenfranchisement, but their minister son has found today’s South to be very different from what his parents remember.

“When they say Southern hospitality, I can tell you, it starts right here in Alabama. I wouldn’t go back to Chicago now for anything. Everybody here has been so wonderful to me and to my family. They are great people who I think will be in our lives for a long time,” he said.

On the day of his installation, Pope said, “When I’m on my deathbed, I’ll remember this day.”