Carol Isabella Messiah, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was born to the late Beurnice Isabel Jones and Joseph Marcus Peterkin. The seventh child of seven children, her early years saw her as an avid reader, a lover of sports, the outdoors and travel. In the back of her mind however, she knew that she was not destined to live in Trinidad and Tobago all her life, but to travel and see the world. From her humble beginnings she progressed in her studies, beginning at Guapo Government Primary School and Point Fortin College. She left the shores of her homeland to continue her studies. She migrated to the U.S. Virgin Islands and joined the congregation of St. Luke AME Church. She completed her studies, then moved to the mainland United States of America, settling in the State of Ohio where she joined Jones Chapel AME Church, Elyria, Ohio. She met and married Rev. Wilfred J. Messiah a native South African. Together, they served several churches throughout the Third Episcopal District.

In 1997 they returned to South Africa where she was privileged to serve in the 19th Episcopal District at Mokone Memorial AME Church Pimville, Soweto; Maxexe Memorial AME Church, Kliptown, Soweto and as an administrator at The Richard Robert Wright Theological Seminary, Evaton, South Africa. She was co-founder of the Mokone Outreach Ministries (M.O.M) which included an HIV/AIDS ministry serving seventy-two persons. Programs for young people that included reading and character building life-skills were introduced to the Church and the Comunity. She served on several Social and Civic Organizations, including the Guateng Province Department of Health – Strategic Planning Commission. This Comision was tasked with finding solutions to the devastating pandemic of HIV/AIDS. She was instrumental in training, certifying and equipping unemployed women and youth from that local congregation in HIV/AIDS Home-based Care, Counseling and Testing.

In 2004, at the 47th Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, held in Indianapolis, IN, The Rev. Wilfred J. Messiah was elected and Consecrated the 120th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the only Bishop elected on the first ballot. This is noteworthy because it was the second time in the history of the AME Church that this event occurred, because he was the ‘First’ African to be elected by the Delegates of the General Conference in that manner. They were assigned to the newly organized Twentieth Episcopal District.

As the ‘First’ Episcopal Supervisor of the 20th Episcopal District, serving the countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, the issues of Women’s Health, Child Abuse, Human Trafficking, HIV/AIDS, Poverty Alleviation and the Empowerment of Women and Girls through Education and Economic Development, were the key areas where she felt that she would ‘be the difference that makes a difference.’ She founded the “Girl Child Project” and was instrumental in the process of educating Young Women and Pastors spouses with the assistance of the Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

At The 48th Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church at its meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri USA July 4th – 11th 2008, she and Bishop Messiah were asigned to serve the 15th Episcopal District, which covers the countries of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. To continue with the vision of Educating women and children, she adopted five of the eight Millennium Development Goals as her MISSION-VISION, to foster growth and development in the 15th Episcopal District and on the Continent of Africa. Early Childhood Development, Teenage Pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, Eradication of Poverty and the GO GREEN Project would be the focus for the development of Programs for the AME Church, along with her continued efforts to Educate and Empower WOMEN.

In 2011- 2012, they were assigned to serve the 18th Episcopal District, which covered the countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland. She traveled throughout the Episcopal District attending all Annual Conferences.

At the 49th Session of the General Conference, Bishop and Supervisor Messiah were assigned to serve the 17th Episcopal District. She served for nine years (2012-2021) as the proud Episcopal Supervisor of the 17th Episcopal District, which covers the Countries of Congo DR, Congo Brazzavile, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia. She traveled extensively to the Annual Conferences and interacted with women from the Congo DR through the “Hope Project” who were displaced by war in the Eastern Congo. She Organized and Developed the Clergy family Ministry in that region and trained thirteen women in skills development in the Kananga Annual Conference (2012-2013). In 2014, their success showed when used those skills to create items which they sold to assist with some of the costs for the first time for their Annual Conference. She helped to implement several programs for Development and Education in the 17th Episcopal District. These are just a few:

Dug wells for clean water
Developed and Instituted the Health Ministry
Donated medical equipment and supplies to Hospitals
Gave scholarships for Education, Skills Development and Entrepreneurship,
Developed and Funded ‘Village Banking’ for the Empowerment of The Clergy Family Organization,
Printers, Modems and Data were purchased to assist at the Episcopal and Annual Conference Meetings,
Documents were developed for the Training of Stewardesses, The Board Of Examiners, Protocol, Disaster Management and The Health Ministry,
Trained the WMS and YPD in their Constitution and Bylaws.

MISSION IS:

M – MY
I – INDIVIDUAL
S – SACRIFICE of
S – SERVICE
I – IN
O – OBEDIENCE TO GOD (which is)
N – NEVERENDING

The 17th Episcopal District is the largest Episcopal District in the Connectional AME Church, with Twelve Annual Conferences and a membership of approximately two Hundred Thousand plus members. Due to the constant threat of wars, pandemics, and poverty, many AME members are displaced annually. Lets continue to keep the Continent of Africa in our prayers.

At the 52nd Session of the General Conference 2024, Bishop and Supervisor Messiah became the Senior Bishop and Supervisor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and were assigned to the 19th Episcopal District which comprises Five (5) Annual Conferences:
West, Orangia, Mokone, East and Natal

Supervisor Carol Isabella Messiah is the proud mother of three sons – William (Lisa), Justin-Michael and Silvester, The grandmother of two – William III, (Lexi) and Malia-Gabrielle (Chase) and great-grandmother to William IV.

I thank God for this opportunity that He has given me to serve His people in this present age.