Bermuda's African Methodist Episcopal church is in a "strong and vibrant" state of health, according to the bishop of the denomination's largest district.

Bishop Richard Norris paid a three-day visit to the Island earlier this week in what he described as a "fact-finding mission" ahead of the annual conference scheduled for the first week in March.

A long-serving minister in the AME church, Bishop Norris served as a pastor in Bermuda in 1965 at St. Luke's church in St. David's.

In July last year, he was appointed bishop of the First District, the most prestigious of the church's jurisdictions world-wide which encompasses the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania as well as Bermuda.

The AME church was founded in Philadelphia in 1787 as a protest against slavery and is therefore the first major denomination in the Western world to owe its establishment to sociological rather than theological beliefs.

"The purpose of my visit has been to learn the lay of the land before the annual Bermuda conference," Bishop Norris told on Tuesday.

"It has been my task to look at the direction and focus that the annual conference should take, to facilitate the growth and development of the 11 churches already here and to see what else we need to do to address the ministry of our church here in Bermuda."

Although he proved unwilling to go into specifics, Bishop Norris conceded there were areas of the church's administration which "could be handled better" ? although he was keen to stress that in general he was very happy with the way in which affairs were dealt with locally.

"I am impressed with the consistency with which the leadership of the church in Bermuda has worked and has addressed the many issues which face us," he said.

"Obviously we do face some challenges which I believe need to be handled slightly differently. But I am confident we can work through any minor sticking-points and move forward."

Asked whether the policy of Bermudianisation has affected the church's regular practice of moving their ministers around the world to serve at different churches, Bishop Norris argued it was "not as major a challenge as some might think".

"Bermudianisation does affect our thinking somewhat," he said.

"But it swings both ways because there are similar issues when we want to send Bermudian pastors to serve in the United States. There are certainly plenty of opportunities for Bermudians to go and work abroad in the AME church and there has to be some reciprocity in the relationship for this system to work. As yet, I have not approved any transfers so will have to wait and see what happens when the time comes. But I do not believe the challenges here will be insurmountable."

Meanwhile, despite the added pressures of his new job, Bishop Norris is clearly enjoying the responsibilities of the office.

"It is a wonderful place to serve. It was the area in which the denomination was born, the mother district of our denomination and although there are challenges, it is a privilege to serve and I am enjoying it immensely."