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Current Bishops of the A.M.E.
Church
Decatur
Ward Nichols
Decatur Ward Nichols, the 59th
bishop of the Church, is also the senior bishop of all Methodism.
He was born in Georgetown, SC, on October 15, 1900 to Reverend
Ruffin and Anna Nichols. He was educated in the public schools of
Charleston. He received his AB degree from Howard University,
Washington, DC and BD degree from Drew University, Madison, NJ.
Bishop Nichols was ordained a deacon in 1926 and an elder in 1927.
He has pastored a number of churches. In 14 years, Nichols
developed a membership of 2400, purchased a new building and
organized the church into departments. Elected in 1940 at the
General Conference in Detroit, MI, Nichols has served the 9th,
1st, 11th, 12th, and 7th Episcopal districts. In the 9th District,
Bishop Nichols paid off mortgages, built the Episcopal residence,
five other buildings, renovated property and worked successfully
rebuilding Daniel Payne College in Birmingham, Alabama. He
represented the AME church at the organization of the World
Council of Churches in Amsterdam, Holland. He served for many
years on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist
Organization.
Bishop Nichols retired in 1976 at the General Conference in
Atlanta, GA.
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Henry
Wendell Murph
Henry Wendell Murph, the 86th bishop
of the Church, was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina to Reverend
and Mrs. L.B. Murph. He attended the public schools of Orangeburg.
He graduated from Allen University, Columbia, SC and Oberlin
graduate School of Theology, Oberlin, Ohio. He has experience as a
teacher, professor of theology, professor of philosophy and has
distinguished himself as one of the great pastors of the AME church.
Bishop Murph was ordained a deacon and elder at the Southwest
Georgia Conference. He was elected Bishop at the General Conference
in Philadelphia in 1968. He has served the 18th, 17th, 2nd, 10th,
and 5th districts.
Murph is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Southern Christian
leadership Conference, and the NAACP. He has received numerous
awards for outstanding service in all of the areas in which he has
served.
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John
Hurst Adams
John Hurst Adams, the 87th Bishop of
the Church, is also the current Senior Bishop, a position he has
held for 12 years. He was born in Columbia, SC, to Rev. and Mrs.
Eugene A. Adams. He attended public school in Columbia, graduated
from Johnson C. Smith University, Boston University School of
Theology, and earned his Master's degree in Sacred Theology. He has
studied further at Harvard University, union Theological Seminary,
and the Urban Training Center for Missions.
Bishop Adams was ordained a deacon in 1949 and an elder in 1952. He
taught at Payne Seminary and School of Theology, in Claremont, SC.
He served as President of Paul Quinn College.
Adams was elected Bishop at the General Conference in Dallas, TX in
1972. He has served the 10th, 2nd, 6th, 7th, and currently the 11th
Districts. He is progressive, well prepared, and forthright in his
stand on every issue affecting Blacks in America.
Adams is married to Dr. Dolly Desselle Adams of New Orleans.
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Richard
Allen Hildebrand
Richard Allen Hildebrand was born in
Winnsboro, SC in a family of ten children. His mother, Mrs. Agnes
Brogdon Hildebrand, was formerly President of the Central South
Carolina Conference Branch of the Women's Missionary Society for
over 40 years.
Hildebrand holds an AB from Allen University; MDiv, Payne
Theological Seminary; STM, Boston University; DD, Wilberforce
University; and LLD from Morris Brown College. He has pastored in
South Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New York. He
served Bethel, NYC, for 15 years and Bridge Street AMEW, Brooklyn
for 7 years. He was pastoring Bridge street when he was elected
Bishop in June, 1972 in Dallas, TX. He served the 6th, 1st, and 3rd
Districts.
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Frederick
Hilborn Talbot
Frederick Hilborn Talbot, the 90th
Bishop of the Church, was born in Airy Hall, Mahalcony, Guyana,
South America to Simon and Helena Talbot. He attended private
schools in Guyana. He received his BA from Allen University, where
he graduated Cum Laude, Mdiv from Yale University and STM
from Pacific School of Religion.
Bishop Talbot has served as a permanent representative tot he United
Nations, having been appointed by the Prime Minister of Guyana. In
1973, he was assigned the dual responsibility of being his country's
Ambassador to the United States of America as well as High
Commissioner to Canada.
Talbot was ordained a deacon in 1951 and an elder in 1952. He has
pastored at First Methodist in New Haven; St. James in Colusa, CA,
and St. Peter's, Georgetown, Guyana.
Bishop Talbot was elected bishop at the General Conference in
Dallas, TX, in 1972. He has presided over the 16th, 6th, 12th, and
presently the 13th Districts, and was once the Ecumenical Officer.
Bishop Talbot has also contributed hymns to the 1984 revision of the
AME Hymn Book.
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Hamel
Hartford Brookins
Hamel Hartford Brookins is the son of
a Yazoo, MS share-cropper. A charismatic blend of the pulpit
preacher and the platform orator, his ministry in both the pastorate
and the episcopacy reflected a concomitant high level of social and
political activities on two continents, making him easily one of the
unsung, but great heroes in the fight to achieve justice and
equality for Black people.
He was educated at Wilberforce University, Payne Theological
Seminary and the University of Kansas. His appointment to the
prestigious First AME church of Los Angeles, CA put him on the scene
to become one of the major equilibrating voices to help quell the
Watts riots. He relocated FAME, built its present multi-million
dollar sanctuary, and added hundreds of names to its membership
roll, including that of late mayor Tom Bradley, whose political rise
he helped to architect.
Elected the 91st Bishop of the Church at the 1972 General
Conference, his first assignment was to the 17th Episcopal District
embracing the five Central African countries, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
He has also served the 5th, 12th, 2nd, 13th Districts, and as the
Ecumenical Officer.
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Vinton
Randolph Anderson
Vinton Randolph Anderson, the 92nd
Bishop of the Church, was born in Somerset, Bermuda. He attended
private elementary schools in Bermuda. He received his BA from
Wilberforce University, a Mdiv from Payne Theological Seminary in
Ohio, and a MA in Philosophy from the University of Kansas.
Bishop Anderson was ordained a deacon in 1951 and an elder in 1952.
In 1972 at the General Conference in Dallas, TX, he was elevated to
the bishopric. He has served the 15th, 9th, 3rd, 5th, and presently
the 2nd Districts. He has also served as Ecumenical Officer, and
President of the North American Jurisdiction of the World Council of
Churches.
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Frederick
Calhoun James
Frederick Calhoun James, the 93rd
Bishop of the Church, was born in Prosperity, South Carolina to
Edward and Ross James. He attended the public schools of Newberry.
He is a graduate of Brown University, Howard University, and
Columbia University.
Bishop James was ordained a deacon in 1945 and an elder in 1947. He
pastored five churches in South Carolina. He is the founder of Mr.
Pisgah Apartments, inc. , as well as James Village, Sumter SC.
James served as a professor of Allen University and was also dean of
Theology at the same University. He is a life member of the NAACP
and co-organizer of the National Council on Religion and Race.
Bishop James was elected bishop at the General Conference in Dallas
in 1972. He has served the 15th, 18th, 12th, 7th, and 2nd Districts,
and briefly served as Ecumenical Officer.
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Philip
Robert Cousin
Philip Robert Cousin, the 96th Bishop
of the Church, was born in Pittston, PA to Rev. Sylvester and Mary
Cousin. He attended public schools in West Palm beach, GL. He
received his AB from Central State University; MTh from Boston
University; and Dmin from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School.
Bishop Cousin taught at Southeastern Seminary and Duke University.
He served in the US Army, 2nd Lieut., and served as the president of
Kittrell College.
Cousin was ordained a deacon in 1952 and an elder in 1955. He had
pastored in Norfolk and Danville, VA, Reviera Beach, FL, and St.
Joseph, Durham, NC. He was elected a bishop at the General
Conference in Atlanta, GA in 1976 and has served the 9th, 11th, 1st,
and presently the 4th Districts. Bishop Cousin has also served as a
president of the National Council of Churches.
Bishop Cousin is married to Margaret Joan Cousin, and is the father
of five preaching sons.
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Donald
George Kenneth Ming
Donald George Kenneth Ming, the 97th
Bishop of the Church, was born in Devonshire, Bermuda to C.E. and
Mable Ming. He attended Elliot School and Howard Academy. He earned
his BS degree from Wilberforce University and his Mdiv from Payne
Theological Seminary.
Bishop Ming's star steadily ascended in the AME church from a small
charge in the New Jersey Conference to the Delaware Conference,
where he built Mt. Zion, Dover and motivated the building found and
purchased the site of the land where New Murph Church, Chester PA
now stands to the New York Conference where he built and paid for
Allen, Jamaica.
Bishop Ming was elected 97th bishop at the General Conference in
Atlanta in 1976. He has served the 15th, 16th, 8th, 6th, and
presently the 1st Districts.
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Cornelius
Egbert Thomas
Cornelius Egbert Thomas, the 99th
Bishop of the Church, was born in Marion Alabama to Reverend James
and Serena Thomas. He attended Perry County schools. He earned an AB
from Daniel Payne College and an Mdiv from Gammon Theological
Seminary.
Bishop Thomas was ordained a deacon in 1942 and an elder in 1944. He
has pastored St. Mark, Dora, Flat-top Circuit, Bethel Ersely, and
St. John, Birmingham. At St. John, he paid off the mortgage;
organized a credit union; established a scholarship fun; and
purchased a modern Church and facilities.
Thomas was elected a bishop at the General Conference in Atlanta, GA
in 1976. He served the 17th, 13th, and 9th Districts.
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James
Haskell Mayo
James Haskell Mayo, the 100th Bishop
of the Church, was born in Springfield, OH to Mark and Estelle Mayo.
He attended the public schools of Springfield. He received his AB
degree from Wilberforce University and BD degree from Payne
Theological Seminary.
Bishop Mayo was ordained an elder at the Ohio Annual Conference. He
was appointed to First, Xenia, in 1942. He pastored St. John River
Rouge, MI; Ward, Washington, DC; St. James, St. Louis, MO; Shorter,
Denver, CO; and Coppin, Chicago, IL.
Mayo was elected a bishop at the General Conference in New Orleans
in 1980. He served the 14th, 16th, 10th and 4th Districts before
retirement in 1996.
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Harold
Benjamin Senatle
Harold Benjamin Senatle, the 102nd
bishop of the Church, was born in Christiana, South Africa to
William and Anne Senatle. He as educated in Christiana. Ordained in
1950 in East Transvaal, South Africa, he has pastored at Brandford,
Orange Free State; Mt. Sinnah, Edenburg; Mt. Pisgah, Bethlehem; Mt.
Nebo, Wikom; Mt. Zion, Gloemfontein, and St. Peter in East
Transvaal.
He had served as the administrative assistant to Bishops: Harrison
Bryant, Frederick James, G. Dewey Robinson, Donald G. K. Ming, and
John Hunter.
Sentale was elected at the General Conference in Kansas City in
1984. He served the 18th, 19th, and 15th Districts before retiring
in 2000. His legacy includes building the Episcopal Headquarters for
the 19th District.
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Henry
Allen Belin, Jr.
Henry Allen Belin, Jr., the 104th
Bishop of the Church, was born in Oakdale, LA to Beatrice Boney
Belin and Henry Allen Belin Sr. (himself an active minister in the
8th District for more than 60 years before his passing). He attended
the public schools in Baton Rouge, LA. He received his MS degree
from the Mapton School of Religion in Jackson, MS and his BA and BTh
degrees from Leland College in Baker, LA.
Bishp Belin has pastored , remodeled an built churches in both the
8th and 13th Episcopal Districts, including Payne Chapel Nashville,
TN. He also served as a presiding elder in the 8th District. Before
being elected bishop, Belin was elected Secretary-treasurer of the
Sunday School Union in 1972.
Belin was elected the 104th bishop of the Church at the General
Conference in Kansas City in 1984. He has served the 15th, 12th,
3rd, and is presently serving the 7th Districts. He is married to
Lucinda Crawford Belin, originally of Vicksburg, MS. They have three
children, two of whom are AME preachers.
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Vernon
Randolph Byrd, Sr.
Vernon Randolph Byrd, Sr. is a native
of South Carolina, born in Enroee County where he received his
public school education. After graduating from Bell Street High
School, he enrolled at Allen University where he received the BA
degree. He received the MSTh degree from Boston University.
Bishop Byrd was called to preach at the age of 12 and was licensed
at the age of 17. His ministry include the following pastorates:
Macedonia, Seaford, DE; St. Paul, Hamilton, Bermuda; Macedonia,
Camden, NJ; Morris Brown, Philadelphia, PA; and St.. James, Newark.
He also served as the presiding elder of the Newark District for a
year.
Married to the former Theora Lindsey, he is the father of four
children, and has several grandchildren.
In 1984 he was elected bishop at the General Conference in Kansas
City. He served the 14th, 16th, and 5th Districts before recently
accepting location due to health.
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