Listen Live
Fantastic Voyage Generic Graphics Updated Nov 2023
Black America Web Featured Video
CLOSE

 

The Episcopal Church made history for the second consecutive time after it elected Bishop Michael Curry to lead its church in a landslide election that took place last weekend. Bishop Curry will be the first African-American to lead the church, this after outgoing Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori was the first woman to lead.

Curry was born March 13, 1953 in Chicago, Ill. He was raised in Buffalo, New York, going on to attend Hobart College and the Yale Divinity School. Curry was ordained in North Carolina as both a deacon and a priest in 1978, leading a church Winston-Salem church before becoming rector of a church in Lincoln Heights, Ohio.

Curry was also the bishop for the St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore, the third Black Episcopal church established in the United States.

Since 2000, Curry has served as the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and has become known for his enthusiasm for social justice, equal rights, and gay rights. An avowed evangelist, Curry travels around the country performing speaking and ministry engagements.

Curry authored the books, Crazy Christians: A Call To Follow Jesus and Sounds My Grandma Sang. Curry is a resident of Raleigh, N.C. with his wife, Sharon, and their two daughters.

The New York-based Episcopal Church boasts nearly 2 million members, and is the United States’ branch of the globally-recognized and 80-million strong Anglican Communion.

Curry will be officially installed at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on November 1 to start his nine-year service as the lead bishop of the church.

(Photo: Episcopal Church)

Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

 

The Ten Most Interesting Little Known Black History Facts
5 photos