Biography: The Most Rev. Michael Curry
50 words:
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. He was elected in 2015 to a nine-year term in this role, and the animating vision and message of his ministry is Jesus of Nazareth and his model of radical, sacrificial love.
175 words:
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. At the church’s 78th General Convention in June 2015, he was elected to a nine-year term in this role and installed in November of that year; he serves as The Episcopal Church’s chief pastor, spokesperson, and president and chief executive officer.
Throughout his ministry, Bishop Curry has been a prophetic leader, particularly in the areas of racial reconciliation, climate change, evangelism, immigration policy, and marriage equality. The animating vision and message of his ministry is Jesus of Nazareth and his way of radical, sacrificial love, and he regularly reminds Episcopalians they are “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.”
Bishop Curry was ordained a priest in 1978 and served parishes in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland until his 2000 election as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. He graduated with high honors from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and earned his Master of Divinity degree from Yale University. Bishop Curry is the author of five books and a regular guest on national and international media outlets.
Full bio:
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. At the church’s 78th General Convention in June 2015, he was elected to a nine-year term in this role and installed in November of that year; he serves as The Episcopal Church’s chief pastor, spokesperson, and president and chief executive officer.
Throughout his ministry, Bishop Curry has been a prophetic leader, particularly in the areas of racial reconciliation, climate change, evangelism, immigration policy, and marriage equality. His vision and message as presiding bishop is animated by Jesus of Nazareth and his way of radical, sacrificial love, and he regularly reminds Episcopalians they are “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.”
Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic preachers of our time, Bishop Curry was ordained a priest in 1978 and served parishes in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland until his election as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in 2000.
Bishop Curry has been extensively involved in Crisis Control Ministry and the Absalom Jones Initiative, founding ecumenical summer day camps for children, preaching missions, creating networks of family day care providers and educational centers, and brokering millions of dollars of investment in urban neighborhoods.
The descendant of enslaved Africans brought to North America by way of the trans-Atlantic slave routes, Bishop Curry was born in Chicago in 1953. His father was also an Episcopal priest, and after Bishop Curry’s mother died when he was young, he and his sister were raised by their father and grandmother in upstate New York.
Bishop Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, graduated with high honors from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School. He furthered his education at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary’s Seminary, and the Institute of Christian Jewish Studies. He holds honorary doctorates from Yale University, Virginia Theological Seminary, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Episcopal Divinity School.
Bishop Curry is the author of five books and a regular guest on national and international media outlets. In 2018, Religion News Association named him religion newsmaker of the year.
A resident of Raleigh, North Carolina, Bishop Curry is married to Sharon (Clement) Curry, and the couple has two adult daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.
Books
Bishop Curry is the author of:
- Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubled Times
- The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections & Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire
- Following the Way of Jesus: Church’s Teaching for a Changing World
- Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus
- Songs My Grandma Sang
Recent media coverage
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