The Rt. Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, was elected the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church on the first ballot on June 27.
Bishop Curry, 62, is the first African-American to be elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
The election occurred during the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church.
Of the 174 votes tallied, Bishop Curry received 121 (89 needed to elect).
Following his election by the House of Bishops, Bishop Curry’s election was overwhelmingly confirmed by the House of Deputies, 800 for, 12 against.
Meet Presiding Bishop-Elect Curry
Curry was ordained Bishop of North Carolina on June 17, 2000.
His experience includes:
1988-2000: Rector, St. James’ Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland
1982-1988: Rector, St. Simon of Cyrene Episcopal Church, Lincoln Heights, Ohio
1982-1988: Chaplain, Bethany School
1978-1982: Rector, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Winston Salem, North Carolina
He has served on a number of Episcopal Church Committees, a Commissions, Agencies, and Boards:
- Chair, Board of Directors, Episcopal Relief and Development (current)
- Board of Trustees, Saint Augustine’s University (current)
- North Carolina Council of Churches (current)
- Moral Monday movement (current)
- Chair, Advisory Committee, Office of Black Ministries (current)
- Bishop Visitor, Community of the Transfiguration (current)
- TREC/Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church
- General Convention Committees: Evangelism, Global Mission
- Standing Commission on World Mission
- Union of Black Episcopalians
- Institute of Christian and Black Studies of Baltimore
- Ecumenical Clergy on the Square, Revival and Citizens on Patrol (Baltimore)
- Jubilee Ministry, St. James’ Afterschool Academy, Baltimore
- Board, Episcopal Social Ministries, Diocese of Maryland
- Chair and Co-Chair, convention Planning Team, Diocese of Maryland
- Commission on Ministry, Dioceses of Maryland, Southern Ohio and North Carolina
- General Board of Examining Chaplains
- Board and Faculty, College of Preachers
- Coordinator, The Racism Steering Committee, Diocese of Southern Ohio
- Board, Winston-Salem Urban League
He holds a Bachelors of Arts, with High Honors from Hobart and William Smith College; a Masters of Divinity from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale; Continuing Studies at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, The Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary and Institute of Jewish Christian Studies; and D.D., honors causa, from Sewanee The University of the South, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Virginia Theological Seminary, and The Episcopal Divinity School
An author, his publications include:
- Songs My Grandmother Sang (Morehouse Publishing, Spring 2015)
- Crazy Christians: a Call to Follow Jesus (Morehouse Publishing, 2013)
- “Some Strange Things Are Happening in Charlotte”, opinion, (The Huffington Post, Sept. 4, 2012)
- “Stay in the City”, sermon (The African American Pulpit, Judson Press, 1999 issue)
- “Abyssinian Annals,” a weekly column( The Baltimore Times)
- Essay (“Joy”, Forward Movement, 1995)
- Article Series (Episcopal Life, September 1993- May 1994)
- “Servant Woman” and “There’s Power in the Word ” , sermons ( Sermons that Work 11, Forward Movement Publications)
Married to Sharon, they are the parents of two adult children.
The 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church is meeting through July 3 in Salt Lake City, UT (Diocese of Utah). The Episcopal Church’s General Convention is held every three years, and is the bicameral governing body of the Church. It comprises the House of Bishops, with upwards of 200 active and retired bishops, and the House of Deputies, with clergy and lay deputies elected from the 108 dioceses and three regional areas of the Church, at more than 800 members.
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