The U.S. Episcopal Church has installed its first black bishop, who was elected to the position in an overwhelming vote.
SRNNews.com reports that Michael Curry has become the first black person to hold the position of residing bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church.
Curry follows in the wake of the denomination’s first woman bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori.
Curry is the son of an Episcopal priest, and before being elected as presiding bishop, he served 15 years as leader of the Diocese of North Carolina.
SRN News reports that the Episcopalian denomination is struggling to maintain members amid cultural tensions, such as the denomination’s support of gay marriage.
In his elaborate installation ceremony, Curry urged Episcopalians to reach out to spread the Gospel across barriers of race, education, and wealth.
Curry is the author of Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus. He said he prays “for a church passionately committed to making disciples.At a deep level I am suggesting a churchwide spiritual revival of the Christian faith in the Episcopal way of being disciples of Jesus,” he said, according to the New York Times.
Publication date: November 2, 2015
