February 26, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Black History Month:  Bishop Michael Curry

Michael Curry was born on March 13, 1953, in Maywood, IL.  Both sides of his family were descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama.  He has a long line of Baptist ministers in his family, with both his grandfather and great-grandfather serving as Baptist ministers.

He tells the story of a time his family was visiting an Episcopal church in Ohio, and that blacks and whites had normally been separated at church services.  However, during this particular visit, both blacks and whites were allowed to drink from the same common cup at Communion.  That incident drove home the belief that in God’s eyes and in the Episcopal church, all people were equal, and that led Curry’s Baptist family to become Episcopalian.

Curry spent time in Buffalo, NY, (and at his last diocesan visitation as Presiding Bishop, thank the Wyoming delegates for Josh Allen) where he was ordained to the diaconate.  He was ordained as a priest in 1978 and served churches in North Carolina, Ohio, and finally Baltimore before being selected as Bishop of North Carolina in 2000.  He became the first African-American diocesan bishop south of the Mason Dixon Line.  He was active in social justice issues, immigration, and marriage equality.  On June 27, 2015, he was elected as Presiding Bishop on the first ballot, becoming the first African-American to serve in that role.

During his time as Presiding Bishop, he launched “The Way of Love” program and was often quoted as saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”  This stance was the basis for his support of marriage equality, saying, “Our commitment to be an inclusive church is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture, but on our belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are a sign of the very love of God reaching out to us all.”

Bishop Curry is a dynamic preacher, teacher, and leader who understood “All means All, y’all,” and has never been afraid to stand up for Gospel justice.  May we today have that same devotion to love, equity, and inclusion as our former Presiding Bishop.

Open our eyes, O Lord, to the injustices committed on our behalf.  Awaken us to the unpleasant truths that a whitewashed history tries to cover up.  Free us from the bonds of prejudice and fear.  Allow us to see the value and contributions of those who are different.  And give us the strength and courage to work for justice, freedom, and peace in the face of opposition, while respecting the dignity of every human being.  Amen.