Leontine T. Kelly

Leontine T. Kelly
Born	Leontine Turpeau March 5, 1920 Washington, D.C.
Died	June 28, 2012(2012-06-28)(aged 92) Oakland, California
Occupation	Bishopof theUnited Methodist Church
Known for	First black woman to become a bishop in a major Christian denomination
Spouses	Gloster Bryant Current James David Kelly ​ (m.1956)​
Parent	David Turpeau
Relatives	Anita Turpeau Anderson(sister) T. J. Anderson(nephew)

Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly(March 5, 1920 – June 28, 2012) was an Americanbishopof theUnited Methodist Church.She was the second woman elevated to the position of bishop within the United Methodist Church, and the first African American woman.

Early life and personal life

Leontine Turpeau was born inGeorgetown,Washington, D.C.,on March 5, 1920.She was the seventh of eight children born toDavid D. TurpeauSenior and Ila Marshall Turpeau.The Turpeau family then moved to Cincinnati when Leontine was a young girl.Her father was aMethodistminister who later served four terms in theOhio House of Representatives.Her mother was an outspoken advocate for women andBlacksand a founder of theUrban LeagueofCincinnati, Ohio.Her brother, D. Rossman Turpeau was an educator in Cincinnati, Ohio.

From 1938 to 1941, Turpeau attended West Virginia State College. In 1941, she left school to marryGloster B. Current,who was then serving as the executive director of the NCAAP's Detroit branch. He later became a Methodist pastor. The couple had three children together before getting divorced by the mid-1950s.In 1956, Turpeau married James David Kelly, aUnited Methodistminister.

Education

Kelly earned aB.A.degree fromVirginia Union University(1960) and completed graduate work in economics, history and humanities atNorth Texas State University,theUniversity of Cincinnati,and theCollege of William and Mary.She served as a public schoolteacherin Richmond andNorthumberland County, Virginia,for eight years.

Kelly completed the Course of Study forOrdainedMinisters in theVirginiaAnnual Conferenceof theU.M. Churchby attending summer school atWesley Theological Seminary(1970, 1971). She earned herM.Div.degree fromUnion Theological SeminaryinRichmond, Virginia(1976).

Ministry

Kelly became a Certified Lay Speaker in Virginia in the late-1960s. She then served the Galilee Church (1969–75). She was ordained a deacon byWilliam R. Cannonin 1972 and an elder by W. Kenneth Goodson in 1977.

Kelly served on the staff of the Virginia Conference Council on Ministries (1975–77), directing social ministries. She then served as pastor of Asbury-Church Hill in Richmond, Virginia seven years before becoming Assistant General Secretary of the U.M. General Board of Discipleship with the portfolio ofEvangelism.

Although a member of the Virginia Annual Conference in the Southeastern Jurisdiction, Kelly was elected to the episcopacy by the Western Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1984. The election was held on July 19, during the annual General Conference of the United Methodist Church.She was only the second woman, and the first African American woman, to become a bishop in any major Christian denomination in the world. She was assigned to theSan FranciscoEpiscopal Area, where she served until her retirement in 1988.Kelly also served on the U.M. General Board of Church and Society, as the President of the Western Jurisdictional College of Bishops, and on the executive committee of the Council of Bishops.

Awards and honors

In 2000, Kelly was inducted into theNational Women's Hall of Fame.She was the 2002 recipient of theThomas Merton Award.

Kelly heldhonorary doctoratesfromGarrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary(1984),DePauw University(1989),Christian Theological Seminary(1989), Virginia Union University (1989),Nebraska Wesleyan University(also 1989),Bennett College(1991),Willamette University(1990)andDillard University(1992).

Death

Kelly died on June 28, 2012, in Oakland, California.

External links

• The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church[1]
• InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church.[2]
• Leontine Kelly's oral history video excerptsat The National Visionary Leadership Project