“He was born into hardship but lifted into triumph,” Kenneth Anderson said of his father, Bishop Vinton Randolph Anderson. This simple statement beautifully summed up the life of the 92nd elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
A celebration service was held July 17 at St. Paul AME Church, where Bishop Anderson served as pastor from 1964 to 1972. Standing in front of a sanctuary filled to capacity, leaders within the AME Church provided mourners with memories of his revolutionary ways.
“He was an unusual man, for thousands that came into contact with him instinctively recognized his unique and unusual gifts,” said Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram, Presiding Prelate of the 1st Episcopal District.
Bishop Ingram recalled how Bishop Anderson refused to succumb to societal pressures and instead dedicated his life to fulfilling the expectations of a higher being.
“He had the ability to be a commercial prince, but instead committed his life to a higher calling,” said Bishop Ingram. “Bishop Vinton Randolph Anderson was a prince not because of his position or station, but because his submission to almighty God endowed him with gifts and graces.”
Bishop Anderson passed away peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, just two days shy of what would have been his 87th birthday.
Leaders also reflected on the progressive actions Bishop Anderson took when it came to promoting the involvement of women in ministry.
“I am honored Bishop Anderson was bold enough to appoint me first woman president of Payne Theological Seminary,” said Leah Gaskin Fitchue, president of Payne Theological Seminary, of which Bishop Anderson was a dedicated alumnus.
“Bishop never did anything that had a single effect,” said Fitchue,
He was also responsible for appointing the AME Church’s first female presiding elder in the United States (Rev. Cornelia Wright, Ohio), the first woman pastor of a major metropolitan church (Rev. Carolyn Tyler, Los Angeles), first woman president of Wilberforce University (Dr. Yvonne Walker-Taylor) and the election of the first woman bishop (Bishop Vashti McKenzie).
“Everywhere he went, he raised up women in ministry,” said Bishop John Richard Bryant, Presiding Prelate of the 4th Episcopal District.
Yet there was one particular woman he held in highest regard: his wife of 62 years, Vivienne Anderson.
“He loved my mother to the end of the earth and back. Their love is the greatest love I’ve ever seen,” said Kenneth.
Kenneth described his dad’s upbringing – an upbringing that included an absent father who never fully claimed him.
“How does a man who never knew a father raise four gentlemen? How did he do this?” said Kenneth. “My Bible says, ‘We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.’ That’s how he did it. Through his heavenly father, he learned to be all he could be.”
And being all he could be, he earned a reputation for being one of the most giving men.
“He was constantly giving and asking for nothing in return,” said Bishop Ingram. Bishop Anderson was “a man with a heart that pulsated with love and sympathy for everybody,” he said.
Kenneth even remembered a few instances of kindness that affected the lives of his friends.
“I recall us bringing friends to the house who just came by to visit and my dad would end up sending them to college,” said Kenneth.
“Bishop Anderson didn’t just walk the walk, he talked the talk. He manifested the reality that the world was indeed his parish,” said Reverend Staccato Powell of the World Council of Churches.
Bishop Anderson was elected as the first African-American president of the World Council of Churches in 1991 and served an eight-year term.
“The African Methodist Episcopal Church has not produced such an ecumenical leader as Bishop Anderson,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, Presiding Prelate of the 20th Episcopal District.
“He didn’t just serve,” said Powell, “he left a legacy.”
