Cedrick D. Bridgeforth (born in Decatur,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

) is an American

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

clergyman who was elected

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

by the Western Jurisdictional Conference in November 2022. He is the first openly gay

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

man to be elected bishop in the United Methodist Church.

Life

Since he is openly gay and married, he was elected in defiance of the denomination's ban on openly gay and non-celibate clergy. He was assigned to the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area and began serving it on January 1, 2023. He was elected on the 18th ballot at the conference held at Christ United Methodist Church in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. At the time of his election, Bridgeforth was director of innovation and communication in the denomination's California-Pacific Conference. His previous ministry appointments have included serving as pastor of Crenshaw United Methodist Church in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(2003-2008); district superintendent in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

(2008-2015); and lead pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Los Angeles (2015-2017, 2018-2021). A native of

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

, and graduate of Danville High School. He served in the

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for four years before enrolling in

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

from which he received a B.A. in religion in 1997. He received the M.Div. from

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is an American graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Claremont, California. CST is fully recognized and approved as one of thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodis ...

in 2000, and the EdD from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

in 2006. He is married to Christopher Hucks-Ortiz and is the author of ''Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister's Passage out of Hiding'' (Precocity Press, 2021).

External links

Umc.org: Alumni profile reverend Cedrick Bridgeforth
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeforth, Cedrick D. African-American Methodist clergy American United Methodist bishops Samford University alumni Pepperdine University alumni People from Morgan County, Alabama LGBT Methodist bishops LGBT people from Alabama Living people Year of birth missing (living people)