James Samuel Thomas (April 8, 1919 – October 10, 2010) was an American

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 ...

in The Methodist Church (now The

United Methodist Church 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 evangelical ...

). When elected in 1964, he was one of the youngest Methodist bishops. Gerald Kennedy was age 40 when he was elected in the mid-1940s. His first appointment as Bishop was in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, where he served from 1964 to 1976, becoming the first black bishop of the North Central Jurisdiction of The Methodist Church. He last served as the

Resident Bishop A bishop is a senior role in many Methodist denominations. The bishop's role is typically called the "episcopacy", based on the Greek word ''episkopos'' (), which literally means overseer. Superintendent is another translation of ''episkopos'' but i ...

of the East Ohio Conference of The

from 1976 until 1988, retiring in 1988. James S. Thomas wrote the book "Methodism's Racial Dilemma. The Story of the Central Jurisdiction." In 2002, the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

passed a resolution honoring Bishop Thomas. In its citation, the Senate extended :"its thanks and congratulations to Bishop James S. Thomas and his family for their service to The United Methodist Church and to the State of Iowa, and acknowledges the work of Bishop James S. Thomas for the advancement of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

in Iowa and in the nation." The resolution was presented to Bishop Thomas on his birthday in the same year.Iowa Senate Resolution S.R. 136 of 2002
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Photo of Bishop Thomas
1919 births 2010 deaths African-American Methodist clergy American Methodist clergy United Methodist bishops of the North Central Jurisdiction Methodist bishops of the Central Jurisdiction Black studies scholars {{US-bishop-stub

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