Nolan Bailey Harmon (July 14, 1892 – June 8, 1993) was a

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 ...

of The Methodist Church and 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 ...

, elected in 1956.

Birth and family

Nolan Bailey Harmon was born July 14, 1892, in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

, and died on June 8, 1993, living to be over 100 years old. His funeral was held on June 12, 1993, at Druid Hills United Methodist Church, and he was buried in the Evergreen Burial Park in Roanoke, Virginia. He was the son, grandson and great-grandson of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Preachers A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

. He was elected a bishop of The Methodist Church and United Methodist Church in 1956. Harmon's wife Rebecca Lamar died at age 84 in 1980. His children were Nolan B. Harmon III and G. Lamar Harmon.

Education

Nolan graduated from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

in Mississippi. He was a member of the first class of the

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also one ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1914. He also earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1920. He received honorary degrees from Millsaps,

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

Western Maryland College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

and

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

. In 1958, he received an honorary

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

degree from Emory.

Career

In 1940, Harmon was elected book editor of the newly reunited Methodist Church. He

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

publications of

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

and the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

''Religion in Life.'' He also was general

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the twelve volume ''Interpreters Bible.'' Between 1960 and 1964, Bishop Harmon was a member of The

Hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of his denomination, serving as chairman of the Subcommittee on Texts. He was elected by the Southeastern Jurisdiction Conference of The Methodist Church. As a bishop, he presided over the work of various

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

s in the Southeastern United States. He retired from the active episcopacy in 1964. In retirement he edited the ''Encyclopedia of World Methodism.'' Also in retirement, Bishop Harmon served on the faculty of Emory University as a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

, continuing there into his 96th year. Further into his retirement, Nolan taught classes on government and history of Methodists. A friend of his drove him to and from classes, and he lived by the university at the time.

Civil rights involvement

In April 1963, Bishop Harmon made

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 ...

history when he, along with seven other white

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

men (including fellow-Methodist Bishop Paul Hardin Jr.), released a statement calling on

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 ...

s to stop taking part in demonstrations initiated by the Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

The statement, titled "

A Call for Unity "A Call for Unity" was an open letter published in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 12, 1963, by eight local white clergymen in response to civil rights demonstrations taking place in the area at the time. In the letter, they took issue with events ...

," called the demonstrations "unwise and untimely," and argued that change should be pursued through negotiation and judicial action. This statement motivated Dr. King to write his famous "

Letter from Birmingham Jail The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. It says that people have a moral responsibility to b ...

." In his 1983 autobiography, Bishop Harmon referred to the letter as a "propaganda move," but also wrote that he "certainly gave

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

his due as a brave man fighting off ages of evil." In June 1963, Bishop Harmon spoke out after segregationist Governor

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

attempted to block the enrollment of black students at the University of Alabama, also known as the "

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of " segregation now, segregation tom ...

." Bishop Harmon read a public protest of Wallace's actions during an Annual Conference, calling them a "moral mistake" and adding that "the sovereignty of the United States ..has been exerted to see that fundamental human rights are maintained in our state universities and state schools." His words were published in local newspapers. Bishop Harmon died June 1993, the first U.M. Bishop to live to be 100 or more since Bishop Herbert George Welch. He was also the oldest out of the eight white clergymen.

Biography

*Harmon, Nolan Bailey, ''Ninety Years and Counting'' (autobiography)

Selected writings

*''Ministerial Ethics and Etiquette'' *''The Famous Case of Myra Clark Gaines'' *General Editor, ''Encyclopedia of World Methodism'', Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House, 1974. *General Editor, ''Interpreters Bible'' *''Understanding the Methodist Church'' *''Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Church'', 1948 *''The Pastors Ideal Funeral Manual'' *''The Encyclopedia of World Methodism'', volume 1 *''The Encyclopedia of World Methodism'', volume 2 *''The Organization of the Methodist Church: Historic Development and Present Working Structure''

References

*Nolan B. Harmon Papers, MSS 134, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory Universit

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church

External links

Nolan B. Harmon papers, 1933–1993
at Pitts Theology Library,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Nolan Bailey 1892 births 1993 deaths Bishops of The Methodist Church (USA) United Methodist bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction American Methodist bishops American centenarians Men centenarians 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American educators American encyclopedists 20th-century American memoirists American religion academics Emory University alumni Princeton University alumni Editors of Christian publications American historians of religion History of Christianity in the United States Candler School of Theology alumni 20th-century American male writers