Robert Eric Hayes Jr. is a retired American bishop of the United Methodist Church (U.M.C.), currently serving as Bishop in Residence at The Woodlands Methodist Church in The Woodlands, Texas. Prior to retirement, he served as Bishop of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences. Before being elected to the episcopacy in 2004, Hayes served as treasurer of the Texas Annual Conference. He has served as a pastor, district superintendent, and college

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Education

Hayes earned a B.A. degree in English from Huston–Tillotson University, Austin, Texas (1969). He was initiated into

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities , historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

while a student at Huston–Tillotson. He earned an

M.Th. Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a sta ...

degree from

Perkins School of Theology Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools and is located in Dallas, Texas. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J. and Lois Craddock Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas. De ...

, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas (1972) and a

D.Min. The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...

degree from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey (1997). Hayes was a Methodist Fellow to Europe, Asia and Russia in 1967. He was a Crusade Scholar of the U.M.C. in 1970-72. He was in ''Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities'' in 1968 and ''Outstanding Young Men in America'' in 1969.

Ordained ministry

Hayes was ordained in the Texas

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 ...

of the

U.M. 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 evangelic ...

. Before his election to the episcopacy, he served the following appointments: McCabe U.M.C., Longview, Texas, as well as

and

instructor Instructor may refer to: Education * Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill: ** Teaching assistant ** Tutor ** Lecturer ** Fellow ** Teaching fellow *** Teaching associate *** Graduate student instructor ** Professor S ...

of Religion and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at Wiley College (1972–75); Blueridge U.M.C.,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

(1975–86); Riverside U.M.C., Houston (1986–94); superintendent of the Houston Southwest District (1994–2001); and treasurer, Texas Annual Conference (2002–04). Hayes was active in community ministries as well. He was a member of the Houston Board of Missions of the U.M.C. (1994–2001), was secretary of the Wesley House Community Center (1990–98), and served on the board of directors of the Houston Ebony Opera Guild (1986–94) and of the Methodist Home, Waco, Texas (1994–2000). He served on the board of directors of Bering-Omega Community Services (an HIV/AIDS ministry in Houston); on the advisory board of Covenant House of Texas (1999–2004); and as an officer and member of the Texas Conference Board of Trustees, the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry, the Division of Colleges, and the Committee on Ethnic Local Church Concerns.

Honors

Hayes served as the

Lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

at Lovers Lane U.M.C., Dallas, Texas (2003); as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

and Lenten Evangelist at the Chicago Temple U.M.C., Chicago, Illinois (1998); and lecturer and Lenten Evangelist at

St. Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

's U.M.C., Houston (1999). He was named Outstanding Alumni by the Houston Chapter, Huston–Tillotson College (1989–90). He chaired the Legislative Committee on Faith and Order at the General Conference of the U.M.C.,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, (2000).

Episcopal ministry

Bishop Hayes was endorsed for the Episcopacy by the General and Jurisdictional Delegations of the Texas Annual Conference and by Black Methodists for Church Renewal, South Central Jurisdiction. He was the first to be elected of four new bishops by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Corpus Christi in 2004. He was assigned to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Episcopal Area (the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Annual Conferences) with offices in Oklahoma City. Under his influence and leadership, St. Paul's School of Theology (in Kansas City) and Oklahoma City University (OCU) worked together to create a new St. Paul's Seminary on the campus at OCU, opening in the fall of 2008. Retiring as Bishop of the Oklahoma Episcopal Area of the UMC in 2016, Bishop Hayes was invited to join the staff of 10,000+ membership the Woodlands Methodist Church in the Woodlands, Texas, where he continues his ministry as bishop in residence.Saint Paul , School of Theology
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Other information

Bishop Hayes serves on the Board of Trustees of Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Kentucky) and St. Paul's School of Theology (Kansas City, Missouri). Bishop Hayes was elected in 2008 to serve as the Secretary of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. He was assigned to serve as one of the Episcopal Directors of the General Commission of Finance and Administration.

References

External links

InfoServ, the official information service of the United Methodist ChurchThe Council of Bishops of the United Methodist ChurchAsbury Theological Seminary, Board of Trustees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Robert E. 1947 births Living people Perkins School of Theology alumni Huston–Tillotson University alumni Drew University alumni American United Methodist bishops Wiley College faculty 21st-century Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist ministers 20th-century American clergy 21st-century American clergy