Harry Coleman McGehee, Jr.
|
The Right Reverend H. Coleman McGehee Jr. |
|
|---|---|
| VIII Bishop of Michigan | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | Michigan |
| Elected | May 1971 |
| In office | 1973–1990 |
| Predecessor | Richard S. M. Emrich |
| Successor | R. Stewart Wood |
| Other posts | bishop coadjutor (1971–1973) Rector, Immanuel-on-the-Hill, Alexandria (1960–1971) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | October 1971 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1923 Richmond, Virginia, USA |
| Died | March 14, 2013 Pontiac, Michigan, USA |
| Spouse | June McGehee |
| Children | Lesley, Cary, Alexander, C. Harry, and Donald |
| Alma mater | Virginia Tech, University of Richmond, Virginia Theological Seminary |
Harry Coleman McGehee Jr. (called Coleman; 1923 – March 14, 2013) was a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He served the Diocese of Michigan as bishop coadjutor from 1971 to 1973 and as diocesan bishop from 1973 to 1990. McGehee was also former deputy attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
McGehee was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1923.
He served during World War II as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After completing his military service, he graduated from Virginia Tech in 1947. He then earned a law degree at the University of Richmond in 1949. During his time practicing law, he served as deputy attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia. McGehee later entered the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary of Virginia, graduating in 1957.
Prior to coming to Michigan, he was rector of Immanuel-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1960 to 1971, where he was the pastor to President Gerald R. Ford and Betty Ford.
McGehee was elected bishop in May 1971, beginning his service in October of that year. Then 48, he succeeded the Richard S. M. Emrich, who had led the Michigan diocese since 1948.
In 1988, he approached the National Convention of the Episcopal Church in Detroit with a plan for an economic justice ministry. With their help, the Bishop H. Coleman McGehee Economic Justice Fund was established in 1988, and transitioned into the Opportunity Resource Fund in 2010.
McGehee was known as a civil rights and peace advocate and activist within Michigan. He specifically developed a reputation for supporting women's rights, LGBT equality, and union labor. He offered a liturgy for peace on multiple Good Fridays at the gates of Williams International in Walled Lake, Michigan where missiles were then being made. His support of women serving as clergy culminated in 1977 when he ordained Meredith Hunt, the first woman to become a priest in the Diocese of Michigan. He also welcomed gay and lesbian members into the church and ordained some gay and lesbian people.
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