Bishop Rhymes Moncure dies following surgery

By Robin Russell
Managing Editor, The Reporter

United Methodist Bishop Rhymes H. Moncure Jr., the first African American to become bishop of the Dallas Area, died Aug. 19 at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, where he’d been hospitalized since having surgery Aug. 7 for a brain tumor.

Though the surgery was successful and Bishop Moncure had been communicative with his family, he soon suffered serious post-operative complications that made a second surgery necessary. He never regained consciousness.

Bishop Moncure was 61.

During his hospitalization, district services of healing and hope for the bishop and his family had been scheduled throughout the 160,000-member North Texas Conference -- from Dallas to Wichita Falls.

Bishop Moncure had become known as a spiritual and compassionate bishop, a servant leader of the Church, one who is visionary in multi-cultural settings. He demonstrated his commitment to servant leadership by initiating the ritual of washing the feet of new pastors appointed during the Annual Conference in North Texas.

He was assigned to the Dallas Area two years ago at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Corpus Christi, after serving four years in the Nebraska Area. He succeeded retiring Bishop William B. Oden, who had served since 1996.

The native of Oakland, Calif., Bishop Moncure was the son of a Naval Officer and public school teacher. He received the Master of Divinity Degree (M.Div.) from St. Paul School of Theology in homiletics (preaching) with honors, and the Doctor of Ministry Degree (D.Min.) from Carolina University School of Theology with academic honors in the area of biblical studies and church administration.

Bishop Moncure served as a parish pastor for 32 years before having the rare distinction of being elected as a United Methodist bishop on the first ballot in the 2000 South Central Jurisdictional Conference.

His pastoral appointments had included churches ranging in size from 50 to 2,500 members, including urban and suburban congregations and cross-racial settings.

When he was appointed senior pastor in 1991 of Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, Mo., the historical church was the largest predominantly Anglo congregation served by an African-American clergy in American United Methodism. Under his leadership, the church grew tremendously, developing new ministries and acquiring a Christian Life Center.

After serving churches in Kansas City and St. Louis, he was appointed superintendent of the St. Louis South District. He was appointed bishop of the Nebraska Area in 2000.

Bishop Moncure had also been a director for the General Board of Global Ministries (1988-1996) and the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (1996-2000). He was a member of the board of trustees of Southern Methodist University and the United Methodist Publishing House.

Bishop Moncure also had certification as a conflict resolution leader, and had used his training across the church.

The Council of Bishops will select a replacement for Bishop Moncure, most likely on a recommendation from bishops within the South Central Jurisdiction, said Stephen Drachler, executive director of public information for the United Methodist Church.

Bishop Moncure is survived by his wife, Jewell, of Plano; a daughter, Roxanne Moncure, of St. Louis; a son, Jason Moncure of Atlanta; and two grandsons