David Benson Reed (February 16, 1927 – March 11, 2023) was the first Bishop of Colombia and the sixth Bishop of Kentucky in the Episcopal Church.

Early life and education

Reed was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, on February 16, 1927, to Paul Spencer Reed and Bonnie Frances Taylor. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1948, and then with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

from the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

in 1951.

Ordained ministry

Reed was ordained deacon in 1951. He then left for Costa Rica where he served at the Church of the Good Shepherd in San José. He was then ordained priest on February 14, 1952, by Reginald Heber Gooden, Bishop of the Panama Canal Zone in St Luke's Cathedral,

Ancón, Panama Ancón is a corregimiento in Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama with a population of 29,761 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 11,518; its population as of 2000 was 11,169. It is sometimes considered a suburb or small town within P ...

. Between 1952 and 1958 he served numerous parishes in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

and Colombia. In 1958, he travelled back to the United States to serve as assistant in the Executive Council's Overseas Department in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1962, he became vicar of St Matthew's Church in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

, and served as a missionary to the

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Indians.

Episcopacy

In 1963, Reed was elected as the first Episcopal Bishop of Colombia (which included Ecuador) and was consecrated on April 25, 1964, by Presiding Bishop Arthur C. Lichtenberger. Ultimately he spent a total of fifteen years in South America before returning to the United States. In 1972, Bishop Reed was elected Coadjutor Bishop under the fifth Bishop of Kentucky, Charles Gresham Marmion. In 1974, Bishop Marmion retired and Bishop Reed became sixth Bishop of Kentucky. By then, he was known as a strong supporter of diversity and inclusivity. His diocese was one of the first to appoint women as priests after the Episcopal Church convention approved such an action in 1976. When the Rev. John Moore Hines announced that he would stop officiating at marriages and communion services as his protest against the Episcopal church's denial of the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate, Bishop David B. Reed consented to inhibit Hines from these duties until the last day of the next Episcopal General Convention (then scheduled for September 23, 1976). The church press release stated that the Bishop's inhibition indicated official recognition of Hines' protest. In 1986, Bishop Reed led a year-long search to fill the deanship of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville. On November 25, 1986, he and the cathedral chapter announced the selection of Rev. Geralyn Wolf, vicar of the 60-member St. Mary's church in Philadelphia. According to ''The Washington Post'', Rev. Wolf is the first woman named to an Episcopal cathedral deanship since the American church allowed the ordination of women in 1976. The ''Post'' article also stated that a cathedral deanship is often the first step toward an ultimate selection as a bishop.Hyer, Marjorie. "Ky. Episcopal Cathedral First to Name Woman Dean." ''The Washington Post''. December 13, 1986.
Accessed March 18, 2019. In 1994, upon Bishop Reed's retirement, Edwin Funsten Gulick was elected as Bishop of Kentucky.

Death

Reed died on March 11, 2023, at the age of 96.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, David 1927 births 2023 deaths Roman Catholic clergy from Tulsa, Oklahoma Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Harvard College alumni American expatriates in Colombia 20th-century Anglican bishops in South America 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States American expatriate bishops American expatriates in Costa Rica American expatriates in Panama Episcopal bishops of Colombia Episcopal bishops of Kentucky