Clay Foster Lee Jr. (March 2, 1930 – November 11, 2024) was an American bishop in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

, elected in 1988.

Earth life and education

Clay was born in

Laurel, Mississippi Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. Laurel is northeast of Ellisville, the first county seat, which contains the first county ...

, on March 2, 1930. He attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

in Laurel, graduating from R.H. Watkins High School. Lee was the recipient of the Lauren Eastman Rogers Award as Honor Student for the entire school. He earned his

B.A. 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 degree ...

degree from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, 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 1951, and his

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. ...

degree from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

’s

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

in 1953. While at Millsaps, Lee was a member of the

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

Leadership

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

and received the Galloway Medal in 1951 for the best

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

preached by a ministerial student. Lee was awarded the

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

degree by Millsaps College (1985) and the

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree by

Tennessee Wesleyan College Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where ...

(1990).

Ordained ministry

Lee was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

deacon by Bishop Arthur J. Moore (1952) and elder by Bishop Marvin A. Franklin (1954). Rev. Lee's first pastorate was the Unity Charge in the Mississippi Annual Conference of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, which he began serving in 1949. Subsequently, Rev. Lee served the Capitol Street Church in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

as associate pastor; as the pastor of the

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

Church; The First Methodist Church in Quitman; Galloway Memorial Church as Minister of

Evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

;

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's First Methodist; and the Leavell Woods Church in Jackson. Rev. Lee then was appointed the executive director of the Conference Council on Ministry; then as superintendent of the Brookhaven District, and finally as the senior minister of the Galloway Memorial U.M.C. in Jackson. He was elected delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences, 1976–1988.

Service to the greater community

Lee served as a member of the U.M. General Board of

Pensions A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

for three quadrennia, serving as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

1992–1996 (also

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Committee on

Disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

, 1984–1988). He was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of Millsaps College, 1974–1986 (

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

1980–1986). During 1992–1996, he served as chairperson of The

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n Development Committee. Serving on the Mississippi

Religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

Leadership Conference, he was vice chairperson in 1988. While in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

he served seven years on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of The United Way of Greater Knoxville. He was also the secretary of the Joint Committee on

Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s of the U.M. Southeastern and South Central Jurisdictions in 1984, and chairperson 1992–1996.

Episcopal ministry

Lee was elected to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

July 1988 by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church. He was assigned to the

Episcopal Area.

Personal life and death

On May 27, 1951, Lee married Dorothy "Dot" Stricklin (born 1932). They had five children: Cecilia Ann Lee, Jack Stricklin Lee, Lisa Margaret Lee Mullins, Timothy Clay Lee, and Melanie Kay Lee Bernheim. They also had eight grandchildren. In retirement, Clay resided in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. He died on November 11, 2024, at the age of 94.

Selected writings

*Jesus Never Said Everyone Was Loveable, Abingdon Press. (Bishop Lee's sermons as the 1987 Speaker for ''"The Protestant Hour"'' radio broadcasts)

References

Sources

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

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

External links

Photo of Bishop Lee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Clay Foster Jr. 1930 births 2024 deaths Candler School of Theology alumni United Methodist bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction People from Laurel, Mississippi American sermon writers