Ernest A. Fitzgerald (24 July 1925 – 27 September 2001) was an American

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

of 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 1984.

Birth and family

He was born in Crouse, North Carolina. He married Sarah Frances Perry of

Wingate, North Carolina Wingate is a town in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,491 at the 2010 census. History The Wingate Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. It is named for ...

24 August 1945. The Fitzgeralds have two children: son Jimmy and wife Phyllis; and daughter Patty and husband Charles Poole. The Fitzgeralds also have three grandchildren. Bishop Fitzgerald died on September 27, 2001, in Winston-Salem, N.C. from pulmonary fibrosis.

Education

Fitzgerald earned the A.B. degree from

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...

(1947). He earned the

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

Duke Divinity School The Duke Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 ...

(1951). He has

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from High Point College (1969), Pfeiffer College (1986), Greensboro College (1993) and

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

(1994). In addition, he received Distinguished Alumni Awards from Western Carolina (1981) and Duke Divinity School (1983).

Ordained ministry

During his college years, Ernest pastored the Webster Circuit of the

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

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 ...

, of which he became a Member in Full Connection and 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 ...

elder in 1949. He subsequently served the following pastorates in this conference:

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Circuit (1947–50);

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

Church in Asheboro (1950–55); Abernathy Church in Asheville (1955–59); Purcell Church in Charlotte (1959–64); Grace Church in

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

(1964–66); Centenary Church in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

(1966–82); and the West Market Street Church in Greensboro. Rev. Fitzgerald was elected a delegate to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church, 1968–84, and to the General Conference, 1980-84. He also attended the World Methodist Conferences of 1966 and 1971. The author of numerous books, Rev. Fitzgerald also was a regular contributor to the

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. ( ) is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in Wicomico County, Maryland, near the Salisbury, Maryland, city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American ...

inflight magazine, the

Jaycees The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). A ...

publication, and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. He has also written for

publications. In 1983 he was the

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

for the

Methodist 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 ...

series of the radio program " The Protestant Hour."

Episcopal ministry

The 1984 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, meeting at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, elected Rev. Fitzgerald a Bishop of the Church. He was assigned to the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Episcopal Area (the North and South

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Annual Conferences). Bishop Fitzgerald also served on the U.M. General Council on Ministries, the Task Force on the Korean Church, the Older Adult Task Force, and as President of the United Methodist Development Fund. He retired in 1992.

References

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

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

Birth and family

Education

Ordained ministry

Episcopal ministry

References

See also