Jan. 11, 2015
For Immediate Release
By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Rev. Marvin Frank Thomas Sr., bishop of the Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, will be the guest speaker at Campbellsville University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Worship Service at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20 in Ransdell Chapel.
Everyone is invited to the service, which is co-sponsored by Greater Campbellsville United. It is free to the public and is the first chapel of the spring semester for students, faculty, staff and coaches at Campbellsville University.
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| Rev. Marvin F. Thomas Sr. |
In addition to serving as bishop of the Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, which includes the Kentucky and Ohio Central Indiana Regions, he also serves as the chair of the denomination’s Department of Lay Ministry and the acting pastor of the Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Thomas was elected the 62nd bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on July 1, 2014 at the 37th Quadrennial Session & 38th General Conference in Baltimore, Md.
“We are honored to be hosting Rev. Marvin Frank Thomas Sr., for our January chapel service that is dedicated to the memory and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Dr. John Chowning, co-chair of the Greater Campbellsville United Board, said.
“Bishop Thomas will deliver a powerful message in our chapel service and help us to better understand the great need for Dr. King’s message to be heard loud and clearly in the 21st century.
“While we have made tremendous progress since Dr. King’s death, we are still contending with many of the same issues that he prophetically spoke on 50 years ago. We encourage the general public and CU faculty, staff, coaches, and students to join us for this very special chapel service on Jan. 20.”
Chowning is also executive assistant to the president for government, community and constituent relations at Campbellsville University.
Prior to his election as bishop, Thomas served as the seventh president/dean of The Phillips School of Theology (“The Seminary of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church”) at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Ga. and the pastor of the Good News Community CME Church in Lithonia, Ga. While at ITC, Thomas also served as the chair of the Council of Deans and an adjunct instructor.
He has served as the pastor of Walls Memorial CME Church in Chicago, Ill. In addition to his tenure as pastor of Walls Memorial, he served as pastor of other congregations in the CME Church and presiding elder in the states of Alabama and Tennessee.
Thomas has also served as the vice president for student affairs and a member of the Religion faculty at Lane College in Jackson, Tenn. He has also served as a member of the religion faculty and student services staff at Stillman College.
Thomas holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in sociology from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He also earned the Master of Divinity degree from The Phillips School of Theology at The ITC and the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Thomas is a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala. He is the second of six children born to Mrs. Minnie Thomas Brown. He has two children: Kourtney Lea Thomas and Marvin Frank Thomas Jr., and one grandson, Kameron.
Chapel is designed to provide opportunities for corporate worship and exposure through a variety of informative speakers and presentations.
All chapels are open to the public free of charge and are televised live on WLCU (Comcast Cable channel 10 and digital channel 23.0).
For information about chapel, call the Office of Campus Ministries at (270) 789-5227.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 24 master’s degrees, seven postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.