Gordon in the News: last updated 07/27/2006
Bishop LeRoy Bailey Jr., senior pastor since 1971 of The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Connecticut, will be the featured Baccalaureate speaker at Gordon College on May 12, 2006.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from American Baptist College, a Master of Divinity from Howard University and a Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary, and was consecrated as a bishop in the International Bishops Conference in 2001. Under Bishop Bailey's leadership The First Cathedral became one of the largest churches in New England and established a School of Ministry, a weekly radio broadcast and a thriving Christian Academy for kindergarten through sixth grade.
Bishop Bailey has also established missions locally and in Africa, Haiti and St. Lucia, and serves on the general council of Churches United in Global Mission. He is founder of Pastors in Covenant, a mentoring program for pastors, and is a founding member of the Connecticut Coalition of Churches. He was a presenter at the Congressional National Black Caucus in 1999 and served as chairman of the Luis Palau Crusade in 2001. He was also inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.
Bishop Bailey has received numerous awards for excellence in leadership, outstanding achievement and faithful service including citations from the Governor of the State of Connecticut, the Connecticut State Assembly, the National Conference for Community Justice, NAACP, Teens for AIDS Prevention and many others.
Gifted with a shepherd's heart as a teacher, preacher, counselor and leader, Bishop Bailey is devoted to equipping believers for successful lives in Jesus Christ. He and his wife, Reathie, have three children, including the Reverend Michael Bailey, a student at Gordon College who is chaplain of the senior class and is graduating with his peers on Commencement Weekend.
