Patricia Davenport, first African American female bishop in ELCA, dies at 70 

CHICAGO — The Rev. Patricia Ann Curtis Davenport, the first African American woman to be elected a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Wednesday, July 29. She was 70 years old.  

Davenport served the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod as bishop from 2018 to 2024, as director for evangelical mission from 2009 to 2018 and as assistant to the bishop from 2007 to 2009. She served as pastor of Spirit and Truth Worship Center in Yeadon, Pa., from 2001 to 2007. She retired in 2024.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, presiding bishop of the ELCA, reflected on Davenport’s legacy. “Bishop Davenport often reminded us, especially in difficult moments, that we are called to pause, pray and listen for the Holy Spirit to move within us so that we may respond and not react. Those words provided a guide to how she lived and led.” Curry will deliver the eulogy at Davenport’s funeral.

Davenport earned a degree from the Community College of Philadelphia and received her Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 2001. United is one of seven ELCA seminaries. Davenport was a lifetime member of the Philadelphia chapter of the African Descent Lutheran Association.

Services will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at 10 a.m. at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.7 million members in more than 8,300 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org