| The entire Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church expresses our condolences to the Webster family at the transition of Bishop Robert Vaughn Webster. Bishop Webster was elected and consecrated the 110th Bishop in 1992 during the General Conference held in Orlando, Florida. Bishop Webster was a pillar and icon in the life of African Methodism. He was an effective Pastor, and once elevated to the Episcopacy, he was an effective episcopate. As a retired Bishop, he sought to be present at our Council meetings and attended all Connectional events. At our recent 52nd General Conference in Columbus, Ohio, he watched the proceedings as a wise sage. Bishop Webster was a blessing to the Kingdom. May the words of the hymn “And Should It Be That I Should Gain” comfort us all in our hour of bereavement. “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” Rest in His presence, sweet Prince of the Church. Bishop Silvester S. Beaman, Council President Bishop Marvin C. Zanders, II, Council Secretary Bishop Francine A. Brookins, Council Asst. Secretary |
Bishop Robert Vaughn Webster
The Right Reverend Robert Vaughn Webster was the 110th elected and consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
A native of Arkansas, Bishop Webster was educated at Wilberforce University and Payne Theological Seminary. After moving to Florida in 1961, he was appointed as Chaplain of Edward Waters College (now University).
In 1969, he was appointed pastor of St. Stephen’s, Jacksonville. During his twenty-three-year pastorate, the congregation grew to become one of the churches in Jacksonville with a variety of community ministries.
Additionally, during his tenure, the campus was greatly expanded in size. He was elevated to the Episcopacy at the 44th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
Bishop Webster was first assigned to the 17th Episcopal District built churches in Central Africa where he built educational buildings for primary and secondary schools. In 1996 he was assigned to the 16th Episcopal District where he rebuilt churches destroyed by hurricanes in the Dominican Republic.
Bishop Webster served the 3rd Episcopal District from 2000 until his retirement in 2008. His hallmark achievement was purchasing the Third District headquarters building in Columbus, Ohio for administrative purposes and outreach concerns. He also financially supported each of the overseas Episcopal Districts, giving scholarships to A.M.E. students attending seminary and paying tuition for overseas students to matriculate in universities in the United States.
Bishop Webster met his wife Mrs. Carole Ogleton-Webster while they matriculated at Wilberforce University. They were married for 47 years before her death in 2004. To this union were born five children: Rowena White of Washington, D.C., Donna Okeafor of Jacksonville, and Denise Wright of Little Rock, Arkansas; sons, Wendell Webster of Jacksonville and Marc Webster of Jersey City, New Jersey.
He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
