Bishop Rhymes H. Moncure, Jr.
Rhymes H. Moncure, Jr. was born in Oakland, California, in 1945. He was ordained deacon in 1975 and elder in 1977 by the Kansas East Conference of the UMC. Moncure’s ministry began with successful pastoral and administrative positions in Kansas and Missouri. In 2000 Moncure was elected to the episcopacy and appointed to serve the Nebraska Area of the UMC. In 2004 he became the first African American to serve as bishop of the Dallas Area of the UMC.
Known as a servant leader with a pastoral heart for all, Moncure was a certified conflict resolution practitioner who strove to create vibrant, racially-integrated churches. He was instrumental in organizing the Act of Repentance and Reconciliation for Racism at the 2000 United Methodist General Conference. Moncure’s denominational leadership also included terms on the General Board of Global Ministries (chair, Africa, Europe, and Middle East Section), the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and the General Council on Ministries. He died in Dallas in 2006 at the age of sixty-one.
View a finding aid for Rhymes H. Moncure, Jr. sermons.