*Back in 2020, the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a predominantly African American denomination, reported that up to 30 leaders passed away as a result of complications from the coronavirus.
According to Bishop Brandon B. Porter of the COGIC General Board, two of the 12 board members, Bishop Nathaniel Wyoming Wells, Jr., and Bishop Phillip Aquilla Brooks, II, were among those who perished, ChurchLeaders.com reported five years ago.
“We had just had a meeting in January with all of us together for our general board coming together and planning,” Porter told an ABC News affiliate at the time. “That was in January, and in March these gentlemen are gone.”
Porter said, “Either the first lady of the church has passed, a deacon, or a church mother or a younger person in the church has passed.”
In an article published on April 27, 2020, ChurchLeaders reported on other COGIC leaders in Michigan whose deaths were connected to the virus, including bishops Robert E. Smith, Sr., Robert L. Harris, and Willie Mae Sheard. The disease also claimed the life of Bishop T.T. Scott, who was a COGIC leader in Mississippi for nearly 50 years.
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The church experienced the loss of leaders in New York, Mississippi, and Michigan. Porter previosuly suggested that the annual meetings, which gather representatives from over 300 jurisdictions, might have contributed to the spread of the virus.
“It’s quite devastating and horrific for us,” said Porter, “because the Church of God in Christ is a large family of faith-based believers. These are persons that have given their time and talents to the church in such extensive ways.”
Founded in 1897, COGIC is based in Memphis, Tennessee, and has a membership of six million people.
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