wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 2870

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (283
notes).

Note 281 by UMNS on Aug. 26, 1997 at 16:41 Eastern (2801 characters).

TEXT: Indian Bishop Mitchell Dies
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally                    469(10-33-71B){281}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             Aug. 26, 1997

Eric Mitchell, one of the first bishops in 
autonomous Methodist Church in India, dies at 79

                 by United Methodist News Service

     Eric Mitchell, one of the first four bishops in the Methodist
Church in India when it became an autonomous denomination in 1981,
died June 22 of cancer, a few weeks short of his 80th birthday.
     Mitchell retired in 1986 and moved with his wife Ruby to the
United States where he served another four years as pastor of the
Pine Plains (N.Y.) United Methodist Church.  
     The Mitchells then moved to New Jersey where their son, Robin
and daughter-in-law Beth are United Methodist clergy. They were
residing in Hackensack at the time of the bishop's death.
     While Mitchell missed his 80th birthday by a few weeks,  he
did celebrate more than 60 years of active ministry and 50 years
of marriage.
     The 1980 United Methodist General Conference in Indianapolis
authorized the Central Conference of the Southern Asia Methodist
Church to dissolve and inaugurate a new autonomous church.  The
Methodist Church in India was created early in 1981 with four
bishops, one of those being Mitchell.  Two other bishops were
elected soon at an inaugural conference to complete the
constitutional requirement of six active bishops.
     Mitchell was born in Madras, India, in 1917.  He graduated
from the Baldwin Boy's High School in Bangalore, the Leonard
Theological Seminary in Jabalpur and Union Theological Seminary in
New York.  He served as a local church pastor, district
superintendent and hospital chaplain before being elected a bishop
by the Central Conference of the Methodist Church of Southern Asia
in 1969.  He served as episcopal leader of the Hyderabad, Delhi
and Bombay areas before his retirement in 1986.
     On his "second retirement" from Pine Plains (New York) United
Methodist Church, he became the associate pastor of his daughter-
in-law, the Rev. Beth Whalley Mitchell, in her New Jersey
pastorates at Tenafly, Leonia Korean 2nd Generation and Englewood. 
He also taught a Bible class at the Hackensack United Methodist
Church where his son Robin is pastor.
     A service of prayer and remembrance was held June 27 at the
Tenafly Church.  A service of death and resurrection was held the
next day at the Hackensack Church.
     In addition to his wife, son and daughter-in-law, he is
survived by two grandchildren Eric Algernon II and Meredith.
                              #  #  #
  
     

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