A Person

Anne Henning Byfield is one who dares to Live, Learn, Lead, and Love GOD. She lives a life filled with creativity and passion as a bishop, preacher, psalmist, poet, spoken word artist, strategic consultant, writer, composer, wife, mother and grandmother. Married to Ainsley for 43 years they have one son, Michael, and four grandchildren. She loves GOD and encourages others to know and love GOD as well.

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A Leader

Anne Henning Byfield serves as the 135th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Her historic election in the year 2016 represents the first time in the history of the AME Church, a person was elected who has a sibling on the bench of Bishops, Bishop C. Garnett Henning. She is also the fourth elected Bishop who is a woman. Assigned in 2016 by the General Conference, she serves as the Bishop of the 16th Episcopal District, where she provides leadership to seven annual conferences representing fourteen countries, in the Caribbean, South America, and Europe. During her tenure, six churches have been established in the district, a vocational school in Haiti, and orphanage in Haiti, and a children’s mission in Haiti. Sustainability projects have been A initiated in Virgin Islands and Jamaica, and theological partnerships have been established in Dominican Republic.

She is also the Chair of the Global Development Council of the AME Church and the Commission on Women in Ministry.

She is the former Presiding Elder of the North District Indiana Annual Conference and of the South District. She is the first Presiding Elder who is female in the Fourth Episcopal District and considered first woman Presiding Elder in the AME connection whose father was Presiding Elder. She served as Senior Pastor of three churches, Bethel AME Church, Bloomington, IN, Robinson Community AME Church, Indianapolis, and St. Paul AME Church, Detroit, MI. She is an executive coach and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and has held numerous AME connectional and local offices.

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A Learner

She has a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Wilberforce University, Masters of Divinity degree from Newburgh Theological Seminary, A Masters of Divinity Degree from Payne Theological Seminary, and A Doctor of Ministry Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from R.R. Wright School of Religion, Johannesburg, South Africa. Her dissertation is entitled the Effect of Short Notice Itinerant Moves on Pastors in the AME Church.

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A LECTURER/DEVELOPER/WRITER

Bishop Anne Henning Byfield is the author of three books with several others in the works. They include: Let the Worship Begin, The Essence of My Existence, Produced by Strength, Living by Power, and From the Heart of Leader She is a contributor in many books including Black Women and Girls Matter, Voices of Resilience, Resistance and Resolve. Her other works include: Flowing Essence, a Spoken Word CD, An Explanation of AME Church Worship; Now That You Are Saved: Preparing Leaders for Leadership, Odyssey, A Girls Mentoring Program, AME 101, Reigniting Success, and other materials. She wrote the litany used for Mrs. Rosa Parks’ funeral in Detroit, Michigan, and Congresswoman Julia Carson’s funeral in Indianapolis. She has the honor of a hymn she has written that is published in the One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism Hymnal was debuted at the 2018 Hampton Ministers and Music Conference. She also wrote the lyrics for the Rosa Parks Hymn for the AME State of Alabama Holiday Celebration.

She has received numerous awards including the Jarena Lee Preaching Award; the Legacy Award for over 25 years of leadership in Pastoral Health Initiatives particularly in the HIV/AIDS community; one of eight religious history makers in the Indianapolis Community, one of the most 15 influential African Americans in Indianapolis and was named as one of its ten most influential pastors. In 2016, she received the state of Indiana 47th Drum Major for Justice Award. She is also the 2020 Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Beautiful Are The Feet Award for lifetime achievement for scholarship, social justice, and ministry in the African American and world community.

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