The Right Rev. Henry Irving Mayson was the first Afro-American Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan from 1976 to 1992.
Son of the late Edwin and Josephine Mayson, he was born and reared in Cleveland, Ohio. A product of the Cleveland Pubic Schools, he and his family worshipped at St. Andrews Episcopal Church where he served in many organizations. In his late teens Irving dedicated his life to the ministry.
Irving graduated in 1948 from St. Augustine’s University where he lettered in three sports, served as lay reader at the historic University Chapel and at various missions in the Diocese of North Carolina. He was a leader in student government and met Alma Harris, his future wife, there.
Irving graduated from the Bexley Hall Seminary, located at Kenyon College, in June, 1951. He was the first African-American to attend the seminary. After graduation, he and Alma were married, and in December of 1951 Irving was ordained a deacon. He served as a chaplain at local hospitals and prisons in the Cleveland area. Shortly thereafter, he became the founding priest of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio. The church recently celebrated its sixty-second anniversary.
Father Mayson ministered at St. Philip’s for eighteen years. He was highly involved in diocesan and community affairs, and particularly enjoyed working with the youth. He was also deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement, attending the March on Washington in 1964 and serving in leadership positions with the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) and the Fair Housing Board. In 1969, he was the first African-American to be named Director of Social Relations for the Diocese of Ohio.
In 1970, Irving became the first African-American to serve as Archdeacon in the Diocese of Michigan. This was followed by his election as the first African-American Suffragan Bishop in 1976. His work in these capacities thrust him to the forefront of movements to better the Church, our community, and to promote the rights of minorities.
Bishop Mayson was a founding member of the Union of Black Clergy and Laity, which become the Union of Black Episcopalians, with chapters throughout the nation. Upon his retirement in 1992, he founded the Mayson Scholarship Foundation to assist college-bound students.
Bishop Mayson’s life has been memorialized through Honorary Doctorates in Divinity from St. Augustine’s University and St. Paul’s College; portraits in St. Augustine’s chapel and Administration building, the Mayson Hall in St. Philip’s Church; the Bishop Mayson Center of Peoples Community Services in Hamtramck, MI.; a memorial plaque in St. Andrew’s, Cleveland; the memorial column, Bishop Mayson Courtyard and Bishop Mayson Resource Center in the Cathedral of St. Paul, Detroit; the Mayson Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians; the Distinguished Warriors Award from the Detroit Urban League; the Sargeant Shriver Award, and the donations of his papers to the African-American Episcopal Historical Collection at the Bishop Payne Library, Virginia Seminary.
Husband to the late Alma, father to Heather Neff and Michael Mayson, and grandfather to Aviva Neff and Ellis Mayson, Henry Irving Mayson was also a devoted family man.
Source: The Bishop H. Irving Mayson – Detroit Michigan Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians Annual Memorial Luncheon