Bishop Fred Willis Washington

Bishop Fred Willis Washington, pastor of New Covenant Church of God in Christ (COGIC), at 42nd and Bloomington, is the first African-American president of the board of directors of the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC). He took office at the beginning of 2015, following the two-year term of Bishop Larry Wohlrabe. The MCC is an ecumenical agency made up of Protestant, Orthodox and historic African-American denominations.
Bishop Washington is also a speaker in the MCC Black Clergy Speakers Bureau, which was established to help the church reflect on the challenges of being Christian in America after the Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y., grand jury decisions; the I-35 shutdown; and the Mall of America protest. Hearing stories of these pastors and their families about being black in Minnesota helps to build empathy and discern right action.