By Carol T. Taylor Mitchell, Ph.D.
The Late Bishop Sarah Frances Davis, the 126th Elected and consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Notable People Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 18, 2025 – and Mayor Thurman Bartee named the day The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Day.
Bishop Davis is a native of Port Arthur, Texas, and her posthumous induction was witnessed by a record number of museum viewers. There were over one hundred persons in attendance from California, Nebraska, and Texas. The Museum Director, Tom Neal, conducted the induction ceremony and acknowledged Bishop Davis’s two sons, Dr. Claytie Davis, III, and Corey B. Davis (California), her twin sister, Dr. Carol T. Mitchell (Nebraska), sister Cornelia Getwood (Texas), organizer of the event, and other family members from Port Arthur and Houston, Texas, including Supervisor Claytie Davis, Jr.
The Induction included presentations by City Officials, a Proclamation presented by the Mayor, a key to the City of Port Arthur, Museum Board members, and an induction plaque given to her sons. Dr. Carol T. Mitchell, ‘Twin 2’, thanked the city of Port Arthur, Texas, and the Museum of the Gulf Coast for acknowledging Bishop. She also reminded those present of the “After Glow” of Bishop Sarah Frances Davis: Globally – Bishop Sarah F. Davis Delice Outpatient Clinic, Delice, Hati, and The T’Sepong Cecelia Williams Bryant House (the first AME Church sponsored orphanage in the Mountains of Mokhotlong, Lesotho.); Locally-dedication of the foyer in her honor at Bethel AME Church (San Antonio, Texas) where she served as a pastor when she was elected as a bishop; recognition as an inaugural inductee into the Legacy Circle at Wesley AME Church (Houston, Texas) where she acknowledged her call to ministry; the Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Foundation with the mission to transform the lives of orphans, vulnerable children, and women by providing funding for housing, healthcare, and education; published book – The Journey of a Praying Bishop, edited by Dr. O. Raye Adkins, and the Connectional Day of Prayer observed annually by the African Methodist Episcopal Churches. Additionally, Bishop Sarah Frances Davis, Covenant Keepers and Intercessors (aka BSFDCK & I) serves as a conduit and covers global prayer at every level within the Connectional African Methodist Episcopal Church. The prayer Bishop’s’ Legacy Continues!
Notable attendees at the historic induction were Board Members of the Museum of the Gulf Coast, City Officials; Members of her former home church of Wesley AME (Houston, TX), Carl Davis, Thelma Kennedy-Malveaux, and Jerome Malveaux, III; Classmates of the Lincoln High School Class of 1966; and Clergy of Port Arthur.
A permanent display of Bishop Sarah Frances Davis’s authentic artifacts can be viewed at the museum: pictures of her early life and works/travel; schooling from grade school to seminary; Episcopal work and assignments, a copy of the book Journey of a Praying Bishop, edited by Dr. O. Raye Adkins, and information about the Bishop Sarah F. Davis Foundation.
At the time of her death in 2013, Bishop Davis was President of the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Vice President of the World Methodist Council, and presiding prelate of the 16th Episcopal District – comprising the Caribbean, Europe, and Haiti – of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. As only the third female in the history of the denomination to ascend to the highest level of service, she previously served as the presiding prelate of the 18th Episcopal District comprising the Southern countries of Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, and Mozambique.
The Legacy of the late Bishop Sarah Frances Taylor Davis continues, and the Museum of the Gulf Coast in her birthplace and hometown, Port Arthur, Texas, adds to the list of those helping to keep this “Prayer Bishop” alive in death and during a time when “It’s time to Pray” (signage on buttons promoting the book) is still real!
