We congratulate the Rev. Delman Howard on his retirement from pastoral duties from the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He has served as an Itinerate Elder in the AME for 41 years. At the approval of the 98th Session of the Southern California Annual Conference from October 19-23, 2022, Rev. Howard will move to superannuated status.
Pastor Delman Howard was born and educated in Elgin, Illinois. He graduated from Elgin High School, where he was an outstanding athlete. He continued his education and received a bachelor of science in religion from the University of LaVerne (La Verne, California), a master of theology from Bethel Theological Seminary (San Diego, California), and continuing education credit from Iliff School of Theology (Denver, Colorado). He entered the itinerant ministry through the Chicago Annual Conference, where he was ordained as a deacon. While attending Bethel AME Church in San Diego, California, he was ordained an elder in the Southern California Conference. Pastor Howard has pastored for 47 years in four annual conferences within the Fifth Episcopal District of the AME Church and served as the Presiding Elder of the Pacific Northwest Conference. His final pastoral charge was at Johnson Chapel AME-Santa Ana, California.
Pastor Howard served as a member of the board of examiners in four conferences of the Fifth District. He also served in the communities in many capacities, including but not limited to the following: President of the Interfaith Alliance, Fresno, California; Board of Directors of the Sickle Cell Foundation, Albuquerque, New Mexico; and the Housing Authority Governmental Appointment, State of New Mexico. In addition, he served as the Secretary of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference, an annual conference trustee, and most recently, he received the 65th California Legislative Committee’s Community Service Award.
At the 2004 General Conference, he was elected as an alternate member of the Judicial Council. In 2011, the denomination elected him to serve as a full member, serving as the Judicial Council Chaplin until 2016. Pastor Howard is wonderfully married to Evangelist Kimberly Howard, with seven children and six grandchildren
