Bishop Redfern-sympathy

2025-2026 Bill 884: Bishop Redfern-sympathy - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 884
STATUS INFORMATION
Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Senators Devine and Jackson
Document Path: LC-0409VR-GM26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on February 3, 2026
Introduced in the House on February 4, 2026
Currently residing in the House
Summary: Bishop Redfern-sympathy
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/3/2026

Senate

Introduced, adopted, sent to House (
Senate Journal-page 7
)

2/4/2026

House

Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence (
House Journal-page 8
)

2/4/2026

Scrivener's error corrected

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/03/2026
02/04/2026

A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO EXPRESS THE
PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPON THE
PASSING OF BISHOP JAMES REDFERN II, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE ECUMENICAL CHURCH
OF CHRIST WORLDWIDE, AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS LOVING FAMILY
AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.

W
hereas, born on
October 27, 1949, in the Town of Liberty nestled in New York's Catskill
Mountains, Bishop James Redfern II was the eldest of four children of James
Melvin Redfern Sr. and Gertrude W. Redfern. Shortly after his birth, he moved
with his family to Columbia, and when he was six years old, his father died,
leaving his mother to raise her children courageously; and

W
hereas, his earliest
education at Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School taught him the Gospel was
not only to be preached, but also lived, structured, and multiplied, and he was
part of the inaugural Upward Bound program and graduated with honors from
Booker T. Washington High School in 1967. He entered the University of South
Carolina's College of Engineering on a full scholarship and later attended
Benedict College. As a student at USC in the late 1960s, he became acutely
aware of systemic racism through personal experiences of discrimination and
hostility, emerging as a fearless Civil Rights activist, founding and leading
organizations devoted to civil rights and economic opportunity, including Blacks
United for Action, Black-On Nation, and Black News/Black-On News; and

W
hereas, known for his
fiery oratory and strategic confrontation of injustice, Bishop Redfern led
marches on Columbia City Hall and the South Carolina State House, organized
selective buying campaigns, and repeatedly appeared before Columbia City
Council advocating for fair housing, voter registration reform, educational
equity, police accountability, and employment justice. In one of his most
consequential acts of protest, he confronted discriminatory hiring practices in
the banking industry by leading the occupation of the C&S Bank branch on
Taylor Street in Columbia, forcing negotiations with senior bank leadership and
statewide reform in hiring practices through the All-American City Employment
Plan. He also was a leading voice in the movement to recognize Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a state holiday; and

W
hereas, a community
leader and public servant, he was the founding board chair of the National
Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives, was a former board
member and active volunteer of the United Way for over thirty years, holding
several executive volunteer positions with the United Way campaign and setting
the record for the most donor presentations (345) in a single year, and managed
political campaigns from local to statewide and congressional offices, serving
in operations of several presidential campaigns and, in 1980, as a member of President-elect
Ronald Reagan's transitional team for the Department of Transportation. He also
was the founder, president, and publisher of Juju Publishing Company, which
produced a national literacy magazine and community newspapers in seven South
Carolina metropolitan markets, was the publisher of the
Carolina Tribune

weekly newspaper and the
South Carolinian News
magazine, and most
recently he served as the publisher of the
Catalyst
magazine, which
preserves Black history, amplifies community voices, and promotes civic
engagement; and

W
hereas, ordained in
1995, Bishop Redfern founded the Ecumenical Church of Christ Worldwide as a
mission-minded ministry and served as its presiding bishop. Under decades of
his leadership, churches were planted and strengthened in twelve states in the
United States and throughout India, East and Central Africa, South America, and
the Caribbean, and missionaries were sent abroad and supported. Together with
his beloved wife, Bishop Dr. Luella Redfern, he reared six fine children,
Jasmine Jones, Shelton Blue, Cedric Blue, Justin Redfern, Brandon Redfern, and
Bryan Redfern; and

W
hereas, the General
Assembly is grateful for the legacy of Bishop Redfern as he devoted his life to
God's call to preach the Gospel, do justice, and love mercy. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, express their profound
sorrow upon the passing of Bishop James Redfern II, Presiding Bishop of the
Ecumenical Church of Christ Worldwide, and extend their deepest sympathy to his
loving family and his many friends.

B
e it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Bishop James
Redfern II.

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This web page was last updated on February 4, 2026 at 1:15 PM