Bishop Reverend Gertrude Louise Norris Pitts
Senior Pastor Emeritus of Mt. Calvary Holy Church, Milwaukee
Bishop Reverend Gertrude Louise Norris PittsSenior Pastor Emeritus of Mt. Calvary Holy Church, Milwaukee |
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Bishop Gertrude L. Pitts is one of the pioneers who helped carve the Mt. Calvary Holy Churches of America, Inc. The Late Founder Bishop Brumfield Johnson appointed her National President of the Youth Church at its conception in July, 1941 and she served faithfuly for more than forty-two years in that office. She also is currently the National Missionary President of Mt. Calvary Holy Churches of America, Inc. and State Mother of theWisconsin-Ohio-Michigan-Illinois District.
Bishop Pitts is a native of Buffalo, NY and attended the Buffalo Bible Intitute and the American Bible Institute where she received her B. Th. degree. She earned her Doctor of Divinity degree from A. E. W. Institute of the Cathedral of the Living Word, Baltimore, Maryland in June, 1986.
She has been the pastor of the Mt. Calvary Church in Milwaukee since 1957. With full cooperation of her people, working untiringly, praying without ceasing, on July 9, 1961, God blessed us to burn our first mortgage. In 1966, it became necessary to sell the church to the Milwaukee Highway Commission to make room for the new expressway. Through hard work and sacrifice she built the current edifice and dedicated it in 1968. It was the first building in the prestigious Halyard Park Development. Because of her leadership, the church burned its second mortgage October 10, 1982. She also constructed two two-family dwellings in 1978 in the Halyard Park Development Area.
Bishop Pitts received a Certificate of Merit and Honor from the Department of Education of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for her outstanding work and contribution to mankind in education, religion and society. On February 4, 1984, she was the recipient of the "Minister of theYear Award" given by the Inner City Travel Service, Inc. In 1996 she was a recipient of the Black Excellence Award in religion given by the Milwaukee Times, Econo Print and The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel. She is very active in the Neighborhood Action Group. The group distributes food throughout the year and toys at Christmas time to the needy.
In April, 1982, the Milwaukee Mt. Calvary Debutante Cotillion was established with her approval. The theme was "The Beginning." Young Christian women were able to make their debut.
Under her guidance and fund raising, twenty-one Mt. Calvary Scholarships were given in the past ten years to deserving young students. Eighteen of these students were graduates of a Milwaukee Public High School.
Bishop Gertrude Pitts has been an inspiration and joy to the young as well as the old. Her dynamic leadership, love, and concern has affected the lives of many. Her motto is"The Art ofLoving Is Caring and Sharing."
On January 28, 1994 in Virginia Beach, VA, a proclamation of the Mt. Calvary Holy Church was read declaring her one of the first women Bishops. The dedication service took palce in Durham, North Carolina on August 27, 1994 officially installing her as Bishop. In 1996, she was appointed Bishop over the National Archives of the Mt. Calvary Churches of America.
May 10, 2002, Mt. Calvary Holy Church celebrated Mother Pitts' 45th Pastoral Anniversary. There was an elegant dinner in her honor and a special anniversary service held later that month.