Bishop Witherspoon is the son of the late Ms. Elfreida Witherspoon and was married to the late Sherry Renee Pharr of Charlotte, North Carolina. He has two daughters, Brittany 40: a graduate of Livingstone College (Criminal Justice) and Anquanette 34, (2 grandsons, Anthony Noland Ingram 17, and Sede Zion 4). During his forty-two years of ministry, he has served as Associate Minister at Clement Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church (Portland, Maine). He served as Youth Pastor at the Brighton Rock A.M.E. Zion Church (Portsmouth, Virginia), Pastor of the Huntersville A.M.E. Zion Church (Huntersville, North Carolina), Pastor of New Jersey A.M.E. Zion Church (Lexington, North Carolina), Pastor of Fair Promise A.M.E. Zion Church (Sanford, North Carolina), Pastor of St. James A.M.E. Zion Church (Goldsboro, North Carolina), and as the Pastor of Washington Metropolitan A.M.E Zion Church in St. Louis, Missouri for 25 years.
He was elected and served as State President of the North Carolina Head Start Association in March of 1999 through March of 2000, served as Adjunct Professor of Religion/Ethics at Mount Olive College in Mount Olive, North Carolina from 1998-1999, was a faculty member of North Carolina Wesleyan College, located at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1999. He was appointed by the Honorable Governor Matt Blunt, to serve as a commissioner; of the Emancipation Day Commission for the State of Missouri 2006; appointed to The Judicial Commission 21st District by the Honorable Governor Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon in 2010-2016; elected to serve as the President of the International Ministers and Lay Association of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 2017, and served as its treasurer from 2009-2017; serves on the Board of Christian Education for The A.M.E. Zion Church; served as a consultant to the Restructuring Commission for the A.M.E. Zion Church.
During his pastorage he was the Dean of the Leadership Training Institute for the Midwest Episcopal Area, A.M.E. Zion Church; served as the Dean of the Leadership Training Institute for the Trinidad-Tobago Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church; Chairman of the Finance Committee, Missouri Annual Conference, A.M.E. Zion Church; Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Annual Conference, A.M.E. Zion Church; and Presiding Elder of the Trinidad District of the Tobago Annual Conferences. He is also a former Adjunct Professor of African American Religious Studies, Criminal Justice/Sociology at St. Louis University, in the field of African American Religious Traditions.
Education
Bishop Witherspoon is a graduate of Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, Missouri, 2012 (D-Min); Duke Divinity School, 1998 (M-Div), Livingstone College, 1995 (BA in English); and East Mecklenburg High School.
Boards
He formally served on the Doorways Assisted Living Board, the Executive Board of the Monsanto YMCA Board, Interfaith Partnership Board (Cabinet member and First Vice Chair) and Churches United in Christ Board, just to name a few. He served on the Faith Communities United Board of St. Louis, formerly served on the Executive Committee of Clergy Coalition of Metropolitan St. Louis. He was Chair of the Religious Affairs Committee for the Saint Louis City Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Awards
Bishop Witherspoon was featured in Crisis Magazine in the December 2015 Edition which is sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He is the recipient of various awards and accolades, including Outstanding Young Men of America; Who’s Who Among Professionals in America; W.O. Carrington Award for Dedicated and Sacrificial Service, by Bishop Ruben L. Speaks and the Western North Carolina Annual Conference; Dean’s List Award, Livingstone College; Dean’s List, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dolly Spence Scholarships, awarded by Duke University; E. Moore Award for Outstanding Young Christian Leader, Livingstone College; Huntersville Community Development Award, Huntersville, N.C.; various military awards and commendations from the United States Navy. He’s been featured in the News Argus (Wayne County, North Carolina), “UP Magazine”, and denominational publications. He was inducted into the Livingstone College United Negro College Fund (U.N.C. F.) Hall Of Fame, February 2005, and was selected as the Ernest A. Calloway, Jr. Excellence in Teaching Awarded by St. Louis University, 2007-2008. Dynamic Leader in the Community Award by the Royal Vagabond 2012. He was awarded Alexander/Pulaski Counties NAACP Award 2017, St. Louis Board of Alderman Award 2019, and Community Service Award 2022 by Transformation AME Zion Church, Dover, Delaware. He has received a host of other awards and acknowledgements.
Affiliations
Member of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, INC.
Elevation to the Episcopacy
In July 2024 at the 52nd Session of The General Conference, Rev. Dr. Anthony Noland Witherspoon was elected as the 109th Bishop in the line of succession of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He serves as the Presiding Prelate of The Southwestern Delta Episcopal District.
