Pastor remembers late bishop who died from coronavirus

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - Bishop Gerald O. Glenn of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church lost his fight with COVID-19 over the weekend, with the church making the announcement on Easter Sunday.

Fellow pastor and longtime friend, Dr. Larry Miles, said it would take a village to recreate the impact and legacy that Bishop Glenn left behind.

The two first became friends 46 years ago in Memphis, Tennessee. Miles says he considers Glenn a mentor, inspiration and a brother.

“I’m just taking it day by day, moment by moment,” Miles said, wiping tears from his eyes.

It isn’t easy for the pastor to talk about the death of one of his closest friends.

“We can’t go to lunch anymore, we can’t hang out at the conventions anymore like we’ve been doing for the last 46 years,” he said.

In those last four decades, the two men rose up the ranks within their faith, eventually leading their own churches; Miles preaches at the Fresh Anointing Cathedral.

It was Glenn’s church, the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church, that made the unfortunate announcement on Easter Sunday, where church Elder Bryan Nevers told his congregations that the bishop had passed.

“I struggled very hard yesterday trying to get through my own virtual service, and trying not to cry as much,” said Miles.

He describes Glenn as a multi-generational pastor, who would not only care for his churchgoers - but for their whole families; a pastor that would always be available.

Miles says in the last few weeks that he, Glenn, and Glenn’s wife had discussed the coronavirus’ impact on their group of faith leaders: The Church of God in Christ.

“Our organization has had so many bishops to die around the country from the virus, and we were discussing how sad we were, and we were discussing moving forward and being careful," he said.

But while they mourn, Pastor Miles says he knows that this isn’t a true ‘goodbye’:

“As long as we live, Gerald will never die because I have a piece of him. I have a piece of Gerald Otis Glenn, and I treasure that. I really, really do,” he added.

Copyright 2020 WWBT. All rights reserved.

Submit a news tip.