Father Bowden served as President of the Fulton County Council on Aging, a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, Co-Chairman, Task Force on Aging, and an Episcopal Diocesan Designee on Ministry of Aging. In May 1993, the naming of the H.J.C. Bowden Senior Multipurpose Facility in East Point, GA. honored his work on behalf of senior citizens
 

PERSONAL DATA

 

Birth         November 15, 1902 Brunswick, GA

Parents    Milas Bowden and Florence Baker Bowden

Married    July 3, 1929 to Minnie Lee Perry

 

EDUCATION

 

1921                St. Augustine’s High School

1925                Morehouse College, Bachelor of Arts

1928                General Theological Seminary LTH

1929                Union Theological Seminary Columbia University, Master of Arts

1971                St. Augustine’s College LHD, Honorary Doctorate

1974                General Theological Seminary STD, Honorary Doctorate

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

1928                Ordained Deacon

1929                Ordained Priest by Bishop Manning, Cathedral of St. John the Divine

1929                Curate at St. Philip's, New York City

1929-1931       Vicar and Assistant to the President at St Philip’s Junior College, San Antonio, TX

1931-1934       Rector at St Marks, Wilmington, North Carolina

1933-1934       Dean Colored Convocation, Diocese of East Carolina

1934-1942       Rector of St. Paul's Atlanta, Georgia

1938-1942       Secretary of Conference Church Workers among Colored People, Providence 4

1940-1941       Instructor at Gammon Theological Seminary

1941-1957       Chaplain in the Army of the United States

1946-1964       Chaplain, Veterans Administration Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama

1953                Certified as Professional Hospital Chaplain

1953-1963       President, AFGE Lodge No. 110

1965-1969       Chaplain, Franklin Delano Roosevelt VA Hospital, Montrose, New York

1970                Certified a Professional Mental Health Chaplain and named a Fellow of the College of Chaplains,                                    American Protestant Hospital Association

1971                Commissioner for God and Country, Boy Scouts of America, Atlanta Area Council

1971                L.H.D. St. Augustine's College

1971-1984       Vicar, St. Stephen’s, Griffin, GA

1973                Chairman, Board of Directors Fulton County Council on Aging

1973-1975       Staff Member, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, GA

1974                Atlanta Regional Commission Council Task Force on Aging

1976-1977       Chairman, Northside Shepherd Center, Atlanta, GA

1977-1978       Chairman Board of Directors, Northside Shepherd Center 

1978                Chairman, Atlanta Mayors Older Atlantans Task Force (OATF)

1979 & 1981   Senator, Georgia Silver-Haired Legislature (2 sessions)

1980                Senior Intern, Congressman Wyche Fowler's Office

              

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES, CITATIONS, AWARDS

 

• Life Member, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and National Convention Chaplain

• Life Member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

• Who’s Who in Negro America

• Prominent Negroes Born in Georgia

• Governor’s Leadership Award, 1990

• Cited, Outstanding Older Atlantan, 1977 

• Cited, Atlanta Journal Constitution September 25, 1977

• Elected to Retired Senior Volunteer Program Hall of Fame, 1977

• RSVP Advisory Board; Board of Managers, East Branch Butler Street YMCA 1978

• Cited at the 77th annual Council on the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta 55 years as a priest - 50 years in the Diocese, 1984

• Cited by the Atlanta Morehouse Club Community Service Award, 1984

• Fulton County Council on Aging’s Community Service Award – October, 1986

• On various occasions Father Bowden served as college preacher at Albany State College and Fort Valley State College, Georgia; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; and St. Augustine's College, North Carolina

• Listed in The Clerical Directory of the Protestant Episcopal Church in The USA

• Metropolitan Christian Council of Atlanta; Butler Street YMCA Member Campaign 1970

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       CONTRIBUTED BY SANA BLUE AND EVELYN WRIGHT