Bishop Albert Mckinney, sr.

September 16, 1911 - February 8, 1995

Tenure: 1935-1995

Bishop Albert McKinney, Sr. was born on September 16, 1911, in Asheville, North Carolina. He was brought up in Holiness by his mother, Mother Ethel Johnson and stepfather, Elder Mack Johnson. He was reared in the church his stepfather pastored in Baltimore.

He received his education at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied English from the University of Indiana and studied courses at McKinley-Roosevelt Theological Seminary in California. Bishop McKinney also received a diploma after completing an electronics course at Carver Vocational High School in Baltimore.

In 1933, Bishop McKinney became licensed to minister. In 1935, he believed God’s will for him was to pastor a local body of believers, therefore he founded St. Paul Holy Church in Baltimore, MD that same year. He became an ordained Elder in 1938.

New St. Paul grew for a while, but eventually left a faithful nine members. In 1938, the church joined the United Holy Church of America, Inc. – Northern District Convocation.

He married the former Cora Knockett also in 1938, and out of this union were born three children, Albert Jr., Dorothy Carolyn, and Patricia. Bishop and Mother McKinney were married for 50 years, until her transition in 1988.

As the church grew, Bishop McKinney saw the need for the church to have its own church building - a real church. In 1961, He called a church meeting to see if anyone would be willing to go along with him and mortgage their home to get the money to start St. Paul’s new building. Not one of the members had enough faith to mortgage their house. Bishop McKinney was very distraught. After prayer and consulting with his wife, Mother Cora McKinney he decided to mortgage their home to build the new church. As construction began Bishop saw how the project was not moving as planned, so he left his job as a longshoreman and devoted his time solely to the building and completion of the church building. In August 1962, the building was completed, and the church was renamed New St. Paul Holy Church. The Northern District President, Bishop J.M. McLaurin presided over the dedication services. The church marched from its previous location on Winchester and Parrish Streets to its new location, 1340 N. Calhoun St., singing “We’re Marching to Zion”.

Bishop McKinney held several positions throughout the Northern District of the United Holy Church. He was a District Elder for 5 years, President of the Baltimore-Washington District Union, and served as Chairman of the Board of Presbytery. Many people received licensure and ordination through his regime. He was known for being tough on ordination candidates to ensure that they would be properly prepared for the ministry.

In the late 1960s, Bishop McKinney founded the Baltimore Extension Branch of the United Christian College, which was located at New St. Paul for 4 years. He served as instructor of Theology and English.

In 1975, he received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his accomplishments. In October 1977, he was consecrated to the bishopric through the Original United Holy Church, International (OUHCI) by Bishop James Alexander Forbes, Sr. He briefly served as Vice President of the Northern District, OUCHI, before becoming President. After some time, he and other churches formed the Northern District #2 of OUHCI, where he served as President of that district; a position he held until his demise.

Bishop McKinney was known as a man of few words, unless he was talking about the goodness of the Lord. He enjoyed reading, watching wrestling, and both watching and listening to baseball games on the TV and radio. God blessed Bishop McKinney with the “Gift” of Divine Healing. Many lives and souls were saved under the anointing of Bishop McKinney.

Bishop McKinney continued his pilgrimage, touching the lives of many and always kept the belief that “There’s a bright side somewhere.”

Bishop Albert McKinney, Sr. served as Founder and Pastor of New St. Paul for approximately 60 years until he transitioned from labor to reward on February 8, 1995.