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Bishop Enos C. Gardiner Member, Biblical Doctrine & Polity Committee |
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Early Formative Years
Bishop Enos C. Gardiner, the 12th of 14 children born to Mrs. Leo Palmer, is a native of the North Caicos Island of the British Commonwealth nation of Turks & Caicos. It was in the Bottle Creek Community of his childhood that Bishop Gardiner became fascinated by the people of the Church of God of Prophecy, spoken of locally as “the jumper church.” At the age of 12, he migrated along with his family to the Bahamas Islands, settling in the Eight Mile Rock Community in Grand Bahamas, where he was delighted to find a Church of God of Prophecy congregation centrally located in his community. Against his mother’s advice, Bishop Gardiner expressed a desire to attend the church’s college, in Cleveland, Tenn., and at the tender age of 16, he headed for Tomlinson College. This college experience proved to be a pivotal one in his life, for soon after arriving he was converted, joined the church, and later accepted his call into the ministry.
Educational Opportunities & Achievements
In 1973 Bishop Gardiner graduated from Tomlinson with an Associate Degree in Christian Education. In 1974, he relocated to Mississippi, where he met and married his future wife, Evelyn. They both embarked on a life of ministry and service. Desirous to further his education that would better prepare himself for ministry, Bishop Gardiner applied and was accepted to Mississippi Baptist Seminary in Jackson, Miss., and received a Bachelors of Science in Theology in 1984.
In 1987, he and his family relocated to Massachusetts to accept a pastorate in Southern New England. While participating in various ministerial associations in the City of Boston, Bishop Gardiner was recommended for and was accepted into the first Urban Fellows Program at Harvard University School of Divinity with a full scholarship. In 2000, he completed the three-year program, and that same summer attended HDS’s Summer Leadership Institute at the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life.
To further enhance his pastoral skills, in 2004 Bishop Gardiner applied for a Hospital Chaplaincy Internship at Boston’s New England Baptist Hospital, and by 2005 had completed two Clinical Professional Units. Through the mentoring and encouragement of Dr. Effie Sidiropoulou, Clincal Supervisor of the NEBH’s program, Bishop Gardiner applied for a chaplaincy residency position at Boston’s prestigious Brigham & Women’s Hospital. At B&W, Bishop Gardiner became only the third African American to be accepted as a resident, and later the first to be hired as a Staff Chaplain at the facility. In Pittsburg, Penn. at its 2008 convention, Bishop Gardiner was awarded Associate Chaplain Status by the American Association of Professional Chaplains. In May, 2009 he hopes to graduate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a Master’s of Arts in Urban Ministry.
Ministry History
Always actively involved in the local church, Bishop Gardiner has had the honor of serving under a number of state and regional overseers. In 1975, he accepted his first pastoral position in Wynn Arkansas under Bishop Henry Biggers. In 1980, he accepted the pastorate of the Charleston, Miss. Church under Bishop Joe Rickard. In 1987 he relocated to Southern New England (SNE) to accept a pastoral position at the Brockton, Mass. church under Bishop Willie R. Boone. In 1991, he assumed the pastorate of his current congregation in the Roxbury Community of Boston, Mass., later serving under Bishops Rufus R. Rogers, Calvin Jones, and Cervin L. McKinnon in the Northeast Region.
His ministry in New England has included two terms as District Overseer of Mass. & Rhode Island, first under SNE, and currently in the Northeast Region. He currently serves on the Regional Ministerial, Finance, and Administrative Committees.
He and his wife, Evelyn, have one daughter Cecile, who along with her husband, Marlon, has blessed them with two grandsons, Naeem and Amari. He enjoys reading, walking, bowling, and travelling and is an avid Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan.