Nelson Wesley Trout

Nelson Wesley Trout (born September 29, 1920 in Columbus (Ohio) , United States , † September 20, 1996 in Inglewood ( California ), United States) was the first African American bishop within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America .

Trout was known throughout his church as a moving and powerful preacher. He initially held pastoral positions in Alabama (where he became a friend and colleague of Martin Luther King ), California and Wisconsin ; he also served as the executive director of the Lutheran Social Service in Dayton, Ohio . He served the American Lutheran Church (ALC) as director on two occasions: as associate youth director (1962–1967) and as director of urban evangelism (1968–70). In 1983 Trout was elected Bishop of the ALC's South Pacific District. He held this position until 1987. At the time of his election, he was Professor and Director of Minority Studies at the Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio . He died shortly before his 76th birthday in 1996. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates him with a memorial day in its saints calendar on September 20th .

Web links

• Article on Nelson Wesley Trout at www.wfn.org
• Lutheran Unit Elects Its First Black Bishop ( New York Times article dated June 18, 1983)
• Life data on FamilySearch