by Staff The New Haven independent
Bishop John Curling Wright, born Jan. 10, 1940, in Hemingway, S.C., to the late Edward Marion and Almeter Wright, Sr. was called from labor to reward on Monday, March 23, 2026.
Raised in a Christian family, he became a member of Jerusalem AME Church in his youth and graduated from Howard High School in Georgetown, S.C., in 1958. He then moved to New Haven in 1959, where he joined Mount Hope Temple UHCA under the late Bishop Jeremiah Covington.
Following his honorable service in the United States Army, Bishop Wright furthered his secular education at the University of New Haven and worked for the New Haven Housing Authority. Recognizing the call of God on his life, he also pursued religious studies, earning multiple degrees, including a Doctor of Sacred Theology. He married Virginia Covington on April 27, 1963, and to this union, three children were born: Phillip, Phyllis, and Elaine.
Bishop Wright accepted his call to the ministry in 1975. He was ordained an Elder in 1979, served as Assistant Pastor of Mount Hope Temple, and was installed as Pastor in 1991, a role he faithfully held for 23 years. His leadership expanded when he was consecrated to the Office of Bishop in 1994 in the United Holy Church of America, Inc. (UHCA). In 2000, he was named one of the twelve original members of the Provisional Board of Bishops of the UHCA and became President of the New England District UHCA. During his 20-year presidency, three new churches were birthed under his leadership. He also served the General Church and the New England District in various other leadership capacities and as President of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association. In recognition of his many years of service in the New England District, he was named Presiding Emeritus upon his retirement in 2020. A father figure to all, he was affectionately known as “Uncle John” and “Poppy.”
Bishop Wright was preceded in death by his parents, Marion and Almeter Wright; in-laws, Bishop Jeremiah and Alberta Covington; sisters, Golden Wright Bloom, Oneather Wright Harvey, Susie Wright Myers, Willie Mae Wright Davis, and Rosa Lee Beckett; brothers, Ed Matthew and Edward Marion Wright, Jr.; sisters-in-law, Miriam Cooper, Vivian Covington, Geraldine Covington, and Linda Tripp; brother in-law, Henry Martin; and great-granddaughter, Kori Ava McLellan.
Bishop Wright leaves to cherish his memory his beloved wife of 62 years, Virginia Covington Wright; aunt, Edna Broadhurst (MD); sisters, Rev. Maudine Martin (CT), Joann Ford (Rev. Arthur Ford) (SC), and Gloria Scott; children, Philip Wright, Phyllis Abraham (Matthew), and Elaine Smart (Michael) of CT; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives, godchildren, and spiritual sons and daughters.
“And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound
and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul”