Grace United Methodist Church will celebrate Family and Friends Day at 11 a.m. Sunday. The speaker for the occasion is Bishop Alfred L. Norris, a retired bishop from the Texas Annual Conference, Houston Area. Presently, he is serving as interim president-dean of Gammon Theological Seminary.

Norris began his vocation as minister in 1961 when he was ordained a deacon and later an elder in 1963. He has served as a pastor and district superintendent and was elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church on the first ballot in July 1992. He was assigned to give Episcopal supervision and leadership to the Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area, with residence in Albuquerque, N.M.  He retired in 2004 and returned to Atlanta, where he served as bishop-in-residence at Gammon, his alma mater. 

He was called out of retirement by his colleague bishops in 2006 to serve the unexpired term of a colleague in Dallas who had died.

Norris’ travels have taken him to Africa, Germany, Brazil, England, Israel, South Korea, Argentina, Uruquay, Puerto Rico, Chile, Peru, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan — all in interest of the church.

He and his wife, Dr. Machie H. Norris, are the parents of Alfred II (Lisa) and Angela Norris Johnson (Tyrone). They have four grandchildren. 

All are invited to this celebration. Grace UMC is located at 3145 Washington Street SW.