John William Hamilton - Episcopal Ministry

Episcopal Ministry

John William Hamilton was elected to the Episcopacy by the 1900 General Conference of the M.E. Church. He was assigned as Resident Bishop in San Francisco (1900-08). After the devastating earthquake of 1906, he organized the reconstruction of M.E. work in that city. First, by a national tour to raise funds for paying down all debts on M.E. properties, then raising the funds locally to rebuild every Methodist sanctuary. Hamilton United Methodist Church, designed by architect Julia Morgan in the famous Haight/Ashbury District, was named for the "Phoenix Bishop" who helped raise the City Spirit from the ashes: "Together we will rebuild this city, one neighborhood at a time!" He was also a pioneer in establishing Methodism in Alaska and Hawaii.

Bishop Hamilton was next assigned Resident Bishop in Boston (1908-16), where he was responsible for his denomination's ministry throughout New England. In 1916, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of an M.E. Bishop, Hamilton succeeded his brother Franklin as Chancellor of American University in Washington, D.C.. During John's six-year administration the university's academic program improved and its financial undergirding became more sound. In 1922 he was appointed Chancellor Emeritus. During these same years, Bishop J.W. Hamilton also was a leader in raising funds for the restoration of John Wesley's living quarters at Lincoln College, Oxford University.