Retired Channel 11 News Anchor Loran Mann Ordained As Bishop

None — The ministry of Pastor Loran E. Mann spans more than 30 years and is synonymous with spiritual, inspirational and visionary leadership. Called to preach the Gospel while a junior in high school, he appeared to be destined for a unique future. The uniqueness of his gifts and contribution are so evident in his ministry.

Pastor Mann attended the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from three institutions. The most recent conferral occurred in March 2010 by Waynesburg University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Mann began his pastoral ministry in 1969 with the founding of Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ. The membership of this new congregation was comprised of nineteen people who were won to Christ in a tent revival. Since that time, Pentecostal Temple, blessed with record growth, has become a congregation of several hundred families, with new converts being added consistently. In January 1991, Pentecostal Temple dedicated a newly constructed $1.2 million sanctuary. Pastor Mann says his priority is the construction of Pentecostal Temple's Community Outreach Complex, which will house its educational, recreational and social ministries.

A respected former broadcast journalist, Mann received numerous awards over his twenty-one year career as News Anchor/Reporter for WPXI-TV, Channel 11, the Pittsburgh affiliate of NBC. Pastor Mann's radio programs, "Daily Bread" and "Sunday with Christ" are acclaimed among the most prominent in the Pittsburgh area.

In 1992, Pastor Mann led Pentecostal Temple into ownership in the broadcast industry with the purchase of WGBN-AM 1150, which is the first station in the Pittsburgh market to offer Gospel music programming 24 hours-a-day. Since embarking upon this endeavor, WGBN, exceeded all expectations as well as its competition, to become one of the most popular radio stations in the metropolitan Pittsburgh area. This distinction was achieved in record time. In 2006, another of Pastor Mann's dreams was realized when he became a founding member of the "Rejoice Musical Soul Food" Network, which offers Gospel music programming by satellite to 52 subscribing stations across the country. WGBN is the network's flagship station.

Pastor Mann is actively involved in the worldwide ministry of the Church of God in Christ. In April of 2000, he was appointed Commissioner of Television for the denomination by Presiding Bishop G.E. Patterson. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the General Assembly, the legislative branch of the church. He is First Administrative Assistant in the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church - Western Pennsylvania. Pastor Mann's contributions are too numerous to list. He lends his gifts, skills and knowledge to many agencies and churches of various denominations.

In March 2005, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell appointed Pastor Mann as a member of the Pennsylvania Public Television Network Commission. This commission establishes policy for and has oversight of all public television stations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pastor Mann began global ministry in 2005 when he established the Worldwide Gospel Network which provides religious programming via internet around-the-clock, seven days-a-week.

In April 2010, the Most Rev. Charles E. Blake Sr., Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, appointed Pastor Mann to the position of Commissioner of Media for the denomination. All media operations of the church are his responsibility.

On June 2, 2011, Rev. Mann was elevated to the Episcopacy and appointed Bishop of the state of Vermont. He will be consecrated to that Holy and Sacred office on November 7, 2011 at the International Holy Convocation of the Church of God in Christ in St. Louis.

Bishop Mann and his wife, Barbara, are the parents of two children, Tiana and Loran II. Tiana, a graduate of Ohio University and the University of Maryland School of Law, will begin the practice of law after her admission to the Bar. Loran II, a graduate of Fox Chapel High School, is a student at Community College of Allegheny County.

WPXI