Bishop Calvin Rice, a native of Union, South Carolina, was educated in the Union County public school system where he graduated in the last segregated class from the historic Sims High School. Additionally, Bishop Rice is a New York State Certified Chaplain and served as the Protestant Chaplain at the South Beach Psychiatric Center, Staten Island, New York.
On July 14, 2004, Bishop Rice was overwhelmingly elected to succeed New Jerusalem Founder, Rev. James C. Kelly, and began his pastorate on January 2, 2005. Since his installation, he has overseen the completion of construction and renovation of the Church’s multi-million dollar edifice. The Church’s membership has steadily grown; as a result, the church has increased to two worship services on Sunday morning, instituted a monthly leadership development training series, and expanded ministries that are committed to go “beyond the walls” to address the immediate needs of the community.
Bishop Rice is a uniquely gifted preacher and teacher and a highly respected civil, political, and religious leader in New York City. He has been active in many community organizations and has held leadership positions in various organizations, including:
• Second Vice President of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater NY and Vicinity
• The New York Urban League
• The American Red Cross
• The College of Staten Island Advisory Board
• The American Baptist Churches of Metro NY
• The Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
• Boy Scouts of America
• Sisters of Charity Medical Center
• Vice Moderator of Eastern Baptist Association
• Vice President of New York State Progressive Baptist Convention
• Chairman of Finance PNBC Eastern Region
• Member of Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Economic Development Task Force
• Member of the Staten Island Borough President’s Anti-Bias Task Force
In 1997, Rev. Bishop Rice received the distinct recognition of being the only living African American to have a New York City street in Staten Island named in his honor. He was also inducted into the Staten Island College “Hall of Fame.” Dr. Rice has received nearly 100 plaques and certificates, as well as proclamations from the Governor of New York, three NYC Mayors, one U.S. Senator, and two NYC Councilmen. He is the only Staten Islander to receive recognition from The New York Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators for his work in community and economic development.
Dr. Rice has also played a role in faith-based initiatives, having been designated Staten Island chairperson of President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative by Congressman Vito Fossella. In 2012, he received the Vernon M. Dougherty Distinction in Ministry Award, the highest award given by New York Theological Seminary to alumni who have distinguished themselves in lay or ordained ministry for at least fifteen years.
Rev. Rice has been featured in more than thirty newspaper and magazine articles and has appeared on ABC television, where he received the coveted “Living the Dream” Award. He was also featured in the Oxford Book of Who’s Whoregistry. Throughout his ministry, he has preached across the United States and the Middle East.
In September 1999, Rev. Rice established the Genesis Bible Institute, a school dedicated to the training of ministers and laypeople for effective work in ministry. The school is an accredited satellite of Virginia Union Seminary of Richmond, VA, via the Eastern Baptist Association of Brooklyn, NY. Over the years, he has licensed, ordained, and mentored 33 ministers, nine of whom are pastoring churches. He also helped organize and establish two Liberian congregational churches. Additionally, he has published a booklet entitled This Is My Story, which highlights his unique and successful ministry spanning over two decades, along with selected sermons.
In 2007, Dr. Rice was one of the original pastoral organizers of Empowered Queens United in Action and Leadership (EQUAL), a citizen’s power organization made up of congregations in Southeast Queens, Sunnyside, and Woodside. Initiated through the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), EQUAL is a broad-based, multiracial, non-partisan grassroots organization that empowers people to engage in public decision-making and improve the quality of life in their communities. EQUAL has won important victories in leadership development, social security service, and road safety, as well as successfully organizing a charter school for children and families in Southeast Queens.
In September 2010, Dr. Rice opened the Rochdale Early Advantage Charter School (REACS), where he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. REACS provides an early college preparatory program for students from Kindergarten through Grade 5. The school is committed to a balanced multi-literacy approach that educates students to “stand out from the crowd” intellectually, historically, culturally, digitally, economically, physically, artistically, and civically in an increasingly diverse and fast-changing global society.
Dr. Rice is a highly sought-after teacher. In 2011, the New York School of Divinity engaged him as a professor of expository preaching, where he served for two consecutive semesters.
In 2013, Dr. Rice traveled with a delegation of distinguished clergy to the Republic of South Africa and Swaziland. The two-week missionary assignment, coordinated through the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., included theological and pastoral care training for ministers of the gospel who were seeking education and resources to strengthen their ministries.
Pastor Rice’s academic achievements include:
• Bachelor of Science in Economics from the College of Staten Island
• Master’s in Religion from the New York Theological Seminary
• Graduate studies at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health of NYC in conjunction with Hebrew Union Seminary
• Studies at The Catawba Bible College of Rock Hill, SC, and the National Theological Seminary of Baltimore, MD
• Certificate of study from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Dr. Rice is married to Willie Mae Rice, and together they have three adult children and five grandchildren.