Bishop Loran Mann, a trailblazer and Pittsburgh icon, dies at 74 - Pittsburgh Jazz Network2024-03-28T16:37:03Zhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/forum/topics/bishop-loran-mann-a-trailblazer-and-pittsburgh-icon-dies-at-74?groupUrl=obituaries&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBishop Loran Mann remembered…tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2021-06-13:1992552:Comment:5505362021-06-13T20:14:05.828ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<h1 class="entry-title">Bishop Loran Mann remembered during homegoing celebrations</h1>
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<li class="author-name">Courier Newsroom</li>
<li>June 13, 2021</li>
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<div class="entry-content"><div class="hero__featured col mb-3" title="Bishop Loran Mann remembered during homegoing celebrations"></div>
<p>by Jacquelyn McDonald<br></br>For New…</p>
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<h1 class="entry-title">Bishop Loran Mann remembered during homegoing celebrations</h1>
<div class="byline vcard d-flex px-0 py-4"><div class="d-flex flex-grow-1 author"><div class="author-info d-flex flex-shrink px-2"><ul>
<li class="author-name">Courier Newsroom</li>
<li>June 13, 2021</li>
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<div class="entry-content"><div title="Bishop Loran Mann remembered during homegoing celebrations" class="hero__featured col mb-3"></div>
<p>by Jacquelyn McDonald<br/>For New Pittsburgh Courier</p>
<p>Whether you knew him as Bishop, Pastor, Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) Media Host, Local Newscaster, Community Leader, Toastmaster or simply as “the Voice,” the late Bishop Loran Edward Mann left an immeasurable impact on those that encountered him. The sure evidence of that impact was the overwhelming attendance of the Pittsburgh community and beyond during his Homegoing Celebration, which spanned three days, May 24-26.</p>
<p>The remembrance began with a walk-through viewing on May 24, followed on May 25 by the first local memorial service, which also included his assigned Vermont Jurisdiction of the past 10 years. That service was held at 6 p.m. at the 1,200 seat Pentecostal Temple Church Of God In Christ in East Liberty, where Bishop Mann was the pastor.</p>
<p>The final remembrance for Bishop Mann was held at Victory Family Church, in Cranberry Township, to accommodate the large National Church presence that was expected and to meet the CDC’s social distancing measures. Former Pentecostal Temple members and COGIC hierarchy arrived from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.</p>
<p><img width="505" height="1121" class="size-full wp-image-337001 aligncenter" src="https://newpittsburghcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/mann3A8Metro6.9.jpg" alt=""/></p>
<p><strong>BISHOP LORAN MANN,</strong><span> </span>the venerable pastor and media personality, died on May 2. He was 74.</p>
<p>Presiding COGIC Bishop J. Drew Sheard, from Detroit, was on hand to give the final eulogy, preaching from the biblical scripture Matt 25:21 and entitled his sermon, “The Greatest Commendation.” He spoke of Bishop Mann’s talents being put to good use in the marketplace of human needs and demands. He also emphasized Bishop Mann’s servitude and personal investment and commitment to his God-given assignments.</p>
<p>The Homegoing Celebration culmination consisted of the Church Of God In Christ royal ceremonial, “The Sealing Of The Bier,” a regalia skillfully conducted by the National Adjutants of the Church designated by members of the COGIC General Board, the governing entity of the 6.5 million-member denomination. Bishop Loran Mann was a newly elected General Board member, a few months prior to his passing.</p>
<p><img width="709" height="574" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-337002 aligncenter" src="https://newpittsburghcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/mann1A7Religion6.9.jpg" alt=""/></p>
<p><strong>FIRST LADY BARBARA MANN,<span> </span></strong>during the funeral for her late husband, Bishop Loran Mann, at Pentecostal Temple COGIC, May 25. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)</p>
<p>Each gathering was unique in acknowledging Bishop Mann’s contributions to the ecumenical community. His alumni choir, which now consists of several pastors, popular psalmists and minstrels throughout the tri-state area, gathered to pay tribute in song to their beloved pastor and initial choir director. They were known as the “Sounds of Pentecost.” Bishop Mann was an accomplished musician, as is his wife, Evangelist Barbara Mann. They often sang and played the keyboards during his services.</p>
<p><img width="674" height="539" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-337003 aligncenter" src="https://newpittsburghcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/mann2A8Metro6.9.jpg" alt=""/></p>
<p><strong>LORAN MANN II<span> </span></strong>speaks during the funeral for his father, Bishop Loran Mann, at Pentecostal Temple COGIC, May 25.</p>
<p>Others, like Church Mother Denise White, remarked of the spirit-filled worship services that Bishop Mann led at Pentecostal Temple. White raised the praise as she testified of how God healed her of an affliction that rendered her wheelchair-bound for 10 years. Now walking, she shared of the convalescent ministry of Bishop Mann and how he petitioned God on her behalf.</p>
<p>Bishop Mann’s “sons in the gospel,” of which there are many, came from far and near to tell of Bishop Mann’s biblical guidance and tutoring. His ability to articulate scripture was considered superior; and as the founder of Pittsburgh’s only 24-hour Gospel radio station, WGBN (1360 AM), several of the present and former on-air personalities shared their stories of how the Bishop mentored them in broadcasting and journalism.</p>
<p>Bishop Mann died on May 2 at age 74. He was the founder of Pentecostal Temple, and grew its church membership from roughly 20 to more than 1,000, and was instrumental in the completion of the church’s million-dollar sanctuary that rises above Larimer Avenue and East Liberty Boulevard.</p>
<p>Bishop Mann was known for his career as a young anchor/reporter on KDKA-AM (1020) in 1968, then moved to television as an anchor/reporter for WPXI (Channel 11). He spent more than 20 years there, becoming a household name in Pittsburgh. Following his retirement from WPXI, he rose up the ranks of the Church Of God In Christ, becoming Bishop of the Vermont Jurisdiction in 2011.</p>
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</div> The legacy honoree for this y…tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2021-05-21:1992552:Comment:5501022021-05-21T02:23:09.699ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div>The legacy honoree for this year’s Men of Excellence was Bishop Loran E. Mann, senior pastor at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ in East Liberty. He was unable to attend the April 16 event, and it saddened many in the Pittsburgh area who learned of his passing on May 2. Bishop Mann was 74, and was a pioneering figure in Pittsburgh media as the first Black full-time news anchor on KDKA Radio, then had a 20 year run as a reporter on WPXI-TV.</div>
<h6><span>MEN OF EXCELLENCE CLASS…</span></h6>
<div>The legacy honoree for this year’s Men of Excellence was Bishop Loran E. Mann, senior pastor at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ in East Liberty. He was unable to attend the April 16 event, and it saddened many in the Pittsburgh area who learned of his passing on May 2. Bishop Mann was 74, and was a pioneering figure in Pittsburgh media as the first Black full-time news anchor on KDKA Radio, then had a 20 year run as a reporter on WPXI-TV.</div>
<h6><span>MEN OF EXCELLENCE CLASS OF 2021 LEGACY HONOREE</span></h6>
<div><span><img width="693" height="597" src="https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewpittsburghcourier.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2021%2F05%2FLegacyMannNPCourier5.19.jpg&t=1621563588&ymreqid=4ec61862-ad08-c3bf-2fdc-52006e013200&sig=fi2WJL41oLK_PHJfErD4nA--~D" alt=""/></span></div>
<div><span>Bishop Loran E. Mann</span></div>
<div><span>Aug. 8, 1946—May 2, 2021</span></div>
<div>The New Pittsburgh Courier expresses its most heartfelt condolences to the family of the revered late Bishop Loran E. Mann.</div>
<div>Each time that the Courier holds its Men of Excellence Awards Ceremony, we honor a legacy honoree who, usually for decades, has been an immovable force in Pittsburgh in his profession and in his benevolence. We couldn’t think of a more deserving person for the award than Bishop Loran E. Mann, whose larger-than-life presence and voice was heard first on KDKA Radio (1020) and then WPXI-TV (Channel 11) until his retirement in the early 1990s.</div>
<div>But there was more to Bishop Mann than the microphone and the video camera.</div>
<div>When a person is driven, led by the power of the Lord, they know that anything is possible. Before the age of 25, Bishop Mann had become a pastor at a Baptist church in Braddock Hills. But at the heart, he was always Pentecostal. He left First Baptist Church to start his own Pentecostal church—but he had no physical building. And less than 20 members.</div>
<div>No problem.</div>
<div>Bishop Mann would have services underneath tents, until he was able to find a small physical location in Wilkinsburg beginning in 1971. Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ continued to grow, and eventually, a million-dollar sanctuary was constructed at Larimer Avenue and East Liberty Boulevard, where services have been held now for almost 30 years, and home to nearly 1,000 members.</div>
<div>Bishop Mann rose up the ranks in the Church of God in Christ, becoming Bishop of the state of Vermont Jurisdiction in 2011, a crowning achievement. And just a few months ago, Bishop Mann was elected to the COGIC General Board, a select group of 12 Bishops in the Church that set the direction and its policies. Another crowning achievement.</div>
<div>The Courier had its Men of Excellence Awards Ceremony at Savoy Restaurant, in the Strip District, on April 16. We learned, however, that Bishop Mann would be unable to attend. A few weeks later, on Sunday, May 2, we learned that Bishop Mann had died.</div>
<div>A Lying in Honor ceremony will be held on Monday, May 24, from noon to 9 p.m. at the church, 6300 East Liberty Boulevard. A Jurisdictional and Family Homegoing Celebration will be held, Tuesday, May 25, at 6 p.m. also at the church. A National Homegoing Celebration will be held on Wednesday, May 26, at 10 a.m. at Victory Family Church, 21150 Route 19, Cranberry Township.</div>
<div><span>Bishop Mann is survived by his wife, Barbara, and children, Tiana and Loran II.</span></div> <iframe width="640" height…tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2021-05-21:1992552:Comment:5501012021-05-21T02:21:07.365ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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