Andalusia native Alphonso Denson Sr., was recently consecrated as bishop of the Louisiana East First Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).

Bishop Denson is the son of Catherine Benson McCollom and the late J.C. Denson Sr. He was reared and nurtured by his mother and second father, the late Jesse McCollom. He is the seventh of his parents’ eight children.

A 1976 graduate of Andalusia High School, Denson matriculated through the Regional Electronic Technology School in Birmingham. He also attended Kennedy Western University as well as Liberty University.

He has served as a preacher since 1982, and as pastor of Abram Temple COGIC in Bunkie, La., since 1984.

In 1999 after 20 years of service, Bishop Denson accepted an early retirement from his position at NCR Corporation in an effort to commit more time to his ministry.

On Nov. 9, 2014, during the 107th Holy Convocation in St. Louis, Mo., Denson was consecrated as bishop by the laying on of hands by Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. and the general board of the COGIC, where he received his episcopal appointment conferring him to the Bishopric and Jurisdictional Prelate of Louisiana East First Jurisdiction of the COGIC.

An inauguration and celebration service, followed by an elegant black-tie reception, was held at the Louisiana East First Jurisdictional Headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., on Fri., Feb. 6, 2015.

Denson currently resides in Alexandria, La., with his dedicated wife, Mrs. Eula Young Denson.

The couple has two adult children – Alphonso, Jr. and Camille Denson-Guillory, and five grandchildren.