Claude E. Payne

Claude Edward Payne (born June 19, 1932) was the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas in The Episcopal Church between 1995 and 2003.

Early life and education Claude Payne was born on June 19, 1932, in Abilene, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Rice University in Houston and went to work for Union Carbide. He later enrolled at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California and obtained a Master of Divinity degree in 1964.

Ordained ministry He initially served as assistant at Epiphany Church in Kingsville, Texas and chaplain at the Texas A&M University–Kingsville. Later he became assistant priest at St Mark's Church in Hudson, Texas, before becoming rector of St Mark's Church in Beaumont, Texas. As rector of St. Martin's, Payne was the parish priest of George H. W. and Barbara Bush. In 2013, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.