Introduction
Claude Edward Payne was the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas in The Episcopal Church. He was elected bishop co-adjutor in 1993, and was seated as Bishop of Texas in 1995.Prior to his election as bishop co-adjutor, Payne served as the second Rector of St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas from 1983 to 1993.
Biography
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.
As rector of St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Payne was the parish priest of George H. W. and Barbara Bush. Prior to becoming rector of St. Martin's in 1983, he served as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Beaumont, Texas for fifteen years.
After his retirement in 2003, Payne moved from Houston to Salado, Texas. In 2013, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.
In 2018, Payne participated in the Houston funeral services for first Barbara and then George H. W. Bush.
Payne is married to Barbara Payne. He is the co-author (with Hamilton S. Beazley) of Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations (2000) and the author of Reclaiming Christianity: A Practical Model for Spiritual Growth and Evangelism (2018).