Robert Burton Gooden (September 18, 1874 – August 24, 1976) was a suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

The Right Reverend

Robert Burton Gooden
Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles
Gooden in 1935
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseLos Angeles
ElectedMarch 11, 1930
In office1930-1947
SuccessorDonald J. Campbell
Orders
OrdinationApril 18, 1905
by Joseph Horsfall Johnson
ConsecrationMay 27, 1930
by W. Bertrand Stevens
Personal details
Born(1874-09-18)September 18, 1874
DiedAugust 24, 1976(1976-08-24) (aged 101)
Los Angeles, California, United States
DenominationAnglicanism
ParentsJames Gooden & Hannah Burton
Spouse
Alice Leonard Moore
(m. 1904; died 1952)
Children5

Early life and education

edit

Gooden was born in Bolton, England on September 18, 1874 to James Gooden and Hannah Burton. He came to the United States in 1888 and attended the High School in Ventura, California. He studied at Trinity College from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1902, a Master of Arts in 1904, and a Doctor of Divinity in 1922.[1] He also studied at Berkeley Divinity School from where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity in 1904, and awarded a Doctor of Divinity in 1931. He also earned a Doctor of Canon Law in 1966 from Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He married Alice Leonard Moore on November 7, 1904 and together had five children.[2]

Ordained Ministry

edit

Gooden was ordained deacon on June 8, 1904 by Bishop Chauncey B. Brewster of Connecticut in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, Connecticut, and priest on April 18, 1905 by Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson of Los Angeles in Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara, California.[3] He was initially missionary at St Paul's Church in Ventura, California between 1904 and 1905 and then missionary priest at Trinity Church in Escondido, California and St John's Church in Fallbrook, California from 1905 until 1907. He then became rector of St Luke's Church in Long Beach, California between 1907 and 1912, before accepting the post of Headmaster at Harvard School in Los Angeles, a post he retained until 1930.[4]

Episcopacy and Later Years

edit

On March 11, 1930, during a special convention at St Paul's Cathedral, Los Angeles, Gooden was elected as the first Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles on the sixth ballot.[5] He was consecrated on May 27, 1930 by Bishop W. Bertrand Stevens of Los Angeles in St Paul's Cathedral, Los Angeles.[6] He retired in 1947.

He helped found the Gooden Center, a residential facility in Pasadena for recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.[7] He was the oldest bishop in The Episcopal Church when he died at the age of 101.[8] His son, Reginald Heber Gooden, was also a bishop.[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ "GOODEN, Robert Burton". Religious Leaders of America. 2: 435. 1941.
  2. ^ "GOODEN, ROBERT BURTON". Who's Who in the West. 13: 250. 1972. ISBN 9780837909134.
  3. ^ "Ordinations". American Church Almanac and Year Book: 344. 1906.
  4. ^ "GOODEN, Rt. Rev. Robert Burton". Stowe's Clerical Directory of the American Episcopal Church: 125. 1953.
  5. ^ "Los Angeles, Diocese of". The Living Church: 72. 1931.
  6. ^ "Rt Rev. Robert Burton Gooden, D.D." History and Reminiscences, Los Angeles City and County, California. 3: 427. 1931.
  7. ^ "About Us". The Gooden Center. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  8. ^ "Oldest Bishop Dies at 101". Episcopal News Service. August 25, 1976. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  9. ^ "Dean Gooden Consecrated Bishop of Canal Zone". The Living Church. CXV (20): 5. May 20, 1945.