Community mourns Bishop Alfred Singleton, 89, a 'preacher's preacher'

Within the last year, Bishop Alfred Singleton began talking more about his own death.

"He started making statements like he's at the airport and he's got his ticket and he's just getting ready to take off," said Bishop Alfred P. Singleton II, his son.

The senior Singleton died Monday night at age 89 after a brief illness, his son said. 

The late bishop was the lead pastor at the Bread House Bethlehem Temple Church in Lansing for more than 30 years until his son succeeded him in 2011. He also served as a presiding bishop, charged with leading the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith from 2000 to 2007.

Singleton's associates remember him as well-read with a deep knowledge of the Bible. On the pulpit, he combined esoteric references with extemporaneous monologues, said Bishop David Maxwell of the Eliezer Temple Church in Lansing. 

"He was a preacher's preacher," Maxwell said. "He had this strong, raspy voice. When he opened his mouth, he had already captured his audience."

Singleton used music as a key tool toward connecting with that audience. He was a singer and he shared his love of music with his family.

Several of his children and grandchildren formed a contemporary Christian band called the "Singletons", which made the Gospel Top 40 in 2006.

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Singleton was born in Montgomery, Ala. in 1928. He moved to Detroit during the 1940s, where he was Baptized into the Pentecostal Church.

He also served in the Army during the Korean War and spent time in California before settling in Lansing.

Maxwell said his friend's experiences as a black boy in the racially segregated South were formative.

"That was a recurring topic with him, his long journey" Maxwell said. "He would talk about how he never would have thought he would have made it to where his was, having come up the way he did in Alabama, which was the wheelhouse of segregation and disenfranchisement. Folks there knew him by his color."

Singleton had a keen interest in history and was among a group of mid-Michigan leaders to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first black president in 2009. 

"That was a highlight of his life," his son said. "He didn't think he would ever live to see an African-American president."

Although the bishop gave endorsements to local and state-level politicians, Singleton II said his father believed a spiritual leader should be at a remove from politics.

"My dad wasn't really a politician-type," the son said. "He always said the mayor sees after the city and the governor sees after the state, but it's the pastor's job to see after  the whole world."

Maxwell said Singleton was firm and authoritative when he met with political candidates, though he preferred to operate behind the scenes.

"He wasn't generally among the group of pastors who would march up to City Hall with signs," Maxwell said. "That wasn't his style. He was a leader just by being there."

Singleton was at the forefront of high-profile events throughout Lansing's history. In 1999, he led a funeral service for Aldric McKinstry, Jr, a black teenager who had been shot and killed by Lansing police after a confrontation. A Lansing State Journal article at the time described Singleton as a calming yet forceful presence at the service, which was attended by almost 600 people. 

Singleton's duties as a pastor took their toll, especially during times of hardship, but he always put family before work, Maxwell said.

Singleton married Elizabeth Hawkins in 1951 and they had 12 children together. Their daughter Patricia Smith died in 2016 at age 61. 

His wife, Elizabeth, died in 2006. He re-married in 2008 to Antoinette Halton.

At the end of his life, Singleton most enjoyed spending time with his children and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

His son believes Singleton died at peace due to his implacable faith in the afterlife.

"He believed being a pastor was the best job in the world," Singleton II said. "He always said it doesn't pay much, but the retirement is out of this world."

The memorial service for Bishop Alfred Singleton will be at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11. Both services will take place at the Bread House Bethlehem Temple Church at 1518 S. Washington St. in Lansing.

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.