Rev. Michael D. Bell is the pastor of Saratoga Springs’ Historic Dyer Phelps Memorial AME Zion Church. A graduate of Northeastern Seminary with a Master of Divinity Degree and a 2007 Oxford University Rhodes Scholar Nominee, Rev. Bell has pastored in Jamestown, Buffalo, Auburn, Ithaca, and Elmira, with activist contributions throughout WNY, CNY, the Southern Tier, and North Country regions, including his current work as a NYS Poor People’s Campaign leader.
Rev. Bell has been relentless in working towards Police Reform, including his deep engagement on the Executive Committee of Monroe County Alliance for the Transformation of Community & Police, producing their recent Police Reform Report. In his recent years as a local resident, he brings his broad civil rights acumen, knowledge, and efforts to our community, contributing on outreach panels, leading Community Conversations on Policing, and organizing connective events, such as MLKS’s 2022 Dr. King Celebration Weekend’s Interfaith CommUnity Celebration Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Father to five adult children, Rev. Bell is featured in the exhibit currently on display at the Saratoga Springs Public Library — “Good Trouble on the Journey to Justice,” a collection of personal stories from community members who have engaged in what John Lewis coined as “Good Trouble” and augmented by a “memory” quilt crafted by local collagist Francelise Dawkins, visually capturing these powerful experiences. As noted in his online profile for the Monroe County Alliance, Rev. Bell’s “life has become a series of richly lived narratives” that beautifully reflects his full life of visionary service and compassionate leadership … truly, a special gift to the people and communities here in Saratoga Springs!
RESOURCES:
2022 DKCW’s Interfaith CommUnity Celebration Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (organized by Reverend Bell)
OURstory Treasure Hunt’s Info: African American Houses of Worship in Saratoga Springs