Photo By Michael Alexander

DECATUR—Deacon Alfred Mitchell, former director of deacon personnel for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, died Aug. 27. He served in that capacity for 15 years and was also a deacon for Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Decatur.  

He was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, the only child of James and Flossie Mitchell. His family lived in South Carolina until he was 10 years old, when they moved to Washington, D.C. Deacon Mitchell attended school in Washington and graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in May 1955. 

He served in the U.S. Army for two years and met his wife-to-be, Josie, during that time. They were married in the Church of the Incarnation in Washington in October 1959. Raised a Southern Baptist, he entered the Catholic Church at the time of his marriage. The Mitchells had two children, Jonathan and Margaret.  

The Mitchells lived in Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan, for several years. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. 

Mitchell’s work with the Department of Labor brought the family to Atlanta in 1975. They joined Sts. Peter and Paul Church, where then-pastor Msgr. Henry Gracz encouraged him to consider the diaconate. He entered the formation program and was ordained a permanent deacon on May 23, 1987, assigned to his Decatur parish. 

In 1990, he began serving as director of deacon personnel (permanent diaconate) for the archdiocese, fulfilling that role until 2005. Deacon Mitchell was the bridge between the 75 deacons then serving in Atlanta, the priests and the archbishop. Atlanta now has more than 270 deacons. 

While in that archdiocesan position he also served as president-elect, president and past president of the National Diaconate Institute for Continuing Education (NDICE) and held similar positions in the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD). He received NADD’s two highest awards, including the William Philbin Award. The Philbin Award is given for contributions to the permanent diaconate on national and local levels. Deacon Mitchell was a founding member of The National Association of African­ American Catholic Deacons (NAAACD). 

Deacon Alfred Mitchell leads a Wednesday morning Bible study at his parish, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur, in 2018. Photo By Michael Alexander

One of his ministries at his Decatur parish was to strengthen the religious education program for adults. Deacon Mitchell took up the task first with the parish men’s club to introduce spirituality. He started in 1993 with a day of reflection. It expanded to a weekend of faith directed toward men and meets yearly. 

As part of his ministry, Deacon Mitchell introduced a form of storytelling into his work and preaching. He is a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers and has attended the School of Sacred Storytellers. “People remember stories. You can get a point across with a good story that grabs sometimes than if you stuck simply to an academic way,” he said in a Georgia Bulletin interview in 2018. 

Deacon Mitchell also was part of a team of deacons who ministered to travelers at the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International. He traveled to Rome to meet Pope Francis as part of an international conference on airport chaplains. Deacon Mitchell was honored for his longtime chaplaincy work in June by the archdiocese.  

A vigil for Deacon Mitchell will be Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, 2560 Tilson Road, Decatur. The funeral will be Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 11 a.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul Church. Interment at Honey Creek Woodlands Cemetery at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers will follow.