Guide to the James and Melva Costen Papers

James H. Costen

James (nicknamed Jim and Jimmy) Hutten Costen was born on October 5, 1931 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the son of William James and Mary Lou Costen. Raised as Roman Catholic and educated in parochial schools, Jim began worshiping at a Presbyterian church during high school. He graduated from Central High School in Omaha in 1949. He attended Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte, North Carolina and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While attending JCSU, he met Melva Wilson, who also graduated in 1953. The two married at the JCSU campus chapel on May 24, 1953. Jim then attended Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, receiving a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1956. He later pursued a Master of Theology degree in religious education at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, graduating in 1964. Jim was either the earliest or one of the earliest African American students to attend the Seminary.

Jim was ordained by the Presbytery of Cape Fear (Synod of Catawba) on January 19, 1956. He served as pastor of Mount Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. There in Rocky Mount, Jim and Melva successfully won a lawsuit to integrate an elementary school, allowing their children to attend. The family was threatened by the Ku Klux Klan for their civil rights work. Jim worked closely with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, including organizing King's visit to Rocky Mount in 1962. In 1965, Jim received the call to serve as pastor of the Church of the Master Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He was integral in establishing the church, which was deliberately organized as the first interracial Presbyterian congregation in Atlanta. Additionally, Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. attended and participated in Jim's installation service as pastor of the Church of the Master.

In 1969, Jim became dean of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, which, under Jim's guidance, had been newly relocated to the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta. He became president of ITC in 1983, serving in that role until his retirement in 1998. He was later named President Emeritus. In 1974, Jim visited Kenya for the first time, where he built relationships with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). Because of this experience, he created and offered scholarships to PCEA students for them to attend ITC. After his retirement from ITC, he served the PCEA as volunteer director of development. In this role, Jim raised funds to build a library, student and faculty housing, and other facilities for what is now the Presbyterian University of East Africa.

Jim served as moderator of the 194th General Assembly (Hartford, Connecticut) of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) in 1982, becoming the fourth African American to hold the role. Additionally, he served as moderator of the UPCUSA's 195th General Assembly (Atlanta, Georgia) in 1983, when the UPCUSA and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) reunited to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PC(USA)).

Jim's other roles in the Presbyterian Church included being chairperson of numerous committees, including the General Assembly Permanent Nominations Committee, the Minority Taskforce on Reunion, and the General Assembly Council. Nationally, he served on the board of trustees of the Fund for Theological Education and was a member of the Black Theology Project and the Society for the Study of Black Religion. He died on April 11, 2003.

Melva W. Costen

Melva Ruby Wilson was born in Due West, South Carolina in 1933. She is the daughter of John Theodore Wilson (1903-1959) and Azzie Lee Wilson (née Ellis; born 1906). Melva graduated from Harbison Junior College in Irmo, South Carolina in 1948. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from JCSU in 1953, a Master of Arts in Teaching Music degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1964, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with music as a cognate area from Georgia State University in Atlanta in 1978. While attending JCSU, she met James (Jim) Costen. The two married at the JCSU campus chapel on May 24, 1953. When Jim was called to be pastor of the Church of the Master Presbyterian Church in Atlanta in 1965, Melva served as director of music.

Melva joined the faculty of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at ITC in 1973 and became the Helmar Nielsen Professor of Music and Worship in 1987, also directing the Center Chorus. She retired in April 2005 and later became Visiting Professor of Liturgical Studies at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Melva's activities in the Presbyterian Church include service as clerk of the Session of Church of the Master Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, as vice-moderator of the Presbytery of Georgia, as an Elder, and as vice-chairperson of the Advisory Council on Discipleship and Worship. In 1983, Melva directed the choir of the reuniting service of the UPCUSA and the PCUS at the 195th General Assembly in 1983. She served as chairperson of the New Presbyterian Hymnbook Committee to develop the "Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms and Spiritual Songs," which was published in 1990. She also served on the committee which developed the "Directory for Worship" in the "Book of Order." Additionally, she worked alongside her husband Jim to develop and fundraise for the creation of a theological school for the PCEA. She died on September 8, 2023.