C. Anthony Muse
Senior Pastor
Bishop C. Anthony Muse is the senior pastor of the Ark of Safety Christian Church of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a vibrant, growing church with a rich 134-year history connected to our birth out of the former Gibbons United Methodist Church of Brandywine, Maryland.
Bishop Muse has been the servant pastor with this congregation for 34 years. In 2005, Muse was elected among his peers to the office of Presiding Bishop of the Ark United Christian Community Churches International, where he serves some 242 congregations in the United States and 110 congregations spread throughout Nigeria plus 60 churches in Ghana and 72 congregations in Cameroon, London, Jamaica and South Africa. Prior to this, Muse served as pastor of three United Methodist congregations in the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church.
As a young boy who never knew his biological father and who was separated as a pre-teen from his biological mother and family, Muse was left virtually alone and on his own. Young Anthony found himself shuffled between 11 foster homes and, at times, literally living on the streets of Baltimore City. He was expelled from three public school systems. However, by the grace of God, at the age of 13, he was adopted and taken into a wonderful family by the late Rev. Dr. George A. Stansbury, a United Methodist pastor who also served as the neighborhood pastor where Anthony grew up. His new father taught him what it meant to succeed, to be a Christian, and to love the Lord.
Muse went on to earn three degrees, a bachelor of history from Morgan State University, a master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary, and a doctor of ministry degree from Howard University.
Muse’s dad, Pastor Stansbury, taught him the importance of giving back and serving God outside of the church. Thus, Muse has served his community and state by holding elective office in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was also elected to three terms as the senator from District 26 in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Bishop Muse is married to Pat Lawson Muse, an elder in the church who for the past 37 years has worked as a news anchor for NBC4-TV in Washington, DC.
Pat Lawson Muse
First Lady
Pat Lawson Muse is an ordained elder and anointed speaker, preacher, and teacher of the gospel.
She’s a hands-on first lady of the Ark of Safety and she’s the Ark’s human anchor.
She is Director of the Women’s Ministry, overseeing women’s outreach, fellowship, activities, and retreats. A professional broadcast journalist, she also oversees and approves written communications, and she serves as an advisor to the Ark’s media ministry, administrative staff, and worship committee.
Muse seeks to encourage women, young and mature, to be committed to finding their special place in the body of Christ, to work diligently in their God-ordained place in the ministry, and to let their individual and unique lights shine in the church and in the world. She established a monthly recognition of “Young Seniors” who she calls the great treasures of the congregation. Lady Muse believes it’s important for every member to be honored for their accomplishments, even recognized on their birthdays. She provides counseling to the women of the Ark who need encouragement and support as they juggle the challenges of work, family, and careers, which she herself has done for decades. Lady Muse is a strong believer that we must be helpers, one to another, and must work to build one another up, comforting, edifying, and encouraging one another in the faith. She is a strong believer in the family as a foundation,’ whether it’s one’s biological or spiritual family; and she’s a passionate believer in the importance of families caring for one another, especially as the aging process takes place.
Lady Muse is a veteran journalist and Emmy-award-winning news anchor. She currently co-anchors News4 at 4 pm’ with Leon Harris, seen weekdays on NBC4 TV in Washington, DC and she is the host of ‘News4 Your Sunday,’ seen Sundays at 5:30 a.m. and for decades has been the face of NBC4’s annual ‘Food 4 Families’ campaign.
She’s a magna cum laude graduate of Howard University where she studied broadcast management.