Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, John M. Burgess earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in sociology from the University of Michigan, completing his studies in 1931. He continued his education at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated in 1934. After his ordination the following year, Burgess returned to Michigan and ministered to working class parishes in Michigan and Ohio during the Great Depression and WWII. From 1946 to 1956, he served as the Episcopal chaplain of Howard University. In 1951 he was named the first Black canon at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Five years later Burgess returned to Boston as archdeacon of the city’s missions and parishes and the superintendent of the Boston City Mission. After restructuring the organization to be a catalyst for change rather than a social services provider, he renamed it Episcopal City Mission. He worked to develop an urban mission strategy at the parish level and urged the involvement of city churches in the lives of the poor.

In 1962, Burgess was elected Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts. Eight years later, he became the first Black bishop to oversee white congregations upon his election as Bishop Coadjutor. After his assiduous work to empower minorities in the church and make the church more inclusive, Burgess retired in 1975.

Bishop Burgess was active in the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches and served the General Convention on numerous commissions and boards. He served as president of the Union of Black Episcopalians from 1979 to 1981.