The Bishop

On a snowy farm in late March 1901 in rugged North Dakota, the eighth child was born to poor immigrant parents Gottlieb and Elisabeth Leiske. Poverty, illness, and hard work marked Albert’s growing up years and helped to develop stern qualities in his character, qualities that future challenges would demand. 


In a dream that came to him while pastoring the Seventh-day Adventist church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Albert saw himself leading ministers of other denominations in open discussions on television. The dream made such an impact on him that he awoke at two o’clock the morning of December 1, 1952, and wrote out the charter for what became, by the end of the month, the American Religious Town Hall Meeting, Inc. 


This is the story of A. A. Leiske and the unique telecast The American Religious Town Hall Meeting.