The Historic Appointment of Presiding Elder Wilma Walden. Rev. Wilma Haynes Walden was appointed Presiding Elder of the Southeast District, East Tennessee Region of the 1st Episcopal District. This appointment makes Rev. Walden the first female to hold such a position in the history of the CME Church in the State of Tennessee, and in the 50-year history of the Southeast District.
Senior Bishop William H. Graves, Sr., appointed Rev. Walden to this historic appointment during the Tennessee Fall Reporting Meeting on October 20, 2007, at historic Mother Liberty CME Church, Jackson, TN.
She received her early education in her hometown of Henry, TN, and is a graduate of Central High School in Paris, TN. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethel College, McKenzie, TN. Further, she graduated from the Citizens Academy of the Knoxville Police Department, the Knoxville Police Chaplain Corps, the Community Action Committee, and the Knoxville Leadership class. Moreover, she has participated in many training institutions, workshops and courses of the CME Church.
She has three children: Steven (Sheila) Walden, Charissa (Al) Cobb, and Chadwick Walden; eight grandchildren, and a number of “adopted” children and grandchildren.
Rev. Walden accepted her call to preach in 1969 in Asheboro, NC. She began her pastorate in May 1976 when Bishop John Madison Exum appointed her as supply pastor to Hope Hill CME Church in Milan, TN. At the Annual Conference in August of that same year, she was appointed the Pastor of Hope Hill and Hullum Temple (Rutherford, TN) at the recommendation of the late Presiding Elder R.E. Honeysuckle, then Presiding Elder of the Brownsville/ Dyersburg District. In 1978, Rev. Walden was appointed to the Medina Circuit. Her pastoral journey led her to St. James in Dresden, TN, in 1980. She returned to her hometown of Henry in 1995 to pastor Coles Chapel. From there, in 1998, she moved to the extreme eastern part of Southeast District to lead her current charge, Mattie E. Coleman CME Church, Knoxville, where she also organized a Mission at the Isabella Towers Apartment Complex.
She has served the Church in many capacities; most notable as a delegate to General Conferences and as Chairperson of the Annual Conference’s Committee on Ministry for the East Tennessee Region. Presiding Elder Walden is a much sought after speaker, training facilitator, and worship and praise team leader – she is a gifted gospel singer.
Presiding Elder Walden sets a precedent for other firsts: the first female CME preacher to be committed in Full Connection in Tennessee; the first female to serve as chairperson of the East Tennessee Region’s Annual Conference’s Committee on Ministry; the first Black female to be elected to the Board of Alderman in Milan (Gibson County); and the first Black female to be appointed secretary to the United Way Board (Knoxville).
She also serves the City of Knoxville as Chaplain with the Police Department, as well as being employed with the Public Schools system. Moreover, she has served her country in the United States Army, stationed at West Point, NY.
Her commitment to the work of the Kingdom and strong work ethic are hallmarks of her life. She exudes a great love for God, children, people and the Church. Members of the Southeast District are blessed that she is their District Shepherd.