The Beginning of a New Era of

Leadership in the CME Church

Bishop James B. Walker

Bishop James B. Walker is a third generation CME pastor; grandson of the late Rev. O. W. and Ruth Walker (retired CME pastor, 9th Episcopal District); son of the late Rev. John P. and Emma Walker (retired CME pastor, 9th Episcopal District); nephew of the late J. B. Walker (retired CME Pastor, 1st Episcopal District); two brothers are active CME pastors. Bishop Walker was born in Boley, Oklahoma, on March 17, 1956. He is married to Delois Woody-Walker. They have two daughters and one grandson.

Extensive Pastoral Experience

Phillips Metropolitan CME Church,

Hartford, Ct. (23 years)

Served as Interim Presiding Elder,

New York-New England District

Trinity CME Church, Toccoa, Georgia (3 years)

Sykes Memorial CME Church,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (7 years)

Delegate to the General Conference

each Session since 1974

Member the General Connectional Board

Member, New York Washington Region,

Joint Board of Finance

Former President of the Greater Hartford

Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance

Diverse Work Experience

Interim Dean, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

Adjunct Professor, BMP Program,

Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

Founder & Executive Director,

North Star Center for Human

Development, Inc.

Human Services Advocate, State of Connecticut

Office for Protection and Advocacy

Group Manager, Operator Services, Southwestern Bell

Telephone Company

Manager, Central Administrative Group,

Southwestern Bell Telephone Company

Community Involvement

Co-Chair, Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care

Board Member, Habitat for Humanity

Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance

Past Community Involvement

Commissioner, City of Hartford Planning

and Zoning Board

Elected Hartford Democratic Town Committee

(7th District)

Trustee, Hartford Seminary

Community Advisory Board, St. Francis Hospital

Bishop Sylvester Williams

Bishop Sylvester Williams is the last of three children born to Edward and Georgiana Williams. Growing up in a small rural town in Hale County, Alabama, Rev. Dr. Williams was surrounded by a loving family who taught him values such as respect and caring for each other, honoring your word, being responsible, but more importantly to love the Lord. As Rev. Williams watched his family, particularly his mother and father, display these values, he became more keenly aware of his calling and how God partnered with them to shape him for ministry.

Rev. Williams’ parents not only taught him social and spiritual values, they instilled educational values as well. Having received his early education in the Hale County School System, he continued his education by attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL where he earned a B.S. degree in Health Care Management. Between his studies at UA, he earned an A.A. degree in Mortuary Science from Jefferson State Junior College in Birmingham, AL. Later, having accepted the call to ministry, he furthered his education at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA, where he received the Master of Divinity degree. Desiring to be the best he can be, he went on to obtain the Doctorate of Ministry Degree from ITC.

After accepting the call to ministry in 1981, Rev. Williams has served the Church and community in many capacities which included pastoral leadership at Owens Chapel, New Church, Emory Chapel, and Franconia CME Church from 1981-1988 in Alabama; Mt. Olive CME Church in Orlando, FL in 1988, and Southside CME Church in Birmingham, AL where he served as pastor from 1989-2002.

Rev. Williams has served as the chaplain of Brookwood Hospice in Birmingham. He was a member of the Joint Board of Finance for the Birmingham Region, a member of the Board of Trustees at Miles College, and served as chairman, Board of Directors, for the Commission on Religion in Appalachia.

Along with 21 other ministers selected by the Interdenominational Theological Center, Rev. Williams recently attended a dynamic 15-day Holy Land Pilgrimage for Pastoral Renewal where the Word of God truly came to life. Before being elected a CME bishop, Rev. Williams served as chairman of the Joint Board of Finance for the Southeast Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin Region, Budget director for the 3rd Episcopal District, and for the past six years, has been the proud pastor of Carter Temple CME Church in Chicago.

Bishop Sylvester Williams is married to the former Carmen Elaine Leonard. They have three children: Samantha, Sylvia, and Sylvester II.

Bishop Teresa Snorton

Prior to her election as a CME Bishop, Rev. Dr. Teresa Snorton served as the Executive Director of the National Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. (ACPE), (www.acpe.edu). She is the former Executive Director of the Emory Center for Pastoral Services in Atlanta, Georgia and former Director of Pastoral Services at Crawford Long Hospital. She has been adjunct instructor in Pastoral Care at Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

She is a fourth generation, life-long CME. Her great-grandfather, father and uncle were all CME pastors and her grandmother was an active missionary. Her two sisters are also CME ministers. As an ordained minister in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, she was a former pastor in Kentucky. Prior to moving to Atlanta, in addition to being a pastor, she was a Psychiatric Staff Chaplain in Louisville, on the adjunct faculty of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky, and on the faculties of the Patient Counseling Program at the Medical College of Virginia and the School of Theology of Virginia Union University in Richmond.

Bishop Snorton has a B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology in Pastoral Care from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Patient Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Bishop Snorton was active on several boards and committees of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, including the Commission on the Concerns of Women in Ministry and immediate past President of the Chaplains Commission. She has been a delegate to six CME General Conferences, is a former National Youth Conference officer, and a member of several committees in her region/annual conference, including the Joint Board of Finance, the Committee on Ministry, the Leadership Training School faculty. Prior to her election, she served as the coordinator of the Renewal Plan for the 2nd Episcopal District.

Bishop Snorton is a member of the International Congress of Pastoral Care and Counseling, a member of the Society for Pastoral Theology, and Business Manager of the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling. She has been a member of several boards and advisory committees related to interfaith dialogue, religion and health, and pastoral education. She is the 2001 recipient of the Wayne Oates Pastoral Care Award from the Long Run Baptist Association in Louisville, Kentucky, a recipient of the B. Julian Smith Award from the Board of the Christian Education in the CME Church and a recipient of the Legacy Award of the CME Women’s Missionary Council.

She is frequently a guest preacher at churches of all denominations and lecturer and speaker for hospitals, seminaries, conferences, leadership schools and retreats on religion and health, multicultural, ethical and gender issues, pastoral care and spiritual development. She is the author of several articles, chapters and book reviews on topics related to pastoral care and ministry.

A co-edited work with Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner, Women Out of Order: Risking Change and Creating Care in a Multi-Cultural World is scheduled to be published by Fortress Press in fall 2009.

Rev. Snorton is married to Charles Short. They have three sons and three grandchildren.

The Vision of Bishop W.E. Lockett

“I see a Church that is a movement of committed servants who love people enough to work for them in the world to become all that God has ordained them to be.

They build a place on earth to build a place in eternity.”

Our great Zion has from its inception been relevant and relational. The harvest is great...great is our ability to bring the lost to Jesus the Risen Savior. Rev. W.E. Lockett Metropolitan CME Church was totally destroyed by fire on Christmas Day, 2005.

With the visionary leadership of Rev. W.E. Lockett, the building of the church has been reconstructed in a modern edifice with state of the art facilities for the members, the community, and the city.

The church family and the mission of the church have not wavered, yet grown stronger as the congregation has experienced continued growth, service, outreach, and a spiritual journey that has been unparalleled.

Bishop Godwin Umoette has served as chairman of the political science department at the University of Uyo in Nigeria. He will serve as bishop of the 10th Episcopal District, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Lagos and Nigeria.

Note: Information found in this article was captured from the bishop's respective Web sites.