Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 9-16-22

Religious
Holsey Temple CME Church Welcomes New Pastor
Holsey Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church welcomes their newly ap- pointed Pastor. Rev Dr. Lawrence Jefferson- Snorton was appointed by the 64th Presiding Prelate, Bishop Dr. Clarence K. Heath in July 2022 in Jack- sonville, Florida. Dr. Lawrence Jefferson- Snorton returns to the church where his father, the late Presiding Elder Rev W. B. Jefferson, served as Pastor in the late 1960s.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton received his education in the Manatee County School System. He matricu- lated at Miles College in Fairfield, AL and St. Leo University, St. Leo, Florida, where he attained a bache- lor’s degree in Elementary Education. He has a mas- ter’s degree in Divinity from Phillips School of Theology at the ITC, a seminary of the CME Church in Atlanta, GA, and a Doctorate Degree from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton responded to the call of ministry in 1975 under the leadership of the late Bishop Chester Arthur Kirkendoll. His first pas- toral appointments were Jefferson Temple (Palmetto, FL) and Mt. Olive CME Churches (Hull, FL) in 1976 at age 16. Since then, he has pastored within the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisi- ana, and Georgia. This year he celebrated 46 years in pastoral ministry within the CME Church.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton serves the CME Church on various levels. Prior to his assignment as Pastor at Holsey Temple CME Church in Tampa, Florida, he served as Presiding Elder of the Birmingham District for the last four years and pastored Moody Temple and St. Paul CME Churches, in Fair- field/Birmingham, Ala- bama. He was a clergy
REV. DR. LAWRENCE and BISHOP TERESA JEFFERSON-SNORTON
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton is an educator and has taught elementary education for twelve years.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton believes as John Wes- ley did, “that the world is his parish.” He leads and serves with a spirit of excel- lence and a heart of grati- tude.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton is the loving spouse and partner in life and ministry to Bishop Teresa Jeffer- son-Snorton, the first fe- male Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. They share a blended family of seven chil- dren and three grandchil-
dren.
Holsey Temple will be
hosting welcoming pro- grams on Saturday, Septem- ber 17, 2022, at 11 a. m., with services led by Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. James Morris and Carter Taber- nacle CME Church, Or- lando, Florida, and Sunday, September 18, 2022, at 3 p. m. with services led by Rev. Michael Hopkins and Bethany CME Church, Clearwater, Florida. Holsey Temple CME Church invites the public to the services welcoming Dr. Lawrence and Bishop Teresa Jef- ferson-Snorton to the Tampa Bay Community.
delegate to the 39th Quad- rennial Session and the 40th Convening General Confer- ence of the denomination earlier this year. He has served as Presiding Elder in both Florida and Alabama, chaired Ministerial Commit- tee in Central Georgia Re- gion, and Director of Scouting in Louisiana Re- gion for years.
Dr. Jefferson-Snor- ton’s volunteer work in- cludes organizing a little league football team in Phenix City, Alabama, coaching little league bas- ketball teams, assisting in organizing COVID-19 test- ing stations, feeding centers, voting registration drives and disaster relief collection centers within his district.
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