Bishop Teresa Snorton

Teresa Snorton became the 59th bishop elected in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church on June 30, 2010, in Mobile, Alabama. She is the first female bishop of the C.M.E. Church. She was assigned as the presiding bishop of the Eleventh Episcopal District.

Bishop Teresa Snorton is 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.

Bishop Teresa Snorton 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 is 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. She was formerly the Coordinator of the Renewal Plan for the Second 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. Bishop Snorton 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 was published by Fortress Press in fall 2009.

Bishop Snorton is married with three sons and three grandchildren.