The Right Reverend Jeffrey N. Leath — Presiding Bishop

Bishop Leath is a child of the parsonage. He was born in Huntington, New York and has lived in Norwalk, Connecticut and Inwood, New York as his father served in those places. Dr. Leath is a graduate of Yale College, Yale Divinity School (Master of Divinity) and United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio) - Doctor of Ministry. His doctoral dissertation focused on the Class Leader system in the A.M.E. Church.

Bishop Leath has served churches in New York; Rhode Island; Norristown, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. His final pastoral charge was at Mother Bethel Church (Philadelphia) where he served for fifteen years as the 51st pastor. The Rt. Reverend Jeffrey N. Leath was elected and consecrated the 128th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in July 2008 in St. Louis. In his episcopal ministry, Jeffrey Leath served in the 19th Episcopal District (South Africa) during 2008-2012, and he presently is the presiding bishop of the 13th Episcopal District (Kentucky and Tennessee).

Bishop Leath is the husband of Susan J. Leath, M.D.; the Leaths have three children: (the Rev.) Jennifer, Victoria, and Jeffrey, II.

Brother Leath is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and he is a 33rd Degree Prince Hall Mason.

The Reverend Dr. Robert A. Strode — Presiding Elder

FAMILY

• Happily married to the love of his life, Shelby for 39 years (April 19, 1974)

PASTORAL EXPERIENCE

• Thirty-nine years in the pastoral ministry:
  • Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church, Georgetown, KY
  • St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Versailles, KY
  • New Tyler A.M.E. Church, Memphis, TN
  • Warren Chapel A.M.E. Church, Chattanooga, TN
  • Presiding Elder of the Chattanooga District (acting by appointment)
  • St. John A.M.E. Church, Frankfort, KY
  • Youngs Chapel A.M. E. Church, Louisville, KY
  • Appointed by Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath to serves as Presiding Elder of the Lexington District Kentucky Annual Conference

EDUCATION

• Henry Clay High School, Lexington, KY
• Devry Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL (Electronics)
• American Bible College, Pineland, FL
• Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY (B.A. History & Psychology)
• Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, KY (Master’s of Divinity)
• Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, KY (Doctor or Ministry)

ECCLESIASTICAL LEADERSHIP

• Secretary for the Kentucky Conference Board of Examiners (1977-1987)
• Dean of the West Tennessee Conference Board of Examiners (1987-1990)
• Chairman of the East Tennessee Conference Board of Examiners of the AME Church (1990-1998)
• Dean of the Board of Examiners of the Kentucky Annual Conference, AME Church (2000-2010)
• Chair of the Kentucky Annual Conference School of the Prophets of AME Church (2004-2010)
• Dean of the Board of Examiners of the West Kentucky Annual Conference, AME Church (2010-2011)
• Delegate to The General Conference (1980-2004)
• Member of The Episcopal Committee (1996 and 2004 Vice-Chair of the Judiciary)
• Evangelical/Pastoral work for the KY Corrections Department

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS

• Kentucky Historical Society
• Kentucky Council of Churches
• Franklin Co. Ministerial Association
• American Bible Institute
• National Historical Society
• Lexington Theological Seminary Alumni Council

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

• NAACP Woodford, Co. KY, Memphis, TN, Chattanooga, TN, Frankfort, KY
• Volunteer Community School Board, Chattanooga, TN
• Kings Center Board, Frankfort, KY
• United Way Board Chattanooga, TN
• Metropolitan Council Chattanooga, TN
• Franklin County Public School Equity Commission
• Chaplain for the Kentucky State General Assembly and many other boards during his tenure as a Pastor in Kentucky and Tennessee.
• YMCA Board
• Former Chair of the Membership Committee, Downtown Frankfort Board
• Kentucky State University Regional Stewardship Advisory Committee
• Franklin County Drug Court Advisory Committee
• Appointed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky to serve on the Board of Governors

AWARDS RECEIVED

• Who’s Who in College and Universities
• Academic Excellence Award
• Pastor of the Year Award several times from the Young People Division of the Women’s Missionary Society of the A.M.E. Church
• Racial Harmony Award from the City of Chattanooga
• Recognized by Dr. Dennis Dickerson, Historiographer of the A.M.E. Church during the 1994 Institute in Philadelphia, PA
• 2002 Outstanding Board Member of Downtown Frankfort
• Kentucky Colonel
• The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Award, Frankfort, KY
• Kings Center Distinguished Board Member Award, Frankfort, KY

The Reverend Jermaine L. Wilson — Pastor

Pastor Jermaine Wilson is a native of Versailles, KY and is a graduate of Georgetown College.

He answered his call to the ministry in August of 1994 and preached his initial sermon in September of 1994 at the St. Paul AME Church in Versailles, Kentucky under the leadership of the Rev. Frederick E. Hale. He was later licensed to preach by the late Presiding Elder John Pater Ashworth. Pastor Wilson was ordained as an Itinerant Elder in the AME Church in August of 1999 by the late Bishop Hamel Hartford Brookins.

He has pastored AME churches throughout the state of Kentucky serving in both the Kentucky Annual Conference and the West Kentucky Annual Conference. The churches he has pastored includes: Wilson Chapel, Perkins Chapel, St. Matthew, St. John (Paducah), St. Paul, and Young’s Chapel. He is currently serving as the Pastor of St. John AME Church in Frankfort, KY.

Pastor Wilson is also employed at Central State Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky as a physical trainer.

He is married to Dujuana Wilson a native of Waco, Texas. They have 2 children: Jordan, age 8 and Samuel, age 5.