Mrs. Gelenia A. Frencher
(Mid-West Episcopal DistrictMissionary Supervisor)

 

 

 

AA native of Knoxville, TN, Camille is the fourth of seven children born to Rev. and Mrs. John R. Cullom, Sr. Her late father was an A.M.E. Zion Church minister for fifty years and her mother is a dedicated church worker. A graduate of Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Camille attended Union College in Barbourville, KY, Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN, Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, AL and holds the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies from Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC.

She gave her life to Christ on January 1, 1977 and became even more faithful in her service to Christ and His Church. In 1979, she was married to the Rev. Darryl B. Starnes, who is presently the Presiding Bishop of the Mid-West Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. They are the proud parents of three children: Alicia Courtney (Rodney), Millicent, and Darryl, Jr. and the grandparents of seven: Mya, Malachi, Kaiyon, Benjamin, Caleb, Jayelle, and Chloe.

Camille became an exhorter in 1992, at the Spottswood AME Zion Church in New Britain, CT, where her husband was the pastor. She gave herself to Women’s Ministry and Children’s Ministry. In 1998, she answered the call to preach and became a local preacher at the East Stonewall A.M.E. Zion Church in Charlotte, NC. Her other ministries included serving on Stewardess Board #1, as Coordinator of the Women’s Fellowship, as Assistant Director of Evangelism for the local church, and as a member of the Young Adult Missionary Society.

In 2005, she became a charter member of the newly established Wesley AME Zion Church in Harrisburg, NC, where her husband was the organizing pastor. At Wesley, she was a vital part of the ministerial staff, head of the Hospitality Ministry, Editor of the Church Newsletter, a Class Leader, Children’s Sunday School Teacher and Bible Study Teacher. She also worked in the Department of Church School Literature of the AME Zion Church for eleven years under Dr. Mary Love.

At the 2008 General Conference in Atlanta, GA, she became the Missionary Supervisor of the Southwestern Delta Episcopal District, which comprises Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Mississippi, Texas, and West Tennessee-Mississippi Conferences. She gave stellar leadership to the Missionary thrust of the Episcopal District and provided great support to the ministers’ spouses. At the 2012 General Conference in Charlotte, NC, she became the Missionary Supervisor of the Mid-West Episcopal District, which encompasses the Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and Trinidad-Tobago Conferences. In September of 2014, she and her two daughters founded Naomi’s House of Hope, Inc., a 5019(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides holistic ministry to women who are victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. At the 2016 General Conference in Greensboro, NC, she and her husband were reappointed to the Mid-West Episcopal District.