During the 89th Session of the Ohio Central Indiana Region Annual Conference,

Rev. Lesha M. Agnew was appointed by Bishop Denise Anders Modest as Presiding Elder of the Cincinnati-Dayton-Indianapolis District. She was born in Baldwyn, MS to William A. Jeans and the late Rev. Annie Whitmore, both of whom are graduates of Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs, MS, a CME school. She is a 1990 honors graduate of Baldwyn High School in Baldwyn, MS. She attended Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, MS and is a 1996 graduate of Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS with a B.S. in Paralegal Studies.

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She received her Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN on May 18, 2013. She is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree at Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA.
Rev. Agnew has served as the pastor of the following CME Churches: Bethlehem (Etta, MS), Hamilton Chapel (Waterford, MS), and Chandlers Temple (Verona, MS).

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She has also served in the following capacities in the 4th Episcopal District: Associate Dean of the Leadership Training School, Young Adult Ministry Director, member of the Program Committee of the Empowering Us to Help Us Initiative, secretary of the Northeast Mississippi Conference Committee on Ministerial Examination, and Advisor to Episcopal District Board of Christian Education. She also serves on the staff of the CME Church’s General Department of Christian Education.

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Rev. Agnew previously served as the Dean and Associate Dean of the Mississippi Leadership Training School, Young Adult Director of the Aberdeen-Tupelo District, President of the Northeast Mississippi Region Young Adult Ministry, Assistant Director of Christian Education for the Northeast Mississippi Region and as the Director of Christian Education for the Aberdeen-Tupelo District and Holly Springs -Oxford District. As the 4th Episcopal District Director of Young Adult Ministry, Rev. Agnew provided leadership to institute the first 4th Episcopal District Young Adult Retreat. During the 2015 CME Pastors’ Conference, Rev. Agnew was recognized as the 4th Episcopal District 2015 Exemplary CME Clergy Woman for Modeling and Mentoring.

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She is a member of the Lee Country Branch of the NAACP, the Lee County Civitan Club, the National Council of Negro Women, the American Association of University Women, Verona Elementary School Leadership Team and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She currently resides with her son, Adrian, a sophomore at Itawamba Community College.

Rev. Agnew is the owner of LA Tax Solutions and NALA2 Greek & More, LLC in Saltillo, MS and employed as a Research Administrator III in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS.

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