Bishop Denise Anders-Modest was elected the 65th Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church during the 40th General Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. On June 28, 2022, Anders-Modest made history by becoming the second female bishop in the 152-year life of this religious denomination.

Following her 2022 election, Bishop Anders-Modest was assigned as Presiding Prelate of the Second Episcopal District of the CME Church – comprising the states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Central Indiana. Appointed by the College of Bishops, Anders-Modest also serves as the Chair of the General Department of Christian Education and Formation.

A lifelong member of the CME Church, Anders-Modest is the daughter of Otha and Maxine Anders. She was raised in Ruston, Louisiana, graduated from Ruston High School and received her Bachelor of Science in Management and Marketing from Grambling State University in 1983. She was blessed to be married for 20+ years to her high school sweetheart, the late Rev. Mitchell G. Modest.

Bishop Anders-Modest’ ministerial journey officially began in 1990 when she was licensed to preach at Broomfield CME Church in Richmond, Virginia. She was ordained deacon in 1991 in the New York / Washington / Virginia Region; ordained elder in 1996 in Louisiana and, in 1998, received her MDiv from Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) of Atlanta, Georgia.

While attending the ITC and serving at College Park CME Church in College Park, Georgia, Bishop Anders-Modest founded “Sitting on the Porch” Ministries and provided a safe place for women to come together, share and discuss concerns and work together to develop solutions.

She has over 25 years of pastoral ministry in both rural and inner-city churches; beginning at Mt. Sinai-Williams Temple CME Church in Colliston, LA; Anderson Chapel CME Church in Holly Springs, MS; and the historic Williams Memorial CME Temple in Shreveport, Louisiana. She also travelled on a pilgrimage tour of the Holy Land and to Ethiopia, Africa.

Prior to becoming Bishop, Anders-Modest faithfully served in a plethora of roles in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. These roles included director of Christian Education & Formation for 4th Episcopal District, dean of Leadership Training School in Louisiana, chair of the Committee on Ministerial Examination and dean of Elias-Cottrell-Johnson-Hoyt Institute of NE Mississippi Region; treasurer of the Pastors / Ministers’ Group and director of the Young Adult Ministry for the Monroe District. Bishop Anders-Modest has also been an active member of Christian Youth and Young Adult Conference committee since 1998, served as the CME connectional Coordinator of the Commission on the Concerns of Women in the Ministry for 12 years and a delegate to the World Methodist Council.

At the time of her election to the episcopacy, Bishop Anders-Modest served as the pastor of Trinity CME Church – Memphis, a member of the Committee on Ministerial Examination, the Bishop’s assistant to the Presiding Elder and the chair of the Joint Board of Finance for the NW District of the West Tennessee Region of the First Episcopal District.