Union A.M.E. Church welcomes new pastor

WARWICK-Union African Methodist Episcopal Church in Warwick has its first woman pastor in the congregation's 98 year history. Presiding Bishop Zedekiah Lazett Grady has appointed Rev. Mashona Davis, to the pastoral charge of Union A.M.E. Church. The church is under the jurisdiction of New York Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Davis is a graduate of Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y., where she earned many honors. She was named "Who's Who" in 1998 and received awards and scholarships for literary research and conference presentations at the University of Texas, Austin. Rev. Davis continued her seminary education and holds a Masters of Divinity Degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She has also received clinical training from a clinical pastoral education program at Mount Sinai Hospital, under New York Presbyterian Hospital. Rev. Davis praises God for the journey she had to take to get through school. "If I wanted an education, I had to work for it," she said. Rev. Davis often held two and three jobs while going to school. This lead her to 8 years as an Army Reservist, where she served as a Finance Officer and later commission Chaplain Candidate. In the secular world, Rev. Davis worked with the severely disabled in Orange County and New Jersey, where she held positions from direct care, behavior specialist to Program Director. Rev. Davis has special love for her Ball Road and Big Island friends residing in Warwick. Rev. Davis also served as a consultant to both for profit and nonprofit organizations in community development. Rev. Davis accepted the call to use her life for God's service at 17 years of age. She grew up in Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn under the leadership of Senior Pastors Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor and Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson respectively. Although Pastor Simpson was and still remains supportive of her call to ministry, Rev. Davis joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church to work with her father, Rev. Joseph H. Walston, to help build a new church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Rev. Davis was licenced and ordained Deacon while serving Fellowship Temple A.M.E. Church. After marrying Marc Davis, a New York Police Department Detective in the Robbery Homicide unit, Rev. Davis and her husband moved to Warwick, where they purchased their first home. Due to the distance, Rev. Davis joined the ministerial staff at Union, where she made history as the congregation's first ordained woman on staff. Rev. Davis says she is blessed to have served at Union under the leadership of Rev. Ronald L. Ivey. Rev. Davis remained at Union until 2002 when she answered the call to serve at the Montrose Veterans Administration Home as a Protestant Chaplain. Rev. Davis returned this June to Union African Methodist Episcopal Church as the first woman pastor in the congregation's 98 year history. Rev. Davis said her prayer is that God will move mightily during her time at Union to help persons live their purpose driven life. She also prays that her work at Union will be of good Christian service to Orange County and God continues to order the steps of her and her husband.