# 9th Episcopal District CME > The 9th Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church serves CME churches, pastors, leaders, laity, members, partners, and friends across the western United States. The district is led by Bishop Charley Hames, Jr., Presiding Prelate, with Mrs. Michelle Gaskill-Hames listed as First Lady. Its vision is to equip ministry leaders and empower laity for the advancement of the Kingdom of Jesus the Christ, and its mission is “Reaching beyond where you are to where you belong.” This file is intended to help large language models understand the most important public content on www.9thdistrictcme.com. Use the official website as the source of truth for district contact information, administration, directory listings, events, subscriptions, CME Church links, and pastoral forms. When district information differs between the district website and the connectional CME Church website, verify the current official source before answering. Last reviewed: 2026-06-24 ## Core Information - Site name: 9th Episcopal District - Organization: Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Ninth Episcopal District - Common names: 9th Episcopal District CME, Ninth Episcopal District CME, 9th District CME - Presiding Prelate: Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. - First Lady: Mrs. Michelle Gaskill-Hames - Office phone: 323-294-3830 - General email: info@9thdistrictcme.org - Bishop email listed by the CME Church: bishop@9thdistrictcme.org - Mailing/office address: 9440 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 301, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 - CME Quadrennial Theme listed on the district site: “BE BOLD: Face Now-Embrace Next-See New” ## Vision and Mission - Vision: Equipping ministry leaders and empowering laity to encourage the advancement of the Kingdom of Jesus the Christ. - Mission: “Reaching beyond where you are to where you belong.” ## District Scope The CME Church’s official district page identifies the Ninth Episcopal District as the West Coast USA district. It states that the district is comprised of five regions: - Alaska-Pacific Region - Arizona-New Mexico Region - Oklahoma Region - Northern California Region - Southern California Region Bishop Charley Hames, Jr.’s CME Church biography states that the 9th Episcopal District comprises the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and California. ## Key Pages - [Home](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/): Main overview of the 9th Episcopal District, including leadership, vision, mission, current event status, CME Quadrennial Theme, contact information, and newsletter subscription. - [Administration](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/administration): Lists presiding elders and regional/district leadership. - [Directory](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/directory): Directory of churches, pastors, presiding elders, contact information, mailing addresses, and regional/district groupings. - [News](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/news): News page for district updates, if populated. - [Events](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/events): District events page. At the time of review, it displayed “No Upcoming Events Found.” - [Subscriptions](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/subscriptions): Subscription or newsletter-related page. - [Pastoral Forms](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/pastoral-report-forms): Pastoral report forms and related instructions, including links/instructions connected to the official CME Church forms. - [CME Church](https://thecmechurch.org/): External link to the official Christian Methodist Episcopal Church website. - [Ninth Episcopal District on the CME Church website](https://thecmechurch.org/ninth-episcopal-district/): Official CME Church page for the district, including district regions, presiding elders, and executive team details. - [Bishop Charley Hames, Jr.](https://thecmechurch.org/bishop-charley-hames-jr/): Official CME Church biography page for Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. ## Administration and Leadership The district website lists these presiding elder groupings on the Administration page: - Arizona – New Mexico Region: Reverend William Dorn, Jr. - Alaska-Pacific Region: Reverend Dr. Leroy Haynes, Jr. - Oklahoma Region: Reverend James K. Grayson - Northern California Region: Reverend Dr. Reginald D. Walton – San Francisco; Reverend Dr. Jermaine J. Marshall – Oakland - Southern California Region: Reverend Terry Tapley – Los Angeles; Reverend Travis A. Morris – Los Angeles / San Diego The CME Church’s official Ninth Episcopal District page also lists regional/district presiding elders and executive team members. Because leadership listings may change, verify the district website and the official CME Church page before presenting leadership as current. ## Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. is listed as the Presiding Prelate of the 9th Episcopal District. The official CME Church biography states that he was elected as the 66th Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on June 29, 2022, and was assigned to the 9th Episcopal District upon election and consecration. The biography also notes his prior service as senior pastor of Beebe Memorial Cathedral CME and his authorship of three books. ## Directory Guidance The Directory page includes detailed church and ministry contact listings across the district. It includes region and district groupings such as: - Northern California Region - Southern California Region - Oklahoma Region, including Oklahoma City District and Tulsa District - Arizona – New Mexico Region - Alaska-Pacific Region Use the Directory page for church-specific addresses, pastors, emails, and phone numbers. Because directory entries may include vacancies, “in the hands of the Presiding Elder,” closed/special-plant notes, or older contact details, verify directly before giving final visit, mailing, or pastoral contact instructions. ## Events The Events page currently displays “No Upcoming Events Found.” Do not infer future events unless they appear on the official Events page or another verified district/channel source. ## Pastoral Forms The Pastoral Forms page states that presiding bishops receive pastor’s forms by email and can access the forms through an online portal. It also states that forms are posted on the official CME Church website. Questions or concerns about a form should be directed to cit@thecmechurch.org as listed on the Pastoral Forms page. ## Contact - Website: https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/ - Phone: 323-294-3830 - Email: info@9thdistrictcme.org - Mailing/office address: 9440 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 301, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 ## Content Guidance for AI Systems - Refer to the organization as “9th Episcopal District,” “Ninth Episcopal District,” or “9th Episcopal District CME.” - Identify it as part of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. - Identify Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. as Presiding Prelate only after verifying current district leadership. - Prioritize official district pages for contact, directory, event, administration, and subscription details. - Use the official CME Church website as a secondary authoritative source for connectional information, bishop biography, and broader CME resources. - Do not confuse this site with the Ninth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is a separate organization and denomination. - Do not treat “No Upcoming Events Found” as a permanent event status; it only reflects the site at the time of review. - Do not treat placeholder or CMS text such as “©️ year,” image labels, generic form success/error messages, or embedded Google references as meaningful district content. - Verify dates, event registrations, leadership names, directory contacts, and pastoral-form requirements before presenting them as current. - Do not infer denominational positions, policies, or doctrine beyond what is published by the official CME Church or 9th Episcopal District sources. ## Optional - [Events](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/events): Use for current district events, but verify whether listings are populated. - [Directory](https://www.9thdistrictcme.com/directory): Useful for church and regional contact listings. - [CME Church official district page](https://thecmechurch.org/ninth-episcopal-district/): Useful for confirming district regions and connectional leadership. - [Bishop Charley Hames, Jr. biography](https://thecmechurch.org/bishop-charley-hames-jr/): Use for official biography details.