"A Mightly Long Way"

East Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a church of unified believers that love together, pray together and stay together. We are striving to build upon Christ foundation.

East Chapel is 136 years old and is affliciated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. We are in the Eighth Episcopal District in the Central Texas Region. Our Presiding Elder is D. R. Medlock. Bishop Ronald Cunningham is our Presiding Prelate.

CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH CONNECTIONAL EMBLEM

The official logo or symbol of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was originally authorized by Bishop B. Julian Smith for the Centennial General Conference held in Memphis, 1970. It was officially adopted by the General Conference in 1974 as the denomination's connectional marker.

Designed by Will E. Chambers, the logo shows the place of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the rapidly changing urbanized society and its relation to God's people.

The logo is composed of:

The World Globe which represents the vineyard of God;

The Skyline which stands for the Church's concern for human and urban problems and people's alienation from God and one another;

The Weather Vane which symbolizes the need of the Church to be flexible in terms of meeting the contemporary needs of people; and

The Cross which denotes, by its vertical bar, the need for a proper relationship between people and God, and by its horizontal bar, the need for proper relationships between people. The total Cross is a sign of the final-assured victory through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Bishop Cunningham,Presiding Prelate

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Governmental Structure

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Our bishops represent the executive branch of our government structure, the General Conference represents the legislative branch, and the Judicial Council represents the judicial branch.

I. Legislative - General Conference

II. Executive - Episcopacy

III. Judicial - Judicial Council

Judicial Council

The Judicial Council of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is like a third branch of government in which bishops represent the executive branch, the General Conference represents the legislative branch and the Judicial Council represents the judicial branch.

The nine member Council, which is elected by the General Conference, guarantees "due process" for members and clergy of the Church and is the final interpreter of The Book of Discipline. Members, lay or clergy, may petition the Council for declaratory judgment (interpretation) for paragraphs of The Discipline.

The council was voted into existence by the 1946 General Conference and became operative in 1950. Prior to 1946, the bishops were the final interpreters of The Book of Discipline.