Rev. Dr. Varlyna D. Wright is an elder in The United Methodist Church. She was ordained in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church and served as associate pastor at Calvary United Methodist Church in Easton, Pennsylvania, a cross-racial/cross-cultural appointment. Rev. Wright was the lead pastor of Community United Methodist Church in St. Croix, U.S. In 1987, she was appointed as an associate pastor at Janes United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, PA. Later, she was appointed as the lead pastor of Emmanuel United Methodist Church in North Philadelphia, PA, and then to St. Daniel’s United Methodist Church in Chester, PA. 

In 1999, Rev. Wright served in extension ministry as a Pastoral Psychotherapist at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Pennsylvania. In 2001, Rev. Wright was appointed Director of Leadership Development and transferred her membership to the Greater New Jersey United Methodist Conference. In addition, Rev. Wright served as Interim Director of Connectional Ministries, an interim pastor to local congregations, and District

Superintendent of the Capital District. She retired in 2017 and relocated to Georgia. 

Rev. Wright’s mission statement is Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to

proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those

who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”