Rev. Valencia Edner (Pastor Vee) is a native of Detroit, Michigan, a Daughter of both the Christian Methodist Episcopal and Baptist parsonages,
Rev. Edner holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Theatre from Wayne State University, a Master of Science in English from Southern Connecticut State University, and a Master of Arts in Theology from Houston Graduate School of Theology, and she is expected to graduate in May 2023 with the Doctor of Ministry degree from WesleyTheological Seminary, in Washington D.C.. Rev. Edner is co-author of a Pentecost Sermon Series text with Dr V.C. Williams entitled Little Fire Everywhere:Pandemic, Protest, Politics, and Power, currently available on Amazon.com and at Veeencouraged.com.
Her organization affiliations include Top Ladies of Distinction, where she serves as National Chaplain, the NAACP, and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Her Greek affiliation is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,Inc.
Rev Edner is a songwriter, arranger, musician, vocalist, and former actress, with a long history in the arts.. She was elected in 2018 and 2022 by the College of Bishops of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church as the National Coordinator of Connectional Music and Arts Ministry. She also continues to serve as Coordinator of Conference Music and Arts for the Eighth Episcopal District of the CME Church. She is a staff writer for The Christian Index, and Editor of the Bright Star, an African American quarterly insert in the Lufkin Daily News.
Rev. Edner is an ordained elder in full connection in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. She served the East Texas community from 2005-14 pastoring two charges, and in 2014, Rev. Edner was appointed by Senior Bishop Lawrence L Reddick III to the historical Miles Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas where she was blessed to serve Miles and the Fifth Ward Community. She is also the founder and lead encourager of Veeencouraged Ministries, a faith based ministry of encouragement, and she hosts a Facebook Live weekly broadcast entitled Thriving Tuesdays Moments of Encouragement.
In January 2022, she was appointed by Dr. Samuel Gilbert II, President, to serve as Vice President of Women in Ministry and Ecumenical Affairs in the Houston Metropolitan Baptist Ministers Alliance, and in March 2022, Rev. Edner became the first woman to preach for the Alliance in its history. On August 6, 2022 she was appointed by Senior Bishop Lawrence L Reddick III to the historic Carter Metropolitan CME Church in Fort Worth Texas. Rev. Edner is committed to diffusing the darkness of this world with the light of encouragement while serving this present age her calling to fulfill!