National Congress of Black Churches

Rt. Rev. William Graves, retired CME Bishop, Passes at 83

The Right Rev. William H. Graves, the 42nd Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, passed away Nov. 30, in Tennessee, according to a Facebook post by his brother-in-law, Ken Bentley. Graves was well known to the Southern California community as an outstanding pastors of Phillips Temple CME Church in L.A.   Under his leadership, Phillips Temple completed a total renovation and restoration of its worship facility and Graves earned a reputation as an unusual leader in stewardship motivation of local congregations. In addition, Graves was an acclaimed representative of Christian Methodism as a youth and he remained committed throughout his