BIO

Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett began her Christian Education and Formation ministry journey at 17, serving as the children’s ministry director. She answered her call to ministry in 1998 and received her ordination in 2002. Her service within the CME church spans many areas, including pastoral ministry in three congregations. Her leadership in Christian Education and Formation includes positions as the local, district, regional, and episcopal district director of Christian Education and Formation. 

She graduated from Brite Divinity School on the campus of Texas Christian University, where she received a Master of Arts in Christian Service with a concentration in Black Church Studies and Religious Education in 2010. She received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from Texas Woman’s University in 2018. She is currently matriculating at Brite Divinity School, pursuing her Doctor of Ministry with a concentration in spirituality, justice, and leadership. She has served as Presiding Elder of the Northwest District, Dallas-Fort Worth/Northwest Texas Region of the Eighth Episcopal District since 2019.

Dr. Linda Barnett graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and has been an occupational therapist since 1996 with a pediatric specialization in early intervention. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Occupational Therapy at Texas Woman’s University Institute of Health Sciences, Dallas, Texas. Dr. Barnett’s commitment to her community and passion for serving humankind is evident through her profession as a registered occupational therapist, ordained minister, and active member of the Beta Mu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, where she serves on the chapter’s spiritual team. 

She is an active advisory board member of the Ryan Family YMCA, where she has been active since 1998, a member of the NAACP, a state officer in the Texas Occupational Therapy Association, a national committee member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, a member of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, and a sponsor of Fly Girlz Academy, Inc. She is a published author of A COVID-19 Memoir: Using the

Co-Occupation of Crafting and Spirituality to Promote Health and Wellness in the United States, in the Journal of Religion and Health. Her devotional “Renewed Strength for Your Journey: Walking in God’s Promises” will be available in 2024. One of her scriptures of encouragement is, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31, KJV