The Reverend Mildred Sanders Watson is a respected woman in the Marion, South Carolina area.  She currently serves as the Marion District Women in Ministry Coordinator and is the pastor of Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal in North Myrle Beach, South Carolina. Reverend Watson is the daughter of the late Reverend Tillman Sanders and Sister Lena Sanders. She is a graduate of the former Terrell’s Bay High School in Centenary, South Carolina, and Voorhees College (now University) in Demark, South Carolina. She is the mother of two sons and one daughter and the grandmother of five.

 

Reverend Watson was ordained as an Iterate Elder by The Right Reverend John Hurst Adams. She served the St John AME Church congregation in the Marion District, has been the Secretary for the Northeast Conference and continues to hold her membership at Greater Singletary AME Church in the Bayboro Community of Marion County. Reverend Watson has served the Church as a pastor with distinction for more than twenty-five years.

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The Honorable Reverend Mildred Sanders Watson also is a retired municipal Judge for Sellers, South Carolina in Marion County, South Carolina. During her tenure she was a trailblazer as the first woman and African American to serve in this position. Her work as a Municipal judge was informed by her faith in God and her work as a case manager for the Department of Social Services in Marion County.

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Reverend Watson has also distinguished herself as an advocate for children in the Marion County area. She does so in her ministry setting and, in the community, at large, providing school supplies, books, and advice for parents and children. She is known for her kindness and generosity as a woman of God who bears fruit that is lasting. Drawing on her experiences with the law, Reverend Watson guides young people in the right direction.

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Reverend Watson was featured in the State and the Sun News newspapers in an article entitled, “God told her to pray for someone who would not make it. Hours later she found out why” (August 25, 2016).  The article highlighted Reverend Watson’s connection with God and how she was instructed to pray for someone she didn’t know but was told would not wake up the next morning.  Within twenty-four hours, her church was hit by a truck in a collision that took one life.  She credits her obedience to God in helping her lead the congregation to repair the considerable damage to the church and provide Christian comfort to the family of the young man that died in the accident.