The Reverend Walter C. Barton, Jr. is the Senior Pastor of Harlem’s historic Cathedral of Methodism the St. Mark’s United Methodist Church organized in 1871 in New York City. The Church prepared for its move Uptown in 1924 where the congregation built its present magnificent sanctuary in 1924 located at West 137th Street at St. Nicholas and Edgecombe Avenues.

Today, under the leadership of Rev. Barton St. Mark’s continues to remain faithful to the social gospel of Jesus Christ with inspired preaching, Discipleship Bible study, stewardship, community outreach programs and opportunities for spiritual growth and development. He is a firm believer in the power of prayer, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. The basic purpose of St. Mark’s is to be a loving caring church. *Our mission is to become better Christians and to grow in life by reaching out and receiving people as they are, by inviting them in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, and by sending them into their own communities as faithful disciples. We will minister by sharing the love of Christ with all persons, and focus our resources and energies particularly on social inequalities caused by racial and sexual injustice, poverty, and economic disadvantage.
Rev. Barton has been instrumental in opening the doors of the cathedral to all who want to experience the love and healing power of Christ. He supports the Balm in Gilead, Inc. which is devoted to mobilizing Black Churches to become community centers for HIV/AIDS education, compassion and healing through prayer advocacy and service. In December of 1999 St. Mark’s hosted World AIDS Day, The Black Church Speaks! with the Balm in Gilead, Inc., Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO. The following year December 1, 2000,World AIDS Day, The Balm In Gilead along with St. Mark’s hosted from "Harlem to Soweto ...the Black Church Speaks!"

This program was beamed by Satellite to the continent of Africa simulcasting to St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Soweto, South Africa from St. Mark’s in the village of Harlem. Rev. Barton agrees with Pernessa Seele: "In this urgent moment in Black History...every pulpit throughout the Black Diaspora , must speak out against the stigma of AIDS, must educate all congregations about AIDS and must support all people living with and affected by HIV."
Ordained a Deacon in 1973. Rev. Barton became the first African American ordained as an Elder in the Western New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1976. He served both black and cross-racial appointments in the Western New York Conference for twenty-one years on the Rochester, Buffalo, and Batavia Districts. While in Buffalo, New York he was active in the Buffalo Council of Churches. He hosted "Let’s Celebrate" on WBEN Radio and "Church Invitation" on WGRZ ~ NBC Television.
In 1995, he was transferred to the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Barton came to St. Mark’s: Manhattan from St. Albans: Grace United Methodist Church in Queens, where he was significantly involved in a $3.5 million capital building campaign for the new Grace Church Sanctuary.

He is a graduate of Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts with a BS in Psychology. He holds his Master of Divinity Degree from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, New York.

Active on boards and agencies for both Church and Community, Rev. Barton retired from the Board of Directors of ONE ~Organization for a New Equality in Boston Massachusetts where he served with distinction from 1996-2003. **ONE is an organization that believes when people are denied economic opportunities, we all pay for it. Economic productivity declines. Tensions escalate. Crime and welfare costs increase. Hope diminishes. By creating a new consensus that crosses color, class, generation and gender lines, the Organization for a New Equality (O*N*E) is removing the roadblocks that have traditionally prevented certain groups of people from reaching their full potential. He is a current Board Member of the United Methodist City Society of New York, and the Board of Directors HCCI ~Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement. ***Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. is committed to the holistic revitalization of Harlem and is providing economic development and empowerment opportunities to help Harlem residents rebuild their community. He holds a lifetime membership in National Black Methodist for Church Renewal (BMCR).
Rev. Barton has traveled extensively around this country, the Caribbean, England and the Middle East: Jordan and Israel. He is a 1996 recipient of the Community Service Award, National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. Beta Omicron Chapter. He is also the proud single parent of a 17 year-old son Darryl Justin Barton a student at Norman Thomas High School in Manhattan.

By God’s Grace, Rev. Barton celebrated his 31th year in ministry in June 2004. His major goalin life is to step out each and every day on the word of God and to be healthy, joyful, and hopeful. The only way he wishes to be introduced is as follows,..."If anybody ask you who I am, tell them I’m a child of God."