SNAPSHOT. August 2016 issue no. 31. A Monthly recap of local church news & Views

Transcription

1 SNAPSHOT August 2016 issue no. 31 A Monthly recap of local church news & Views

2 Sue Haupert-Johnson Assigned as Bishop of the North Georgia Conference The Southeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy announced Thursday, July 14, that Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has been assigned as the next bishop of the North Georgia Conference. The assignment begins September 1. The North Georgia delegation greeted Bishop Sue, her husband Rev. Allen Johnson and their daughter, Samantha, at a reception immediately following the announcement. Haupert-Johnson, 54, was elected bishop Wednesday, July 13, at the jurisdiction s quadrennial meeting at Lake Junaluska. On the tenth ballot, she received 230 of 375 votes cast. I hope you will go and spread a table with a sumptuous gospel feast, she bid the delegates. In her introduction address on Tuesday, Haupert-Johnson stressed the need for the church to have room for everyone at God s table. Haupert-Johnson was the fifth bishop elected by the 376 delegates, an equal number of United Methodist clergy and laity, from the nine states that form the Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ). Haupert-Johnson, nominated by the Florida Conference, was most recently district superintendent of Florida s Gulf Central District, overseeing a church landscape of large and small congregations in a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities. The district s demographics are diverse as well. She previously served as pastor of churches in Tampa, Cape Coral and Ocala, and was an associate pastor at First UMC, Lakeland. She holds a law degree from the University of Florida and was a litigator with a Tampa law firm before answering the call to ministry and graduating summa cum laude from Emory University s Candler School of Theology. She was ordained a deacon in 1996 and an elder in Haupert-Johnson has had numerous leadership roles in the Florida Conference and has represented the Florida UMC twice at General Conference serving as Judicial Administration Legislative Committee chairperson in 2012 and three times at jurisdictional conference. Her assignment in our conference is for a four-year term and begins September 1. 2 august 2016 snapshot

3 Rev. Sharma Lewis Elected Bishop in The United Methodist Church By Sybil Davidson In an historic election, the Rev. Sharma Lewis of the North Georgia Annual Conference has been elected bishop by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. She was elected on the first ballot at the jurisdiction s quadrennial meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C. Rev. Lewis is the first African-American woman elected bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. I was called by God and I made myself available, not just to a position, but to follow God s will, said Rev. Lewis. I am excited, and I am really humbled. At 52 years old, I am excited that my next phase of life will be as an episcopal leader. I am humbled to the fact that this is historic. Lewis was the first bishop elected by the 376 delegates, an equal number of United Methodist clergy and laity, from the nine states that form the Southeastern Jurisdiction. Later in the week, the Southeastern Jurisdiction will announce the assignment of bishops for the next four years. Her four-year term of service begins Sept. 1. Bishop Jonathan Holston was presiding Bishop when Lewis was elected. Just four years ago, he was North Georgia s nominee for bishop and was elected on the first ballot by the 2012 SEJ Conference. He now serves in the South Carolina Annual Conference. Bishop Mike Watson and Bishop Lindsey Davis escorted Lewis to the stage after the announcement of her election. Lewis is the first African-American woman elected in the denomination since The first ever African-American female bishop in The United Methodist Church Bishop Leontine Kelly, was from the Virginia Annual Conference but was elected in 1984 by the Western Jurisdiction of the UMC. Addressing the Conference, Lewis named BIshop Kelly and each of the African American female bishops elected by The United Methodist Church in the U.S. and each of the women elected bishop in the SEJ. The reason I m calling the role is because I know that those women broke the ceiling for me to stand here today, she said. Who She Is Having most recently served as District Superintendent of the Atlanta- Decatur-Oxford District, Rev. Lewis is a native of Statesboro, Ga., in the South Georgia Conference and life-long United Methodist. She is a graduate of Mercer University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and a graduate of the University of West Georgia, with a Master of Science degree in Biology. Prior to following her call to ministry, she was a biologist in the academic and corporate sectors. After answering God s call to ministry, she entered Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta where she earned the Master of Divinity with honors. I have an evangelistic heart, I just feel that people need Jesus. And I hope that s what I bring to the Council of Bishops, said Lewis. Bishop James Swanson was Rev. Lewis pastor in the South Georgia Conference. Now she joins him as an active bishop. My ministry has been blessed, she explained. She has had the opportunity to serve at large churches, small churches, on the cabinet, and on a multi-staff. Before being appointed District Superintendent, Rev. Lewis served at Wesley Chapel UMC in McDonough, Powers Ferry UMC in Marietta, and Ben Hill UMC in Atlanta. One of Many Firsts Her election as the first African- American woman to serve as bishop in the SEJ is one of many firsts in Rev. Lewis ministry. She was the first female senior pastor and first African-American pastor of Powers Ferry UMC. She was the first woman to serve as senior minister of Wesley Chapel UMC, and the first woman to serve as District Superintendent in the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District. Perhaps the first that was her biggest surprise was receiving the G. Ross Freeman Leadership Award given by the United Methodist Men. I was surprised and speechless, said Rev. Lewis. This award is for engaging men in ministry. She had been very intentional in her support of the United Methodist Men at Wesley Chapel. The Men s group began to grow and get more and more connected. She encouraged a mentoring program and supported the Men s involvement with a conference-wide retreat and prayer ministry. She was the first woman to be given that award. To me, the part of being the first is that it sets a model of what s possible, she explained. I ve always tried to do that and bring people along with me, showing other people they can do this -- and that they may even do it better. We can t do ministry effectively unless we do it collaboratively. The Journey On what has been a long journey from being nominated as a candidate for bishop by North Georgia delegation almost a year ago, she says a highlight has been affirmation from colleagues. There s something about being affirmed by the people who know you -- clergy and laity, she emphasized. Yes, I m clergy, but I was laity first. Rev. Lewis is the recipient of the 2010 Harry Denman Evangelism Award. She has served on numerous committees, boards and task forces representing The United Methodist Church, including leading the 2012 and 2016 North Georgia Clergy Delegations to General and Jurisdictional Conference. A consecration service for the five new bishops was Friday, July 15, at Lake Junaluska. Within the United States, local United Methodist churches are organized into increasingly larger groups: numerous districts, dozens of annual conferences and five jurisdictions. An episcopal area can include one or more conferences. Thirteen active bishops now lead the 15 annual conferences that form the Southeastern Jurisdiction. A United Methodist bishop in the United States is elected for life. Typically, a bishop will serve a specific episcopal area for eight years, but can serve as long as 12 years in one area. The United Methodist Book of Discipline, the denomination s governing document, directs each bishop to guard the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline of the Church. Bishops provide oversight and support to The United Methodist Church s mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. They also are charged to work for the unity of the church and be the shepherd of the whole flock. Bishop Lewis was assigned to the Richmond area of the United Methodist Church and will begin serving as bishop to the Virginia Conference on September 1st. august 2016 snapshot 3

4 Mending Broken Vessels SEJ Female Bishops Celebrate a Beautiful Message By Heather Hahn (UMNS) At last week s Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, United Methodist women took a break from discussing the church s challenges to celebrate the strides woman have made across the denomination. Retired Bishop Charlene Kammerer presented a visible reminder of that progress a mended bowl and pitcher. Kammerer recounted that clergywomen in the Southeastern Jurisdiction had bought the brownand-turquoise pottery in the 1980s for the Rev. Helen Crotwell, their endorsed bishop candidate. Crotwell had served as an assistant dean of chapel at Duke University and as the first woman district superintendent in the North Carolina Conference. Helen was a remarkable pastor, prophet and priest, Kammerer said. However, Crotwell s election wasn t to be. The clergywomen sent the gift anyway, but when it arrived the pottery had broken in transit. Crotwell decided to leave the pottery in pieces until the Southeast elected its first woman bishop. That happened with Kammerer s election in That night, Kammerer and Crotwell joined in a celebration that cracked the glass ceiling and literally mended the broken vessel. By then, Crotwell was ailing and blind. Kammerer guided her hands to glue the broken bowl back together. On July 14, 2016, the jurisdiction s women gathered in the very same room at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center for their celebration. Helen s spirit is with us today, Kammerer said. She is in the heavenly kingdom with Leontine and many others. The pottery remains as a testament to Crotwell s ministry in the North Carolina Conference, where Bishop Hope Morgan Ward now serves. These are really holy vessels to us, Ward said. With the election of Bishop Sharma Lewis and Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, the Southeast now has five active women bishops. Lewis was nominated endorsed as a canididate for bishop by the North Georgia Conference and Haupert- Johnson was assigned to serve as North Georgia s next bishop. I ve had the blessing of being a lot of firsts, Lewis said. But even in being the first, I really believe in reaching back and pulling up. We ve got to reach back to the seminary students and even babies who think they have a call. The Southeastern Jurisdiction s women bishops join in celebration. They are retired Bishop Charlene Kammerer and active Bishops Mary Virginia Dindi Taylor, Sue Haupert-Johnson, Sharma Lewis, Hope Morgan Ward and Debra Wallace-Padgett. Looking to the Future Linda King, a Kentucky Conference delegate, was among the women who got tears in her eyes when gazing at her jurisdiction s new women leaders. When I went to Western Kentucky University, the counselor said to me: Do you want to major in secretarial science or be a nurse or a teacher, and I didn t know any different, said King, who became a teacher. You are opening doors, King told the women bishops. God has blessed us. The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women long has advocated for the denomination s women to be able to live out their calls from God. Dawn Wiggins Hare, the agency s top executive, was a delegate from the Alabama-West Florida Conference and voted in the Southeast s bishop elections. For young women and men to see equality of women in leadership, to see the opportunities for women in leadership and to respect women in leadership carries over into our communities and reflects on our ability to transform the world, Hare said. Virginia Greer, 23, was among those at the celebration. She is an admitted clergy candidate in the Virginia Conference and student at Emory University s Candler School of Theology. This means my way will be a little bit easier because of all these amazing women, she said. Both Lewis and Haupert-Johnson paid tribute to the women who blazed the trail ahead of them to the episcopacy. Along with others in the jurisdiction, they called the roll of previous African- American and Southeastern Jurisdiction women bishops. We look forward to the day when we can t name them all because there are so many, Haupert-Johnson said. Excerpt from Heather Haun s article New women bishops make history 4 august 2016 snapshot

5 Sharma Lewis, Sue Haupert-Johnson Among Five Bishops Consecrated at Lake Junaluska By Sybil Davidson With joy and with God s grace I present to you our new bishops! said Bishop Larry Goodpaster. Five new United Methodist bishops were consecrated in The United Methodist Church this morning at the closing service of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. North Georgia s episcopal nominee Sharma Lewis, North Georgia s next episcopal leader Sue Haupert-Johnson, David Graves, Leonard Fairley and Lawson Bryan were set apart for the ministry of bishop. Bishop Lindsey Davis, who served North Georgia for 12 years, from , preached at the service. Naming recent events that remind us how desperate our world is for redemption, Bishop Davis lifted up the unique spiritual gifts necessary for the crucial work of a bishop. He shared glimpses into what ministry will be like for the new bishops: You will be asked to share your leadership in places and ways you never imagined. By your very presence you will symbolize the unity of the church. You ll experience United Methodist worship in all its diversity. Be prepared to leave your comfort zone. Sometimes your heart will ache. Your joy will be to follow Jesus. GIve yourself completely to the task and God will bless you. But most importantly Bishop Davis emphasized, Be assured of our constant prayers for you. Consecrating the new bishops, Larry Goodpaster prayed, We thank you gracious Lord for raising up among us your faithful servants for the ministry of a bishop. Bishop Haupert-Johnson, who was surrounded by friends and family after the service, says she and her family are excited for their next chapter in ministry. What I m looking forward to most is worship in North Georgia, she said. There is no way I can do this job without worship. I will worship somewhere every Sunday. She will begin her 4-year term of service as North Georgia s bishop on Sept. 1. august 2016 snapshot 5

6 A Pastoral Letter from the Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops Read During the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference North Georgia Bishop Mike Watson and the Bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference shared the following letter to United Methodists in the Southeastern Jurisdiction on Tuesday, July 14, before the start of the SEJ Conference Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We celebrate the way God is working through you and the churches you represent to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Your witness is making a difference in the lives of individuals and communities around the world. We write this pastoral letter with hope in Jesus Christ. Yet our hearts are heavy as we recognize that as a result of our denominational conflicts we stand at a fragile place. Our Christian witness is defined, not by an absence of conflict, but by how we act in our disagreements. Many in our church are working to change our Book of Discipline s current position on human sexuality, believing that it is exclusive, unjust and based on a misinterpretation of Scripture. These actions are being done through processes our polity has in place for making such changes. Many others in our denomination are working to maintain our Book of Discipline s current position on human sexuality, believing that it is gracefilled, orthodox and biblically-based. These actions are also being done within the context of our church s polity. Still others in our denomination, including some Boards of Ordained Ministry and Annual Conferences, are acting in nonconformity to our church s legislation about marriage and ordination standards. These actions are not within in the bounds of our church s polity. We, the Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops, grieve over the deep divisions in our beloved United Methodist Church. We recognize the pain felt both by those advocating for and those opposing change. We also view the acts of nonconformity as a violation of our covenant and as divisive and disruptive. As a College of Bishops, we are fully committed to keeping the promises we made at our ordinations and consecrations, including: shepherding all persons committed to our care; leading our areas in mission, witness and service; ordering the church, including administering processes for handling complaints about violations of our Book of Discipline that occur within our episcopal areas; and seeking unity in Christ, including the work the General Conference requested the Council of Bishops do in relation to the Commission on Human Sexuality; We invite you to join us in prayer as we strive to faithfully and compassionately fulfill our covenant with God, the church and one another. We also encourage you to stay the course in your covenant relationship with God, The United Methodist Church and each other. In Christ, The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops North Georgians to Serve on General and Jurisdictional Boards and Agencies Several North Georgia United Methodists have been nominated to serve on General Boards and Agencies. Tonya Murphy and Andrew Postell have been nominated to serve on the denomination s Connectional Table Bill Stikes has been nominatied to serve the General Board of Church and Society Mathew Pinson has been nominatied to the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits Alice Rogers and Phil Schoeder has been nominatied to the General Commission on Communications Phil Schroeder has been nominatied to the SEJ Committee on Coordination and Accountability Gary Fuller has been nominatied to the SEJ Council on Finance and Administration. 6 august 2016 snapshot

7 Service of Installation for Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson Set for September 18 The Service of Installation of Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson as episcopal leader of the North Georgia Conference will be held Sunday, September 18, at 4 p.m. at Peachtree Road UMC in Atlanta. The special service is a time for our Annual Conference to gather for worship and to welcome Bishop Haupert-Johnson and her family and to give thanks for her assignment to the North Georgia Conference. The service will be followed by a reception. Several North Georgia churches extended invitations to the Conference to host the service, and Peachtree Road was chosen among them because of accessibility, parking, availability of seating in the sanctuary, and facility to host the reception. Bishop Haupert-Johnson ( Bishop Sue ) was elected bishop by the 2016 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and was assigned to the North Georgia Conference by the SEJ Committee on Episcopacy. She begins her four-year term in North Georgia on September 1. Go Tell it on The Mountain: SEJ Budget Reduces by Sixty Percent By Sybil Davidson SEJ Daily Christian Advocate The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference approved a budget of $1,774,000 for the quadrennium. The budget passed as recommended by the SEJ Committee on Finance and Administration and reflects a 60 percent reduction over the previous budget. Starting the report with song, Jim Allen sang Go Tell it on the Mountain before sharing good news from CFA. This report reflects a faithful commitment to the ministries of the Jurisdiction and is projected to be sufficient for the ongoing operational costs of the Jurisdiction and its committees, explained Allen, chair of the SEJ Committee on Finance and Administration. It will also provide a cushion should there be a need to fund emerging ministries or a special called session of Jurisdictional Conference. The SEJ has been trimming its budget since the restructuring approved in The budget eliminated operational funds going to agencies, but continued to provide funds for debt service to Lake Junaluska and Hinton Center. Those debt service payments will end in 2016, and were not included in the budget. Collection on apportionments in the jurisdiction improved from 80 percent in the quadrennium to a projected payment of at least 97 percent in the current quadrennium. august 2016 snapshot 7

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