| NEWS BWC Episcopal Nominees The General and Jurisdictional Conference delegation of the Baltimore-Washington Conference has begun a process to identify potential episcopal candidates from within the conference. At least four, possibly five, new bishops will be elected at the Jurisdictional Conference this July. According to the Rev. David Argo, chair of the delegation, four people were nominated by members of the delegation: the Revs. David Simpson, Marcus Matthews, Mark Derby and Argo. Each nominee received 30 percent or more of the delegations support, and has been invited to submit a written paper prior to the delegations next meeting, Feb. 7. The paper will address five areas that the delegation has identified as being important for a bishop: personal faith, leadership, vision for the church, equipping pastors/local churches, and diversity. After the nomination process, Simpson withdrew his name from consideration. The three remaining people will be interviewed by the delegation Feb. 7. After the interviews, balloting of the delegation will start for the purpose of endorsing one candidate. The individual who receives the support of 60 percent of the delegates present and voting will become the delegations endorsed candidate. Other nominations for episcopal office may be brought to the floor of the annual conference session in May for endorsement. | Report sets criteria for next episcopal leader Erik AlsgaardUMConnection Staff  Nowhere in the job description of a United Methodist bishop does it read, Must be able to walk on water.
It doesnt, but perhaps it should. Thats the word from Starkey, Beall and Company, consultants in human resource management from Towson, who spent one year surveying United Methodists throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference on what they want in their next bishop. Their conclusions are contained in a 42-page report on what United Methodists want, expect, desire and need in their next episcopal leader. Bishop Felton Edwin May, current bishop of the Washington Area, is retiring at the end of August. A new bishop for the conference will be appointed at the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, held in mid-July in Syracuse, N.Y. The Jurisdictional Episcopal Committee, composed of one lay and one clergy delegate from each conference, has the responsibility of assigning bishops every four years. To help gbwc_superusere the selection of the new bishop, the Episcopacy Committee Profile Task Force engaged Starkey, Beall and Company in a year-long study to obtain a family album snapshot of the conference and its leadership needs for the next four years. The Baltimore-Washington Conference is unique in that it is the most diverse United Methodist Conference of any in the denomination, said the report. It is diverse in every conceivable way socio-economic, urban-suburban-rural, and racial-ethnic. Its inclusion of our nations Capitol adds a political dimension unlike that found in other Conferences in the country. Using a series of questionnaires and focus groups, the researchers looked at strengths of the conference and the denomination, the greatest challenges facing the church, population and racial/ethnic trends, spiritual needs, and episcopal leadership. The report lists 25 separate qualities wanted in a bishop for the 21st century. Among them are: - Dynamic, filled with the Holy Spirit;
- Visionary, with ability to implement that vision;
- Kind, compassionate, a good listener, strives for mutual understanding;
- Leads by example and is a living example of Christs teachings;
- A keen thinker ;
- Outspoken about peace and justice issues.
The report praised Bishop May, who began his tenure by listening to the needs (of the conference) and acting on them; he continued to do this throughout his tenure, building bridges from vision to reality. The report adds, It will help to have a bishop who can surround him/herself with people who can do the hands-on implementing of broad goals, staff who can go places when he/she cant, advisors who can bring varying perspectives to potential blind spots. Very few people, the report noted, seem to be calling for a bishop who takes an excessively hard-line stance theologically. It would be a good idea to look for someone who is a formally-trained, battle-tested mediator, who can bring people together instead of polarizing them, and who is already adept at working with diverse racial/ethnic constituencies. |
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