Young Named Assistant General Secretary for Campus Ministry

General Secretary Jerome King Del Pino is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev. Bridgette Young as assistant general secretary for campus ministry in the Division of Higher Education, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Upon the Search Committee recommendation and approval of the appointment by Bishop Michael B. Watson, Young joins the Board on July 6.

“We are delighted that the Rev. Young will join with us in addressing the challenges and pursuing the opportunities of developing principled leaders for church and society who are ‘. . . characterized by intellectual excellence, moral integrity, spiritual courage, and holiness of heart and life,’” Del Pino said.

Young has 12 years’ experience in campus ministry or chaplaincy. She has served as senior associate dean of the Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University since 2000 and was the director and campus minister at the Wesley Foundation at Georgia Tech prior to joining Emory University.

An ordained elder in the North Georgia Annual Conference, Young received her M.Div. at Gammon Theological Seminary, a Master of Business Administration in Human Resources management from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science in business management and marketing from Illinois Institute of Technology. She brings additional leadership and experience through her previous work in pastoring local churches, serving twice as a delegate to General Conference, and holding leadership roles in the North Georgia Annual Conference.

In her role as assistant general secretary for campus ministry, Young will oversee the promotion, interpretation, and resourcing of campus ministries and college chaplaincies for The United Methodist Church. She will provide staff support to associations of United Methodist campus ministers and chaplains, technical assistance and consultative services to annual conference and campus ministry boards, and leadership in the ecumenical arena related to campus ministry.

“She will provide leadership to The United Methodist Church in articulating the theological and practical role of campus ministry including interaction with bishops and annual conference leaders as well as others that can assist in promoting the role of campus ministry in The United Methodist Church,” Del Pino said. Young will also handle tasks associated with implementation of GBHEM’s strategic plan.

Young will be relocating to Nashville, Tenn., from her home in Atlanta.

Wilke to lead Upper Room Ministries

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 28, 2009/GBOD/ — The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) today announced the election of Sarah E. Wilke as world editor and publisher of Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of GBOD.

In her new capacity, Wilke will lead an international staff of 81 with offices in Nashville and Johannesburg, South Africa. The division publishes The Upper Room daily devotional guide read by almost 3 million people in more than 100 countries in 76 editions and 40 languages.

Wilke, 46, was elected to head the Nashville-based Upper Room Ministries by the 58-member GBOD Board of Directors. She will also serve as associate general secretary.

“I am very pleased to announce and certify the election of Sarah Wilke as our new world editor and publisher of Upper Room Ministries,” said Board President Charlene P. Kammerer, bishop of the Virginia Annual (regional) Conference. “On behalf of GBOD, I welcome Sarah to our staff team. She will bring energy, passion and deep commitment to continue the excellent quality of ministry made possible through The Upper Room,” said Kammerer.

An ecumenical organization that produces resources for encouraging deeper spiritual formation, Upper Room Ministries (http://www.upperroom.org/) also publishes five other magazines and a line of books and programs for youth and adults.

“Sarah brings tremendous experience in publishing through her work at United Methodist Reporter. She links the daily, reflective spiritual practices of prayer, Bible study, journaling and worship with active expressions of faithful ministry in the church and world,” said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive of GBOD.

“Her energy and creative ability will join well with the commitment of the staff and board to reach millions of new people through Upper Room Ministries’ work in spiritual formation,” Greenwaldt said.

Wilke has served as the CEO of UMR Communications and United Methodist Reporter, in Dallas, Texas, since 2004. She is credited with successfully turning around the operation — increasing revenue from $3.8 million in 2004 to $6.3 million in 2008. A new product line was launched that offers church communication through digital color printing. Today the organization is debt free.

“It has been such a joy to be a part of the ministry of the United Methodist Reporter and to lead UMR Communications through change and growth,” Wilke said. “I look forward to leading the Upper Room Ministries with the same level of energy and enthusiasm.”

Wilke replaces the Rev. Stephen D. Bryant, current world editor and associate general secretary of Upper Room Ministries, effective July 27, 2009. The position has a 12-year tenure limit set by General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body. Bryant’s term ends June 30.

“We celebrate Steve’s work at Upper Room Ministries. His tenure is marked by the expansion of program ministries such as Companions in Christ and publishing ministries on the continent of Africa through Africa Upper Room Ministries, based in Johannesburg, South Africa,” said Greenwaldt.

Africa Upper Room Ministries prints nearly 150,000 copies of the devotional guide in Portuguese, English and Arabic, and broadcasts a radio edition in Kiswahili, French and Zulu.

In addition, 1 million copies of Prayers for Encouragement, a devotional for people suffering with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses, have been printed and distributed through Africa Upper Room networks.

Wilke previously served on the extended cabinet of the North Texas Conference as urban strategist and as executive director of Wesley-Rankin Community Center, a Methodist mission in inner-city Dallas. She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer. She earned a master of business administration at Southern Methodist University in 2004 and a bachelor of general studies from the University of Kansas in 1984.

Eleven Women -- including our Annual Conference's Sherry Cothran Woolsey -- Receive Seminary Scholarships


Sherry Cothran Woolsey, 2008 Session of the Tennessee Annual Conference

The 11 women chosen to receive the 2009-2010 Georgia Harkness Scholarship will visit the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to advance their leadership development globally.

“They will meet with students and leaders of The Church of Canada, and will visit local churches. They will also share their commitment to ordained elder’s ministry. In Canada, ordained clergywomen in the local church are still rare,” said the Rev. HiRho Park, the director of Continuing Formation for Ministry at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Park said there were fewer applicants this year. The seminary scholarships go to women over 35 who are preparing for ordination as elders in The United Methodist Church as a second career. The recipients are chosen by a committee of United Methodist elders and GBHEM staff. She believes the economy might be the reason for the decline in applicants.

“We suspect that working women might choose to remain at their job rather than starting full-time theological education,” Park said.

There was an increase of racial-ethnic applicants. “We were especially impressed to see applicants originally from Puerto Rico, Africa, and the Philippines,” she added.

Last year, the 11 scholars visited Honduras.

Harkness, the first woman theologian to teach in a Protestant seminary in the United States, dedicated her life to dismantling discrimination because of race and gender in The United Methodist Church and the world.

Harkness, who taught at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., died in 1974. She was instrumental in the 1956 decision giving women full-clergy membership in The Methodist Church.

Park said the scholarship program is a valuable investment in the future of the church, especially in light of findings from this year’s Lead Women Pastors Survey, which found that one-fourth of senior women pastors who are serving churches with more than 1,000 members began ministry as a second career.

“It is evident that these women bring life experiences and professional skills that enhance their ministry,” Park said.

The 2009-2010 scholarship recipients, their hometown, their schools, annual conferences, and church are:

· Edna Andreas of Milipitas, Calif.; Pacific School of Theology; California-Nevada Annual Conference; St. Paul United Methodist Church, Freemont, Calif.
· Robin Dillon of Indianapolis, Ind.; Methodist Theological School of Ohio; Indiana Annual Conference; Avon United Methodist Church in Avon, Ind.
· Nancy Geske of Ames, Iowa; Saint Paul School of Theology; Iowa Annual Conference; Christ United Methodist Church, Independence, Mo.
· Meg Hegemann of Fulton, Mo.; Saint Paul School of Theology; Missouri Annual Conference; Sturgeon United Methodist Church in Sturgeon, Mo., and Riggs Union United Methodist Church in Riggs, Mo.
· Wendy Inman of New Braunfels, Tex.; Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary; Southwest Texas Annual Conference; Gruene United Methodist Church in New Braunfels, Tex.
· Tonya Lawrence of Princeton, N.J.; Princeton Theological Seminary; North Georgia Annual Conference; Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Ga.
· Genova McFadden of Atlanta, Ga.; Gammon Theological Seminary; South Carolina Annual Conference; St. John United Methodist Church in Hartsville, S.C.
· Mary Miriti of Dallas, Tex.; Perkins School of Theology; North Texas Annual Conference; Lover’s Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, Tex.
· Virna Solis Ortiz of Maunabo, Puerto Rico; Jenninario Evangelico de Puerto Rico; Puerto Rico Annual Conference; pastor of Iglesia Metodista Meson de Amor in Guayama, Puerto Rico, and a member of McCabe Memorial, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
· Diana Phillips of San Antonio, Tex.; Perkins School of Theology; Southwest Texas Annual Confere
· Sherry Cothran Woolsey of Whites Creek, Tenn.; Vanderbilt Divinity School; Tennessee Annual Conference; West Nashville United Methodist Church.

Methodist Review Begins Publication on May 1

Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, a new open-access, peer-reviewed electronic academic journal, begins publication on May 1.

The board of directors and the sponsors of The Methodist Review, Inc., are pleased to announce the launch of Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies. As an open access, peer-reviewed electronic academic journal, Methodist Review (MR) publishes scholarly articles in all areas and eras of Wesleyan and Methodist studies, including biblical, theological, ethical, philosophical, practical, historical, biographical, and social-scientific topics and methodologies. The journal’s URL is: www.methodistreview.org.

Methodist Review is sponsored by Candler School of Theology, Emory University; Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University; the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools (AUMTS); and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church (GBHEM). The corporate office of The Methodist Review, Inc., is located at GBHEM in Nashville; the MR editorial office is located at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. Technical support is provided by the Digital Systems division of the Emory University Libraries, where MR is hosted.

Methodist Review is partly a successor to and partly a transformation of Quarterly Review: A Journal of Theological Resources for Ministry (QR), which was published jointly by GBHEM and The United Methodist Publishing House from 1980 to 2005. Russell E. Richey (Candler) and Ted A. Campbell (Perkins) serve as the general editors of MR; Rex D. Matthews (Candler) is the managing editor; and Valerie J. Loner (Candler) is the current editorial assistant.

Although its entirely digital format and blind peer-review policy are new, said Richey, MR seeks to continue a rich intellectual tradition that dates back far beyond QR, its immediate predecessor, to the establishment in 1818 of the Methodist Magazine, a North American Methodist effort to emulate John Wesley’s own Arminian Magazine which began publication in 1778.

Campbell observed that the rigorous peer-review procedure used will help to ensure the academic credibility and quality of Methodist Review. To that end, MR has assembled a large editorial board of highly qualified senior scholars, including non-U.S. Methodist/Wesleyan scholars, all of whom serve on a voluntary basis, reviewing and evaluating articles submitted for publication in MR and advising the editors about their suitability for publication in the journal.

Methodist Review will not be published on the regular schedule of a print journal. Instead, articles will be published on the MR Web site when they are ready, and registered users will be notified of their publication by e-mail. Matthews noted that the electronic format was purposely chosen for the journal to best serve an increasingly global Methodist/Wesleyan academic audience by allowing for more timely delivery of articles and lower production costs. The financial support provided by its sponsors enables MR to provide immediate access to its content at no cost to its readers. A one-time, free user registration is required to access the articles published in the journal.

The first articles to be published in Methodist Review are these:

• Sarah Heaner Lancaster (Methodist Theological School in Ohio), et al., “What Makes Theology ‘Wesleyan’?” featuring contributions by Catherine Keller (Drew University Theological School), Donald A.Thorsen (Asuza Pacific University), Dennis C. Dickerson (Vanderbilt University), and Charles M. Wood (Perkins School of Theology), with an introduction by Sarah Lancaster.
• Russell E. Richey (Candler School of Theology), “The United Methodist Church at 40: Where Have We Come From?”
• Woodie W. White (Candler School of Theology), “The United Methodist Church at 40: How Have We Done?”
• Mary Elizabeth Moore (Boston University School of Theology), “The United Methodist Church at 40: What Can We Hope For?”

The first of these articles originated in a program session of the Wesleyan Studies Group at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion. The other three derive from the plenary addresses given to the consultation on “The United Methodist Church at 40: Considering Our History, Teaching Our Traditions, Anticipating Our Future” hosted by the Candler School of Theology, 14–17 August 2008.