Annual Conference Clergy Session looks ahead to new challenges
A highlight of the Clergy Session came when Revs. JoNell Lindh and Katherine Lyle of the Wesley Study Group, joined Board of Ministry representatives to present the special hymn commissioned in honor of Rev. William T. "Bill" Stephenson.
BY REV. JOHN KAY
Iowa Park UMC
On June 3, Bishop Alfred L.Norris called to order his first North Texas Conference Clergy Session as the presiding episcopal leader of the North Texas Annual Conference.
As clergy gathered at First UMC, Plano, pastor Rev. Gary Mueller said what most were thinking: "Much has happened in the last year," as he offered his opening prayer.
The report of The Board of Ordained Ministry is the chief order of business at the session that includes the election of candidates for commissioning and ordination.
The session elected Rev. Joe Stobaugh as a Deacon in Full Connection and Revs. Alice Coder, Doug Fox, and Anna Hoseman-Butler as Elders in Full Connection.
The session elected Rev. Marjorie T. Bishir as a Probationary Deacon and 14 clergy as Probationary Elders: Revs. Lyle Benson, Elizabeth Kellner Besterfeldt, Walter Ray Butts, Jr., Nancy Morrison DeStefano, James Christopher Dowd, Gloria Young-Eun Kim Fowler, Rebecca Ann Whittington Grogran, Derek Jacobs, John Johnson, Michael R. Langdon, Marie Mitchell, Dana Norton, Denise Peckham, Jackie Wickware.
The session took votes on each clergy requesting to be retired. The session voted to allow the following clergy, all of whom are Elders, to retire: Revs. Elizabeth C. Alden, John Dennis Gondol, Joe Edwin Goolsby, Joan H. Humphries, Jung Yong Na, Boyd Mack Sawyer, and Arnel Barton Smith.
A deeply touching moment came as the Wesley Study Group presented a hymn in honor of the ailing Dr. William T. (Bill) Stephenson. The group commissioned Rev. John Thornburg to write the words and Jane Marshall to write the music to the hymn, entitled "There Is No Human Quality."
Speaking on behalf of the Wesley Study Group, Rev. Katherine Lyle, First UMC, Rowlett, announced that Drs. Stephenson and Kenneth McIntosh are the two surviving charter members of the group, which was founded in 1956.
She said that each of the hymn's four stanzas describe Dr. Stephenson's distinct beliefs.
During his asking of the historical questions in The Book of Discipline, Bishop Norris elaborated on the questions regarding children and clergy debt. The Bishop said that he wants clergy to care for and "diligently instruct" the children of not only the church, but also, the community. "I am vitally concerned about the children of our society," he declared.
In regard to the question about whether or not the clergy are "in debt so as to embarrass yourselves," Bishop Norris commented, "If you make a Volkswagen salary, then don't buy a Mercedes Benz!" Chair of the Board of Deacons, Rev. Jo Biggerstaff, Walnut Hill UMC, Dallas, reported that the North Texas Conference leads the South Central Jurisdiction in the number of Deacons in Full Connection.
The UMC has 1,298 Deacons, including the 52 Deacons in our conference, with approximately 2,000 more people on track to become Deacons. More and more Deacons are serving appointments in nonchurch settings, she claimed.
Rev. Biggerstaff said that in 2008 the Deacons of the General Church plan to "identify ways that we can traverse that bridge from the church to the world."
Rev. Jim Dorff, Area Provost, announced that approximately 70 clergy voluntarily have participated in the initial Clergy Effectiveness evaluations. The Clergy Effectiveness Team is seeking 70-80 additional volunteers in the next round of assessments, planned for 2008.
