Two dozen nominated for United Methodist Judicial Council

Translate Page

EDITOR’S NOTE: This includes a corrected list of Judicial Council nominees.

Delegates to the 2004 General Conference will choose from 24 nominees for four openings on the Judicial Council, the United Methodist Church’s supreme court.

Nominations made by the denomination’s Council of Bishops were presented to delegates in the April 29 Daily Christian Advocate, and additional nominations were accepted from the floor during that morning’s plenary session. Voting on the nominations is scheduled for the morning of May 3.

Two clergy and two lay people are to be elected to the nine-member council, the highest judicial body of the church. The usual term of office is eight years.

Nominees and their conferences are listed below.

Laity nominated by the Council of Bishops:

  • P. Edwin Gausi, Liberia;
  • Daniel F. Evans, South Indiana;
  • Beth Capen, New York;
  • Jon Gray of Missouri;
  • W. Clark Williams, Virginia; and
  • Lonnie Brooks, Alaska.

Clergy nominated by the Council of Bishops:

  • John E. Harnish, Detroit;
  • Rodney E. Wilmoth, Minnesota;
  • Robert K. Sweet Jr., New England;
  • C. Rex Bevins, Nebraska;
  • Susan T. Henry-Crowe, South Carolina; and
  • Jane A. Tews, Desert Southwest.

Clergy nominated from the floor:

  • Dennis L. Blackwell, Greater New Jersey;
  • Rodney G. Steele, Arkansas;
  • Shamwange Kyungu, North West Katanga;
  • Frank T. Trotter Jr., Baltimore-Washington; and
  • Gloria Brooks, West Ohio.

Laity nominated from the floor:

  • David Beckley, Mississippi;
  • Solomon Christian, Memphis;
  • Raymond L. Hamill, Wyoming;
  • Amy Valdez Barker, Wisconsin;
  • Raymundo Z. Annang, Middle Philippines;
  • Kurt Glassco, Oklahoma; and
  • Daniel A. Ivey-Soto, New Mexico.

*Caldwell is a United Methodist News Service news writer.

News media contact: (412) 325-6080 during General Conference, April 27-May 7. After May 10: (615) 742-5470.


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

UMNEWS-SUBSCRIPTION

Tackling a petitions conundrum

The General Conference commission spent time grappling with what to do about petitions submitted by people who, for whatever reason, are no longer part of The United Methodist Church.
General Conference
The Rev. Lynn Hill, retired elder in the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference, preaches at the closing worship of the Commission on the General Conference meeting in Florence, Kentucky. Hill is the chair of the commission’s program committee. Beside him are Don Reasoner, who leads interpretation at General Conference, and Mills Maliwa, a commission member from South Africa. Photo by Heather Hahn.

What to expect at the next General Conference

The group that plans The United Methodist Church’s big legislative assembly is putting together the final details for holding the long-delayed General Conference next year in Charlotte, North Carolina. The group is as changed as the denomination it serves.
General Church
Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton presides at the bishops’ spring 2023 meeting in Chicago. East Ohio Conference Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, at left, is the Council of Bishops president-designate. The bishops gathered April 29-May 5 for their first in-person meeting since 2019 and took on a variety of issues affecting the future of the denomination. Photo by the Rev. Todd Rossnagel, Louisiana Conference.

Bishops call for General Conference in 2026

United Methodist bishops see a need for the denomination’s top lawmaking body to hold an additional meeting to deal with changes resulting from church disaffiliations. Meanwhile, the denomination’s finance agency has its own concerns.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2023 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved