Hollering for Change: The Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright

The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler (right) speaks with the Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright, who was recently elected secretary of the General Conference — the first woman of color elected to that position. Zoom video courtesy of the Rev. Butler via YouTube.

Hollering for Change is the name of a series of commentaries by The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler for United Methodist News. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Hollering for Change: The Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright is the first woman of color to be elected secretary of the United Methodist General Conference. In the latest installment of the “Hollering for Change” series, the Rev. Dr. Tori Butler speaks with Fulbright about her forthcoming position and mentoring the next generation of women leaders.

The Rev. Tori Butler is the senior pastor of Asbury Town Neck United Methodist Church in Severna Park, Maryland.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now

Mission and Ministry

Bishop João Sambo of Mozambique (right) and Bishop Emmanuel Sinzohagera of Burundi (center) distribute cans of vegetable oil at the Musenyi camp in Burundi. The bishops were among a United Methodist delegation who visited the camp in March to offer physical and spiritual support to refugees fleeing conflict in eastern Congo. Global Missionary Abro Patrick stands to the left. Photo courtesy of the communications department of the Burundi-Rwanda Episcopal Area.

Church supports Congolese refugees in Burundi

The United Methodist Church, with support from UMCOR, provides vital infrastructure and food to the Musenyi camp, which has doubled its population because of ongoing conflicts in eastern Congo.

Church History

The Methodist Church’s 1956 General Conference meets from April 25 to May 7 in the municipal auditorium in Minneapolis. On May 4, the first Friday of the legislative assembly, the delegates voted to make women eligible for full clergy rights. “Now it is up to us to prove in clear and deep witness to the whole church our consecration and our loyal devotion to the work of the Kingdom of God,” said Margaret Henrichsen, a General Conference visitor, after the vote. In 1967, she became the first U.S. woman appointed district superintendent. Photo courtesy of Archives and History.

Why the 1956 women-clergy vote matters

Seventy years ago, the Methodist Church supported full conference membership for women clergy — a decision that would have a resounding impact when The United Methodist Church formed in 1968 and even today.

General Conference

Emily Allen, a veteran lay delegate from the California-Nevada Conference, delivers a report during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. on May 3, 2024. Allen has been elected to serve as the interim General Conference secretary beginning July 1. She will lead the planning of The United Methodist Church’s international legislative assembly, scheduled May 8-16, 2028, in Minneapolis. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.

Bishops elect interim General Conference head

Emily Allen will lead the planning of The United Methodist Church’s international legislative assembly, next scheduled in 2028.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!