wfn.org | Chester Jones tapped for head of church agency on race

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 28, 1998	   Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
{550}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph is available with this story.

ARLINGTON, Va. (UMNS) - The Rev. Chester R. Jones of Pine Bluff, Ark.,
will soon have a job in the nation's capital some five years after his
sister, former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders, resigned upon orders
from the White House.

Jones, 55, was named by the United Methodist Commission on Religion and
Race to become its general secretary, or chief executive, effective Jan.
1. His election, like his sister's, must be approved by another body,
but rancorous hearings are not expected.

During the last week of October, the denomination's General Council on
Ministries (GCOM), which is charged with general oversight of the
church's program agencies, will vote on whether to elect Jones when it
considers the annual nominations of the other general secretaries.
Without fail, GCOM has accepted the nominees of such church agencies
since it received the power to do so in 1972.

"I see an opportunity for me to help the church toward a greater
understanding and commitment to its efforts to dismantle racism in the
church, so that we can become 'one church' in our lifetime," Jones said
in a written comment. "This is a great challenge, but I am totally
committed to doing all that I can to help meet the challenge."

Jones is superintendent of the church's Pine Bluff District. When he
takes office at the beginning of the year, he will become only the third
general secretary in the commission's 30-year history. He will succeed
Barbara Ricks Thompson, who retires Oct. 2 after 13 years in the
agency's top spot, and the Rev. Woodie W. White, who was elected bishop
from that position in 1984 and currently leads the Indiana Area.

The denomination created the Commission on Religion and Race in 1968,
when the Methodist Church's racially defined Central Jurisdiction was
dissolved as part of the merger with the Evangelical United Brethren
Church. The commission was established to oversee the integration of the
former Central Jurisdiction into the broader geographic jurisdictions
during the merger. Since then, it has monitored the denomination's
efforts at eliminating racism in its institutions.

Jones has been a district superintendent since 1993. Previously, he was
minister of the Hunter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark., and
R.E. Jones United Methodist Church in Louisville, Ky. He was a field
representative of the National Division of the denomination's Board of
Global Ministries for four years in the 1980s. Earlier, he was a student
pastor in New Jersey and Kansas.

In addition to 25 years of ministry, Jones has written or edited four
books - three of them about his outspoken sister - and other materials.
He wrote Dancing With the Bear, a biography of  Elders, the first
African American surgeon general; Dancing with Little Teddy, a book for
children about Elders' faith; and Each One Wins One, a resource book on
evangelism to be published later this year. He also edited Here I Stand,
a collection of Elders' speeches. He has written articles on the plight
of black farmers and the death penalty for Engage Social Action, now
called Christian Social Action, the magazine of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society.

Jones has completed course work for a doctorate at Drew University. He
earned his master of divinity degree at Gammon Theological Seminary in
Atlanta and a bachelor's degree at Baker University.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/