wfn.org | Division of Ordained Ministry

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3497 notes).

Note 3490 by UMNS on March 17, 1997 at 15:37 Eastern (3917 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                             136(10-71B){3490}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            March 17, 1997

First non-military person named to
head United Methodist chaplaincy section

                                 
     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- The Rev. Patricia Barrett has been
named to head the chaplains and related ministries section of the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the first
non-military chaplain to hold that position.
     Barrett, a 17-year staff member who currently is director of
pastoral care and visitation, within the chaplaincy section, was
named to the position of assistant general secretary during the
spring meeting of the Division of Ordained Ministry here, March 9-
12. She will begin her duties July 1 following the retirement of
the Rev. James Townsend, current head of United Methodist
chaplains.
     For many years the denomination's Board of Higher Education
and Ministry had  three ministry divisions: ordained, diaconal,
and chaplains and related ministries. It also has a division of
higher education, which relates to colleges, universities and
campus ministries.
     The divisions restructured in answer to the new forms of
ministry adopted by the 1996 General Conference. The
denomination's top legislative body decided that no more  diaconal
ministers would be consecrated after Jan. 1, 1997. 
     During the division's semi-annual meeting, the Rev. Roger
Ireson, the board's top staff executive, told the 43-member board
of directors, that reorganizing the division will enhance
effectiveness and offer a  sense of community as it seeks to
accomplish its mission of preparing a new generation of Christian
leaders.
     The restructured division now includes three sections:
deacons and diaconal ministries, elders and local pastors, and
chaplains and related ministries. Each section shares in the
common work of ordained ministry
     During the 1997-2000 quadrennium, the division will be
administered by the heads of the three sections. Leading the
section of deacons and diaconal ministries is Jimmy Carr; elders
and local pastors is the Rev. John E. Harnish; and chaplains and
related ministries is the Rev. James E. Townsend.
          The new section will continue to endorse United
Methodist chaplains for the armed forces, the Department of
Veteran Affairs and for specialized ministries such as prison
ministry and pastoral counseling. It was reported here that non-
military chaplains now outnumber military chaplains.
     "I am delighted at the opportunity to work in this capacity,"
Barrett said. Most of her work has been in institutional settings
where she said she has championed ways of moving "margins and
mainlines together."
     Ireson said that the division will continue to be
restructured so that by the beginning of 2001, one person will
head the entire ordained ministry division and an assistant
general secretaries will be named to head each of the three
sections. 
     Division of Ordained Ministry members also:
     * viewed and received a synopsis of new resources related to
ordained ministry;
     * learned that the book The Christian as Minister, an
introduction to ministry in the United Methodist Church, is
available at Cokesbury bookstores;
     * learned that a video on the ministry of the new order of
deacon is being developed for showing at annual conferences this
year;
     * set Nov. 13-15 as the tentative date for Exploration '98, a
biennial national gathering for young adults considering ordained
ministry in the United Methodist Church.
     Presiding over the Division meeting here was the Rev. Bill
Libby, Baird, Texas.
                              #  #  #

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 To unsubscribe, send the single word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)
 in a mail message to umethnews-request@ecunet.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------