wfn.org | First woman takes office as Council of Bishops president

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

May 6, 2002 News media contact: M. Garlinda Burton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71BP{206}

NOTE: Photographs of Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher and Bishop Sharon Rader
are available at http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html. For further
coverage of the Council of Bishops' spring meeting, see UMNS stories # 201,
#205 and #207.

By the Rev. J. Richard Peck*

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (UMNS) - For the first time in the history of the United
Methodist Church, the top two officers of the Council of Bishops will be
women.

Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher of the Illinois Area became the first
woman to assume the office of president on May 3, and Bishop Sharon Rader of
the Wisconsin Area continues as secretary, an office she has held since
1996.

The president normally serves for one year and presides at all meetings of
the council and the executive committee. She also represents the council at
official functions and serves as the spokeswoman after the body has acted.
The council comprises nearly 150 active and retired bishops from the United
States, Africa, Europe and the Philippines.

The secretary serves for four years. She coordinates the agenda, maintains
current records and assists the council in connecting with others across the
church.

Asked about the significance of serving as the first woman to preside over
the council, Christopher said, "This moment is not about me. It is about the
Council of Bishops that has been appointing women as leaders in
congregations and conferences for many years. It is about laity who have
been forming girls and women in faith and welcoming them as pastors of their
congregations. It is an expression of the heart of the United Methodist
Church, a church of open hearts, open minds and open doors."

Christopher, 57, is a graduate of Perkins School of Theology in Dallas and
served churches following her 1972 ordination as an elder in the Wisconsin
Annual (regional) Conference. She also served as a district superintendent
and an assistant to the bishop before her election to the episcopacy in
1988. She is married to Charles E. Logsdon Christopher, a retired clergy
member of the Wisconsin Conference. The couple adopted the name Christopher
(meaning "Christ bearer) following their marriage in 1973. They have two
adult children and two grandchildren.

Rader, 62, is a 1976 graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in
Evanston, Ill., and she was ordained an elder in the Northern Illinois
Annual Conference in 1978. She served churches in Illinois and Michigan
before being named a member of the West Michigan Annual Conference program
staff and subsequently a district superintendent. She was elected to the
episcopacy in 1992 and assigned to the Wisconsin Area. She is married to the
Rev. Blaine Rader, an ordained elder in the Michigan Conference now serving
a church in Wisconsin. The couple has two adult children and two
grandchildren.

Of her role as secretary, Rader said, "I find it challenging and fulfilling
to help this world body give attention to the many languages and cultures
gathered around the table. Sensitivity to the global nature of the council
assists the whole church in its effort to live as the body of Christ."

Bishop Ruediger R. Minor of the Eurasia Area was elected president-elect. He
will become president at the council's 2003 spring meeting and will serve
until the bishops meet at the 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh.
# # #
*Peck, former editor of Newscope, Circuit Rider and the International
Christian Digest, is the information officer for the Council of Bishops.

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org