Over the last several weeks, many of you have expressed great interest in both serving on the Leadership Team of the church and in how the nomination process works. I thought it might be helpful if I laid out the plan for our nominations this year.

First, it might be helpful to know who is on the Committee on Nominations. As with most of the major administrative committees, the nominations committee is divided into three classes, with each class serving for three years. This ensures that two thirds of the committee has served at least one year. Those on this year’s committee are: Denise Chastain, Sid Linton, Patti Erwood (2019); Owen Bouton, Kevin Houston, Keith Hicks (2020); Susan Anderson, Ivonne Mastin and Sean Penn (2021). The United Methodist Book of Discipline designates that the Senior Pastor of the church shall be the chair of the Committee on Nominations, but this is the only committee in the church where this is the case.

You may also want to know when we will be having our meetings. The Committee on Nominations plans to meet on the following evenings: Wednesday, May 29; Monday, June 17; Tuesday, June 25; Tuesday, July 30; Tuesday, August 6. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

In the interest of complete transparency, this year we are inviting people to self-nominate for positions in the church. You may do so by writing an email to danbrown@dunwoodyumc.org. While not a complete list, some of the positions we will be nominating this year include the Finance Committee, Staff-Parish Relations Committee, Trustees, Outreach Committee members, Stewardship Chairperson, Lay Members to the Annual Conference and members of the Church Council.

When nominations for leadership are being considered every year, we make a point to vet all names. They are vetted for attendance, giving and involvement in the church. It is important that anyone seeking leadership in the church has previously demonstrated a deep commitment to Christ and to DUMC. This is done in a confidential nature prior to our meetings to protect each member’s privacy.

Once the Committee on Nominations has completed its work, it submits its list of nominations to the Charge Conference. All persons who serve in a leadership role are elected by the Charge Conference, with the exception of vacancies that occur during the year which may be filled by the Church Council. This year’s Charge Conference will be held in mid-August. Nominations for any position may be made from the floor by a member of the Charge Conference. Once elected the service tenure runs from Sept. 1 – Aug. 31.

One of the greatest callings that is placed on Christians is to be in service for Christ. Leadership is one way of fulfilling that call. There are literally hundreds of others who serve Christ and the church in a wide variety of other ways. Whether you serve by being in leadership or one of the multitude of other ways, I want to express to you my deepest appreciation. You are making a difference.

Blessings,

Dan