news article
Departing superintendents will take what they learned to new ministries
January 20, 2015 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Two district superintendents will leave the Cabinet by July 1, 2015, Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb has announced.
The Rev. Darryl Barrow, Crossroads District Superintendent, and the Rev. Dr. Sung Ho Lee, Mohawk District Superintendent, will receive new appointments that will be announced at a future time.
Rev. Lee has served on the Cabinet for eight years, while Rev. Barrow will be finishing his sixth year as a district superintendent. The term of office for a district superintendent usually is up to six years, but they may serve up to eight consecutive years as the request of a resident bishop. A district superintendent may serve no more than eight years in any consecutive 11 years and no more than 14 years in their lifetime, according to The Book of Discipline (¶418).
“Rev. Barrow and Rev. Lee have shared significant gifts with Upper New York,” said Bishop Webb. “Their passion for Jesus and for the Church has been a blessing and has provided consistent and courageous leadership in the Cabinet, their respective districts and throughout the Conference. I thank them for their servant leadership and join in praying for both of them as they move into their next chapter of ministry.”
“It’s time for me to leave,” Rev. Lee said. “God is calling me back to the ministry of the local church. I am excited about this new journey ... a new journey because I have to somewhat learn again to lead a local church and its ministry.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to serve God by applying what I have learned and experienced as a district superintendent to the ministry of the local church.”
“God has continually led the Cabinet into the future by showing the way and providing us faith to see it and courage to move forward,” Rev. Lee said. “We have been shaped and reshaped into one body on our journey together, and God will continue to reshape the Cabinet as a people of God moving forward to our Promised Land.”
For Lee, that “Promised Land” is one where congregations are filled with the power of God and local churches are vital in terms of faith and outreach. “The Conference provides the leadership to equip clergy and laity in the local churches to invite others into a relationship with Jesus Christ, transforming the world,” he said.
Rev. Lee has served as a district superintendent since 2007. Prior to that, he served as pastor at the Burdett United Methodist Church, Ithaca’s Korean UMC, Hamilton UMC and the First UMC in Corning. During his tenure in the Mohawk District, Rev. Lee has dealt with a shooting in Herkimer, the closing of Utica Urban Ministry (formerly Utica Eastside Mission) and devastating flooding in the summer of 2013 among other situations that needed strong Christian leadership.
Diversity enriches life of the Church
Rev. Lee co-led a spiritual journey to Korea, giving church leaders a chance to witness and learn from the growing and vital Korean Methodist Church.
“My heart is with diversity because I am part of that diversity,” Rev. Lee said. “Diversity is the nature of God’s creation, a gift we should embrace that blesses us in our ministry.”
During his tenure as a district superintendent, Rev. Lee said he has been aware that the Conference has been very intentional about embracing diversity, including people from different backgrounds, socio-economic groups, ethnicity and age in the leadership of the Church.
“We should be more intentional about learning about each other so we can really learn how to make the blessings of diversity an active component of ministry,” he said.
Rev. Barrow agrees.
“The United Methodist Church has a responsibility to understand the body of Christ as people of all backgrounds, ensuring equity, diversity and cultural competency,” he said. “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world shouldn’t limit the Church to one type of people. There is an urgent need to grow in knowledge and develop appropriate attitudes and skills to diverse groups.”
It is one of the challenges facing the denomination, Rev. Barrow said.
Prior to his appointment to the superintendency, the Trinidad native served as Director of Spiritual Leadership and the Resource Center for the former North Central New York Conference. Before that, he served pastorates in the Caribbean and Florida and as a college chaplain in Georgia and Mississippi. He was a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2008 and 2012 and served a four-year term on the World Council of Churches Sub-Committee on Faith & Order.
He is currently a member of The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church and chairs the Leadership Discernment & Community Life and Personnel Teams.
Relationships key to growth and ministry
Both leaders say they will miss the relationships they have built with members of the Cabinet, supporting one another and worshipping together.
“I enjoyed working with the different Cabinet members,” Rev. Lee said, “working together for the bigger picture of the Conference.”
“I will miss this group of people who have enriched my soul spiritually,” Rev. Barrow said. “The cabinet is a reservoir of gifts and resources that prepares you to go back to the local church or to another position in the life of the Church.”
Rev. Barrow said he is thankful for the strengthening of lay leadership in the district over the last six years. “Lay people answering the call to ministry in their local settings are becoming more active leaders in their church. Our district training days have grown from 60 people in attendance to over 200.
“My six years on the Cabinet have been fruitful and challenging, but I have come to a place where I feel there are others who could continue the district’s leadership,” he said. “There are a number of new ministries, new faith communities and new ways of reaching out to people. The foundation has been laid for more fruitfulness. The new district superintendent will come into a really exciting time.”
Rev. Lee said he is excited to see churches focus their ministries on evangelism (faith sharing). “Evangelism has been the primary focus of my ministry as district superintendent,” he said. “The mission of the Church does not end with helping people by providing food and clothes. Our mission is to bring people to Christ through the relationships that we build through the outreach ministry so that they may have been transformed by the life-giving, life-changing power of God in and through Christ.”
“I will miss the time with pastors and local churches, listening to them and visioning together,” Rev. Lee said. “Ministry with the district is not one-directional. I have been inspired and nurtured by their faithfulness and commitment.
“The ministry of district superintendent has been a blessing,” he added.
"I join the whole of the Conference in extending deep appreciation for the ministries of Rev. Barrow and Rev. Lee," Bishop Webb said. "Our prayers are with them and their families in this time of transition."