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By Maidstone Mulenga
UMConnection Staff

CHEVY CHASE, Md. —  Six United Methodist bishops, including Bishop Marcus Matthews, joined in the installation of the Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe as the new General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) during a service atChevy Chase UMC on Feb. 27.

Henry-Crowe, who officially assumed her new duties on Feb. 10, takes over from James Winkler, who led GBCS for 13 years. For the last 22 years, she had served as dean of the Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University in Atlanta.

As the resident bishop of the area where GBCS headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., Bishop Matthews welcomed Henry-Crowe to the area and told her the Baltimore-Washington Conference will continue to work with GBCS on social and justice issues.

Other bishops in attendance were Bishops Peter Weaver, Peggy Johnson, Earl Bledsoe, Christian Alstad and Minerva Carcano.

Delivering the reflection based on Micah 6:8, the Rev. Dr. Bobby McClain urged United Methodists to continue to push for justice and peace for all people, reminding them that to walk humbly with God, Christians must do justice and love mercy.

Also in attendance were ecumenical leaders including Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director of Islamic Society of North America, and Rabbi David Saperstein, executive director of Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, who read the Micah text.

As part of her installation, Henry-Crowe received gifts from around the world, including a candle as a symbol of God’s light from across Africa; water as a symbol of God’s creation and baptism coming from Asia; salt as a symbol from North America of God’s power to flavor and transform the world; bread as a gift of the earth from Europe, remembering the call to nourish God’s children across the globe; a peace crane as a symbol of faith from across Central and South America; and the Gospel as the Word of God and the Word of life from the Pacific Islands.

She also received a basket from General Commission on Religion and Race General Secretary Erin Hawkins and Bishop Carcano on behalf of the general secretaries and presidents of the Boards and Agencies of The United Methodist Church, to symbolize “our vocation to be woven in a connectional ministry, bound by mutuality, trust, and accountability.”

Bishop Weaver, on behalf of the Council of Bishops, gave her keys as a sign of new passageways and continuing journeys that “as a servant leader you may continue to lead the church with a bold vision that leads to life.”

Randall Miller on behalf the GBCS gave her a copy of The United Methodist Book of Resolutions, to “provide us with a public witness that we may be a prophetic Church called to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”

From ecumenical and interfaith partners, Henry-Crowe received flowers and a bell as a signs of God’s creation and the call to freedom of conscience and responsibility to advocate for truth and peace in all traditions.

In her response, Henry-Crowe vowed to be the custodian and steward of the gifts and to “exercise this trust, accepting their privileges and responsibilities.” She promised to “faithfully uphold the Gospel, the ministry of church and society, the work of justice for the sake of Christ’s love, redemption, reconciliation and peace.”

She said she would continue to pray for and help create a world where “Christians build bridges, where justice prevails and all peoples are able to flourish with dignity.”