News and Views

On Friday, September 19, Rev. Bonnie McCubbin was honored at the Annual Meeting of the General Commission of Archives and History (GCAH) of The United Methodist Church with the Contemporary History Trailblazer Award. This award is given “to a person(s), group, institution, or church(es) who has made significant contributions to the innovative sharing of the history of The United Methodist Church.” Rev. McCubbin, the Director of Museums and Pilgrimage/Conference Archivist for the Baltimore-Washington Conference, was nominated by the Commission’s History and Interpretation Committee, and was unanimously selected for her work in “engaging in innovative pilgrimages and bringing museums to life…and [her] commitment to pastoring and preserving history is admirable and commendable as well.”

In the Zoom presentation of the award, the assembled body, numbering more than 25 persons from every Jurisdiction in the United States, was led by the Chair, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey from the Texas Annual Conference. During the Awards Presentation segment, Bishop Harvey turned the meeting over to Dr. Ashley Boggan, General Secretary of Archives and History. Dr. Boggan introduced those who received the Distinguished Service Award: Bishop Ernest S. Lyght, retired; Carol Travis, Baltimore-Washington Conference; and Mollie Stewart, Southeast Jurisdiction. Together, they represented the African American Heritage Center on the 25th Anniversary of their establishment to help promote and preserve the history of Black Methodists.

After celebrating the African American Heritage Center, Dr. Boggan introduced Rev. McCubbin and commended her for her publications on Cokesbury College, rediscovering Bishop Asbury’s last written words, archaeology at Old Otterbein, her work on creative in-person and virtual pilgrimages, and her forthcoming book on the dissolution of the racially-segregated Central Jurisdiction (set to be released February 2).

When accepting the award, Rev. McCubbin stated, “My hope and prayer is that by renewing Pilgrimage theology and practices, we can reclaim the root of who we are as a People Called Methodist. I’m not a trailblazer; rather, I’m a trail-restorer. Restoring the trails that were forged by our ancestors and drawing attention to the practices that shaped and formed us for so many generations, with the intent that they can shape and form future generations too.” She then encouraged others to become “trail-restorers” too.

The Contemporary History Trailblazer Award was first awarded in 2024, making Rev. McCubbin only the second recipient. To learn more about the work of GCAH, visit www.gcah.org. To learn more about the Pilgrimages offered and how to engage in the ministry of being a “trail-restorer” in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, please visit https://www.bwcumc.org/about/history-archives/history/ or email .