The Rev. Leigh Goodrich, pastor at Lexington United Methodist Church in Massachusetts, will become the Director of Leadership and Education at the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) in Chicago. She starts Nov. 1, 2015.
Rev. Goodrich described her new role: “My job is to create resources, conduct trainings, host events, and analyze data and research to ‘challenge The UMC… to a continuing commitment to the full and equal responsibility and participation of women in the total life and mission of the Church, sharing fully in the power and the policy-making at all levels of the Church’s life (BOD 2101).’ Rev. Leigh Goodrich told clergy colleagues
about her new role at the Bishop's Day on
the Metro Boston Hope District.
“I will be helping to set the vision and direction of the Commission’s ministries and to carry out the overall assigned and emerging tasks of the agency. These include training, support and strategy with annual conference COSROWs, recommending structural changes to make the Church accountable to the full inclusion of women, and advocating for all people who face gender discrimination.”
Rev. Goodrich has served churches in the New England Conference for 14 years. She started a new church and served there for nine years before serving a more established congregation. She serves on the Northeastern Jurisdiction’s Appeals Committee, and has been elected as an alternate to General Conference in 2012 and 2016. She was the 2015 recipient of the New England Conference’s Wilbur C. Ziegler Award for Excellence in Preaching.
Rev. Goodrich is a graduate of Boston University School of Theology, summa cum laude (M.Div.), Montclair State University (M.A.) and Purdue University (B.A). She is the proud mother of Steven and Matthew.
"It is always amazing to me to see the way God uses all we are to call and challenge us to even broader ministry. My new position incorporates my formal education in the social sciences, organizational development, and my seminary education,” Rev. Goodrich said. “Beyond that, my experiences working in the local church, learning from our New England Conference consulting network, mentoring candidates for ministry, working on various conference committees, and participating in our General and Jurisdictional delegations, have prepared me for this adventure.”
