New Judicial Council organizes, elects officers

CLEVELAND (UMNS) – The newly reorganized United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s highest court, has elected its first clergy president in several decades.

The Rev. John Corry of Nashville, Tenn., was elected president during the council’s organizing meeting in May 11. The Rev. Rex Bevins of Lincoln, Neb., was elected vice president, and Sally Curtis AsKew of Bogart, Ga., was re-elected secretary.

The nine-person council now includes five new members, elected May 8 by delegates of the denomination’s General Conference. The new members will begin their eight-year terms when the legislative assembly adjourns May 12.

The new faces include the council’s first member from a central conference, as regional conferences outside the United States are called. That member is Rodolfo C. Beltran, a practicing attorney for 40 years in Cabanatuan City, Philippines.

The other members and their jurisdictions are the Rev. Keith D. Boyette, a pastor and attorney in Fredericksburg, Va. – Southeastern Jurisdiction; Mary A. Daffin, an attorney from Houston – South Central Jurisdiction; James Holsinger, a physician and attorney from Lexington, Ky. – Southeastern Jurisdiction; and the Rev. Larry D. Pickens, a pastor and attorney from Chicago – North Central Jurisdiction.

Thomas Matheny of Hammond, La., longtime president of the council, was unable to attend because of illness.

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--Joretta Purdue