East Ohio General Delegates

Meet the six EOC clergy and the six EOC lay delegates to the postponed 2020 General Conference, which will now meet August 29 - September 6, 2022, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The 12 General Conference delegates and the reserve delegates listed at the bottom of the page, comprise the EOC delegation to Jurisdictional Conference, which will be held November 2-4, 2022.

Contact all members of the delegation via one e-mail address, eoc2020gcdelegation@eocumc.com.

Clergy

Gary Henderson is chief Relationship officer of Global Partnerships for United Methodist Communications and executive director of Imagine No Malaria. He has been a delegate from East Ohio to four General Conferences and previously been the Annual Conference secretary, a member of the Conference Board of Ministry, the chair of the Jurisdictional Elections Committee, and has served in other Church leadership positions. Henderson will serve on the General Administration legislative committee at GC 2020.

Andy Call is lead pastor of Church of the Saviour UMC in Cleveland Heights, having previously served the congregation as pastor of Administration and Development. His leadership is to equip the church to live into Kin-dom of God through committed discipleship. A life-long United Methodist, Call was a lay delegate to General Conference 2012 before entering pastoral ministry. He will serve on the Higher Education/Superintendency legislative committee at GC 2020.

Dan Bryant is the lead pastor of Lakewood UMC, having been appointed there after serving eight years as superintendent of the Mahoning Valley District. He is currently a General Board of Global Ministries director and previously served as chair of the Church and Society Committee. Bryant was a delegate to General Conference in 2012 and 2016, and to the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. He will serve on the Ordained Ministry legislative committee at GC 2020.

Matthew Laferty is a General Board of Global Ministries missionary serving in Vienna, Austria. He was formed and trained in, and sent out by, the East Ohio Conference. Laferty served as a lay delegate to General Conference in both 2004 and 2008, and he has served at all levels of the Church including the Study Committee on the Worldwide Nature of the Church, the General Commission on Archives and History, and the Committee on Faith and Order. He will serve on the Faith and Order legislative committee at GC 2020.

Armando Arellano is pastor of Euclid East Shore UMC. He has served in different capacities and positions on the district, annual conference, jurisdictional, and the general church. In East Ohio he serves on the Board of Ministry and the Commission on Religion and Race. Arellano was a delegate to the 2008 NCJ Jurisdictional Conference, 2012, 2016 General Conference, and the 2019 Special Called General Conference. He will serve on the Global Ministries legislative committee at GC 2020.

Benita Rollins is superintendent of the Tuscarawas District. General Conference 2020 is the second conference at which she is a delegate. She will be a Jurisdictional Conference delegate for the ninth time in 2020. A trained SBC-21 (Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century) consultant, Rollins has served on community boards and district, Conference and General Church task groups and commissions. She will serve on the Church and Society 1 legislative committee at GC 2020.

Lay

Jerry Rinehart is a member of Mt. Pleasant UMC (Carroll County). He is co-director of Ohio Valley District Lay Servant ministries and a member of the East Ohio Agenda, Rules and Administrative Process (ARAP) Committee. A previous chairperson of the EOC Board of Trustees, and a member of the Board of Discipleship and Upper Room Ministries in Nashville, Rinehart was a delegate to General/Jurisdictional Conferences in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. He will serve on the Finance Administration legislative committee at GC 2020.

Martha Banks is a member of Christ Woodland UMC in Akron. A research neuropsychologist and former professor at The College of Wooster and Kent State University, Banks was a delegate to General/Jurisdictional Conferences in 2016, and the Special Session of General Conference 2019. The certified Lay Servant has served on the EOC Church and Society and Black Methodists for Church Renewal committees and the Commission on Religion and Race. Banks will serve on the Church and Society 2 legislative committee at GC 2020.

Betty Wilson is a member of Hammondsville UMC, where she has been a Sunday school teacher and Bible study leader for more than 50 years and works with Bible school and Pioneer Clubs. A lay speaker for more than 40 years, Wilson previously served on the East Ohio Annual Conference Program Committee, and on Ohio Valley District committees. She was a delegate to Jurisdictional Conference in 2008 and 2016. Wilson will serve on the Judicial Administration legislative committee at GC 2020.

Bob Wagner is a member of Harsh Memorial UMC, where he is chairperson of the Administrative Council. He currently serves on the Ohio Valley District Board of Church Location and Building and the East Ohio Conference Board of Trustees. Wagner has been a Lay Speaker/Lay Servant for more than 25 years and during that time has served many roles in the Church, including being a former district lay leader. He will serve on the Discipleship legislative committee at GC 2020.

Holly Grant is as member of Shreve UMC, where she serves in the church’s children’s programs, GriefShare, Women’s small group, and is a member of United Methodist Women (UMW) and the Education and Evangelism committees. Grant serves on the Conference Board of Benefits and was a delegate to General/Jurisdictional Conferences in 2016 and to the Special Session of General Conference 2019. She will serve on the Local Churches legislative committee at GC 2020.

Connor Prusha is a member of Chardon UMC pursuing certified candidacy for ministry. He is an advocate for young voices to be heard within the church while also pursuing compromise, Christian conferencing and unity, and wisdom, and he is dedicated to letting the Holy Spirit guide us as we seek God’s future for His church.