The Wisconsin Delegation to General and Jurisdictional Conferences is pleased to announce its endorsement of the Rev. Dan Schwerin as a candidate for the office of Bishop in the North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ). The vote took place at the delegation meeting on November 17, 2019, at First UMC in Tomah. Dan was the first clergy elected to the 2020 General Conference delegation during our last annual conference session, and he has served on previous delegations to the jurisdictional conference.
Dan is a father and grandfather, a narrative preacher, entrepreneurial spirit, and a poet. He is currently serving First United Methodist Church of Waukesha, chair of the committee on the episcopacy, chair of the Bishop’s Task Force, and chair of the NCJ Urban Ministries Network. Dan has taught on the faculty of Faith Alive and the Wisconsin Conference Institute of Congregational Development. He served churches in Duncan, OK and Parfreyville, WI before becoming the founding pastor of Still Waters UMC in Jackson, WI. He served as a superintendent on two cabinets before being appointed to First UMC.
While at First UMC, the congregation has developed a beloved community of nonprofits that benefit children and families and became a Reconciling Ministry in the UMC.
The delegation was impressed by Dan's spiritual grounding and his record of ministry affirming all persons. He has a record of transformational ministry in the local church as well as in conference leadership. His commitments are born of a relational theology and his current work on the bishop’s task force is not only working toward the full inclusion of all God's children in the life of the church, it is also auditing and impacting systems that exclude. His record of inclusion and innovation is why his candidacy would be timely going into the Jurisdictional Conference’s season of discernment.
The North Central Jurisdiction is comprised of 10 Annual Conferences in the Mid-west that span 9 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The episcopal elections will take place during the North Central Jurisdictional Conference July 14-18, 2020. Please keep the delegation and Dan in your prayers.