Bishop White Named Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agent

Bishop Woodie W. White


The Council of Bishops has named Bishop Woodie W. White (retired) as Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agent for The United Methodist Church, Dr. Jerome King Del Pino announced.

Del Pino, general secretary of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said Bishop White will assume his responsibilities when the Rev. Patricia Barrett, assistant general secretary of the Division of Ordained Ministry and Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agent, retires at the end of 2008.

White has led retreats for chaplains in Europe and has been involved with the work of endorsing chaplains since 1987, when he worked with the former Division of Chaplains and Related Ministries, providing spiritual and episcopal leadership for the chaplains and pastoral counselors in the Far East.

“His longstanding support for, and awareness of, the ministry of chaplains and pastoral counselors will undergird his ministry as Endorsing Agent,” said Del Pino. Del Pino said the work of endorsement was originally carried out by a commission of the Council of Bishops, then shifted to the newly created General Board of Higher Education and Ministry after the 1968 merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church.

Del Pino said there is a close relationship between endorsement and the appointive authority of the bishop, and that “the majority of our sister Methodist denominations exercise endorsing through the office of the bishop. After consulting with the bishops currently chairing the Endorsing Committee, Del Pino said he “determined to seek a restoration of the close relationship between the Council of Bishops and the ministry of endorsement,” and so asked the Council of Bishops to appoint White.

“Bishop White has been working with the staff of the United Methodist Endorsing Agency, which will continue to function within the Division of Ordained Ministry, in planning for a seamless transition,” Del Pino said.

To learn more about endorsement, visit www.gbhem.org/chaplains.