Early Observations
Palmer is a native of Philadelphia, Pa. and served as pastor in the East Ohio Conference prior to his election to the episcopacy in 2000, when he was assigned bishop of the Iowa Area. The move from Iowa to Illinois has not been a difficult one because of the number of similarities between the areas.
“(My wife) Cynthia and I have found a warm and generous welcome since arriving,” he said. “Those things that define Midwest hospitality we’ve experienced in a very profound way.”
Among the similarities Palmer notes is the sense of “at home-ness” and the similar drivers that define those who live in the Midwest – the economy, demographics and the ways in which people relate to the church, especially The United Methodist Church.
“I have inherited a wonderful mantle of leadership from my predecessor, Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher,” Palmer said. “I see it in the wonderful cast of staff and non-staff leaders in this conference. I am really intrigued and drawn in by the ways in which the conference has focused its mission on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Palmer also believes the IGRC is doing very well in living out its mission. “I told folks that they don’t have a clue as to how far along you are in articulating the context and out of the milieu of who we are what it means to live out the vision and mission of the conference. The ongoing discernment and its five strategies provide a way for persons to walk around the mission.”
He also noted that conference staff roles have been defined and reworked in a harmonious way that helps persons “get their heads and hearts around the role of the conference in equipping congregations for the disciplemaking task.”
Challenge for the next four years
Palmer says that one of the challenges for the conference in the next four years will be further aligning the conference’s resources with the vision and mission.
“Like all organizations, we struggle with how we align the budget so that it is very clear that it reflects the priorities we have articulated,” he said. “It is ongoing work because you can get out of alignment very quickly if you don’t pay attention to it.”
The issues surrounding the merger of the former Central and Southern Illinois conference in 1996 still provide areas of work. “As I have listened to people, it has taken us 12 years to get us to the place where we are,” Palmer said. “Without paying attention to what makes us one in Jesus Christ, what makes us one as United Methodists and one in witness and ministry, we will be distracted from what God has called us to be.”