 Susan
W. Hassinger
Adjunct Professor
Bishop in Residence
Susan Wolfe Hassinger was elected a bishop of the United
Methodist Church in 1996, and was assigned to the Boston
Area, the New England Annual Conference. She is retiring
from the responsibility as a residential bishop at the end
of August 2004.
Immediately prior to being elected as a bishop,
Susan had been director of The Office of Resourcing for
the Eastern
Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In that capacity she worked with congregations and church
organizations
of various sizes, settings, and racial/ethnic backgrounds
in conflict transformation, visioning, team building, and
congregational development.
Her training, in addition to extensive work in conflict
transformation, has included organizational development,
family systems as applied to groups and organizations, anti-racism
and white privilege, and leadership for change. Bishop Hassinger
has also facilitated groups, including the annual conference,
in processes of decision-making in addition to or instead
of parliamentary procedure. Her practice of spiritual discernment
with individuals and groups draws on the “holy conferencing” of
John Wesley, as well as such diverse perspectives as the
Quaker clearness committee and the Ignatian spiritual exercises.
Bishop Hassinger has been part of the design team and first
president of JustPeace Center for Conflict Transformation
and Mediation. She has also served on a task force on Theological
Education and Leadership Formation that included representatives
of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church,
the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the
Association of United Methodist Theological Schools. That
task force has produced a working document “A Wesleyan
Vision for Theological Education and Leadership Formation
for the 21st Century.” She has also been a part of
a joint task force that produced a study on Holy Communion, “This
Holy Mystery,” that was adopted by the 2004 General
Conference of the United Methodist Church.
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