Susan Wolfe Hassinger

Bishop in Residence; Adjunct Professor

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 retired from her responsibilities as a residential bishop at the end of August 2004. Immediately prior to being elected as a bishop, Bishop Hassinger 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 been part of task forces that have developed a document on theological education and leadership formation in the Wesleyan tradition, and the study of holy communion in the United Methodist Church, This Holy Mystery. From 2004 to 2008 she served as liaison between the Council of Bishops and the 13 theological schools of the United Methodist Church.