Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky has announced the selection of Laurie Day as new Director of Connectional Ministries and Assistant to the Bishop for the Oregon-Idaho Conference.
Day will be known to many in the Oregon-Idaho Conference. She grew up in Caldwell, Idaho and the Caldwell United Methodist Church, was a camper, counselor and staff member at Sawtooth Camp, and attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
Currently, she serves as the Director of Community and Congregational Engagement for the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Laurie Day
Laurie Day will become the director of connectional ministries in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. (Courtesy Photo)
But Day’s connections reach around the world. A high school Volunteers in Mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania sparked an interest in global missions. This led to full-time mission service with the General Board of Global Ministries in the United States, Northern Ireland, Kenya, and Liberia, as well as 15 years on the World Methodist Council.
She remains connected today as a member of the General Board of Church and Society, a board member of the National Plan for Hispanic Latino Ministry, and in the Western Jurisdiction as a member of Hispanic Latino Ministries Advisory Council and the Interethnic Coordinating Committee.
In addition to her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Willamette University, Day earned a Master of Arts in Specialized Ministry (Justice and Peace Studies) from Iliff School of Theology and a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University.
Day has held a variety of staff positions with the Rocky Mountain Conference and the Mountain Sky Conference in the last 11 years. First working in the Treasurer’s office, then becoming the Assistant Director of Mission and Ministry. Over the years she has developed a broad portfolio that includes mission, advocacy, multicultural ministry, camp and retreat ministry, community engagement, and communications.
Her current role focuses on providing strategic leadership and oversight to the teams, boards, and agencies related to Community and Congregational Engagement Ministries.
“Having worked with Laurie in the Mountain Sky Area for 8 years, I know her deep faith, her competence, and her heart for people on the margins,” said, Bishop Stanovsky. “She was nurtured and formed by the Oregon-Idaho Conference. It’s great to bring her back home at a time when we are shaping a new future.”
“I am excited to return to the Oregon-Idaho Conference – the place that first taught me about God’s love, grace, the strength of community, and the place where a deep commitment to justice and advocacy became rooted in me," said Day.
She added, “I am eager to be part of the next steps God is opening up for the Conference – offering my leadership, experience and connectional relationships during this important time within our church.”
Rev. Lowell Greathouse will retire June 30, turning the reins over to Day.