In election results this afternoon, July 4, the delegate body of Annual Conference elected Don Fitzkee of Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, in Atlantic Northeast District, to serve as moderator-elect. He will preside over the 2026 Annual Conference as moderator.
Fitzkee is an ordained minister and a pastor of worship. He has been a teacher as well as a non-salaried “free minister.” His leadership roles on the denominational level have included service on the Mission and Ministry Board, where he served a term as chair. He has preached at Annual Conference. He has been a district representative on Standing Committee and authored the history of his district. For 17 years, he worked for COBYS Family Services, a district-related agency. In previous decades, while in Brethren Volunteer Service, he was an editorial assistant for the Church of the Brethren’s Messenger magazine. He is a graduate of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, earning a bachelor of science in Sociology, and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary—now Palmer, earning a master of arts in Theological Studies. He has an interest in Brethren history and is author of Moving Toward the Mainstream (Good Books, 1995), a 20th century history of the churches of Atlantic Northeast District. His intercultural work has included interaction with the Spanish-speaking community in his congregation, a recent family tour of civil rights sites in Alabama, and travel to Nigeria, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. He and his wife currently are helping to resettle Afghan refugees through Church World Service.
In additional election results:
Program and Arrangements Committee: Laura Sellers of Happy Corner Church of the Brethren in Clayton, Ohio, Southern Ohio and Kentucky District
Mission and Ministry Board, Area 4: Colby Patton of Wichita (Kan.) First Church of the Brethren, Western Plains District; Area 5: Erik Brummett of Live Oak (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, Pacific Southwest District
Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees, representing the colleges: David McFadden of Manchester Church of the Brethren in North Manchester, Ind., South Central Indiana District
On Earth Peace: Jennie L Waering of Roanoke, Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., Virlina District
Board-elected and constituency-elected directors and trustees were affirmed or reported:
Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee: Andrew Hamilton, district executive minister of Southeastern District (appointed by the Council of District Executives)
Mission and Ministry Board: Daniel Landon Butler of Ivester Church of the Brethren in Grundy Center, Iowa, Northern Plains District; Edward Cesar-Fincher of San Diego (Calif.) First Church of the Brethren, Pacific Southwest District; Pete Kontra, district executive minister of Atlantic Northeast District (ex-officio representing the Council of District Executives)
Bethany Seminary Board of Trustees: Patrick Chapman Starkey of Cloverdale (Va.) Church of the Brethren, Virlina District
Eder Financial: Jerry Patterson of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, Mid-Atlantic District; Wayne Scott of Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Southern Pennsylvania District; Donna Rhodes of Stone Church of the Brethren in Huntingdon, Pa., Middle Pennsylvania District
On Earth Peace Board: Priscilla A. Weddle, of Chesapeake, Va.; Laura L. Hay of Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, Pacific Southwest District; Carol Young Lundquist of Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., Northern Indiana District
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