The Nominating Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference is presenting the following ballot for the 2026 Conference taking place in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sunday, June 28, to Thursday, July 2.
Complete biographical information for the following nominees is online at www.brethren.org/ac2026/business/ballot and will be printed in the Conference booklet.
Moderator-elect
Amy Gall Ritchie of Manchester Church of the Brethren, North Manchester, Ind., in South Central Indiana District. Ritchie is an associate pastor of Pastoral Care and Faith Formation at Manchester Church of the Brethren and is a spiritual director and founder of the Persimmon Studio. Previous employment included serving as director of Student Development for Bethany Theological Seminary. Her additional leadership on the denominational level has included preaching for Annual Conference and service on the Annual Conference worship planning team, and she has helped provide leadership at other Church of the Brethren conferences. On the district level, she has served on the district board, has been clerk, has served on the district ministry commission, and has been summer staff at Camp Mack in Milford, Ind. On the congregational level she has been church board chair and a Sunday school teacher. Her intercultural experience has included a student pastorate at the former Iglesia de los Hermanos de Rio Prieto in Puerto Rico. While in Brethren Volunteer Service, she worked in a home for families experiencing domestic violence, and also has served on the board of a domestic abuse shelter coalition. A pastorate in Michigan provided opportunities to befriend and support immigrants.
Gilbert Romero Jr. of Glendora (Calif.) Church of the Brethren in Pacific Southwest District. He is a pastor, music leader, prison chaplain, and a leader in the Bittersweet Ministries and the Bittersweet Gospel Band. Additionally, he is active in the Los Angeles Skid Row ministry. On the denominational level, he has served on the Mission and Ministry Board and on the former General Board, has served on committees of Annual Conference including the Separate No More Study Committee and the Program and Arrangements Committee, has preached at Annual Conference and National Youth Conference, and has been instrumental in Church of the Brethren mission work with congregations in Mexico. On the district level, he has served on the district board and on the ministry commission (ex-officio), has been district Spanish Ministry Training Coordinator for Education for Shared Ministry (EFSM) and Seminario Biblico Anabautista Hispano (SeBAH) programs through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, has volunteered at Camp La Verne in southern California, and has led workcamps in Tijuana, Mexico. He has been doing intercultural work in the denomination for more than 40 years, has served on the Intercultural Ministries Advisory Committee, and has twice received the Revelation 7:9 Award from the Intercultural Ministries office.
Program and Arrangements Committee of Annual Conference
Natasha Beaumont of Mount Wilson Church of the Brethren, Lebanon, Pa., in Atlantic Northeast District
Lee-Lani Wright of Springfield (Ore.) Church of the Brethren in Pacific Northwest District
Mission and Ministry Board, Area 3
Veronica Barnes of Cedar Creek Church of the Brethren, Citronelle, Ala., in Southeastern District
Terri Welch Luzynski of Montezuma Church of the Brethren, Dayton, Va., in Shenandoah District
Mission and Ministry Board, Area 5
Daniel Klayton of Ellisforde Church of the Brethren, Tonasket, Wash., in Pacific Northwest District
Gretchen Zience of Seattle (Wash.) Olympic View Community Church of the Brethren in Pacific Northwest District
Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee
Brian Rice of Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren in Atlantic Northeast District
Chad Whitzel of Easton (Md.) Church of the Brethren in Mid-Atlantic District
For more information about the Annual Conference go to www.brethren.org/ac
#cobac26
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