Bishop James Swanson

Bishop Swanson came to Holston Conference after being elected Bishop on July 14, 2004, at Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. Known across Methodism as an excellent preacher, teacher, visionary leader, and mentor, Bishop Swanson began his ministry after receiving a B.S. in Christian Ministries from Southern Bible College, a Masters of Divinity from C.H. Mason Seminary, ITC, and is a A.D. Ministerial Candidate at Perkins School of Theology. Bishop Swanson also served a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1970 to 1973.

Bishop Swanson has received numerous honors and awards. His service on the Annual Conference, Jurisdictional Conference, and General Conference level is very extensive, but the driving passion in Bishop Swanson’s life is to make disciples for Christ.

We welcome Bishop James E. Swanson Sr. to First Broad Street United Methodist Church and Holston Conference.
Rev. Jim Gulley
An ordained United Methodist minister and agricultural development specialist, Jim Gulley has been a missionary, pastor, teacher, trainer, program manager and evaluator within church, government and non-government organizations. Jim currently serves as a consultant on agriculture and rural community development with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) / General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) in Cambodia and Haiti.  As a member of the Rocky Mountain Conference, Jim also serves as the Conference Secretary of Global Ministries (CSGM), sharing responsibilities with others. He is also Chairperson of the United Methodist Missionary Association (UMMA).
David Malloy
 David is the product of a North Carolina Conference parsonage and was taught the value of service to the church. David is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke with a bachelor's degree in communications with a public relations concentration. David is a life long United Methodist and a member of the Franklin-St. John United Methodist Church in Newark, NJ. David comes to The Advance after serving for four years as the director of communications for the Greater New Jersey Conference.
Paulette
West
Paulette West became Executive Director for United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, Southeastern Jurisdiction (UMVIM SEJ) in July 2009.  Prior to that, she was a Connectional Ministries Consultant with the North Alabama Conference serving as the director of Mission and Advocacy; Conference Secretary of Global Ministries and Conference UMVIM Coordinator.  She is the first lay female director for UMVIM SEJ.
David Muwaya
David is a native of Uganda, one of the five countries that make up the East Africa Annual Conference. He resides in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda and home to the Bishop of EAAC. A teacher by profession, David joined the team of Macmillan Uganda Limited Publishers in 2001 as a writer and Sales Representative. He began working with the East Africa Annual Conference in 2000 as a board member of Humble United Methodist School in Uganda. In 2006, David became the Personal Assistant to the Bishop of EAAC, Bishop Daniel Wandabula. David coordinates many of the special projects of the five countries of the EAAC.
Thomas Dwyer
As director of operations for UMCOR’s Non-Governmental Organization, Thomas Dwyer oversees UMCOR’s overseas offices.  Field offices serve communities recovering from war and natural disaster, through transitional development and relief programs such as reconstruction, peace building, education, health and income generation.
Alberta McKnight
Currently the Program Officer for UMCOR focused on Sudan and Zimbabwe missions,  Alberta is has been providing program support to UMCOR Africa and Caribbean Mission for five years.  Prior to the organizational restructuring to merge the Europe and Asia missions with Africa and Caribbean missions, Alberta was the Senior Program Officer for five Africa and Caribbean missions. In that capacity, Alberta worked with a Program Officer and a Program Assistant to provide program support and donor oversight support to the missions.