ANCHOR Summit Strengthens Leadership and Connection Among United Methodist Emerging Clergy Leaders
GLENVIEW, Ill. — Wespath convened the ANCHOR Summit—Advancing New Church Hope, Opportunity and Resilience—in mid-September at its Glenview office. The two-day event brought together an established group of about 50 clergy who are rising leaders in The United Methodist Church (UMC) for two days of leadership development, open dialogue and relationship building.
ANCHOR offered attendees practical, ministry-relevant learning, new communication and leadership tools, peer networking, and an opportunity to build stronger connections to Wespath staff and services. It also gave the cohort an opportunity to reconnect and explore priorities including congregational sustainability, team leadership, clergy well-being and conflict management.
The Emerging Clergy Leaders Network (ECLN) is a group of highly engaged clergy from multiple annual conferences. The network previously connected at gatherings at Resurrection (a United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas), a 2025 Wesley Heritage tour tracing the origins of the Methodist church in England, and a Leading Edge gathering in early 2026.
“I had the honor of joining many of these clergy leaders on their Wesley Heritage trip in England last year, so it was especially meaningful to reconnect with them at ANCHOR,” Wespath General Secretary and CEO Andy Hendren said. “These thoughtful, committed faith leaders care deeply about the future of the Church, and ANCHOR gave all of us an opportunity to listen and learn from one another. Listening to their perspectives will improve Wespath’s support for all clergy throughout their ministries, and I hope the insights shared by our staff and board members will be equally valuable to them along the way.
“I see so much promise in this group,” Hendren added. “Their energy, creativity, curiosity and commitment leave me incredibly optimistic about the future of The United Methodist Church.”
Sessions covered a range of topics, including clergy well-being, retirement benefits, values-based investing, building healthy teams, navigating conflict and avenues for fostering systemic change in the UMC. Structured conversations also invited attendees to share their perspectives, priorities and common challenges.
Attendees described the ECLN network as an important asset and expressed interest in continued cross-conference connection, practical leadership development, shared data and infrastructure, inclusive leadership, peer learning, resource sharing and advocacy.
Over the course of the summit, attendees emphasized the value of greater transparency, shared standards and sustained collaboration across annual conferences. Many highlighted the need for greater consistency across annual conferences in areas such as appointments, leadership development, governance, data and administrative processes, while preserving the flexibility to adjust local contexts.
In a post-event interview, attendee Rev. Megan Twyman from St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, described ANCHOR as “the most organized and intentional conference” she has been to. She especially appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with others in the ECLN. “I got to hear my intelligent, thoughtful colleagues, who are so creative in the things that they’re doing and working on,” she said. “It helped me realize that I am part of that change. I have thoughts and creativity I can bring back to my annual conference. I just enjoyed every minute.”
Deaconess Celeste Eubanks, director of the Center for Christian Leadership at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, was a guest speaker at the ANCHOR event and led attendees through coordinated group discussion and leadership exercises. Other guest speakers were Bishop Robert Schnase of the Rio Texas Conference; and Rev. Kristopher R. Sledge, lead pastor of The Journey Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Rev. Sledge said he greatly enjoyed engaging with “such an exciting and impressive group” of leaders. “I’m grateful for [Wespath’s] hospitality and for the opportunity to be part of such a meaningful gathering,” he added.
Contact: Christina Tincher
Managing Director, Communications
(847) 866-5293
ctincher@wespath.org