Appointed for Another Year: A Word About United Methodist Itineracy and BUMC

Each year in The United Methodist Church, pastors are appointed to serve churches and ministries across the connection. This is one of the pieces of our Methodist tradition that can feel a little different, especially if you come from a church background where congregations hire or call their own pastor.

In the United Methodist tradition, we are part of what is called an “itinerant” system. The word itself has to do with traveling or being sent. In the earliest days of Methodism, pastors and circuit riders traveled from community to community, often on horseback, preaching, organizing classes and societies, offering the sacraments, and helping nurture the life of the church across wide geographic areas. The goal was never simply movement for movement’s sake. The goal was mission: sending pastors where their gifts could meet the needs of a community, and where the church could continue sharing the love and grace of God.

That same spirit continues today, even though it looks different than it did in the days of circuit riders.

In our current system, appointments are made by the bishop in consultation with the cabinet, which includes our district superintendents. During appointment season, there is prayerful conversation and discernment between the pastor, the Staff/Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, the district superintendent, and the bishop. The pastor shares their sense of call, energy, gifts, and hopes for the ministry. Church leadership shares how they understand the needs, opportunities, and future of the congregation. The district superintendent helps hold those conversations within the larger life of the conference. And ultimately, the bishop makes the appointment, seeking to match the gifts and graces of pastors with the needs and opportunities of churches and communities.

That means appointments are not simply job placements. They are part of our shared life as a connectional church.

Bishop Kristin Stoneking and the Mountain Sky Cabinet have been working hard to encourage stability and appointments that allow pastors and congregations enough time to grow into fruitful ministry together. Bishop Kristin has often noted that studies suggest churches and pastors frequently do their best work together between years five and eight of an appointment. That kind of continuity matters. Pastors and congregations need time to build trust, grow together, learn one another’s stories, and see what God is doing over time. At the same time, United Methodist pastors continue to be appointed one year at a time, beginning July 1 and ending June 30. Each year, we enter that process with open hands, listening for where God may be calling us next.

For me, this is not just church structure. It is part of my own story.

Over the course of my ministry, I moved seven times in twelve years before coming to Bozeman. In that same span, I served in leadership and ministry across eleven different churches. That kind of movement has shaped me in meaningful ways. It has taught me to trust the connection, to listen for God in new places, and to believe that every church has its own holy calling. But it has also made me deeply grateful for the gift of staying long enough to put down roots, build relationships, and keep doing the slow, faithful work of ministry together.

This past Sunday, I shared with you that at Annual Conference in Billings, Bishop Kristin read the appointments for the coming year, and my appointment to Bozeman United Methodist Church has been set for a fifth year.

I am deeply grateful.

BUMC is in a meaningful season. Over these past few years, we have been finding our footing after the disruption and uncertainty of COVID. We have seen consistency return. We have seen stability grow. And now we are seeing signs of new life and momentum. Already in 2026, more than ten people have joined or transferred their membership to BUMC, and on Pentecost we celebrated seven new members. These are not just numbers. They are people. They are stories. They are commitments. They are signs that God is still growing this community in love, welcome, and service.

We are also, according to the latest district reporting we have received, the largest worshiping United Methodist congregation in the state of Montana. That is something worth naming with gratitude, not as a trophy, but as a responsibility. We are called to steward this season faithfully. We are called to keep growing deeper, not just larger. We are called to be a church where people can do good, seek God, build community, and find an open, ongoing journey of faith and love.

There is also important news to share about Pastor Mari-Emilie.

Pastor Mari-Emilie has the opportunity to be appointed full time in the Livingston and Pine Creek area as those churches do the hard, holy, and faithful work of merging into Mountain Valley UMC. Though we have not seen her regularly on Sundays at BUMC in recent months, she has continued serving in her role as our Nurture Care Pastor through June. We have intentionally given her the space and blessing to be present with her churches on Sundays as they strengthen relationships, make important decisions, and prepare for this new chapter together. 

We are deeply grateful for Pastor Mari-Emilie’s care, compassion, and ministry among us. She has helped set up and lead our nurture care team in quiet, steady, faithful ways, and we will continue to bless her as she follows this next call. On Sunday June 28th we will celebrate and thank Pastor Mari-Emilie for her time and services here in Bozeman with a reception in the Narthex Coffee area after Church.

This is part of what it means to be United Methodist. We are not isolated congregations doing our own thing. We are connected to one another. We share pastors. We share ministry. We share mission. We bless one another when it is time to stay, and we bless one another when it is time to go.

So as we begin another appointment year, I am grateful to continue serving as your pastor. I am grateful for the work we have already done together. And I am hopeful for the work still ahead.

There is still good work to do here.

There are still people to welcome.
There are still relationships to deepen.
There are still wounds to tend.
There are still neighbors to serve.
There are still stories to hear.
There is still grace to share.

And I am grateful that, for another year, we get to do that work together.

Do Good…

Pastor Zach