Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church has appointed The Reverend James T. McPhee as the new District Superintendent for the Tri-State District, effective July 1, 2013. Rev. McPhee will succeed Rev. Janice Davis and Rev. Michael Davis, who have served as District Co-Superintendents for the maximum term of eight years, and as Co-Deans of the Cabinet for the past two years.
“I am very grateful for the leadership of Revs. Janice and Michael Davis, for their faithful service with the churches in the Tri-State District, and especially in helping to make this past year a smooth transition in Episcopal leadership with the Cabinet,” said Bishop Devadhar. “We wish them both many blessings as they make the transition to a new ministry in the coming months.”
Rev. McPhee has served on the New England Conference staff since 1999, first as the Executive Director of Resourcing Ministries, and beginning in 2003 as Director of Connectional Ministries/Assistant to the Bishop. Prior to his work on the Conference staff, Rev. McPhee served as senior pastor of Brunswick UMC in Maine for seven years. He also served previously as pastor of Dover-Foxcroft and Atkinson, ME churches for five years, and Easton and Mars Hill, ME churches for four years.
“Jim’s ministry in the New England Annual Conference, grounded in his strong leadership and deep faith, has had broad and profound impact on every ministry area and corner of our conference,” Bishop Devadhar stated. “I give thanks to God for the many pastoral and administrative gifts Jim brings to his ministry, and I am confident he will be a tremendous blessing to the churches and pastors of the Tri-State District.”
Rev. McPhee has also served beyond the local church and conference. He is currently an Adjunct Faculty member at Boston University School of Theology, where he teaches United Methodist Polity. He is a member of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Vision Table, and has also preached widely and led numerous workshops on a variety of topics including Financial Stewardship, Adaptive Leadership, Safe Sanctuaries, and Rethink Church. In addition, he has served on a number of Conference and Jurisdictional committees, and has had significant involvement in the work of dismantling racism in the New England Conference and beyond.
Rev. McPhee attended The Theological School at Drew University, graduating Cum Laude in 1983 with a Master of Divinity. He has a BA in Public Affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.