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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
April 2001 |
Cobb appointed Lafayette DS
By Matthew Oates
Hoosier UM News Correspondent
Announced March 9, Bishop Woodie W. White appointed the Rev. Michelle A. Cobb to be new superintendent of the Lafayette District, effective June 16.
Cobb will succeed the Rev. Katharine Lehman Walker, who has served as district superintendent since 1995. Walker has accepted an appointment to West Lafayette First UMC in the Lafayette District, effective in June.
A native of Gary, Ind., Cobb is currently serving at Merrillville UMC in the Calumet District, she has led the 386-member congregation since January 1997. Earlier she served Marquette Park UMC in Gary from 1992 to 1996. Prior to her pastoral appointments, she served as staff chaplain at Methodist Hospitals, Inc. and as assistant pastor at First Baptist Church in Gary.
With undergraduate and graduate degrees in elementary education from Indiana University and Purdue University Calumet, respectively, Cobb began her professional life as a junior high school teacher. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. in 1989.
Michelle Cobb was ordained to the Christian ministry by the American Baptist Church in 1990. Then, in 1995, she was ordained an elder in the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.
She is co-founder of Black Clergywomen of Northwest Indiana and was a contributor for two books: How to Study and Teach the Bible and Sister to Sister, a devotional for and by African-American Women.
The Lafayette District includes 67 churches and has a total of 12,307 members. It also includes Wesley Manor, a UM retirement community; El Mes¡as ministries in Frankfort; and the Wesley Foundation at Purdue University. It covers all of Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties and parts of Fountain and Newton Counties.
Besides regular district responsibilities, Cobb will have ex-officio membership on the boards of directors of Wesley Manor and the Wesley Foundation at Purdue.
Cobb said she was surprised by her appointment, but is excited for the chance to meet another part of the body of Christ. "I'm looking forward to beginning a ministry with people who have a heart and desire to advance the kingdom of God," said Cobb.
When asked about the reaction of her Merrillville congregation, Cobb said, "They are happy for me." When it was announced, Cobb had to reassure a couple getting married in June that their date was safe. "That will be my final act as pastor at Merrillville."
Cobb enjoys reading, crocheting, the theatre and spending time with friends and family.