When Judi Kenaston became West Virginia Annual Conference secretary 21 years ago, she was the first lay person and the first woman to serve in that role.
She also received information to help her in her new duties on floppy disks.
“So, things change, but God’s love remains, and I am thankful for that,” Kenaston said after being recognized by Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball at Annual Conference Friday morning for her years of service and her new position as Interim Chief Connectional Ministries Officer (ICCMO) for Connectional Table effective January 2023.
The Connectional Table works to steward the mission, vision, and ministries of The United Methodist Church. For more information, please visit umcct.org
“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do what I am doing at the Connectional Table and with the general church,” Kenaston said as she thanked attendees at Annual Conference.
Kenaston is a lifelong United Methodist and West Virginian. She graduated from Marshall University in 1981, the same year she married Rev. Joe Kenaston. The two met at a Fall Workshop and established a district youth ministry together. She received a master’s degree from National-Louis University in Chicago, Ill., in 1984, and a year later, she and Joe welcomed their first of three children.
Kenaston has served as Conference secretary to four bishops and compiled and edited 21 West Virginia Annual Conference Journals, among many other duties.
“Your faithfulness to Christ, to the West Virginia area and to the UMC has been outstanding,” Steiner Ball said, calling Kenaston “a trustworthy servant of the church, always ready to go the extra mile.”
For more than 10 years, that extra mile has also included work with the larger United Methodist connection. Kenaston has been associated with the Connectional Table since 2012. She has served as a board member for the CT representing the Northeastern Jurisdiction. Prior to serving as a board member, she served as the Chairperson of the Commission on General Conference.
And all the while, Kenaston continued to go above and beyond her responsibilities with the West Virginia United Methodist Conference. Among her many duties has been writing memorials and signing certificates for retirees, including one for her mentor and predecessor, Dwayne Lowther.
Kenaston told Conference attendees that if they owned a certificate with her signature, she had prayed over each one.
“Thank you for letting me be a part of your incredible journey in ministry,” she said.
You may watch the video tribute to Judi Kenaston here.
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