PORTLAND, Ore. — For the first time in the denomination’s history, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has elected a woman to be its general minister and president.
Sharon Watkins was elected general minister and president of the 750,000-member denomination July 26, which also made her the first woman given the top spot of a major mainline Protestant denomination.
Watkins was elected by acclamation, as expected, by delegates to the Disciples’ general assembly meeting in Portland, Ore. She succeeds the Disciples’ interim leader, William Chris Hobgood.
Watkins, 51, is currently senior pastor at Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville, Okla. She was nominated for the post in April.
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