Centenary chaplain selected for United Methodist leadership position
SHREVEPORT, LA — Reverend Lindy Broderick, chaplain and director of the Christian Leadership Center at Centenary, has been selected by the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church to chair the Order of Deacons for the next quadrennium (2020-2024).
In the United Methodist Church, the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry nominates a chair from within the Order of Deacons and the chair is then elected by the Order, in cooperation with and under the guidance of the bishop of the Annual Conference.
Broderick has served Centenary as chaplain and director of the Christian Leadership Center since August 2017. She completed her seminary requirements through a partnership between Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and Centenary’s Christian Leadership Center graduate seminary studies program. Broderick was ordained a deacon in 2015 to foster a civil discourse in the business community and legislative arena while in her secular career as the Government Relations professional and Executive Vice President of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. After leaving the business community in December 2016, she served as the interim pastor for three small rural churches in Natchitoches Parish until her full-time appointment as chaplain at Centenary.
“In the United Methodist Church, deacons are special individuals—called and ordained to serve,” says Dr. Christopher L. Holoman, Centenary president. “Rev. Broderick is an essential part of our Centenary community. I am delighted that the entire Louisiana Annual Conference will be able to benefit from her faith, compassion, and leadership over the next four years.”
Deacons in the United Methodist Church are ordained clergy and are members of an “Order”. The Order of Deacons in an annual conference comprise all the deacons in full membership. Orders are to gather regularly and provide spiritual and professional development opportunities, assist fellow members in their retreat and continuing education plans, strengthen the bond of unity among the members, and nurture supportive, trusting, and accountable relationships among members.
The Chair of the Order of Deacons also represents the Order to the conference of the Board of Ordained Ministry and serves as a member of its Executive Committee.
"I'm humbled and honored to serve as chair of the Order of Deacons in the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church,” says Broderick. “I'm also grateful to my colleagues at Centenary College for their encouragement and support for my serving in this volunteer leadership capacity within the Order of Deacons. Ordained Deacons are called to servant ministry to connect the church to the world and to bring the needs of the world to the church. Ordained Deacons in the United Methodist Church serve in specialized ministries within local church settings and in extension ministries beyond the walls of the local church. Deacons are called to lifetime ministry of Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice."