Beth Downs, Director of Ministerial Services

E-mail Beth Downs

As Director of Ministerial Services, I provide staff support to the Virginia Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. In addition, Phyllis Crow works in this office to provide administrative support to the Office and the Board.

The Board works in the areas of call, development, and support of clergy, diaconal ministers, and certified lay professionals. I work very closely with district committees on ordained ministry to provide resources to assist them. This Office administers the credentialing process for persons seeking ordination and professional certification. We keep all the personnel files of clergy, diaconal ministers, and certified lay professionals in the Virginia Conference. We receive requests for funding for continuing education. We coordinate with the Bishop’s office all requests from clergy in other conferences and denominations who wish to serve in Virginia. And we provide resources for clergy development, evaluation, and assessment.  

I am an ordained deacon in full connection in the Virginia Conference. Following graduation from Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C., I received a Masters Degree in Christian Education from Duke Divinity School. In 1975 I was consecrated as a deaconess in the United Methodist Church. Then following the 1976 General Conference, I became a diaconal minister. When the 1996 General Conference established the Order of Deacon, I was ordained a deacon in 1998.

I have served in a variety of ministry settings since graduating from seminary in 1973, primarily in youth ministry and Christian education in the local church. Prior to moving to Virginia in 1983, I served in the North Carolina Conference, the Missouri East Conference, and the Baltimore Washington Conference. In Virginia, I served on the staff at Welborne United Methodist Church for four years and at Reveille United Methodist Church for eight years, prior to accepting this position in July 1998.  

I have three sons – Robert, William, and Matthew. Robert and William have completed college and are working in the world. Matthew is a student at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.