Bishop Bigham-Tsai has announced her intention to appoint Rev. Doug Cue as the pastor at Newton First United Methodist Church beginning on July 1, 2023.
Cue was appointed to serve as the Golden Valley District Superintendent in July of 2019.
"I have only known Rev. Cue a short time, but it has been a joy working with him. He has a heart for the local church and a heart for Jesus," said Bigham-Tsai. "I am grateful for the excellent leadership he has provided for the Golden Valley District. He will be missed on the cabinet, but he will be a gift to Newton First."
Prior to serving Golden Valley, Cue served as the lead pastor at Boone First United Methodist Church and was chair of the Conference Board of Trustees, on which he had served for several years.
Ordained as an Elder in The United Methodist Church in 1993, Cue has previously served at Silver Creek-Hancock, Garwin-Pleasant Hill, Kalona, Sharon Center, and Missouri Valley-Mondale prior to his tenure at Boone First.
Bishop Bigham-Tsai is also pleased to announce her intention to appoint Rev. Brian Oliver onto the Cabinet serving as the District Superintendent for the Golden Valley District beginning on July 1, 2023.
"I first met Rev. Oliver at the jurisdictional conference and was struck by his authenticity and character. He holds strongly to his convictions while at the same time being able to be in relationship with those who disagree. I believe that he will bring to the cabinet a deep faith and an open heart," said Bigham-Tsai.
Oliver has been a pastor in the Iowa Annual Conference since 2002. He has served at Tingley-Ellsotn-Wishard Chapel, Delmar-Elwood, Christ, Toledo-Living Faith Tama/Montour, and Wesley, Muscatine.
He is a graduate of Grand View University and University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and holds an MBA from Eastern New Mexico University.
He and his wife, Heather, have been married for 23 years. They have two adult daughters, Samantha, who was recently married and works at Stanley Consultants in Muscatine; and Hannah, who is still living at home and is attending Capri College in Davenport studying cosmetology.
From Oliver:
"I am grateful to God and to Bishop Kennetha for being selected for this role. I have always had a passion for our United Methodist connectional structure. I am looking forward to being a bigger part of it and helping churches and individuals navigate it. I am also looking forward to working with those who are staying in the United Methodist Church in the midst of our theological differences."
Bishop Bigham-Tsai is also pleased to announce her intention to appoint Rev. Katie Z. Dawson onto the Cabinet serving as the Assistant to the Bishop (A2B) beginning on July 1, 2023
"Rev. Dawson has proven herself a gifted leader at every level of the church. She is a sensitive pastor, an effective administrator, and an excellent communicator. She will bring both wisdom and a passion for the Gospel to the role. I look forward to working with her as my new A2B," said Bigham-Tsai.
Dawson is an ordained elder, serving as the lead pastor at Immanuel UMC in Des Moines since 2014. Her previous appointments include First UMC in Marengo and as the Field Coordinator for Imagine No Malaria in our conference.
She is currently serving the connectional church as a Director with the General Board of Global Ministries and as a leader for our Iowa delegation. Previously, she has been part of our Jurisdictional and Conference Rules of Order Committees. She studied communications, religion, and physics at Simpson College and received her Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
Dawson and her husband, Brandon, enjoy board games, gardening, and playing World of Warcraft. She is the author of three books: Three Gifts, One Christ, The Lord Is Our Salvation, and All Earth is Waiting.
From Dawson:
"This winter, I am preaching through the book of Nehemiah with my congregation. We started by thinking about how the foundations and supports we used to rely upon have crumbled and what it might look like to start rebuilding our community and our connection. When I think about the work we have ahead of us as a conference and a denomination, we have to start from that place of noticing what we’ve lost, where we are disconnected, and ask God to help gather up our scattered peoples. As part of our Iowa delegation, I heard loudly and clearly this would be a focus of Bishop Kennetha’s ministry among us, and I am excited to work alongside her as we go deeper in faith and rediscover who we are as United Methodists in a new season. I’m grateful for all of those leaders who have helped to guide us through the past few years as a conference and continue to lead us in hard conversations that are not yet resolved. I also fully admit that so much is unknown about this future…which is exciting and terrifying all at once. I hope to bring to this role curiosity, compassion, and humility as we care for the work of this conference, our churches, our laity and clergy. I plan to do a lot of listening and ask a lot of questions and I look forward to serving all of you in this new way."