At a meeting in November, the Presbytery of West Virginia elected Maureen Wright to be its new lead presbyter.
As the search committee began considering candidates for the Presbytery of West Virginia’s lead presbyter, Maureen Wright didn’t know if she wanted to be in the running for the position. It wasn’t because of a lack of qualifications, as Maureen was the presbytery’s transitional general presbyter and stated clerk while also holding titles of assistant to the stated clerk and associate presbyter for congregational support since joining the presbytery in 2010.
But in August – nearly six months into the search process – Maureen felt called to apply.
“I didn’t throw my hat in the ring until the search committee posted the position,” she recalled. “I really had to search my heart as to whether as an internal candidate I could firmly grasp and say, ‘Yes, this is a good thing.’ I really struggled and had a significant period of discernment about, is an internal or external candidate the way to go?
“Obviously, one always thinks about what’s best for themselves, but I really had to struggle and think about is this what I see as a viable good thing for the presbytery? Finally, it came down to when I was thinking of the work that was going on in the presbytery – because we had already started implementing the strategic plan by the time the search committee started – I was like, ‘Wait a minute. That’s my work. I want that work. I want to do that work with them.’”
Maureen’s experience and knowledge of the presbytery made her an ideal candidate, and at West Virginia’s November meeting she was elected as the lead presbyter and stated clerk of the region. While working as a leader in the presbytery isn’t something new for Maureen, having a slightly different role this time around has her ready for the new challenge.
“I am excited about the opportunity,” she said. “It is just one of those that is a lot of fun. There are all kinds of opportunities and new things that we’re looking forward to.
“We’ve got this new structure. We did all of this work to discern, strategic plan and a new staffing structure. We have goals that we want to achieve and where we want to go, and it’s the opportunity to kind of shepherd that and walk with the presbytery to accomplish those things.”
While Maureen is the lead presbyter, the presbytery is also hiring a connectional presbyter, an associate who will serve alongside Maureen. This full-time person who is expected to be called early in 2026 will focus on bridging the gap between the presbytery and its congregations.
“This person will focus on putting in structures and fostering relationships between the presbytery and its churches and between churches with other churches,” Maureen said. “They’ll also figure out who are our partners in ministry and how do we communicate and be in relationship more with them.
“I’ll be head of staff and deal with overarching, visionary, coordinating things. The connectional person will look at leadership development, some educational programming including our commissioned pastor preparation program. They’ll also look at relationship building.”
West Virginia has also hired a person to handle the presbytery’s communications and has elected a new treasurer and business administrator.
“I’m just really enjoying working with the staff and seeing all of the excitement that particularly our communications person is generating,” Maureen said, referring specifically to Communications Coordinator Kristin Rhodes. “It’s exciting to see her focusing and working on our churches. They’re doing things, and we’re recognizing them and supporting them. A thrust of that new strategic plan is to be a better resource and support our churches more effectively. I’m excited for building up those relationships.”
Maureen Wright (front) poses with the Presbytery Leader Formation team in Portland, OR.
Making sure that the work of the presbytery staff isn’t “siloed” is an important piece of the work that Maureen will be doing early in her tenure. She is focused on having everyone work together to accomplish the goals of the presbytery.
“For all of us to communicate back and forth in a meaningful way is important,” she said. “And that’s challenging when you have the large number of churches and a significant geography. We have 41 of the 55 counties in West Virginia.”
Maureen knows there will be bumps in the road for her as she leads and directs the presbytery, and she’s ready to tackle the issues that come her way.
“The biggest challenge is helping all of our churches have vital ministry,” she said. “We have over 110 churches, but the median size of our churches is about 26. That means we have a lot of small congregations, and how do we help them either discern what their ministry is or help them continue to execute vital ministry?
“Like everybody else, our resources are finite. So, how do we learn to live and move in a way that’s faithful yet is good stewardship of our people, of our churches, of our financial gifts and resources that we have?”
Hope has and continues to be a resounding theme for the Presbytery of West Virginia, and it’s something Maureen will lean on as she goes about her new work in the region.
“One of the things that I want to do to mark that is have different conversations about hope and really make certain that we’re all keeping the work we have in front of us, which is what God called us to do, is hopeful work,” Maureen said. “It’s really easy to get bogged down in the ‘we don’t haves’ or ‘we’re overwhelmed by.’”
Maureen took over for Ed Thompson in 2023 following Ed’s retirement as West Virginia’s general presbyter, a position he held for nine years. The groundwork laid by Ed and other past leaders like Gay Mothershed is still very relevant within the presbytery and something that Maureen wants to continue.
“I couldn’t be where I am and do what I do without their amazing leadership,” Maureen said of her predecessors. “Ed started a conversation when he came of helping the presbytery look at itself as it is now, not what it has always been. A lot of what Ed prompted and started at the end of his service to the presbytery helped us get to the strategic plan we have. What I’m doing is directly a result of the legacy that he left, and I’m very thankful for that.”
Following the lead of those before her – and that of a divine spirit – is what Maureen will use to guide her into the early stages of her new leadership role in West Virginia. It’s a region she’s certainly comfortable with, and that familiarity will benefit both her and the congregations in her midst.
“I really feel like both through doors opening and people – my coach, my husband, my family that puts up with the crazy and chaotic schedule that I live now – those things all said to me that God’s giving me this opportunity, and I need to take it,” she said. “I don’t know how long it will last but it’s mine to hold for right now. My goal is to be very faithful to that opportunity and the space that’s God’s created for me to do ministry in now.”