New York-Connecticut District
Superintendent
Rev. Tim Riss
Timothy J. Riss is a United Methodist by choice. His father was a Lutheran pastor who later became a Presbyterian; his mother, a Juilliard graduate, played the organ for Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, and United Methodist churches. When he was 15, he chose to join the Ardsley, N.Y., United Methodist Church. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Rochester, N.Y., where he majored in psychology and minored in mathematics. His master of divinity degree is from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary, an American Baptist and Episcopalian school.
Tim's work experience includes three summers as an intern at the Population Council of Rockefeller University in Manhattan, 1 1/2 years with the U.S. Postal Service in Rochester, three years as student assistant at the First Presbyterian Church of East Rochester, and 34 years as the pastor of United Methodist churches in New York: Fleischmanns and Halcott Center, Franklin, Catskill, Smithtown, Hicksville, and Poughkeepsie. His appointments began in a cooperative parish in rural New York before moving to suburban and urban pastorates.
Beginning in 2015, Tim served as superintendent of the Catskill Hudson District, our rural district. Four years later, he was appointed as the superintendent of the New York-Connecticut District, which includes some rural territory, some suburban communities, and several small cities.
Within United Methodism, Tim has served in many leadership capacities, including as a delegate to General Conference every four years from 1996 (as first alternate) to 2020 and also at the 2019 special session. He chaired the NYAC delegation in 2016, but declined that role in 2019 to provide that opportunity to one of our LGBTQIA pastors. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Interjurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy and as secretary of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy. He served as a director of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) from 2008-2016. He has been vice-chair and secretary of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Annual Conference Boundaries and the chairperson of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Town and Country Association.
In the New York Conference, he has served as the chairperson or co-chairperson of six groups, including the Board of Ordained Ministry (1996-2000) and the Council on Finance and Administration (2007-2012).
Tim married his best friend, Genie Abrams, in 2002. He is the father of Jon and Sam and the stepfather of Rachel, for whom he thanks God every day.
Churches
Bangall (merged 2021)
Beacon: Christ
Brewster: First
Buchanan: Trinity-Boscobel
Carmel: Drew
Central Valley
Cold Spring/South Highland
Cornwall
Danbury
Darien
Elizaville
Fishkill
Fort Montgomery: Hudson Highlands
Goshen
Greenwich: Diamond Hill
Greenwich: First
Greenwich: New Life Korean
Greenwich: Round Hill
Harriman
Highland Mills
Holmes
Hyde Park
Katonah
LaGrangeville: Trinity
Milan: Rowe
Millbrook: Lyall Memorial Federated
Millerton
Monroe, NY
Mount Kisco
Mountainville
New Canaan
New Milford-Edenville
Newburgh: Gardnertown
Newburgh: Grace
Newburgh: Trinity Parish
Norwalk: Cornerstone
Pawling
Peekskill
Pine Plains
Pleasant Valley, NY
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie: Mid-Hudson Korean
Poughquag
Pound Ridge: Community Church
Purdys
Putnam Valley: Grace
Red Hook
Rhinebeck
Ridgebury: Grace
Ridgefield: Jesse Lee Memorial
Rowayton
Shrub Oak
Sloatsburg
South Salem: Stevens Memorial
Stamford: First
Sugar Loaf
Vail's Gate
Verbank
Warwick
Wiccopee Community
Wilton: Zion's Hill
Wingdale: South Dover
Yorktown Heights
District News>>
Events
6/7/2022 9:00:00 AM - Introduction to Systemic Racism (via Zoom)
6/8/2022 9:00:00 AM - Introduction to Systemic Racism (via Zoom)
6/22/2022 12:00:00 AM - Annual Conference (various times, via zoom)
7/23/2022 12:00:00 AM - 2022 Mission u