Meet our Newly Appointed NYAC Director of Connectional Ministries

NYAC Communications 

Rev. Doris K. Dalton, the Newly Appointed
NYAC Director of Connectional Ministries,
Is Primed and Ready for Success

 
Within the New York Annual Conference, Rev. Doris K. Dalton is known as a preacher, teacher, champion for the creation of welcoming, inclusive spaces, and an adept go-to for all things pertaining to Cooperative Parish ministries. 
 
But soon, Rev. Dalton will add yet another experience to her portfolio: NYAC Director of Connectional Ministries (DCM).
 
This appointment (effective July 1, 2023) will allow Rev. Dalton to continue doing the things she loves most, namely, helping people become the leaders God is calling them to become and equipping clergy and their congregations to ensure all are welcome, heard, and supported. 
 
She’ll  also take on the work needed to shepherd congregations as they work to discover how God is calling them into their local communities lean into the need to cultivate highly effective NYAC ministries that live more fully into our mission, vision, and core values.  
 

Dreaming of a Future Rife with Potential and Possibility

Rev. Dalton has already begun dreaming of the possibilities. Collaboration across all areas of the Conference will be key, she confides. Thankfully, she has tilled the ground for success in this new chapter in her capacity as Director of Leadership Development and Intercultural Competency. 
 
“My personal mission statement is “extending the table of love so all may eat and be full.” This is a new opportunity to live more fully into my calling,” she says. “We’re already asking our leaders to dream and do much more in our Cooperative Parishes. It’s essential to do this as well in the context of the Annual Conference as a whole,” Rev. Dalton adds.

“I welcome the opportunity to be impactful, to be transformative in right-setting, resetting, and pivoting all that we do for future ministry possibilities of the New York Annual Conference.”
 

Business-Minded, Collaborative, and Pastoral Leadership 

 
Rev. Dalton holds master's degrees in both business administration in global economic development and divinity. Her 20-plus years of hands-on experience in organizational leadership in the faith-based and non-profit sector are an added bonus in a time when ministerial success is so often contingent upon having an entrepreneurial mindset. 
 
“I’ve always aimed to infuse leadership lessons, intercultural competency, and innovation into my work and ministry. This will, of course, continue as I pick up responsibility for stewarding our overall approach to ministries that embody who we are in the NYAC. 
 
As a Deacon in full connection with years of experience in churches, non-profits and community organizations, Doris is accustomed to being adaptive and creative in her leadership roles. She is aware that there is much to do in the coming months, but she will not be doing it all alone. Supporting her in this role will be Rev. Ximena Diaz-Varas, Assistant to the Bishop, who will expand her role to include Assistant to the DCM. 
 
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton rests assured that Rev. Dalton is equipped for the challenges that come along with her new appointment. 
 
“I am pleased that Rev. Dalton has agreed to become the Director of Connectional Ministries in our Annual Conference," Bishop says. "Doris brings a wonderful mix of enthusiasm and expertise to this position. The depth of her call and the way she lives out that calling is unquestioned. I look forward to the ways in which she will lead us in fulfilling our mission, vision, and core values.”
 
Bishop Bickerton goes on to stress how Rev. Dalton brings just the right mix of high energy and enthusiasm; denominational understanding of Conference structures and programs; business acumen; and familiarity with of our current needs/concerns to bear as she charts a path forward. 
 

A Facilitator for Change and Collaboration

Rev. Dalton, also a devoted wife and mother, has been a member of the NYAC for nearly a decade. Rev. Dalton has led the Westchester Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Nonviolence as its executive director and currently serves her community as the chair of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.

As DCM, Rev. Dalton says she will continue to be a “facilitator of change for the Church” and lean more robustly into transformational leadership and growth so all persons are welcomed into a place and space to become their whole selves. 

“Though we are in the midst of a transition, I see many opportunities to reach people in our communities and share God’s transformational love and grace,” she explains. “I am excited to see what God will lead us to do together. With God on our side, there is nothing that we cannot do.”