Ralph Kern Eutsler (August 2, 1919 – January 2, 2020) was an American

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, elected in 1984.

Birth and family

Eutsler was born August 2, 1919, in

Bridgewater, Virginia Bridgewater is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,596 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. History William Magill first settled alo ...

. He married Eva Rebecca Vines of Greenville, Virginia October 10, 1945. She was born June 23, 1922, and is a graduate of

Mary Baldwin College Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

. They had two daughters: Rebecca Ann Coulter and Mary Margaret Abramson.

Education

Eutsler earned the B.A. degree in 1940 from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, just south of Lexington. He then earned the B.D. degree in 1943 from Union Theological Seminary in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Ordained ministry

He became a member of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

of The Methodist Church. Rev. Eutsler served the following appointments: Greenville- Mint Spring (1943–45), Elkton (1945–49), Luray (1949–53), South Roanoke (1953–60), the Ginter Park Methodist Church in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(1960–65), and the Washington Street Church in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

(1965–66). In 1966 he was appointed the executive director of Virginia Methodist Homes, Inc., serving in this capacity until 1973. Rev. Eutsler then was appointed the superintendent of the Alexandria District of the United Methodist Church (1973–78), then

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the Reveille U.M. Church in Richmond (1978–82). His final appointment before his election to the episcopacy was as director of the Virginia Conference Council on Ministries (1982–84). Rev. Eutsler was elected a delegate to U.M. General and Jurisdictional Conferences, 1964–84. He served on numerous conference agencies, and on the U.M. General Board of Global Ministries (1972–76) and the General Board of Discipleship (1980–88).

Episcopal ministry

The Rev. Ralph Kern Eutsler was elected to the episcopacy by the 1984 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church. He was assigned to the Holston Episcopal Area, where he served until his retirement in 1988. Bishop Eutsler served as the Chairman of the Curriculum Resources Committee of the U.M. General Board of Discipleship (1984–88). In

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

Bishop Eutsler served for seven years as the Director of Interpretation and Promotion of

United Methodist Volunteers in Mission The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicali ...

in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. He also served as a fund raising consultant with local churches. He died on January 2, 2020, at the age of 100.Bishop Eutsler, trusted leader, dies at 100
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References

*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church.

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

External links