October 13, 2025

Installation Service Celebrates New Connecticut District Superintendent, Rev. Heather A.M. Sinclair

Bishop Bickerton and New Hope Episcopal Area Cabinet Members Assemble to Usher in a New Season for the United Methodist Church in Connecticut

By Lisa Isom, Director of Communications, New York Annual Conference

Nichols United Methodist Church welcomed laity, clergy, and members of Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton’s cabinets from the New England and New York Annual Conferences on a rainy Sunday evening to install Rev. Heather A.M. Sinclair in her new role as the Connecticut District Superintendent marking a significant moment for the district and the broader New Hope Episcopal Area, which now encompasses nearly 1,000 churches across the northeastern United States.

Reverend Jeremiah J. Paul—pastor of Golden Hill United Methodist Church in Bridgeport and Parish Coordinator of the district’s Bridge Cooperative Parish—was accompanied by youth vocalists who helped set the tone for the evening with a moving and beautifully orchestrated selection of worship music. A combined Connecticut District choir directed by Connie Chase, the former director of the West Point Glee Club, sang a selection of hymns with keyboard accompaniment provided by Nichols UMC music director, Gregory Horton. 

Rev. Albert Hahn, pastor of the host church, Nichols United Methodist Church in Trumbull, Connecticut, welcomed all in attendance, including Rev. Sinclair’s husband, Skip, and her daughters Grace and Sophia. The church selected to host Rev. Sinclair's installation was significant; she served her first appointment at Nichols UMC. Rev. Hahn noted how, “it feels like a wonderful circle of grace to welcome [Heather] back as our new district superintendent.”  Rev. Doris K. Dalton, NYAC Director of Connectional Ministries, opened the installation service with prayer. 

The Heart of Laity and Clergy Partnership

In his welcome to those gathered to witness the installation and celebrate this new chapter for the Conference and the Connecticut District, Bishop Bickerton emphasized the connectional nature of Methodist ministry and the collaborative spirit that defines the newly created New Hope Episcopal Area, composed of the New England and New York Annual Conferences. Bishop brought together his cabinets from both the New York and New England Annual Conferences, with district superintendents traveling from across the region—including Maine and New Hampshire—to affirm Rev. Sinclair’s ministry and installation. 

“We are a team,” Bishop Bickerton said, stressing that this unified leadership approach reflects the Methodist commitment to working together across geographic boundaries. The identical stoles worn by the cabinet members symbolized this collaborative unity.A central theme of the evening was the indispensable role of both lay and clergy leadership. Bishop Bickerton emphasized that the church’s strength rests fundamentally on the ministry of baptized lay members who live out their faith in their daily lives—in their work, their communities, and their relationships. He challenged the assembled New York and New England clergy leaders to understand their calling not as separate from but as supportive of lay ministry. “The calling you have is to accentuate their calling, to motivate their calling, to stimulate their service,” he reminded of the clergy’s role. “This perspective positions clergy as facilitators and organizers of lay witness rather than sole agents of ministry.”

Our New District Superintendent Recalls Her Call Story

In her sermon, Rev. Sinclair traced the spiritual markers of her journey to the superintendency, beginning with her formative experiences a Rolling Ridge Retreat Center's summer camp in North Andover, Massachusetts, in the New England Annual Conference. She reflected on a moment during a camp communion service when she felt moved deeply by the experience, a stirring she now understands as the Holy Spirit's call, although she couldn't fully recognize it at the time.Rev. Sinclair emphasized the importance of looking back over one’s life with new awareness. “The things that can only be seen most clearly through the rear-view mirror” reveal God's guidance and direction, she said, connecting her camp memories to her eventual calling to ordained ministry.

Her call crystallized during college through academic struggles, exposure to world religions, campus ministry experiences, and the goosebumps she felt when first preaching. Each element, she reflected, was part of a larger pattern only visible in retrospect.

An Invitation to Go Deeper

Using the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish as her text, Rev. Sinclair invited the congregation to embrace Jesus’ call “out into the deep water,” drawing parallels between the disciples’ hesitation to try something different and the church's present moment, suggesting that familiar methods are no longer as effective. “This newcomer, Jesus asked for them to do more,” Rev. Sinclair said. “When the disciples humbled themselves and followed Christ's direction, their nets filled to overflowing.” She invited the church to surrender to God's transforming presence similarly.Rev. Sinclair shared a recent experience that captured the heart of Methodist witness. During last month’s New Hope Episcopal Area Cabinet Mission trip to Vermont, she and her cabinet colleagues worked on the home of a woman named Justine whose home was damaged by flooding. After weeks of despair and profound loss, Justine watched as UMC-affiliated volunteers rebuilt her home and, in process, restored her hope. “You changed my life,” Justine told the volunteers as they said goodbye—words that moved Rev. Sinclair deeply and crystallized her understanding of the church's transformative potential. “We in our churches, through the grace-filled presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, have the opportunity to change lives,” Rev. Sinclair told the assembled congregation. “This mission extends beyond inviting people into church buildings; it means bringing the church's compassion and service into the world.”

Seeking Support for Immigrant Pastors

The offering for the evening supported the Pastors Immigration Fund, an initiative created by the New York Annual Conference to assist immigrant pastors navigating the costly and complex immigration system.

Rev. Ximena A. Diaz-Varas, Assistant to the Bishop for the New England and New York Annual Conferences, explained that legal fees and applications can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 per person—a burden most immigrant pastors cannot bear alone. Rev. Diaz shared how Rev. Sinclair had been her pastor when her English was limited, demonstrating the kind of care that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. Rev. Diaz-Varas invited the congregation to support immigrant pastors in continuing their ministry by giving at the service or contributing through our NYAC website. 

DS Sinclair Offers a Prayer for the Journey

Rev. Sinclair closed with a modern version of the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, a spiritual practice that has guided her ministry through appointments and life transitions. The prayer emphasizes radical trust in God's guidance, whether one is “lifted high” or “brought low,” and a commitment to belonging wholly to God. As Rev. Sinclair steps into her role as Connecticut District Superintendent, the evening underscored a vision of Methodist ministry rooted in shared leadership, humble responsiveness to God’s call, and a commitment to transforming lives both within and beyond the church. With the support of clergy, laity, and the broader New Hope Episcopal Area leadership, she begins what Bishop Bickerton regularly references as “the journey that continues,” into an uncertain but hope and faith-filled future.The Connecticut District yet again is blessed with a district superintendent deeply committed to the foundational principles of Methodism, rooted in the community she will serve, and committed to guiding the district through the next chapter of United Methodist witness in the New York Annual Conference and beyond.