On Oct. 11, the Presbytery of Great Rivers endorsed Susan Davis Krummel. That same day the Presbytery of Charlotte endorsed Robert Austell.
That brings the number of candidates for moderator of the 220th General Assembly to three so far – with Neal Presa of New Jersey already having announced. The assembly will be held June 30-July 7, 2012, in Pittsburgh.
Susan Krummel. Since 2003, Krummel has served as executive/general presbyter and stated clerk of the Great Rivers Presbytery, located in central Illinois.
Before taking that position, Krummel worked for 24 years in pastoral ministry with congregations in Iowa and Illinois – serving congregations as small as 30 and as large as 1,300 – in roles from youth ministry to interim head of staff.
She has previously served as moderator and stated clerk of the Presbytery of East Iowa and has taught in training programs for commissioned lay pastors and interim and transitional ministers.
She also has served as president of the Association of Executive Presbyters, and as moderator of the General Assembly Nominating Committee.
Krummel graduated from the University of Illinois and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is married to another Presbyterian minister – Forrest “Frosty” Krummel, pastor of First Federated Church in Peoria, Ill. – with whom she has worked in shared ministry in several congregations. They have two adult daughters and three grandchildren, with a fourth grandchild due to be born this fall.
Robert Austell. Austell has been pastor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., since 2002 and has served as moderator of Charlotte Presbytery. He’s also known among Presbyterians through his blogging activity, and his posts on Twitter.
Austell writes a blog called “lighthouse/searchlight church”, in which explores topics from missional questions to technology and denominational disputes.
And for the 2010 General Assembly, Austell set up a blog called GA HELP, which featured all things General Assembly-related – including news, commentary, social media links and basic background information to help Presbyterians get up to speed on how the assembly works and the issues it was considering.
Austell is a graduate of Davidson College and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, writing a dissertation on worship and music.
He served as a General Assembly commissioner in 2008 and previously served as associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lenoir, N.C.
Austell and his wife, Heather, have three daughters.
