Bishop Tracy S. Malone is appointing the Rev. Cara Stultz Costello to the East Ohio Conference Cabinet.  She will serve as superintendent of the Tuscarawas District.

“To serve the kin-dom of God through The United Methodist Church in East Ohio and the Tuscarawas District is a distinct privilege. I am overjoyed to serve with Bishop Malone, my new colleagues on the Cabinet, and the pastors and congregations in the Tuscarawas District. I anticipate God enacting life-giving ministries in and through all of us together,” shared Stultz Costello upon learning of her new appointment. 

“Cara has been an effective leader in the local church, the East Ohio Conference and the greater United Methodist Church. She has demonstrated excellence, grace and commitment throughout her years of ministry. She has strong relational skills, excellent communication skills, and respects and values diversity and differences. Her gifts, insights, and innovation will enhance the work of the Cabinet and advance the mission of the church,” said Malone. 

Stultz Costello has served in the Tuscarawas District since 2009 as co-pastor of North Canton Faith UMC with her husband the Rev. Steve Stultz Costello. Her first appointment in the East Ohio Conference was as pastor of Spencer UMC (Firelands District), a church she served from 2001 until her appointment to Faith UMC.

Currently an adjunct professor at Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) and the chairperson of the East Ohio Conference Board of Ministry, Stultz Costello previously served as chairperson of the Annual Conference Worship Committee, as a compass group leader, and as a member of both the Firelands District Committee on Ministry and the Pastoral Care and Counseling Committee during her ministry. She also served as a General Board of Global Ministry US2 missionary at the Life Enrichment Center in McKenzie, AL, and as a chaplain with Hospice of Northern Virginia.

“I love God because God has first loved me. I love God’s people. This love moves me to invest myself in being fully-present to the ministry at hand and to continuously be seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the community of Christ so that the kin-dom of God may be more and more revealed on earth as it is in heaven. I take this work too seriously not to do it with a ‘boat load’ of joy!” said Stultz Costello.

Her appointment to the Cabinet is effective July 1. She succeeds as superintendent of the Tuscarawas District the Rev. Benita Rollins, who is retiring.

Stultz Costello earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a double major in sociology and music with a concentration in vocal performance from Albion College in Michigan, and a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

She and Steve are the proud parents of two sons.