Ethnic Background: Filipino
Conference: Alaska
Probationary Date: 04/21/2002
Full Membership Date: 04/27/2006
Number of Eligible Quadrenniums: 5.5
Education:
Elementary: with honors, 1986
SPED Center (Fast Learner Program), Baguio City, Philippines
High School: with honors, 1990
University of the Philippines Baguio High School
College: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, 1994
University of the Philippines
Graduate School: Master of Management major in Business Management(MBA equivalent), 2000
University of the Philippines
Seminary: Master of Divinity, magna cum laude, 2003
Wesley Divinity School, Philippines
Ministry Experience:
Ministerial Service Record/Appointments
Greater Northwest Episcopal Area (Alaska, Pacific Northwest & Oregon-Idaho Conferences)
Assistant to the Bishop, July 2021 – present
– assistant to Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky; assigned various tasks and special projects related to different facets of ministry leadership in the area
Co-Dean, GNW Area Cabinet, July 2014 – May 2022
– together with the PNW and OI deans, planned and facilitated meetings of the GNW Cabinet
Alaska United Methodist Conference, a Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church
Conference Superintendent, July 2014 – May 2022
– helped envision the transition into a Mission District status in a decolonized and values-driven way; supervised clergy and local churches across a vast geographic area and conference staff
Director of Connectional Ministries, July 2014 – June 2021
– connected local churches with each other and with resources within and outside the denomination; facilitated the planning annual conference sessions
United Methodist Church of Chugiak, Chugiak, Alaska
Pastor, July 2008 – June 2014
– led the church in looking outside of themselves and be engaged in vital ministry with their community; engaged in the multiple facets of pastoral ministry; supervised paid and volunteer staff
Baguio Episcopal Area, Philippines (Northern, Northwest, Northeast, North Central, Northeast Luzon, Central Luzon, Pangasinan & Tarlac Annual Conferences)
Assistant to the Bishop, February 2006 – May 2008
– assisted Bishop Benjamin A. Justo in leading the eight annual conferences in the area; facilitated the planning of area-wide events
Baguio City First United Methodist Church, Baguio City, Philippines
Senior Pastor, June 2004 – January 2006
– helped cast Vision 2020, a vision of planting 20 churches by the year 2020; what was then a church with three mission points and three daughter churches is now a mission district; engaged in the multiple facets of pastoral ministry; supervised paid staff and mission pastors
Associate Pastor, June 2000 – May 2004
– participated in the rotation of preaching in 4 worship services and three preaching points; joined in the pastoral care team; in charge of youth and student ministry
Philex Mines United Methodist Church, Benguet, Philippines
Pastor, June 1998 – May 2000
– engaged in the multiple facets of pastoral ministry; led the church in growth and financial health
Other Ministries & Connectional Involvement
General Conference
– Clergy Delegate and Head of Delegation (Alaska Conference), 2016 & 2019
– Member, Inter-Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, 2016-2020
General Board of Global Ministries
– Board Director, 2016-present
– Member, Policy & By-laws Committee, 2016-present
– Member, Mission Engagement Committee, 2017-present
– Member, Mission Programs Committee, 2016-2017
– Board Member, United Methodist Development Fund, 2016-2018
Western Jurisdiction
– Clergy Delegate and Head of Delegation (Alaska Conference), 2016
– Member, WJ Committee on Episcopacy, 2016-present
– Member, WJ Committee on Investigation, 2016-present
– Member, WJ Mission Cabinet, 2014-2021
– Member, WJ Inter-Ethnic Coordinating Committee, 2009-2015
Alaska United Methodist Conference
– Member, AUMC Leadership Team, 2012-2022
– Member, Birchwood Camp Board, 2014-2022
– Member, Nome Community Center Board, 2014-2022
– Chair, Committee on Congregational Development and New Ministries, 2013-2014
– Chair (2012-2013) and member (2009-2012), Professional Ministries Unit (DCOM equivalent)
– Chair, South Central Regional Program Council, 2009-2012
– Member, Communications Committee, 2008-2009
Philippines Central Conference
– Clergy Delegate, 2008
– Lay Delegate, 1996 (2nd alternate to General Conference)
– Head of Delegation, National Youth Conference of the United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines (UMYFP), 1996 & 1998
– Head of Delegation and member of Styling Committee, National UMYFP Constitutional Convention, 1997
Northwest Philippines Annual Conference (as clergy person)
– Conference Statistician, 2000-2006
– Assistant Conference Secretary, 1996-2000
– Coordinating Council Member, 1994-1998, 2000-2006
– Worker (Clergy Adviser) with Young Adults (UMYAF), 2001-2008
– Worker (Clergy Adviser) with Youth (UMYF), 1998-2000
– Part-time Faculty, Aldersgate Divinity School, 2003-2006
– Faculty/Staff Member, School for Christian Youth Development, 2002-2006
Northwest Philippines Annual Conference (as lay person)
– President, Conference United Methodist Youth Fellowship, 1994-1998
– Technical Services Staff, Baguio Episcopal Area Bishop’s Office, 1995-1996
– Member, Board of Trustees, Lingayen Christian Center, 1994-1998
– Member, Board of Trustees, Dudley-S. Lara Christian Center, 1994-1998
– Part-time Faculty, Southeast Pangasinan District Mission School, 1994-1995
Baguio City First UMC (as lay person)
– Vice President, UMYFP Local Chapter, 1992-1994
– Director/Script Writer, various local church Theater productions, 1992-1998
– Assistant Director/Script Writer, Mission TeleVision (TV Ministry of Baguio UMC), 1996-1997
Community and Ecumenical Involvement:
Ecumenical
– Member, Table of Mainline Judicatory Heads in Alaska, 2014-2022
– Participant, Muslim-Christian Inter-faith Dialogue, Davao, Philippines, 2008
– Participants, Ecumenical Bishops Forum on Christian Unity, Manila, Philippines, 2007
– Member, Baguio-Benguet Ecumenical Group, 2000-2006
– Member, Philex Mines Inter-Denominational Council, 1998-2000
Other Relevant Experience:
Secular Professional Experience
Script Writer/TV Host/Voice Talent, 1996-1998
ABS-CBN Regional TV-Radio Network (TV3 Baguio)
Script Writer/Production Assistant, 1992
Department of Tourism, Cordillera Administrative Region
AV Project on the Cordillera Tourist Spots
Script Writer/Production Assistant, 1992
Camp John Hay Promotional Video Project
Why are you being called to the episcopacy at this time? What is it that you especially bring to the role of bishop with the current challenges facing our denomination and the Western Jurisdiction right now?
My call at various points has always been affirmed in covenant community. The call to the episcopacy was awakened by trusted people who know me and my ministry. They, beyond mere flattery, affirmed that I have gifts fit for the office and have invited me to discern. Conversations and prayerful contemplation over a couple of years have shaped my sense of call to lead during this pivotal time in the life of the Church. Having been part of the major movements in the UMC and WJ over the past years, I have a growing desire to help bend history ever so slightly towards God’s justice, peace and all-inclusive love.
For the splintering in our denomination right now, I offer leadership that is relational and collaborative. My culture has taught me to lead from a circle, leaning on the wisdom of everyone around, making decisions based on consensus informed by those outside the circle. I will not come as an expert in all things, for I am not. The experts are among us and the task is how to bring them together for shared leadership.
The strength of the WJ is our diversity. It is our gift to the UMC. Yet it could also be the cause of discord. I am called to lead in the intersections of diversity: to find the places of mutuality where we can do vital ministry together while celebrating difference beyond mere politeness and, to find places where intersections can happen where there are none. This is the work of healing and reconciliation, of reparations and decolonization. This call was seasoned in the margins, as someone from historically and still marginalized segments of our system– that of a person of color, an immigrant from a colonized people and one who was raised in ministry outside the US.
In this season of uncertainty, I offer leadership that leans into change and is comfortable in liminal spaces of transition. In every setting I have served, I have tried to facilitate movement towards new ways of being and doing.
I offer leadership that is tempered by experience: in cabinet work of appointment-making, conflict resolution and clergy & local church supervision; in leading an annual conference and; as second chair to episcopal leaders whose areas covered multiple conferences, both in the US and in a central conference.
Above all, there is a deep inexplicable sense of that I am called for such a time as this. In my roles beyond the local church, I have been given the unique opportunity to observe and learn about the office up close. It is an extremely challenging role, yet in this season of discernment, my own call has become clearer. I see myself leading as one who leaves room for God’s movement and mystery. After all, we are people of faith.
Describe how the last two years have affected your ministry.
The pandemic made me grow in adaptive leadership. I was tasked to lead the first iteration of the COVID Response Team for the GNW Area. The team coordinated multiple facets of our crisis response including monitoring cases in four states, determining the best sources of data and the most up-to-date science, discerning the best way to support pastors and churches with relevant mitigation guidance, online worship resources & assistance in PPP loan applications, responding to emergent community needs and managing dissent & conflict.
I leaned into my pastoral leadership, providing a steady, non-anxious presence for clergy and lay leaders in Alaska through regular virtual check-ins for prayer, support and resource sharing. At its peak, we met twice a week to give everyone a sense that they were not alone.
I also tapped into my tech savvy and background in broadcasting. On the first Sunday of lockdown, I led a virtual service for churches in Alaska who could not quickly pivot to online worship. In the months that followed, I became the regular host for areawide resource and support webinars for our clergy and churches. During charge conference season, we developed a way to gather online that took care of essential business but also provided for meaningful engagement. That same was true for helping plan three years’ worth of virtual Annual Conference sessions for our three conferences.
The murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd sparked a new season of racial unrest in the country, deepening my awareness of my own experience of racism and micro-aggressions even in church settings. It made me understand my own colonized mind and identity and has fueled a desire to break free and explore who I and my people really are. It has freed me from leading and doing ministry the way dominant culture does it, to unapologetically leading from my authentic, Filipino immigrant self. This season helped me find my voice as a POC leader in a predominantly white church.
The postponement of GC and JC also impacted my ministry. It gave us in Alaska more time to plan the transition to a Mission District, allowing us to discern a decolonized, values-driven way of living into this new reality and inviting the PNW Conference to a mutually beneficial partnership rather than a hostile takeover. The delay also helped in my discernment of call to the episcopacy. It gave me ample time to pray and reflect with my wife and our sons, allowing us to explore scenarios and their impacts on our life as a family.
I came out of this liminal period with new leadership experiences, a passion to lead from my authentic self and a readiness for the next chapter of life and call.
Endorser: Bishop Shelley Wickstrom
Relationship to Candidate: Ecumenical Judicatory Colleague
In support of Pastor Carlo Rapanut
I have known Carlo through his ministry as the Alaska Conference Superintendent. His openness to approaches and attitudes have contributed to the cooperative work of the judicatory leaders of the Alaska Conference, the Presbytery of the Yukon, the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska, and the Alaska Synod of the ELCA.
Carlo is a thoughtful and articulate champion for those on the margins and for good governance that serves all for Jesus’ sake. As superintendent, he has been open to congregational partnerships and hasn’t backed away from messiness in congregational or denominational life. His calm demeanor serves us all well in conflicted situations.
In his discernment about being available to serve in the role of bishop, Carlo has demonstrated his openness to feedback and counsel. He is approaching this availability to serve as bishop with a prayerful and humble heart.
Those of us who serve in the western part of the United States are aware of western perspectives on the life of faith. Carlo integrates knowledge of his own family culture within the diversity and younger church history of the west. He is a leader for the present and future.
Bishop Shelley Wickstrom
Alaska Synod-ELCA
1847 W Northern Lights Blvd #2
Anchorage, Alaska 99517
907.272.8899
Endorser: Rev. Charles Asiaqnataq Brower
Relationship to Candidate: Clergy colleague whom candidate formerly supervised
Statement of Support/Endorsement for Rev. Carlo Rapanut
Carlo’s gifts I enjoyed while pastoring under his Supervisory were his ability to understand and identify with issues in a small, rural, predominantly Alaska Native church in Nome, struggling with finances and understanding our role as a mission church. He helped a small, culturally diverse congregation trying to understand the actions of a “far off” Jurisdictional Conference and “even further and more distant” General Conference. Carlo was able to identify with our church needs and with individuals concerns with honesty and an open and understanding mind.
Carlo helped immensely with the concerns of the church by explaining and sharing his concerns and understanding of the actions of General Conferences and their potential impact on our local church. He shared his personal hurts, losses, and experiences in ways our diverse congregation understood and elicited concerns for our church’s importance with the Alaska Conference.
Carlo led our annual conference’s leadership team with quiet and well-planned meetings, with close attention to time and energy spent on each item on the agenda. He made certain all voices were heard and encouraged active participation. For a pastor of color (me) within a mostly Caucasian led Annual Conference, Carlo was a huge help.
Rev. Asiaqnataq Charles Brower
Retired UM Elder, Alaska Conference
Co-Executive, Intergenerational Arctic Ministries
9073600112
Endorser: Kelly Marciales
Relationship to Candidate: Deaconess Colleague
It is with great joy that I recommend to you Rev. Carlo Rapanut. I have worked with Carlo for the past 8 years in the Alaska Missionary Conference. In those years, I have experienced spiritual giftedness and abilities that are qualities that lend themselves well to the role of Bishop.
Carlo has proven to be a prophetic leader. In the last 5 years, the Alaska Conference has been living into becoming a Mission District of the Pacific Northwest Conference. While there were many perspectives to consider in that decision, he led with vision and clarity of purpose, effectively moving those who were initially in opposition towards acceptance and hope that a Mission District status would better align with Alaska’s fiscal and human resource needs while preserving its unique ministry identity. With his collaborative leadership, Alaska has entered into the transition with the PNW in a decolonized and values-driven way, as a partner with gifts to offer and not merely a smaller system to take over.
I have experienced Carlo’s commitment to a decolonized and anti-racist Church through both his words and behaviors. He has guided difficult conversations about systemic oppression, racism, colonized theology, and helped to grow in mutual understanding in one of the more conservative contexts in the United States. Gentleness and clarity of purpose are two gifts of the Spirit that are evident in his leadership.
Kelly Marciales
UM Deaconess