Bishop Gregory V. Palmer has announced the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Suzanne Allen as Great Miami River District Superintendent effective January 1, 2025. This appointment coincides with the appointment of the current superintendent, Rev. Jenn Lucas to Resurrection Mason. 

“I could not be more pleased that Rev. Dr. Suzanne Allen has accepted my invitation to become a conference superintendent assigned to the Great Miami River District,” Palmer said.  “Suzanne’s love for Jesus Christ and The United Methodist Church is obvious through her excellent preaching and her outstanding leadership in the churches she has served and as the Chair of West Ohio’s Board of Ordained Ministry. She is one of the most thoughtful people I know.”

As one of the Senior Pastors of Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, she is both humbled and excited. “I am looking forward to this new opportunity as we move into the next chapter of what it means to be United Methodist in West Ohio.  In each of my appointments I have experienced the Holy Spirit working through the Bishop and cabinet as I have stepped into a new role, whether in a local church or extension ministry position,” she said.

Suzanne has served churches in the West Ohio Conference since 1998. Her previous appointments include Defiance St. Paul’s, Milford Trinity, Springboro First, and the Ohio River Valley District, West Ohio Conference, as an Assistant to the District Superintendent & Regional Missional Specialist. 

She has an undergraduate degree in writing and literature from Ohio Wesleyan University, a Master of Divinity from The Candler School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry with a focus in Theology and Leadership from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.  

Her passions in ministry include cultivating faith filled community, developing leaders, inspiring innovation, and pursuing justice by using gifts of preaching, teaching, and administration in order to strengthen the local church to make disciples of Jesus Christ and transform the world. 

Suzanne is married to Daryl Hams, a Registered Nurse who works in public health and harm reduction.  She has two children. Jake is in his third year at Colorado College, and Zoe is a senior in high school.

She enjoys being outdoors, particularly hiking, kayaking, gardening, and traveling. 

“As a life-long United Methodist, I believe in the power of our connection. Now is the time to remember and celebrate who we are and how God is leading us as the church. I am honored to be a part of this work,” she concluded.

Although this appointment announcement is being made at the end of Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer’s assignment in West Ohio, incoming Bishop Hee-Soo Jung is fully aware and supports both of these appointments.