Sandra Ferguson, a leader in The United Methodist Church, died Saturday, Aug. 20.
Ferguson served the church for 44 years, 29 years on the staff of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, in the areas of youth ministry, social justice and missions, and as Director of Connectional Ministries. She was also elected to be a delegate to seven General Conferences and served on the denomination’s Connectional Table and the General Boards of Discipleship, Global Ministries and Church and Society. Her passion for justice and her work for diversity and inclusion made her a trailblazer in this region and throughout the denomination. She retired in 2015.
She is survived by her husband, Ron and a large and loving family of children and grandchildren, including Sharon Ferguson, who is the receptionist for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
“Sandy Ferguson was the epitome of a devoted and spirit-filled disciple,” said Bishop LaTrelle Easterling. “She was a woman of tremendous faith and passion. She gave herself, heart, and soul, to the church she loved and led with a spirit of grace and empowerment.” Further recognizing Sandy’s service, Bishop Easterling noted, “I have repeatedly stated that I would like to remove the word ‘volunteer’ from our denominational lexicon. We are not volunteers; we are servants of God. Sandy understood the assignment. She will be missed and my prayers are especially with her family as we all mourn her loss.”
At the time of her retirement, Ferguson was remembered by now the late Bishop Felton Edwin May, who joked, “If there were an office in our denomination with the title of ‘Mother Superior,’ I would campaign for it to be bestowed upon Sandy Ferguson. She and her leadership are reflections of Holy Boldness.”
