To be a strong leader in the church requires both commitment and flexibility—being grounded in God while remaining open to the movement of the Spirit. Diana Wrisley, former dean of the Laity Academy, is just such a leader. This year, she was recognized by the Academy’s Planning Team with the Walter King Lay Leadership award.

The award is presented each year to a layperson who has unselfishly given of their time and talents to serve others through their local church, their District, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, or the Laity Academy. It is named for the late Walter King who was a Christ Servant Minister, Lay Leader in his local church, and served on many conference committees. Wrisley certainly exemplified the spirit of servant-leadership that defines King’s legacy.

Wrisley’s journey in lay leadership began when she and her husband, Rick, took the Basic Christ Servant Minister class together at West Lawn UMC in Reading. That same year, they took their first advanced class. “I have to say, we were hooked,” she chuckled. “It was just so nice to get together with people from other churches and [get] their perspective on the movements and the activities that laity was leading in the churches as opposed to these little isolated islands of each church only operating within their walls.”

That love of connection—a hallmark of Methodism that is sometimes lived out more authentically than others—continued to form the heartbeat of Wrisley’s ministry. She and Rick joined the Laity Academy Planning Team, and eventually Rick was appointed as Dean of the Academy. During that time, Wrisley served as Communications Director for the Academy and co-chaired the Planning Team.

Two years later, Wrisley began her solo tenure as Dean of the Academy, while Rick received an appointment to pastor a local church. That was in 2019, and the Laity Academy was thriving. The Academy had outgrown the church buildings that once hosted it, both in terms of participants and available classrooms. Under Wrisley’s leadership, the Academy transitioned to Eastern University, whose campus provided an ideal setting for both learning and fellowship.

Then in 2020, COVID-19 hit. That year, the Laity Academy was cancelled, and by 2021, were still hesitant about in-person gatherings. Wrisley and the Planning Team had to pivot; instead of allowing the circumstances to hinder them, they took the opportunity to try something new.

In 2021, the Laity Academy was held over Zoom but unlike many other online learning programs, the Planning Team were purposeful about maintaining fellowship, even in a virtual format. Still, Wrisley sensed the hunger for face-to-face connection among laity. So, in 2022, the Academy returned to an in-person format at Cedarville UMC—while incorporating lessons learned during the pandemic, such as integrating technology into instruction and reworking the class schedule for accessibility.

The Academy also branched out in new and exciting ways—offering a spring online class for those unable to travel and taking the Academy “on the road” each fall to host in-person classes in different districts across the conference. In 2023, Wrisley concluded her tenure as Dean with a return to Eastern University for the Academy’s large in-person session.

Leadership expert Simon Sinek writes, “A leader’s legacy is only as strong as the foundation they leave behind them that allows others to continue to advance the organization.” Wrisley’s mark on the Laity Academy is lasting. Current Dean Brenda Binns credits Wrisley not only as her mentor but also as the person whose warmth and personal connection first drew her into the Academy.

It is in Wrisley’s spirit of connectionalism that Binns continues to lead: “That’s one of the things that Diana is, is she was very big on the connection, that we’re all from different areas but we’re one. … When we take classes into districts it’s pulling people…into a bigger picture. … To me, this is what real church is about and Diana and Rick exemplified that. Diana was just about connecting. Some of the things that she started or she encouraged, we’re now finally getting to do.”

The Planning Team continues to carry that vision forward—expanding deeper into the districts, inviting Greater New Jersey laity to participate, and developing partnerships with programs such as Pathways Bridges and Global Ministries.

For her part, Wrisley hopes that the Laity Academy will continue to be supported by the annual conference. The Academy, she has, has a distinctive purpose: “It’s to find an individual who has a love of God and help them find their gift, and if that gift happens to be leadership, then we’re blessed…That’s what we’re there for. How to help them with the needs that they have right now and help them to be willing to accept the gift that God’s given them.”

Today, Wrisley continues to use her gifts where she feels most in this season—in mission and outreach at Cedarville UMC, where she serves on the operating committee of Mission First, a ministry that supports the local community with both practical and spiritual needs.

Fittingly, Mission First was holding its First Annual Yard Sale fundraiser on the same day Wrisley was invited to receive the Walter King award at Laity Academy—and she just couldn’t miss the event! So Binns arranged a special award presentation during a worship service at Cedarville UMC, where Wrisley received the award surrounded by family and friends. Anna Taylor, registrar of the Laity Academy Planning Team and one of Wrisley’s cherished friends, presented the award. “Getting [the award] from her was very special,” Wrisley shared, “especially since three or four years before that, Anna got the award and I had the pleasure of giving it to her.”

Reflecting on receiving the award, she said, “I didn’t do it—the work at Laity Academy—for any kind of recognition. I just believed in it so much….It felt so odd because I was usually the one presenting the awards…. To be the one receiving it was such an odd feeling. I’m very appreciative of it, of course. You don’t ask for it but it’s always nice when somebody does notice what you’ve contributed.”

In the best spirit of United Methodism, Diana Wrisley’s ministry has shown what it means to be truly connectional—linking hearts, churches, and ministries in service to Christ. The Laity Academy she helped shape continues to thrive because of her enduring belief that the church is strongest when every person’s gifts are recognized and shared.