Council of Bishops: Homepage

Christian Alsted

Active

Europe

Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference

Nordic-Baltic Episcopal Area

Bishop Christian Alsted was elected to the episcopacy by the Northern Europe Central Conference in 2009. He currently serves as the Resident Bishop of the Nordic and Baltic Episcopal Area of Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conferences of The United Methodist Church.  ------------------------ Christian was born in Horsens, Denmark; He graduated from Horsens Gymnasium in 1980 and from UMC Theological Seminary in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1984. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree as a Beeson Pastor from Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky in 2002. Christian was ordained deacon in 1984 and ordained elder in 1986. He served as pastor in Esbjerg-Varde from 1984. In 1989 he was appointed to Copenhagen, Jerusalemskirken where he served in 20 years. During this time, he initiated the start of The International Methodist Church, Copenhagen and served as its pastor and later as supervising elder. Another church was planted in Solroed south of Copenhagen. In 2001 he became the District Superintendent of the Island district, where he served while he was the senior pastor in Jerusalemskirken. Christian Alsted was a delegate to the General Conference in 1996 and to the Northern Europe Central Conference in 1993, 1997 and 2005. He served on the board of directors of The General Board of Discipleship, on the Central Conference Youth Council 1987-1993 the last 4 years as chair, on the Central Conference Board of Discipleship 1996-2000.  Christian Alsted was elected to the episcopacy in February 2009 and assumed office on May 1, 2009.   He enjoys playing the guitar, singing in a gospel choir (Revelation Gospel Choir), listening to music, reading, working out and playing squash. On June 10, 1984 Elisabeth Flinck and Christian Alsted were married. They have three children: Sara, Mathias and Caroline. Elisabeth is a teacher working with creative school development.

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

W. Earl Bledsoe

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe is a retired bishop in The United Methodist Church having served from 2008-2021. He was elected to the episcopacy in July 2008 at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference.  ------------------------ W. Earl Bledsoe was born in Marlin, Texas. He graduated from Levelland High and from South Plains College (Levelland, Texas) with an A.A. degree; West Texas State University with a B.A. degree in English and Spanish; the M.Div. degree from Perkins School of Theology/SMU, where he was a Benjamin E. Mays Scholar. He earned the Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew University. He was ordained deacon in 1983 by Bishop Finis A. Crutchfield and elder in 1987 by Bishop Benjamin R. Oliphint in the Texas Conference. Earl Bledsoe was the first elected to the episcopacy in July 2008 at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Dallas Area. He is currently assigned as episcopal leader of the New Mexico/Northwest Texas Annual Conferences, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He serves as President of the GCORR Board of Directors and as such, is part of the Connectional Table.  He also serves as Jurisdictional Episcopal member of the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. He serves on the boards of McMurry University (Abilene, Texas), Southwestern University (Georgetown, Texas); Texas Methodist Foundation (Austin, Texas) and the Methodist Children’s Home. Previous leadership includes: Jurisdictional member of the Connectional Table, 2004-2008; Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee representative, 2004; General Conference delegate, 1992-2008; Chair of General Conference Committee on Reference (2000 and 2004); Vice Chair General Conference Legislative Committee on Ministry (1996) Chair of Texas Methodist Foundation Board; Chair of Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry; Chair of Texas Conference Finance & Administration. Prior appointments include: Episcopal Leader of North Texas Conference (Plano, Texas); Superintendent of the Bryan/West District (College Station, Texas); Senior pastor of Spring Woods UMC (Houston, Texas); Senior Pastor of Cypress UMC (Cypress, Texas); Texas Conference Director of Teaching Ministries (Houston, Texas); Senior Associate pastor of Bear Creek UMC (Houston, Texas); Senior Pastor Hanham Methodist Church – Kingwood Circuit (Hanham Bristol, England); Intern pastor – St, Marks UMC (Baytown, Texas); Assistant Pastor of St. Andrews UMC (Ft. Worth, Texas); Pastor of St. Paul UMC/St. James UMC – Anahuac Circuit (Anahuac, Texas); Local Pastor Wyatt Memorial UMC,(Amarillo, Texas). Earl enjoys fishing, hunting, reading, technology, and traveling with family. On April 6, 1985, Leslie Jean Bray and Wilbert Earl Bledsoe were married. Leslie is a licensed social worker and is totally blind. Together they have six adult children: Gregory Earl, Erika Yvette, Felicia Renee, Roderick Lynn, Erik Jada, and Letitia Gail. They also have 12 grandchildren: Broderick Rashad, Amanda Grace, Gregory Earl Jr., Nicholas, Jasmine, Randy Jr., Alexis, Hannah Gabriel (deceased), Sara, Lindsay, Christopher, and Abigail, and two great-grandchildren: Aiden Devon and Khia Renee.

Heinrich Bolleter

Retired

Europe

Bishop Heinrich Bolleter is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, in which he served from 1989-2006. ------------------------ Heinrich Bolleter, the son of a businessman, was born and raised in the suburbs of Zurich, Switzerland. He was educated at the Industrial College in Zurich with a degree in mathematics and physics and at the Theological Seminary of the former Methodist Church in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In the Switzerland/ France Annual Conference he was ordained Elder in 1969. He served as a pastor in the congregations of Baden, Zurich-Wipkingen, Thalwil and Zofingen until 1989. From 1974 to 1985 he was the editor of "Church and World", a weekly magazine of the L`MC in Switzerland. He was active in the field of Interdenominational Concerns since 1972 and served as a delegate to the National Council of Churches in Switzerland. He was chairperson of this Council from 1997-1999. He served as the Secretary of the Council on Ministries (from 1972 through 1989), which includes the Standing Commissions on Theology, Social Affairs and Liturgy. During the same period, he was a member of the Board of Ordained Ministry. He was named Counsel of the Church in 1985 and delegate to the European Council of the UMC since1985. He was a delegate to the Central Conference since 1973, and was a delegate to the General Conference in 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988. Heinrich was elected to the episcopacy by the 1989 Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe and re-elected as a bishop for life by the 1993 Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe In early 2006, he was awarded the Great Silver Medal of Honor with The Star in the name of the president of the Federal Republic of Austria, in recognition of his abilities as a "bridge builder," particularly for his ability to build connections with Eastern European nations. He retired in May 2006. Heinrich Bolleter has written many articles and monographs in German. His languages are German, French and English. He is married to Marta Bolleter-Zellweger. They have three children, Harald, Muriel and Yvonne.

Benjamin Boni

Active

Africa

West Africa Central Conference

Côte D'ivoire Episcopal Area

Bishop Benjamin Boni was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the West Africa Central Conference. ------------------------ Benjamin Boni was born in Arraguie (Agboville, Côte d’Ivoire) to a Christian family.  His deceased father, Clement Boni, was one of the first Catechists of the Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire. His mother, Francisca Brou, still alive, was among the first entering class of the Methodist Girls’ School in Dabou (Côte d’Ivoire) in the early 1930s.  Benjamin Boni is married to Berthe Ngbesso Odombo.  They have six children (five girls and a boy).   Benjamin Boni pursued his high school education at Lycee Classique of Abidjan from 1966-1971. He obtained his Baccalaureate with an emphasis in Literature in 1971.  It was during his studies at Lycee Classique that he felt a call to the Christian Ministry.  Benjamin Boni attended the Yaounde Theological Seminary in Cameroon from 1971-1975, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Theology.  He later continued his university education at the Graduate School of Theology at the University of Strasbourg in France.  He earned a Master of Theology with a specialty in Family Education.  He participated in several training programs while abroad and at home.  He received training in Family Counseling at the School of Parents and Educators in Strasbourg, France, and training in Communications and Mass Media in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.  Benjamin Boni studied English as a Second language at Selly Oak College in Birmingham, England.   He was ordained elder in January 1980, at Lakota by Reverend Auguste Lambert Ackah, then President of the Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire.  He has held several positions within and outside the church.  These positions include but are not limited to serving as a pastor in Azaguie, chaplain of the Protestant Student Union, and Director of Literature and Mass Media. On the national front, Benjamin Boni was appointed Member of the National Mediation Committee, Member of the Civil Society Organization on Peace, and Member of the Academy of Science, Arts and African Culture.    Benjamin Boni was elected President of the Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire on August 1, 1998.  He was re-elected President on December 23, 2001. On March 12, 2004, he was elected Bishop of the newly established Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in Côte d’Ivoire.

Warner Brown

Interim

United States

West Africa Central Conference

Western Jurisdiction

Sierra Leone Episcopal Area

Bishop Warner H. Brown is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, serving from 2000 to 2016.  He is currently serving as an interim bishop of the Sierra Leone Episcopal Area in the West Africa Central Conference.   From 2014 to 2016, Bishop Brown was the President of the Council of Bishops. ------------------------ Bishop Brown was born and raised as an only child in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Ida and Warner Brown. At the age of thirteen, while reading the New Testament, he felt a call to serve. He began preaching as a youth and was encouraged to continue doing so. As a young adult, he attended the University of Maryland, (B.A. in Sociology, 1969.) He also graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC with a Master of Divinity degree. In 1973 Warner was ordained deacon in the Baltimore Annual Conference by Bishop James K. Mathews. Yet his movement west had already begun with a pastoral appointment in the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference as both the pastor of a church and Director of Bethany House Ministries in Pittsburgh, a social service ministry for two housing projects. While serving in western Pennsylvania, he was ordained elder in 1975 by Bishop Roy C. Nichols. In 1979, he answered a national search for an associate conference staff position in the California-Nevada Conference and transferred there. Once in California, it was only six months later that he was asked to serve as Conference Council Director. From this role of program and administrative oversight for the Conference, Warner was appointed just four years later to the Superintendency of the Golden Gate District, the richly diverse area including San Francisco and several rural and suburban counties along the Pacific Coast. Four years after that, he was given the charge of the Taylor Memorial UMC in Oakland, CA. While serving this significant congregation, the community was then assaulted by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and two years later the holocaust of fires in the Oakland hills. As chairperson of the Oakland Inter-religious Network for responding to this disaster, Warner led the community's ecumenical disaster response. Throughout these years, Warner has been active in the social justice ministries and programs of those communities and church connections where he has been appointed. To list but a sampling: Volunteer Police Chaplain, Trustee of the Glide Foundation, vice-chair of the Community Advisory Commission for Alameda County Medical Center, member of the Governing Board of United Way for Kern County, a member of the. Board of Directors for the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter, recipient of the 1996 Outstanding Leadership and Service Award for Emergency Response Ministries, given by UMCOR, and recipient of a 1998 Special Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Warner's leadership in the church has included service as a delegate to General Conference twice, member of the General Commission on Religion and Race, a faculty member for New DS/CCD training, Harry Hoosier Member of and twice the host for the National Black Methodists for Church Renewal, chair of the Board of Missions in California-Nevada Annual Conference as well as numerous other conference boards and agencies, adjunct consultant to the Alban Institute, and a Wesley Seminary Distinguished Alumni. Following a successful eleven-year pastorate in Oakland, Warner was given a new challenge as Senior Pastor of the predominantly white yet multi-ethnic First UMC of Bakersfield, CA. Only two years into this pastorate, he was nominated and endorsed by his conference for the episcopacy: at the Western Jurisdiction Conference Sessions in Casper, Wyoming, and in July of 2000 he was elected to the episcopacy on the 19th ballot and assigned to the Denver Area. He retired in July 2016. Bishop Brown is married to Minnie Jones Brown; their family includes Catina Marie Harvin, Warner III, and Calvin Brown.

Lawson Bryan

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Lawson Bryan is a retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church, serving from 2016-2021.  ------------------------ Born: June 13, 1950 in Quincy, Florida  Raised in Dothan, AL Graduated from Dothan High School, 1968 Bachelor of Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, cum laude Master of Divinity, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, cum laude Doctor of Ministry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA Married to Sherrill O. Cooper of Thomaston, AL;  their son, Philip, lives in Montgomery and is chief of staff for the president pro-tem of the Alabama State Senate. On October 10, 2015, Philip and Brittany Woodham were married at First UMC Montgomery. <h4>Ministry:</h4> <ul> <li>1975—Associate Pastor, Trinity UMC, Opelika, AL</li> <li>1976—Pastor, Hiland Park UMC, Panama City, FL</li> <li>1980—Pastor, Dexter Avenue UMC, Montgomery, AL</li> <li>1986—Pastor, First UMC, Brewton, AL</li> <li>1990—Pastor, Ashland Place UMC, Mobile, AL</li> <li>1997—Pastor, First UMC, Dothan, AL</li> <li>2007— Senior Pastor, First UMC, Montgomery, AL</li> <li>2016— Elected Bishop</li> <li>2016— Assigned to the South Georgia Annual Conference</li> </ul> <h4>Other Involvement:</h4> Alabama-West Florida Conference Leadership <ul> <li>Chaired Alabama-West Florida Conference Council on Ministries, 1996-98</li> <li>Served as board chair, Academy for Congregational Excellence, 2011-2016</li> <li>Dothan District Committee on Ministry, Chair, 2000-2006</li> <li>Alabama-West Florida Conference Board of Ministry, 1980-88; 2000-2012</li> <li>Huntingdon College Board of Trustees, 2001-present</li> <li>Chaired Board of Ordained Ministry, Alabama West-Florida Conference, 2007-2009</li> <li>Participant and Leader in Three-year Covenant Community for Spiritual Growth</li> <li>Developed partnership between First United Methodist Church Montgomery and Huntingdon College to provide intern program</li> <li>Organized and hosted annual Pan-Methodist Pentecost Service</li> </ul> Southeastern Jurisdiction Leadership Chaired Southeastern Jurisdiction Larger Church Consultation, 2001-2002 General Church Leadership General Conference delegate in 2012 and 2016 Chaired Financial Administration Sub-committee at General Conference 2016 Local Church and Community Leadership <ul> <li>Leadership Mobile, Class of 1992</li> <li>Chaired the Alzheimer’s Association “Walk to Remember,” 2000-2001</li> <li>Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors, 2002-2005</li> <li>Member of Downtown Rotary Club of Montgomery, 2007-present</li> <li>Chaired Believe It! Montgomery, community partnership for public schools</li> <li>Author of Pursuing Science, Finding Faith</li> <li>Member of the Committee of 100 – Candler School of Theology, Emory University</li> <li>Member of Leadership Alabama</li> <li>Teaching Parish Supervisor – Candler School of Theology, Emory University</li> <li>Chaired the Visioning Team for Adult Respite Ministry of First UMC Montgomery</li> </ul>

Minerva Carcaño

Active

United States

Western Jurisdiction

San Francisco Episcopal Area

Bishop Minerva Garza Carcaño was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Western Jurisdictional Conference. She is currently the Resident Bishop of the San Francisco Area, which includes the California-Nevada Conference in the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ Bishop Carcaño was born in Edinburg, Texas. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Pan American, and then earned her Master of Theology at Perkins School of Theology. Ordained in 1976 she has served congregations in Texas, New Mexico and California. In 1986, she became the first Hispanic woman to be appointed a United Methodist district superintendent in the continental United States serving in West Texas and New Mexico. She was then appointed the lead pastor of the South Albuquerque Cooperative Parish Ministry from 1992 to1996. From 1996 to 2001, she served as the Director of the Mexican American program at Perkins School of Theology. In 2001, she assumed the appointment of District Superintendent to the greater Portland, Oregon area in the Oregon-Idaho Conference. On a national level, she has served on the former General Board of Education, the General Boards of Global Ministry and Church and Society, and the United Methodist Publishing House. She both served on and chaired the National Cooperative Parish Ministry Leadership Team of the UMC, and was the lead clergy delegate to both the 1996 and 2004 General Conferences. She has a long history of committed involvement in ministries with immigrants and refugees, the poor, and US/Mexico border communities. She was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Western Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church, the first Hispanic female ever elected bishop. She was assigned to the Phoenix Area on September 1, 2004. After 8 years, she was assigned to the Los Angeles Area in 2012. In 2016, she was assigned to the San Francisco Area. Bishop Carcaño is married to Thomas Spaniolo, an immigration lawyer, and they are the parents of an adult daughter, Sofia.

Kenneth Carder

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Kenneth Lee Carder is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, serving from 1992-2004. ________________________ Kenneth Lee Carder was born in Washington County, Tennessee, one of five children of Allen and Edith Carder. He was graduated with honors from East Tennessee State University and Wesley Theological Seminary. In 1980 he received the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School. Ken was ordained Deacon by Bishop Roy H. Short, and Bishop H. Ellis Finger, Jr., ordained him an Elder. Ken has served churches in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Bristol, Tennessee, Abingdon, Virginia and Knoxville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. While in Oak Ridge, he helped initiate an ongoing dialogue between scientists and theologians, including a dialogue between members of the Council of Bishops, on In Defense of Creation. He continues an interest in science/technology and theology/ethics. In addition to dialogue between science and theology, Ken has special commitment to Wesley studies, prison ministries, racial and economic justice, and ministry with those who live in poverty. Ken was first elected to Jurisdictional Conference in 1980. He was elected to General Conference in 1984, 1988, and 1992. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1992 while serving as pastor of Church Street Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He served the Nashville and Mississippi Areas. Upon retiring in 2004, Ken joined the full-time faculty of Duke Divinity School as Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Formation. Linda Miller and Ken Carder were married June 30, 1961. Linda and Ken have two daughters. Sandra Carder Nash and her husband, Kyle, have two daughters, Katelyn and Emily, and a son Michael; and they live in Columbia, SC. Sheri Carder Hood and her husband, John, and their daughters, Megan and Julia Rose, also live in Columbia, S.C. Publications: <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=926123&rank=1&txtSearchQuery=Kenneth+Carder" target="_blank">Grace to Lead</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=805195&rank=2&txtSearchQuery=Kenneth+Carder" target="_blank">Living Our Beliefs</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=356969&rank=3&txtSearchQuery=Kenneth+Carder" target="_blank">Serious Answers to Hard Questions Leader's Guide</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/search.aspx?ddlSearchScope=author&txtSearchQuery=Kenneth+Carder" target="_blank">Complete List</a>

Kenneth Carter

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Charlotte Episcopal Area

Florida Episcopal Area

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter was elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church In 2012 by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Florida Conference. In addition to his episcopal assignment:  2018 - COB President, two-year term 2020 - Immediate Past President, two-year term 2021 - Assigned as the Interim Bishop for the Charlotte Episcopal Area on September 1, 2021 ------------------------ A native of Georgia, Kenneth H. Carter is a graduate of Columbus College (B.S.), Duke University Divinity School (M.Div.), the University of Virginia (M.A.) and Princeton Theological Seminary (D.Min.).  In addition, Bethune-Cookman University and the United Methodist University of Liberia have awarded him the honorary D.D. degree. He was ordained a deacon in the Western North Carolina Conference in 1983 and an elder in 1986. Subsequently, he served a four-point charge, as an associate pastor of missions and evangelism, as a new church planter, and as senior pastor of two large regional churches; his ministry at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte was described by the historian Diana Butler Bass in her Christianity for the Rest of Us. He also was the superintendent of the Smoky Mountain District of the Western North Carolina Conference, which included sixty-nine churches in the seven westernmost counties of the state, all within the region of Appalachia. In the Western North Carolina Conference, Ken chaired the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Committee on the Episcopacy. He was elected to five jurisdictional conferences and three general conferences, and he led the WNCC delegation in Tampa in 2012. In the denomination, he has served on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Committee on Faith and Order, the Ministry Study Commission, the University Senate, and the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry. He currently chairs the United Methodist Church Holistic Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Task Force on Human Rights and Investment. In 2012, Ken Carter was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church and assigned to the Florida Conference. He is a member of the board of trustees of Bethune-Cookman University, Florida Southern College, the Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow and the board of visitors of Duke Divinity School. Bishop Carter is the author of eight books, most recently Pray For Me: The Power in Praying For Others (Upper Room, 2012); among those endorsing his latest book was Leighton Ford, brother-in-law of Billy Graham. His books reflect on topics related to practical ministry: stewardship, spiritual gifts, baptism, the Wesleyan means of grace, and intercession. He was also a contributor to the Wesley Study Bible and the Feasting on the Word series. The bishop is married to Pam Carter and they have two daughters: Liz, an editor, research analyst and Chinese Translator with Foreign Policy/Tea Leaf Nation, based in Washington, D.C., and Abby, a student at Duke University Divinity School and a recent graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.

Ray W. Chamberlain, Jr.

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Young Jin Cho

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Young Jin Cho is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church in which he served from 2012-2016. ------------------------ He was born in Onyang, South Korea, and graduated from Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea, where he earned the Th.B. and Th.M. degrees He came to the United States in 1979 and earned M.Div. and D.Min. degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.  He was ordained in the East Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church in 1977 and transferred to the Virginia Conference in 1983. He was senior pastor of Korean United Methodist Church of Greater Washington (KUMCGW) in McLean, for 22 years before being appointed superintendent of the Arlington District in 2005.  In his ministry as District Superintendent, Cho continued to focus on Christ’s vision for the Arlington District.  In seven years, under his leadership, the Arlington District started more than 10 new faith communities and introduced many training events for the clergy and laity to strengthen the spiritual foundation of ministry. Young Jin Cho was elected to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2012. He is the first Korean-American elected to the episcopacy in the Southeastern Jurisdiction.  While it is uncommon for a newly-elected bishop to be returned to his or her home conference, Cho was assigned to come home to Virginia to lead the Virginia Conference for four years. Cho has served the church and the community in various capacities, including president of the Korean Wesley Foundation, president of Partner’s Church Association for the renewal of the Korean United Methodist Church, Board of Ordained Ministry, Board of Discipleship and Commission on Ethnic Minority Local Church Concerns. He was elected delegate to the 2008 and 2012 General Conferences. Kiok Chang and Young Jin Cho were married on May 19, 1975 in Seoul, Korea. The Chos have two daughters, Grace and Sophia, one son, Chris and one grandson, Luke.

Wilbur Choy

Deceased

Western Jurisdiction

Sharon Brown Christopher

Retired

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Charles Crutchfield

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Lindsey Davis

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Lindsey Davis is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, serving from 1996-2016. ------------------------ Born in Durham, North Carolina, Lindsey Davis spent most of his life in Kentucky and holds degrees from Union College, the University of Kentucky, Lexington Theological Seminary, and Kentucky Wesleyan College. He was ordained elder by Bishop Paul Duffey, and held pastorates in the Kentucky Conference: the First United Methodist Church of Lexington, Mayo Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Luke United Methodist Church, Superintendent of the Lexington District. He was Assistant Director, Office of Educational Development at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine; Director of Educational Development, University of Alabama, College of Community Health Sciences; and Consultant for the Department of Family Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine before entering ordained ministry. He co-chaired the Uniting Transition Team for the Louisville Area in 1996 and was a delegate to General Conference and Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and 1996. Lindsey Davis was elected to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in July 1996, from the Kentucky Conference where he was Superintendent of the Lexington District, and was assigned to The North Georgia Area as of September 1, 1996. In 2008, he was assigned to the Louisville Area. He has served on the General Council on Ministries (1996-2000), as Director of the General Board of Global Ministries, and President of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) (2000-2004), and as Vice-President of the General Council on Finance and Administration (2004-2008). In addition to the Board of Trustees of nine United Methodist colleges and numerous other United Methodist agencies in the North Georgia Area, he is a member of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center Board of Emory University. Lindsey and Jennifer have two children, Laura Ellen Miller (Dustin) and John Lindsey Davis (Jennifer), and two grandchildren, Davis Scott Miller and Jackson Lindsey Davis.

Emilio DeCarvalho

Retired

Africa

Africa Central Conference

Sudarshana Devadhar

Active

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Boston Episcopal Area

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar is the Resident Bishop of the Boston Area, which includes the New England Conference in the Northeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. He was born into a family of clergypersons and has been a follower of God all of his life. The name "Devadhar" means "follower of God." Suda, as he is called, began his pastorate as a deacon at the Church of South India, Mercara Coorg, India. He holds a B.Com. degree from Vijaya College, University of Mysore, Mulki, India; a B.D., degree from United Theological College, Bangalore, India; a M.Th. degree from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University; and an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. from Drew University. Before 2004, Suda served for eight years as the district superintendent for the Ontario District of the North Central New York Annual Conference. Sudarshana Devadhar was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. He began his assignment as the leader of the New Jersey Episcopal Area on September 1, 2004. After serving in the New Jersey Area for 8 years, he was assigned to the Boston Area in July 2012. "I envision a Church of the Pentecost in which the Holy Spirit is igniting, gifting and empowering God's children of all ages, backgrounds, colors and personalities to glorify their Creator as passionate witnesses for Jesus Christ," said Bishop Devadhar. "Such a church does not merely serve the poor, the left out, the different, but welcomes them warmly into its hearts, homes, and worship." Bishop Devadhar enjoys spending time with his family. His wife, Prema, is his partner in ministry and they are blessed with an adult daughter, Trina. Bishop Devadhar also enjoys reading and listening to devotional music. His key philosophy in life are to love everyone.

Gaspar João Domingos

Active

Africa

Africa Central Conference

Angola West Episcopal Area

Bishop Gaspar João Domingos, elected to the episcopacy in 2000, is the Resident Bishop of the West Angola Area, which includes West Angola Conference in the Africa Central Conference of The United Methodist Church.  ------------------------ Bishop Domingos, the son of João Domingos Manuel and Inês José Gonçalves, was born in Luanda, Angola.  He married Lucretia Manuel Alexandre on December 16, 1983 in Luanda. In 1986 Bishop Domingos finished his technical studies at the S. Carlos School in Brazil. He earned his bachelor's degree in theology at the Methodist Institute of Higher Education in Brazil and graduated from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, University of Geneva, in Switzerland. He has served as student and associate pastor at Rudge Ramos Methodist Church, in Brazil, and as pastor of the Galilee United Methodist Church in Angola for 5 consecutive years. After that, and during the churches' process of pacification of Angola, he was transferred in 1994 to work for the Angola Council of Christian Churches, as Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation. When elected to the episcopacy, Bishop Domingos was serving as General Secretary, Angola Council of Christian Churches. Before his work experience with the church, he was a primary school teacher and an officer in the Angolan Fisheries Minister's office. He was elected to the episcopacy at the 9th Africa Central Conference of the Methodist Church in Maputo, Mozambique, on August 17, 2000, and was consecrated bishop of the United Methodist Church on August 20th, 2000. He was appointed to preside over the Annual Conference of West Angola at the same time. Lucretia and Bishop Domingos have six children: Ariane Marcelina, Ismael Alex, Taines Silvia Alexandre, Elyeser Joel, Terena Eunice and Gláucio Domingos.

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Robert E. Fannin is a retired Bishop of The -United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2004. ------------------------ He was born in Ashland, Kentucky, and spent his childhood in Brooksville, Florida. He received a B.S. in Business Administration from Florida Southern College, M. Div. and Doctorate of Sacred Theology from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. His doctoral project dealt with the local ministers' professional relationships to other helping professions. He received honorary doctorates from Florida Southern, Birmingham Southern and Huntingdon Colleges. Before going onto the ministry, Bob Fannin was part of the J.C. Penny management training program, served in the U.S. Army, and became a representative for the Burroughs Computer Corporation. After completion of his doctoral studies, he served in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Lake Alfred, Gainesville and Stuart. In June of 1986, he was appointed District Superintendent of the Miami District and in June of 1991, to First United Methodist Church, Lakeland. He has served the Florida Annual Conference in the past as Chairperson of the Board of Ordained Ministry, as President of the Credit Union and as Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry. He has served as a member of the General Council on Ministries, The Board of Higher Education and Ministry, Vice-Chair of GCFA and was the President of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Court of Appeals. Bob Fannin was elected to the episcopacy from the Southeastern Jurisdiction in 1992, and served the Birmingham Area until his retirement in 2004. Bishop Fannin has participated on the faculties of Schools of Christian Mission around the Southeastern United States for many years. He has his wife, Faye, have three children: Stephanie, Allison and Robb, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Robert Bob Farr

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Missouri Episcopal Area

Bishop Robert Farr serves as Bishop of the Missouri Area of The United Methodist Church. He was elected by the South Central Jurisdiction in July 2016, and assigned to the Missouri Area beginning September 2016. The Missouri Conference includes 800 local churches, approximately 1,000 retired and active clergy and 80,000 weekly worshippers, offering ministry through local churches, colleges, campus ministries, social services and mission projects throughout the world. ------------------------ Before his work as Bishop, Rev. Bob Farr has served as the Director of the Center for Congregational Excellence for the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church from 2007-2016, guiding 35 church starts into life and has overseen over 150 Healthy Church consultations in the Missouri conference. He led 128 individual church consults in 29 conferences across the connection, serving on the Cabinet, Mission Council and as a Conference Director. He offered oversight of new church planting, church transformation, language-based faith communities and shared in leadership development. From 2000-2007, he served as senior pastor of Church of the Shepherd in St. Charles where he led the congregation through relocation that increased worship from 450 to 1,200 in worship attendance. Prior to that, Farr started Grace UMC in Lee’s Summit in 1990 and Hope Church in Lone Jack, a daughter congregation of Grace, in 1998. Farr was ordained deacon in 1983 and elder in 1987 after attending seminary at Perkins School of Theology, where he served student appointments of Celeste, White Rock and Kinston charge and as student associate at Wesley UMC in Greenville, Texas. As a writer, he has co-authored several books with Kay Kotan and published by Abingdon Press, including: Renovate or Die – 10 Ways to Focus Your Church in Mission (2011), Get Their Name – Grow Your Church by Building New Relationships (2013), 10 Prescriptions for a Healthy Church (2015), and The Necessary Nine (2015). In 2018 he authored Obvious Wisdom, 52 tips for effective ministry. Farr has also had the opportunity to share learning across the connection through the Healthy Church Initiative, School of Congregational Development, Path One and South Central Jurisdiction new church planting trainings. Bob helped form Route 122, a transformational church network and is a regular guest speaker across the connection. He is a certified Fire Chaplain through Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Farr’s passion for the global church has taken him to India, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, China, Haiti and Mozambique. For the past five years, he and his wife have helped support Nhachengue UMC in southern Mozambique, including the drilling of a deep water well. He and Susan have been married since 1979 and have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Moises Domingos Fernandes

Deceased

Violet L. Fisher

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Violet L. Fisher is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2000-2008. ------------------------ Violet L. Fisher was born into a Methodist family, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in the town of Easton. She graduated from Bowie University (B.S.) and George Washington University (M. Ed.) She taught in the public school systems of Virginia and Maryland for twenty-two years. Violet's call to ministry began when she was sixteen years old. During that time, there was no place in ordained ministry for women, especially in the Delaware Conference of the Central Jurisdiction. At the age of twenty-five, Violet was ordained by the King's Apostle Holiness Church of God and served as National Evangelist and Missionary (short term) to East Africa, Republic of Haiti, and Jamaica, W.I. Returning to the church of her birth, Violet graduated from Eastern Baptist Seminary (Philadelphia, PA) in 1988. She was ordained deacon (1988) by Bishop F. Herbert Skeete and elder (1990) by Bishop Susan M. Morrison. Violet served as Associate Pastor to St. Daniel's United Methodist Church (Chester, PA); Senior Pastor to Sayer's Memorial United Methodist Church (Philadelphia, PA); and as District Superintendent Eastern PA Conference. She served as Dean of the Cabinet 1998-99. She was a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences 1996 and 2000, leading her delegation, and also delegate to World Methodist Council (1996) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She also served as Dean of the NEJ School of Evangelism 1998-99. Violet served on the General Board of Church and Society 1996-2000, the General Board of Discipleship; and Older Adult Ministry (1996-2000). She serves on the Board of Directors Eastern Baptist Seminary (1997-present). Violet was elected to the episcopacy in 2000 and was assigned to the New York West Area. She retired from that Area in 2008. She is the mother of one son, Marcus.

Ciriaco Francisco

Active

Philippines

Manila Episcopal Area

Elias Galvan

Retired

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Elias Galvan is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1984-2004. ----------------------- Bishop Elias Galvan was born on April 9, 1938, into a Methodist parsonage in San Juan Acozac, Puebla, Mexico. His father, the Rev. Elias Galvan Ortiz, was born in Oaxaca Mexico into a Roman Catholic home but became a Methodist during his education at the Instituto Mexicano Madero a Methodist School in Puebla Mexico. Reverend Galvan Ortiz graduated from the United Seminary in Mexico City and was ordained Elder in the Methodist Church of Mexico. Bishop Galvan’s mother received her formal education at the Instituto Sara Alarcon, a Methodist school in Mexico City. Education: Bishop Galvan received his High School education at the Methodist Boarding School “Instituto Mexicano Madero” in Puebla Mexico. While attending Highschool the District Superintendent assigned him to serve as lay pastor to a circuit that included two congregations in the towns of Tecali and San Pablo Actipan, near Puebla city, and later to another rural circuit comprised of the congregations of San Pedro del Rincon and El Carrisal near Mexico City. In 1956 he came to the US on a student visa sponsored by the Spanish American Institute, a Methodist institution located in Gardena California, and obtained an A.A. degree from Compton Junior College and a B.A, degree from California State University in Long Beach. The School Theology at Claremont provided his seminary education where he obtained a Doctor of Religion (Rel. D.) He became a Probationary member of the Southern California-Arizona Annual Conference and was ordained Deacon and later Elder by Bishop Gerald Kennedy and received into full membership in 1969. He served the following appointments: Asbury United Methodist Church as Associate Pastor, City Terrace UMC, All Nations UMC in Los Angeles, Director of the Ethnic Planning and Strategy Department of the Conference Board of Missions; District superintendent of the Santa Barbara District becoming the first Hispanic/Latino DS in an Anglo Conference in the US. He served two years as Dean of the Cabinet under Bishop Charles Golden; in 1980 he was appointed as the Conference Council Director, the first Hispanic/Latino to serve as Director of Connectional Ministries in any of the Anglo Conferences in the US. During his ministry at City Terrace, he became actively involved in the Mexican American Civil rights Movement in East Los Angeles on behalf of equal education opportunities for the Hispanic youth and in support of the Farm Workers Union. In January of 1970 he was selected to chair the committee that organized MARCHA (Methodist Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic American’s) and made a presentation to the 1970 Special Session of General Conference on Hispanic/Latino Ministries. During 1983 and 1984 he served as President of the Southern California Ecumenical Council. He was a delegate to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences of 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984, serving as the Chair of one of the Legislative Committees in 1972. He was elected to serve as a member of the General Commission on Religion and Race 1976-1980 and as a member of the General Council on Finance and Administration 1980-1084. In 1984 he was elected to the Episcopacy by The Western Jurisdiction meeting at Boise Idaho and assigned to the newly created Phoenix Episcopal Area and charged with the responsibility of organizing a new Annual Conference now known as the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, where he served for 12 years (1984-1996). In 1996 he was assigned to preside over the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference. He received the following assignments from the Council of Bishops: The General Council on Ministries, (1984-88); The General Board of Discipleship where he chaired the Division of the Upper Room (1989-92); The General Board of Global Ministries (1992-2000) where he Chaired UMCOR; The Commission of Religion and Race where he was elected by the Board of Directors as President during the 2000- 2004 quadrennium. During his active membership in the Council of Bishops he was appointed by the Council to chair the Committee to Develop the National Plan for Hispanic Ministries (1989- 1992) approved by the 1988 General Conference; elected as Chair of the Council of Bishops Program “Hope for the Children of Africa”; and chaired the COB Committee on The Autonomous Methodist Churches whose primary task was strengthening the relationships of the UMC with Autonomous Methodist churches in other parts of the world through the establishing of Covenanting Relationships and presented to General Conference for final approval. In 2002-2003 Bishop Galvan was elected as President of the Council of Bishops. As President, the Council of Bishops asked him to accompany Bishop Alfred Ndoricimpa in his return from exile in Nairobi, Kenya to his Episcopal Area in Bujumbura, Burundi. Also, he led the Peace delegation to the Middle East meeting with Church Leaders and Government Officials in Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine. Bishop Galvan retired officially in 2004 but a year before, he was asked by the Council of Bishops and the GBGM to serve as the Supervising Bishop of the newly created United Methodist Mission in Honduras. Bishop Galvan continued in this assignment until 2019. On July 12, 1986, he married Zoraida Freytes, who was raised in a Methodist parsonage on the island of Puerto Rico. On September 20, 1988, they were blessed with the birth of a child Elias Gabriel.

Jose Gamboa

Retired

Philippines

Larry Goodpaster

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Larry Goodpaster is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2000-2016.  From 2010-2012, Bishop Goodpaster was the President of the Council of Bishops.  ------------------------ He was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He spent his early childhood in Crenshaw, Mississippi, before moving with his family to northern Indiana. He earned his B. A. degree from Millsaps College, then attended Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he earned an M. Div. degree. Larry was ordained a deacon in the former North Mississippi Conference by Bishop Edward J. Pendergrass. He was ordained an elder by Bishop Mack B. Stokes. He earned his D. Min. degree from Candler School of Theology. Upon receiving his M. Div. degree, Larry served a variety of appointments in Mississippi, including an appointment as a District Superintendent of the Tupelo District. At the time of his election to the episcopacy, he was Senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was also a member of the Task Force that brought about the 1988 merger of the former North Mississippi Conference, and the Mississippi Conference, resulting in the current Mississippi Conference.  He was a delegate to three General Conferences (1992, 1996, and 2000), and four Jurisdictional Conferences (1988-2000). Larry M. Goodpaster was elected to the episcopacy at the 2000 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Alabama-West Florida Area where he served for eight years. In 2008, he was assigned to the Western North Carolina Conference. He has published a book and several articles in preaching journals, and was an instructor in the Course of Study for Local Pastors for 9 years. Deborah Phoebe Cox and Larry M. Goodpaster were married on September 26, 1971, while he was attending Candler School of Theology. They have two daughters and one son-in-law. Their older daughter is Amy, who is married to Eric Bradley. Their younger daughter is Lucy.

David Graves

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Alabama-West Florida Episcopal Area

South Georgia Episcopal Area

Bishop David Graves was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdiction in 2016. He is the Resident Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Area, which includes the Alabama-West Florida Conference in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. As of September 1, 2021, Bishop Graves is also the Interim Bishop of the South Georgia Episcopal Area. ------------------------ As a district superintendent, Bishop Graves implemented a district strategy that empowered both clergy and laity with leadership tools for effective and vital ministry. This strategy revitalized several churches that experienced growth in worship attendance and membership; Sunday School and small group discipleship; missional giving and professions of faith. On Christmas Eve 2014, through a district offering, the Kingsport District generously gave more $230,000 for the District Partnership with Giru, South Sudan.  Bishop Graves previously served as the Senior Pastor of Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to Church Street, he served six years as the district superintendent for the Kingsport District of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2011 and 2012, he served as Dean of the Cabinet. He has been an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church for over 27 years and previously served as Senior Pastor of Ooltewah United Methodist Church, a large-membership church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for 11 years. Prior, he served as pastor of two Kingsport area churches, St. Matthew and Mountain View United Methodist. He was on staff and was given his first appointment at Hixson United Methodist Church in the Chattanooga area where he served for 11 years. Bishop Graves is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, with a Master of Divinity.  He has shared 36 years of marriage with his wife, Nancy, and they have two children, Casey and Gregg. Casey is married to her husband Bryan, and they reside in Kingsport with their son Brooks and daughter Lucy. Bishop Graves' and Nancy’s son, Gregg, lives and works in the Chattanooga area.

William Boyd Grove

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop William Boyd Grove is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-1996. ------------------------ William Boyd Grove was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bethany College (B.A.), Drew University School of Theology (M. Div.), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (D.Min.). He has received several honorary degrees, and alumni awards from Bethany College, Drew University and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was presented the Distinguished West Virginian Award by Governor Gaston Caperton in 1992. He was received into the Pittsburgh Conference and was ordained deacon and elder by Bishop Lloyd C. Wicke. He served churches in western Pennsylvania from 1954 until his election as bishop. William Boyd Grove was elected to the episcopacy by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 1980 and was assigned to the West Virginia Episcopal Area [1980-1992] and the Albany (NY) Episcopal Area [1992-1996]. He retired from the active episcopacy in 1996. He has served as President of the General Board of Church and Society [1984-1988], and as President of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns [1988-1996]. From 1996 2000, Bishop Grove served as Ecumenical Officer of the Council of Bishops, the first person to hold that office. He chaired the United Methodist delegations to the National Council of Churches, the Consultation on Church Union and the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1998. He co-chaired the continuing Dialogue between the United Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church from 1996-2000. Bill is a poet and hymn writer, and is a member of the Order of St. Luke, which is committed to liturgical and sacramental renewal. He has traveled widely and has preached throughout the world. Mary Lou Naylor and William Boyd Grove were graduated from Bethany College in 1951, and on July 29, 1951, were married in Franklin Street Church, Johnstown, PA, where they had gone to Sunday School and Methodist Youth Fellowship together. The Groves have two daughters, Susan and Rebecca, and five grandchildren: Hannah, Gretchen, Carissa, Daniel and Sarah.

South Central Jurisdiction

<img src="/files/tables/contacts/2464015/files/bishop-obit-2000-hardt.jpg?width=600" /> John Wesley Hardt was a retired bishop in The United Methodist Church.  He comes from a parsonage family, having been born to the Reverend and Mrs. W.W. Hardt in San Antonio, Texas. He attended Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, and then went on to Southern Methodist University to get his B.A. degree, serving much of this time as a supply pastor. John relieved his father as pastor at Malakoff, his future wife's hometown. Following the death of his father, he served there another year. He received his B.D. degree at Perkins School of Theology at S.M.U. He later did graduate work at Vanderbilt University and Union Theological Seminary, New York. Ordained deacon and elder by Bishop A. Frank Smith, he joined the Texas Annual Conference. John Hardt served four other pastorates in the Texas Conference, each one involved with a major building program. In 1977 after serving at First United Methodist Church, Beaumont, Texas, for eighteen years, he was appointed District Superintendent of the Houston East District, where he was elected to the episcopacy by the Jurisdictional Conference in 1980. He was assigned to the Oklahoma Area. Following retirement in 1988 he has served as Bishop-in-Residence at Perkins School of Theology at SMU, Dallas Texas, and now is Bishop-in-Residence Emeritus. John was a delegate to all General Conferences from 1960 to 1980, and has been active on general and conference agencies. He has served as a trustee of St. Paul School of Theology, Lon Morris College, Southern Methodist University, Oklahoma City University, and has received honorary degrees from Southwestern University and Oklahoma City University. He has been active in Rotary International and has traveled extensively. He is the author of four books, a book of sermons entitled, Not the Ashes, but the Fire, published in 1977, Lakeview, A Story of Inspiring Unity, published in 1992, Cecil Peeples, Giant of the 20th Century, and Forward in Faith, a history of Marvin United Church, Tyler, TX, published in 1999. On September 13, 1943, while John Wesley was serving the Methodist Church in the hometown of Martha Carson, they were married. Bishop Hardt passed on June 18, 2017.  Mrs. Martha Carson Hardt passed on August 22, 2020.  They were the parents of four children: Betty (Mrs. Ed Lesko), William C., John S., and James J. (known as Joe). Eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren were also part of their main circle of love and pride.

Cynthia Fierro Harvey

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Louisiana Episcopal Area

<img align="left" src="/files/tables/contacts/2463478/files/Bishop+Harvey+picture+(7-14-2021).jpg" style="float: left; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" />Cynthia Fierro Harvey serves as bishop of the Louisiana Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, having been assigned there in September of 2012. The Louisiana Annual Conference is composed of 486 congregations and 118,725 members and includes the entire state of Louisiana. In addition to her episcopal assignment:  2018 - COB President-Designate, two-year term 2020 - COB President, two-year term 2022 - Immediate Past President as of April 29, 2022, two-year term ------------------------------   Under Bishop Harvey’s leadership, the Louisiana Annual Conference follows a mission and vision focus to lead others to an abundant life in Christ; engage in the community; learn, live, and tell the gospel story; and reach out and draw-in people from all walks of life resulting in vibrant, alive, and vital congregations. The vision and mission are undergirded by Core Values: integrity, accountability, unrelenting love for all people, courage, and risk, and holding nothing sacred but the mission. She continues to draw upon the vision and mission at every opportunity. She has challenged faith communities to look beyond themselves and to keep an eye focused on the edge where God is at work. Bishop Harvey also has a passion for young people as they lead the church into a future filled with possibilities.   In connection with her Episcopal assignment, she currently serves as the President of the Council of Bishops, having served as the Secretary of the Council of Bishops 2014-2018. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Centenary College and on The Perkins School of Theology Executive Board. Bishop Harvey is a board member of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana and past President of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference. After graduating from the University of Texas in Austin in 1980, Bishop Harvey spent 12 years in the corporate world as a regional director of marketing for the Rouse Company, a shopping center developer with properties throughout the United States. She focused on properties in Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Harvey went on to serve as associate pastor for The Foundry United Methodist Church in Houston from 1992-1996 and as executive pastor for Memorial Drive UMC in Houston from 1996-2008. She then moved to the position of Director of Missional Excellence for the Texas Annual Conference, serving from February of 2008-May 1, 2010. Just prior to her election as a United Methodist bishop during the 2012 South Central Jurisdictional Conference, Harvey served as Deputy General Secretary for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, where she earned a Masters of Divinity, and The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism. Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey was born on May 5, 1959, in Big Spring, Texas. She and her husband, Dean Alan Harvey, were married in 1981. Dean is a financial advisor and owns his own firm. Their daughter, Elizabeth Grace Harvey Reames is a design specialist and makes her home in Dallas.   Dean and Cynthia love good food. They love to cook but can also give you recommendations for the best restaurants from Houston to Baton Rouge, and wherever their travels have taken them. Dean is an excellent chef while Cynthia is at his side as his sous chef (taking care of clean-up duty!)

Susan Hassinger

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Sue Haupert-Johnson

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

North Georgia Episcopal Area

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson is the episcopal leader of the North Georgia Annual Conference. She was elected bishop by the 2016 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church and consecrated July 15, 2016. Her first assignment as bishop is to the North Georgia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church and she began serving the North Georgia Conference on September 1, 2016. ------------------------ A Florida native, Bishop Haupert-Johnson (or “Bishop Sue”) is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.S. in Business Administration), University of Florida College of Law (J.D.), and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (M.Div.). She was a federal law clerk and a litigator with the Tampa law firm of Carlton, Fields before she answered her call to ministry. After graduating summa cum laude from Candler, she was ordained a deacon in the Florida Annual Conference in 1996 and an elder in 1998. She subsequently served pastoral appointments as an associate pastor at 4,500-member First UMC, Lakeland; as pastor of a 300- member rural/suburban church, Hillsborough UMC, Tampa; and as a lead pastor of two large-membership churches, First UMC, Cape Coral, and First UMC, Ocala. Bishop Haupert-Johnson served as the North Central District Superintendent of the Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church from 2013-2016. As district superintendent, she guided a diverse area of very large and very small churches, urban, suburban, and rural churches; African-American, Haitian, and Hispanic churches; a Native American ministry; a large camp and retreat center, and a vibrant campus ministry. She was the “missional strategist” for this region, equipping and resourcing churches for ministry and helping them work together to reach their mission fields for Jesus Christ. A leader in the Florida Annual Conference, Bishop Haupert-Johnson served for six years as the Chair of the Order of Elders, calling elders to accountability and seeking to deepen the covenant between clergy. She served on the Conference Strategic Leadership Team and the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits. She chaired the Conference Standing Rules Committee and the Resolutions Committee. She served on the Board of Ordained Ministry for nine years and helped shape the development of the Center for Clergy Excellence. She was the Florida Conference's clergy delegation leader for General Conference 2016. She represented the Florida Conference at the quadrennial United Methodist Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference four times and the United Methodist General Conference in 2008, 2012 and 2016. She also was chairperson of the Judicial Administration Legislative Committee at the 2012 General Conference. She currently serves on the General Board of Global Ministries Board of Directors, the Called Session Design Team for 2019 General Conference, the General Council on Finance and Administration Apportionment Sustainability Task Force, Clark Atlanta University Board of Trustees, Emory University Board of Trustees, Gammon Theological Seminary Board of Trustees, LaGrange College Board of Trustees, Oxford College Board of Trustees, Paine College Board of Trustees, Reinhardt University Board of Trustees, Wesleyan College Board of Trustees, Young Harris College Board of Trustees, United Methodist Children’s Home Board of Trustees, Georgia United Methodist Foundation Board of Trustees, Glisson Camp and Retreat Center Board of Trustees, Wesley Woods Senior Living Board of Trustees, Methodist Foundation for Retired Ministers Board of Trustees and as the chair of the Board of Advisors of Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Bishop Haupert-Johnson is married to Rev. Allen Johnson. They have a daughter, Samantha. She enjoys NCAA football and basketball, all things Broadway, reading, movies, yoga, and running.

Robert Hayes

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Robert Tsugio Hoshibata was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. He was the Resident Bishop of the Phoenix Area in the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church before he retired on October 1, 2021.   ------------------------ A sansei, or third-generation Japanese-American, Bishop Hoshibata was born and raised in Hawaii. He learned to know Jesus Christ and grew to love the church through the ministry of Wahiawa United Methodist Church in the plantation town of Wahiawa. Following graduation in 1973 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with a B.A. with high honors, he studied at the Claremont School of Theology where he graduated with a D.Min. degree in 1977. While in seminary, Bob was named a Crusade Scholar and ordained deacon in 1974. After graduating from seminary, Bob was appointed to serve the North Gardena United Methodist Church and was ordained elder in 1979. After 7 years at North Gardena, Bob moved to the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference in 1984. For 14 years, he served as senior pastor for the Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington. At the invitation of Bishop Elias G. Galvan, Bob was appointed Seattle District Superintendent until his election to the episcopacy in July of 2004 by the Western Jurisdictional Conference. Upon election to the episcopacy, he was assigned to the Portland Area (2004-2012), and in 2012 was assigned to the Phoenix Area (Desert Southwest Conference) then reassigned in 2016. Bob has served as a member of the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, and as a board member of the General Council on Ministries for two quadrennia. His general church assignments have included the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (2004-2008); and the General Board of Church and Society (2008-2012, president 2012-2016). Currently he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Claremont School of Theology. Bob and his wife, Greta were married in 1974 and have three adult children.

Retired

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Peggy Johnson is a retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church. She was elected to the episcopacy in 2008 by the Northeastern Jurisdiction and retired in 2021, where she was serving the Philadelphia Area, which included Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences.  ------------------------ Peggy was baptized and grew up in the Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. She pursued a degree in Music Education at Lebanon Valley, a United Methodist-related college in Eastern Pennsylvania. She taught elementary vocal music in Baltimore County Public Schools for two years. During this time, she felt a call to ministry, specifically with deaf people and people with disabilities. She left teaching and began to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. Peggy met her husband, Michael C. Johnson, at the seminary and they graduated together. Upon graduation, they were offered appointments in the Baltimore Annual Conference. Peggy was ordained Deacon by Bishop James K. Mathews and elder by Bishop D. Frederick Wertz. In her early ministry, she served a four-point country charge in Frederick MD, as a campus minister for Gallaudet University (a leader in higher education for deaf persons located in Washington, DC), and as co-pastor, with her husband, Mike, of Lansdowne United Methodist Church, in Baltimore, MD. In 1988 she was appointed to pastor the historic Christ UMC of the Deaf in Baltimore, where she served for 20 years. She earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary and taught deaf and disability courses as adjunct faculty at the seminary. The Rev. Peggy A. Johnson was elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2008, and was assigned to the Philadelphia Area, comprised of nearly 1,000 churches of Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences.  The Johnsons have two adult sons: Peter and Gabriel.

Scott Jones

Active

United States

Active

Africa

Congo Central Conference

Southern Congo Episcopal Area

Kainda Katembo

Retired

Africa

Congo Central Conference

Jonathan Keaton

Retired

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1996-2016. ------------------------ He was assigned to serve as episcopal leader of the Illinois Area of the United Methodist Church September 1, 2012 until he retired. From 2004-2012, he served as the resident bishop of the Michigan Area, which includes the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences. Prior to Michigan he served as the resident bishop of the Ohio East Area for eight years. Bishop Keaton was elected to the Episcopacy in 1996 after serving as the district superintendent of the Aurora District in the Northern Illinois Annual Conference. Prior to that, he was an Associate Council Director in Northern Illinois. Bishop Keaton also served two churches: Broadway UMC in Rockford, Ill. and St. Luke UMC in Chicago, Ill. Bishop Keaton was elected to three General Conference delegations with the Northern Illinois Conference. Bishop Keaton has served as a member of the General Council on Ministries from 1988-1996; the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry from 2009-2012. Bishop Keaton chaired the denominational initiative, Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (SBC-21) from 1996-2008.  Bishop Keaton is serving as a member of the Council of Bishop’s Leadership Team on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations. Bishop Keaton graduated with a Master of Divinity Studies from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary where he later received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. Bishop Keaton received his Bachelor of Science in Biology degree from Philander Smith College. Bishop Keaton has co-authored two books, “The Confessions of Three Ebony Bishops" with Bishop Edsel A. Ammons and Bishop Ernest S. Lyght and “Our Father, Where Are the Fathers?” with Bishop Ernest S. Lyght. Bishop Keaton and his wife, Beverly, have been blessed with three children: Jonathan II and his wife Lisa reside in Illinois with the Bishop and Mrs. Keaton’s two granddaughters, Maliah and Amara.

Eduard Khegay

Active

Europe

Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference

Eurasia Episcopal Area

Deborah Kiesey

Interim

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area

Iowa Episcopal Area

Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2004 to 2016. On April 2, 2022, Bishop Kiesey was assigned as interim bishop to the Iowa Area and Dakotas-Minnesota Area (supervising the Dakotas Annual Conference). ------------------------ Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Reverend Dr. Lyle and Betty Lieder. She is the middle child of five. Her father served, and therefore she lived, in a variety of places in Iowa, including Hornick, Sioux City, Odebolt, Eagle Grove, Spencer and Mason City, where she graduated from high school. She attended Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she graduated with honors with a double major in Religion and Piano Performance. She was named Outstanding Alumna of the Year for Morningside College. Deb first felt a call to the ordained ministry while a student at Boston University School of Theology and she earned her Master of Divinity degree there. Upon ordination, she served the following Iowa churches: Richland/Ollie, Washington, Mt. Pleasant, and Iowa City. In 2001 she was appointed to the Waterloo District and served there until her election to the episcopacy in 2004 by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference and appointed to the Dakotas Area. Deb has been a delegate to General Conference since 1988 and was the first elected clergy from the Iowa Conference in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. Throughout her ministry she has had the privilege of serving on a wide range of committees and boards, including the Board of Trustees for Iowa Wesleyan College, Morningside College and Dakota Wesleyan University. After serving 8 years in the Dakotas Area, she was assigned to the Michigan Area in July 2012 until her retirement. She was married to D. Bradley Kiesey, an attorney from Washington, Iowa who passed in 2021. They were blessed with two adult sons, Joel and Aaron.

James King

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Walter Klaiber

Retired

Europe

Bishop Walter Klaiber is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1989-2005. ------------------------ Walter Klaiber was born in Ulm, Germany. Having studied Protestant Theology at the Theological Seminary in Reutlingen and the Universities of Göttingen and Tübingen, he graduated and served as the pastor of an Evangelical United Brethren congregation in Nürnberg. He was ordained into the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1966. Form 1969-1971, he was Assistant Lecturer in New Testament with Professor Dr. Ernst Käsemann; from 1971-1989 he held the position of Lecturer in New Testament Studies and Greek at Reutlingen United Methodist Theological Seminary. He continued his studies, earning the Doctor of Theology degree from the University of Tübingen in 1971; his doctoral dissertation was published in German under the title: Rechtfertigung und Gemeinde (Justification and the Church), 1982. In the years 1977-1989 he was Dean of the United Methodist Theological Seminary at Reutlingen. He was elected Bishop of the United Methodist Church in 1989 and was assigned to the Germany Central conference (then West Germany). After the Reunification of the separated Central Conferences in East and West Germany in 1992 he was elected Bishop for the whole area. Walter Klaiber retired April 2005 as an active bishop of the church, but he still serves as the Chair of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany and as President of the German Bible Society. From 2001 till 2006 he has been one of the Presidents of the World Methodist Council. He has written several books; published in English are: Embraced by the Spirit (out of print); Call and Response. Biblical Foundations of a Theology of Evangelism (Abingdon 1997); and together with Manfred Marquardt: Living Grace. Outline of a Theology of The United Methodist Church (Abingdon 2002).His newest book in English is Justified before God (Abingdon 2006 forthcoming). His latest publication in German is a book on Genesis 1-11 and the implications of the biblical account of the Creation and the first phase of the history of humankind on our present understanding of God, nature and human beings (Schöpfung, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2005). He is married to Annegret Klaiber, M.D., and they have three sons and four grandchildren.

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Richmond Episcopal Area

Bishop Sharma D. Lewis, resident bishop of the Richmond episcopal area, became the first African-American woman to be elected bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church in 2016. -------------------- Prior to her episcopal assignment, she held a distinguished record of service in the North Georgia Conference including her appointment as district superintendent of the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District in 2010. In 2007, Bishop Lewis’ remarkable pastoral leadership at Wesley Chapel, a three-year tenure, led to over 600 new and restored members and worship attendance doubled. While there, her visibility as a strong spiritual and pastoral leader propelled her into numerous leadership roles in the local community, including Hands on Henry County and Many Hearts, Many Hands McDonough. Her ministry here culminated as she received the Harry Denman Award for Evangelism in 2010 as well as the G. Ross Freeman Leadership Award. Prior to these roles, Bishop Lewis was appointed in 1999 as the associate (and subsequently senior associate) pastor of the 8,000-member Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta and as senior pastor of the Powers Ferry UMC, a cross-racial assignment in Marietta, Ga.  Bishop Lewis has offered her gifts to The United Methodist Church in a variety of ways including as a board member of the Wesley Woods Foundation, SEJ Committee on the Episcopacy, Cabinet representative for United Methodist Women and the Committee for Equitable Compensation. She is currently a board member and vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Evangelism for the World Methodist Council (WCC) of The United Methodist Church, a member of the Black Clergywomen and Black Methodist for Church Renewal (BMCR) of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Lewis has also been appointed as liaison to the Interagency Sexual Ethics Task Force (IASETF), a taskforce of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. Bishop Lewis serves on the Board of Governors for Wesley Theological Seminary and as ex-officio of the six United Methodist colleges in the Virginia Conference. She is also a member of the Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ) Committee on Coordination and Accountability (CCA) and a member of the Study Commission Ministry (GBHEM). The North Georgia Conference honored Bishop Lewis by electing her as the first African-American female to lead the delegation to the 2012 General and Jurisdictional Conferences. In 2015, she was once again voted to lead the delegation to the 2016 General and Jurisdictional Conferences.  Bishop Lewis was born and raised in Statesboro, Ga. in a loving Methodist family where individuals have answered God’s call to serve the church and to minister to God’s people. A graduate of Mercer University (B.S., Biology, 1985), the University of West Georgia (M.S., Biology, 1988) and Gammon Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center (M.Div., 1999), Bishop Lewis worked as a research biologist and chemist prior to surrendering to God’s call upon her life. She has led mission experiences to Jamaica, Kenya and the Philippines. Bishop Lewis is a member of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She has received the Delta Sigma Theta Pinnacle and Torch Award. She is the recipient of the 2014 Gammon Theological Seminary Distinguished Alumna and Trailblazer Award given by The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc., Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter.

William Lewis

Retired

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Bishop William Bryant Lewis is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1988-1996. -------------------- William Bryant Lewis was born in Pinckneyville, Illinois, the third child of Harmon Eracie Lewis. Sr., and Ethel Brown Lewis. The family moved to Carterville, Illinois, and Bill grew up and attended public schools there, except for a WWII interlude when his father followed the defense industry and the family lived for a while in Metropolis, Illinois, and Knoxville, Tennessee. Graduating from Carterville Community High School, he responded to a call to the ministry and entered Southern Illinois University. After receiving an A.B. degree from SIU he attended Perkins School of Theology and Vanderbilt Divinity School for two quarters each, then completed his M.Div. at Drew Theological School. Following a year of graduate study at Drew, Bill returned to the Southern Illinois Conference and was appointed to the Vienna Methodist Church. During the next two years he continued his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University and completed his Ph.D. there. During the years at Vienna a Larger Parish was developed under Bill's direction that encompassed a two-county area and included 26 churches. Following pastorates at Murphysboro and Edwardsville of six and eleven years respectively, Bill served a term as Superintendent of the Carbondale District. In 1986 he was appointed Pastor of Union United Methodist Church, Belleville, Illinois, from which he was elected to the episcopacy by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in 1988. He was assigned to the Dakotas area and served there until his retirement in 1996. Janet Mae Dean and Bill Lewis were married in Carterville, Illinois on December 23, 1951. Their three children, Becky, Connie, and Brad, are married and all three families live in Edwardsville, Illinois, where Bill and Janet now make their home in retirement. There are seven grandchildren.

Richard Looney

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Daniel Lunge

Active

Africa

Congo Central Conference

Central Congo Episcopal Area

Ernest Lyght

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Ernest Lyght is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1996-2012. ------------------------ The son of William and Attrue Lyght, he was born in Salisbury, Maryland. He received the B.A. degree in history from Morgan State University and the M.Div. degree from Drew University. Princeton Theological Seminary awarded him the Th. M. degree and the D.Min. degree. Bloomfield College (Bloomfield, NJ) awarded him an honorary doctorate degree, as did Centenary College (Hackettstown, NJ) in 1996. The Peninsula-Delaware Conference ordained Ernest deacon and elder. He later transferred to the Southern New Jersey Conference, where he served three pastoral appointments: St. Mary Street Union Parish, Burlington, NJ; The Church of The Good shepherd, Willingboro, NJ; Old Orchards UMC, Cherry Hill, NJ. He then transferred to the former Northern New Jersey Conference and served for ten years as pastor of The St. Mark's UMC, Montclair, NJ. This pastorate was followed by a seven-year term as District Superintendent of the Raritan District. He served as a Jurisdictional Conference delegate in 1976 and a General Conference delegate in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. He has served on a variety of conference, community and general church agencies/boards, including the General Board of Church and Society (1984-1992) and the General Board of Global Ministries (1992-1996). He served as a Drew University Trustee from 1983 to 2004, when he was elected as a trustee emeritus. Bishop Lyght was elected to the episcopacy in 1996 and assigned him to the New York Area. In 2004 he was assigned to the West Virginia Area until his retirement. Ernest served as president of the United Methodist Men's Commission during the 2000-2004 quadrennium and served as a member of the General Council on Finance and Administration. He also served a second two-year term as secretary of the Council of Bishops. Ernest and Eleanor Bell Lyght have two sons, Eric and Erwyn, and two grandchildren, Corinne and Shawn. Publications: <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1054780&rank=1&txtSearchQuery=Ernest+S.+Lyght" target="_blank">Our Father</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1078194&rank=2&txtSearchQuery=Ernest+S.+Lyght" target="_blank">Our Father - eBook [ePub]</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=446147&rank=3&txtSearchQuery=Ernest+S.+Lyght" target="_blank">Many Faces, One Church</a> <a href="http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=667101&rank=4&txtSearchQuery=Ernest+S.+Lyght" target="_blank">The Confessions of Three Ebony Bishops</a>

João Somane Machado

Retired

Africa

Tracy Smith Malone

Active

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Ohio East Episcopal Area

Bishop Tracy S. Malone was elected to the episcopacy in 2016. She is the Resident Bishop of the Ohio East Area, which includes the East Ohio Conference in the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church.  In addition to her episcopal assignment: 2020 - COB Secretary, two-year term  2022 - COB President-Designate as of April 29, 2022, two-year term    ------------------------ Bishop Tracy S. Malone was district superintendent of the Chicago Southern Region and was dean of the Northern Illinois Conference Cabinet when she was elected to the Episcopacy in 2016.  Prior to that appointment, Malone served several different churches, the last of which was Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Illinois, where she was senior pastor.  She currently serves as president of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.  As resident bishop, she also serves on the Boards of Trustees at our United Methodist-affiliated colleges, seminaries and organizations in East Ohio. Malone was elected to represent the Northern Illinois Conference as a delegate at General/Jurisdictional Conferences in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.  She was chairperson of the delegation in 2012 and served as chairperson of the Agenda and Calendar Committee in 2016. During her ministry, Malone has taught courses as an adjunct professor at Aurora University and at Northern Baptist Seminary in Lombard, Illinois.  She has also published articles, blogs, and book reviews, and has written chapters for several books.  Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Malone is the daughter of the late Rev. Willie and the late April Smith. She received her call to ministry at the early age of 13.  Malone earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Sociology, with a minor in Computer Science, from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Malone earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.  She and her husband Derrick Malone are the parents of two daughters.

Joel Martinez

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Joel Martinez is a retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2008. ------------------------ Joel is the grandson of sharecropper farmers who came to the U. S. at the turn of the century. He was born in Seguin, TX, to Guadalupe and Dora Martinez. He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a B.A. in history. While in El Paso, he met Raquel Mora, a Methodist pastor's daughter. They married on June 9, 1961, and Joel enrolled in Perkins School of Theology in the fall of 1961. Ordained deacon and elder by Bishop Paul E. Martin, Joel held membership in the Rio Grande Conference until his election to the episcopacy in 1992. Pastoral appointments were in Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso. He served as Director of Planning and Development at Newark Houchen Center in El Paso and later, Executive Secretary, Office of Ethnic and Language Ministries, National Division, GBGM. Joel served as district superintendent in the Rio Grande Conference and as President of the Greater Dallas Community of Churches. He was a delegate to the Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, Australia, 1991. From early exposure to the plight of farm workers, and in student ministry to migrant workers, Joel learned to appreciate the urgent need for poor people to organize in order to participate more equitably in society. He worked with Cesar Chavez during the 1970's, worked to establish the first federally funded health clinic for the poor in El Paso, was a founding member of the National Hispanic Caucus in the UMC in 1970, and supported the organizing of poor fishermen on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico in the late 1970's. Joel worked on the initial proposals to the 1976 General Conference for a Missional Priority on the Ethnic Minority Local Church. He chaired the National Missional Priority Coordinating Committee in 1984-88. He chaired the National Plan for Hispanic Ministries National Committee (1992-2000). From 1992-2000 Joel was assigned to the Nebraska Episcopal Area. In 2000 he was re-assigned to the San Antonio Area where he served until his retirement in 2008.. He served as President of the General Board of Global Ministries for 2000-2008, and as the Interim General Secretary in 2009-2010. Joel is interested in fostering closer relationships between the UMC and the churches in Latin America and the Caribbean. He reads and writes church history with an emphasis on the contributions of Hispanics to the ecumenical church. He enjoys reading, playing golf, and spectator sports - especially track, baseball and football. In 1995 Joel was honored with the Perkins Distinguished Alumni Award. Raquel and Joel have three children: Patty, John and spouse Carol, and Rebecca.

Marcus Matthews

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Marcus Matthews is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2004-2016. Bishop Matthews is a former Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church (UMC), a position he held from September 1, 2016 to August 2020.  Previously, Bishop Matthews served as the Resident Bishop of the Baltimore-Washington Conference from 2012-2016. <h4>------------------------ Early life</h4> Bishop Matthews was born in Florence, South Carolina. His home church, Cumberland UMC, had a pivotal influence on his life. At Cumberland, he was one of the community developers in the first wave of the Black Community Developers program of the General Board of Global Ministries. In 1970, he was selected by the Ford Foundation's Leadership Development Program to conduct a year-long study of religious institutions such as the Delta Project in Mississippi; the General Commission on Religion and Race, and to do research on a project with juveniles in Syracuse, NY. <h4>Education and Ordination</h4> Bishop Matthews holds a bachelor's degree from South Carolina State College (1968); a master of divinity (MDiv) from Wesley Theological Seminary (1974); and a doctor of ministry (DMin) from New York Theological Seminary (1981).  He was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Paul Hardin, Jr. and he was ordained as an elder by Bishop James K. Matthew in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. <h4>Ordained Ministry</h4> At the beginning of his pastoral ministry, Matthews served as a student intern at Douglas Memorial UMC in Washington, D.C., for a year. He became an assistant pastor at Asbury UMC in Washington, where he continued as an associate for two years after his graduation from Wesley. Upon graduation, he served as pastor of Jones Memorial UMC in Washington, DC, (1976-1982) where he oversaw the building of a new sanctuary and established a community development program. He was pastor of Epworth Chapel UMC in Baltimore, from 1982 to 1986, when, during his pastorate, Epworth received 272 new members. <h4>Superintendency</h4> In 1986, Rev. Matthews was appointed District Superintendent of the Baltimore East District and in 1991 was appointed Conference Council Director, a position he held until being appointed Washington West District Superintendent in 1999. He was serving in that position when he was elected. <h4>Episcopacy</h4> Rev. Matthews was elected as a bishop of The United Methodist Church on July 14, 2004, by the Northeastern Jurisdiction on the first ballot.  He was assigned to serve the Philadelphia Episcopal Area (Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Peninsula-Delaware Conference). In 2008, he was assigned to the New York West Area (Western New York Conference and North Central Conference). In 2010, he became the resident bishop of the Upper New York Area (and a new conference uniting four former conferences; Western New York, North Central, Troy, and Wyoming).  In 2012, he was assigned to the Washington Area (Baltimore-Washington Conference), where he served until his retirement in 2016. During his ministry, Bishop Matthews served on the General Commission on Religion and Race, the General Board of Global Ministries, Connection Process Team, the General Council on Ministries, Africa University Development Committee, World Methodist Council Executive Committee, and the Board of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry. In 2004 he was elected Co-Chair of the Endorsing Committee of The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the UMC. He served as president of the GBHEM from 2008-2012. He was elected in 2005 to the Board of Directors of Africa University and he is currently the chair of the Board. <h4>Family</h4> Bishop Matthews is married to Barbara Walker Matthews and they have two children, Jaime S. Matthews and Marci Matthews, and five grandchildren. His interests include movies, reading, jogging, and playing with his grandchildren.

William Bill McAlilly

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Nashville Episcopal Area

William T. (Bill) McAlilly is the bishop of the Nashville Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church. The Area includes the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences that cover middle and west Tennessee and western Kentucky. He was elected to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2012 and was assigned as the resident bishop of the Memphis and Tennessee Annual Conferences beginning September 1, 2012.  ------------------------ A native of Mississippi, Bishop McAlilly earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS (1978) and a Masters of Divinity, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (1981). He was ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church in 1979 and ordained elder in 1982. In the spring of 2017, Bishop McAlilly received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Rust College in Holly Springs, MS. McAlilly has served in a wide variety of ministry settings in Georgia and Mississippi–a small membership church, a new congregation, a county seat church, a newly organized congregation, and a large membership congregation. Likewise, he has served in a variety of roles including youth minister, associate minister, and lead pastor.   In 2006, he was appointed to serve as the District Superintendent of the Seashore District of the Mississippi Conference in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and worked closely with Disaster Response and United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).  He served in many capacities in the Mississippi Annual Conference including the Board of Directors of United Methodist Senior Services, Millsaps College, Mississippi Methodist Foundation; Board of Ordained Ministry; Design Team for the Residency in Ministry Program; and Development of the Transitions Seminar for Moving Pastors.  He has been a delegate to four Jurisdictional Conferences and three General Conferences. For the 2017-2020 quadrennium, Bishop McAlilly currently serves on the Connectional Table as president on the Board of Directors for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). He also is Co-Chair of the Endorsing Committee. He also serves on the Council of Bishops’ Leadership Teams on Leadership Development and on Leadership Discernment. In addition, he will serve on the Just Peace Board of Directors for this quadrennium, and as Chair of the Quadrennial Orientation for New Bishops Committee. He served as president of the Southeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops in 2016-17 and continues to serve on the Southeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Coordination & Accountability. Bishop McAlilly currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Emory University, Atlanta, GA; the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Board, Memphis, TN; and the Board of Trustees of Martin College, Pulaski, TN. Compassion for the least and last has been at the heart of his emphasis on missions throughout his ministry—locally in the communities in which he has served and globally in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Democratic Republic of Congo.  Bishop McAlilly has a pastor’s heart with a vision for the reign of God. A lover of books, music, and movies, Bishop McAlilly also enjoys golf. He and his wife Lynn have been married since 1978. They have two married adult children: Chris McAlilly and Laura McAlilly Paulk, and five grandchildren.

Lawrence McCleskey

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Lawrence J. McCleskey is a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1996-2008. ----------------------- Born in Atlanta, Georgia and reared there and in Tampa, Florida, Lawrence McCleskey is a graduate of Duke University (A.B.), Duke Divinity School (B.D.), and Princeton Theological Seminary (D.Min.). He was a delegate to both the Southeastern Jurisdictional and the General Conferences in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. He served from 1988-1996 as a member of the Division of Ordained Ministry of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and he chaired the Division of Ordained Ministry from 1992-1996. He was a member of the General Commission on Archives and History from 1996-2004, and he served as President from 2000-2004. He currently serves as Chair of the Division of Higher Education of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. He is a trustee of Duke University. J. Lawrence McCleskey was elected to the episcopacy in July 1996 and assigned to the Columbia Area (South Carolina Conference). Prior to his election, he served for thirty-three years as a member of the Western North Carolina Conference, where he was appointed to churches with memberships from 35 to 3700 members. He served six years as Superintendent of the Winston-Salem District, and at the time of his election he was Senior Minister of the Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte. In 2004, he was assigned to the Charlotte Area (Western North Carolina Conference) where he served until his retirement in 2008. Lawrence and Margaret Fowler McCleskey have three children: James is Director of the Washington, DC, Office of the Governor of North Carolina. Sarah is Director of Access Services for the Hofstra University Library in New York. Matthew is an on-air host and producer with WAMU, the National Public Radio affiliate at American University in Washington, DC.

Calvin McConnell

Retired

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Calvin McConnell is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-1996. ------------------------ Cal McConnell was born in Monte Vista, Colorado. His academic preparation for ministry included the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology, with a post-graduate Master of Sacred Theology degree from Andover Newton Theological School. Bishop Glen R. Phillips ordained him deacon and elder in the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference. He later transferred to the California-Nevada Conference and served in Williams, CA, and later as minister to youth at First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto and as Director of the Wesley Foundation at Stanford University. Subsequently, he transferred to the Oregon-Idaho Conference, serving as University Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Willamette University, before returning to his home conference and serving churches in Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. He was a General Conference delegate in 1976 and 1980. For 34 years Cal McConnell was married to Dr. Mary McConnell who died in 1986; their family includes two sons, their two spouses and three grandchildren. Cal and Velma Duell were married in December of 1988. The Western Jurisdiction elected Calvin McConnell to the episcopacy in 1980 and assigned him to the Portland Area. In 1988 he was assigned to the Seattle Area. In his active episcopacy he served as President of The Upper Room, and was on the organizing Advisory Board of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, and a member of the editorial board of WEAVINGS: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life. He is past President of the General Commission on Religion and Race, and of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. He served as a trustee of Willamette University, the University of Puget Sound and the Iliff School of Theology. In 1992 he was named by Iliff as its fifth Distinguished Alumnus. He also holds honorary degrees from Rust College and University of Puget Sound. In retirement he was a founding member of the ecumenical extension seminary, Northwest House of Theological Studies in Salem, Oregon, where he taught for two years in the area of the formation and practice of spirituality. He retired from the episcopacy in 1996.

Michael McKee

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Dallas Episcopal Area

Bishop Michael McKee was elected to the episcopacy in 2012 and is the current Resident Bishop of the Dallas Area, which includes the North Texas Conference in the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ Bishop McKee is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin (1973), a Master of Theology from Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University (1978) and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Texas Wesleyan University (2005). He also was honored with the Perkins Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2017. He was ordained deacon in 1975 and ordained elder in 1979 in the Central Texas Annual Conference, where he served several churches, including 15 years as the senior pastor of First UMC, Hurst. He has held numerous offices including chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Mid-Cities District Committee of Ordained Ministry. He was a delegate to three Jurisdictional Conferences and two General Conferences. In 2012, McKee was elected to the episcopacy by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to serve as the resident bishop of the Dallas Area effective September 1. McKee is the immediate past-president of the South Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops. He is president of the Board of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of the UMC. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Southern Methodist University, Texas Methodist Foundation, Southwestern University and Methodist Health System, Dallas. He is chair of the Executive Board of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Mike and Joan (Craig) McKee have been married since 1975 and have two children: Erin, who lives with her husband, Darin, and sons, Knox and Ford, in California; and Meredith, who lives in Dallas. --- Spouse: Joan (Craig) McKee Children: Erin McKee, Chidsey Meredith McKee Education and Honors: Texas Wesleyan University, Doctor of Divinity, 2005 Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Master of Theology, 1978 The University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Arts, 1973 Ministry: Assigned to Dallas Area (North Texas Conference), effective Sept. 1, 2012 Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Hurst, Texas, 1997 Present Pastor, Overton Park United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992-97 Pastor, Meadowbrook United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, 1987-92 Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Joshua, Texas, 1982-87 Associate Minister, First United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, 1976-82 Associate Minister, Richland Hills United Methodist Church, 1973-76 Ordained Elder, Central Texas Conference, 1979 Ordained Deacon, Central Texas Conference, 1975 Membership: Central Texas Annual Conference Other: Delegate, General Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004 (alternate) Delegate, South Central Jurisdictional Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004 Director, General Board of Church and Society Chairperson, Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, 2004 Present Chairperson, MidCities District Committee on Ordained Ministry, 2001-2011 Chairperson, Conference Camps and Assemblies Committee, 1992-2000 Member, Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, 1984-1992; Secretary, 1988-1992 Trustee, Glen Lake Camp Campus Ministry Committee Southern Methodist University Texas Methodist Foundation, Board Member, 1995-Present; Investment Committee, 1995-2000; Executive Committee, 2003 present; Board Chair, 2005-2006; Loan Committee, 2004-Present; Chair, Development/Stewardship Committee, 2002 and 2003; Chair, Long Range Planning, 2008-Present; Member, Clergy Leadership Initiative, 2010 Board of Trustees, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas; Member, Executive Committee; Chairperson, Facilities Planning Committee; Board of Trustees, Harris Methodist Health Systems; Chairperson, Pastoral Care Committee; Chairperson, Executive Board, Perkins School of Theology; Co-Chair, Campaign Steering Committee; Past Chairperson, Perkins Alumni Council Past President, Board of Directors, Women's Haven of Tarrant County Past Chairperson, Advisory Board and Member of Steering Committee, More Than Houses Campaign, Habitat for Humanity Founders Award, Trinity Area Habitat for Humanity, 2007 Bishop's Award in Preaching, Central Texas Annual Conference, 2010

Marshall Meadors

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Marshall Meadors is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2000. ------------------------ A native of South Carolina, Marshall L. (Jack) Meadors is a graduate of Wofford College (Phi Beta Kappa) and Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He holds honorary degrees from Wofford, Columbia, Rust, and Millsaps and Rocky Mountain Colleges. For 34 years he served as pastor and district superintendent in South Carolina. In 1992 he was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Mississippi Area where he served until his retirement in 2000. Jack's civic involvement in South Carolina included membership on the Anderson County School Board, a position for which he was twice chosen in general elections. Governor Richard Riley appointed him to the Joint Legislative Committee on Aging and then to the South Carolina Commission on Aging, which he chaired for five years. While in Mississippi, Jack served on the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, the General Board of Church and Society and the University Senate. Also, he was president of the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference, an organization of religious leaders who worked to promote tolerance and understanding in diversity. Jack chaired the Council of Bishop's Initiative on Children and Poverty from1996-2000. In 1999 he was a member of the delegation to Belgrade, led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, which secured the release of three American prisoners of war during the NATO bombing. Jack is a Trustee of Wofford College and Trustee emeritus of Emory University. Jack was married to Hannah Campbell Meadors, now deceased. He has four children: Jane M. Cromley (teacher), Marshall III (physician), James (President, Meadors Construction), and John (attorney). He has ten grandchildren.

Jane Middleton

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Carlton Minnick

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Carlton Printess Minnick is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-1996. In 1993, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a one-year term. ------------------------ Carlton Printess Minnick was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, but at an early age his family moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he attended the public schools. After a year in the School of Engineering at the University of Virginia and a year of marine engineering at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, he was employed as an engineer for an electric power company in Lynchburg. At the age of 23 he felt called by God to the ordained ministry and set out to complete his education. He earned the B.A. degree, cum laude, from Lynchburg College and the B.D. and Th.M. degrees from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He was ordained deacon and elder by Bishop Paul N. Garber and became a member of the Virginia Annual Conference. He holds honorary doctorates from Randolph-Macon College, Millsaps College, Rust College, Methodist College (Fayetteville, North Carolina) and North Carolina Wesleyan College. C.P. served two student pastorates and five full-time pastoral appointments in the Virginia Conference. While serving as Pastor of the St. James United Methodist Church in Ferrum, Virginia, he was also Chaplain and Professor of Bible at Ferrum College. He had completed two years as District Superintendent of the Alexandria District at the time of his election to the episcopacy. C. P. was elected clergy leader of the Virginia Conference delegation to the General Conferences of 1976 and 1980. He was elected to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 1980. He was assigned to the Jackson Area in 1980 and was appointed to the Raleigh Area in 1984. Prior to his election he served on the General Council on Finance and Administration. He has served as an episcopal member of the General Board of Church and Society and the General Board of Global Ministries. During the 1988-1992 quadrennium he was President of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. After his retirement in 1996, C.P. served for ten years as bishop-in-residence at Duke Divinity School, retiring from that ministry April 1, 2006. Mary Ann and C. P. were married on September 5, 1946, and are the parents of four children: Ann Wheeler, married to Jay Wheeler and residing in San Diego, California; Gregory, a pastor serving in the North Carolina Annual Conference; Patte Martin, married to Thomas N. Martin and living in St. Paul, Minnesota; and Jonathan, a pastor in the North Carolina Annual conference, married to Allana Harper and living in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have seven granddaughters (Wesley, Amanda, Savannah, Allison, Harper, Micah and Molly) and two grandsons (Christopher and Jonathan).

Cynthia Moore-Koikoi

Active

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Harrisburg Episcopal Area

Pittsburg Episcopal Area

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi was elected as a bishop of The United Methodist Church by delegates to the 2016 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, meeting in Lancaster, PA. She began her assignment to lead United Methodists in Western Pennsylvania on September 1, 2016.   As of September 1, 2021, Bishop Moore-Koikoi also serves as the Interim Bishop of the Harrisburg Episcopal Area.  ------------------------ Bishop Moore-Koikoi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Loyola College in Maryland in 1988, and a Masters of Arts and advanced certification in school psychology from the University of Maryland in 1992. She worked as a school psychologist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools for 17 years, serving in leadership roles as a layperson before answering her call to the ordained ministry. She answered that call while a member of Sharp Street Memorial UMC in Baltimore, her great-grandfather’s church and the church which sent her father into ministry. Her husband of three years, the Rev. Raphael Koikoi, currently serves as pastor there. The Bishop is familiar with church life and ministry in rural, urban and suburban settings. Growing up in a preacher’s family, when she was in elementary school, her father served a rural hilltop church. Later, they moved to serve a church in suburban Silver Spring, MD, where she went to junior high and high school. Attending Wesley Seminary, she was appointed as a student pastor to “a small congregation with a proud EUB heritage in a section of East Baltimore that was experiencing change.” The congregation had to learn how to navigate that change. Later she was appointed associate pastor at Calvary UMC, a large congregation in Annapolis. Ordained an elder in 2010, she served on the Conference staff working with churches on discipleship. She later served as district superintendent for the Greater Washington Area, and most recently as superintendent of the Baltimore Metropolitan District. In that role, she played a key spiritual role in the city in 2015 during the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. She helped to organize United Methodist churches to open their doors and minister to children and families whose schools were closed, and to meet other basic needs. She became the face of the United Methodist Church, and church volunteers in red T-shirts were visible walking through neighborhoods, praying for and ministering to people. Bishop Moore-Koikoi says she sees the work of bishops as “overseeing the work of the church, working prophetically, evangelically and apostolically with all as they cooperate with the Grace of God.” A key component of that, she believes, is leaving space for the transforming movement of the Holy Spirit, especially at times when the denomination is divided and many people wonder what the future holds. “That’s spiritual work -- remembering who God is and who God has called us to be,” she said. “We got God, so we got this.” Bishop Moore-Koikoi said she sees herself as a bridge-builder, clear and confident about what she believes, while respecting others who might not believe the same way. Her vision is of a diverse church that embraces justice and the life-saving love of Christ. As a new bishop, she’s committed to work for that. It won’t be easy, she said, “but I remind myself, God has got this. God is in control.

Susan Morrison

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Gary Mueller

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Arkansas Episcopal Area

Bishop Gary E. Mueller was elected to the episcopacy in 2012. He is the Resident Bishop of the Arkansas Area, which includes the Arkansas Conference in the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church.  ----------------------- After a friend invited him to attend UMYF his sophomore year of high school, Mueller came to a point of being ready to profess his faith in Christ. His call to ministry began to emerge a few years later, while he attended the University of Kansas. He went on to receive his theological education at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, and at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He was ordained an Elder in the North Texas Conference in 1981. Mueller remained in north Texas, serving pastoral appointments at First UMC Richardson, Brewster Memorial and McKenzie Memorial UMC, First United Methodist Church Roanoke-Trophy Club-Westlake, First UMC Denton and First UMC Plano. He also served for four years as Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Texas Conference Council. Before his election to the episcopacy, he held a number of leadership roles, including delegate to the 2012 General Conference; four-time delegate to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference; chair of the North Texas Conference Ministry Center Building Committee during the design and construction of a new Conference Ministry Center; representative on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry Task Force; and chair of the North Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry from 2008 until 2012. He married Karen Goodman Mueller in 2016. Together, they have four adult children and spouses, Hailey and Stephen, Nick and Carrie, Kirk and Tiffany and Jeff and Dusty, as well as two adorable granddaughters, Madeline and Claire. Bishop Mueller’s passion is leading spiritual revival that results in vital congregations that make disciples of Jesus Christ, who then make disciples equipped to transform lives, communities and the world.   ----- Education and Honors: Perkins School of Theology, Master of Divinity, 1979 University of Kansas, Bachelor's degree Ministry: Ordained Deacon, North Texas Conference, 1978 Ordained Elder, North Texas Conference, 1981 Assigned to Arkansas Area (Arkansas Conference), effective Sept. 1, 2012 Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Plano, Texas, 2002-Present Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Denton, Texas, 1995-2002 Director, Council on Ministries, North Texas Annual Conference, 1991-1995 Pastor, First United Methodist Church Roanoke-Trophy Club-Westlake, Texas, 1988-1991 Pastor, McKenzie Memorial United Methodist Church, 1985-1988 Pastor, Brewster Memorial United Methodist Church, 1985-1988 Executive Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Richardson, Texas, 1982-1985 Associate Pastor for Evangelism, First United Methodist Church, Richardson, Texas, 1979-1982 Membership: North Texas Annual Conference Other: Delegate, General Conference 2012 Delegate, South Central Jurisdictional Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000, 1996 (alternate) Chair, Board of Ordained Ministry, 2008-Present Chair, Task Force to present proposed constitutional amendments to the North Texas Annual Conference, 2009 Chair, North Texas Conference Ministry Center Building Committee, 2003-2007 North Texas representative, South Central Jurisdiction Mission Council (Jurisdictional Executive Committee), 2000-2008 Chair, Board of Ordained Ministry Residency Committee, 1996-2004 South Central Jurisdiction representative, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry Task Force on residency during provisional membership, 1996-2000 Member, Aldersgate Covenant, 1994-1996 Primary author of legislation adopted by General Conference 1996 defining The United Methodist Church's mission statement "to make disciples of Jesus Christ." Chair, North Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry residency program design committee, 1988-1999

Albert Frederick Fritz Mutti

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Albert Frederick Mutti, III is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2004. ------------------------ Bishop Mutti was born in Hopkins, Missouri, the son of Albert Frederick Mutti, Jr. and Phyllis M. Turner Mutti. All his life he has been identified by the nickname, "Fritz." Fritz holds academic degrees from Central Methodist College (A.B.), Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Saint Paul School of Theology (D. Min.). Central Methodist College and Baker University awarded him honorary doctoral degrees. He was admitted on trial in the former Missouri Conference, and was admitted to full connection in the Missouri West Conference. He was ordained deacon and an elder by Bishop Eugene Frank. Fritz served in a variety of appointments in Missouri and Indiana. He was Pastor of the Union-Star Chapel-Oak Grove circuit for two years after graduating from seminary. Moving from there to Savannah he became the founding Pastor of Crossroads Ecumenical Cooperative Parish. For eight years he was a member of the Missouri West Conference staff serving as Director of Education and Camping and as Conference Council Director. In 1982 he was appointed Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church, Blue Springs. Bishop W.T. Handy, Jr., appointed him to the Central District in 1987 and to the Kansas City North District in 1989. During these years he was a delegate to five Jurisdictional Conferences and four General Conferences. He led the General Conference delegation in 1984, 1988 and 1992. He served as a director of the General Board of Discipleship (1980-1988), the General Board of Global Ministries (1988-1992), and the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (1996- 2004). He served as Chairperson of the General Task Force on Concern for Workers (1996-2000), and President of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (2000- 2004). In retirement, he serves as a member of the coordinating Council of Churches Uniting in Christ. He and Etta Mae serve as Coordinators of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. Fritz Mutti was elected to the episcopacy by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and assigned to the Kansas Area where he served until his retirement in 2004. He is married to Etta Mae McClurg Mutti and were parents of three sons. Etta Mae and Fritz are the authors of a book, Dancing in A Wheelchair.

Mande Muyombo

Active

Africa

Congo Central Conference

North Katanga Episcopal Area

Emerito Nacpil

Retired

Philippines

Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-2001. In 1997, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a one-year term. ------------------------ Emerito P. Nacpil was born in Tarlac, the Philippines. Beginning with student appointments, Emerito served local churches. During this time he was ordained both deacon and elder by Bishop José Valencia and joined the Philippines Annual Conference. He received a Bachelor of Theology from Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines and a B.A. from Philippine Christian College. He then came to the United States to attend Drew University from which he received his Ph.D. Returning home, Emerito Nacpil took up responsibilities at Union Theological Seminary, first as Professor, then Academic Dean, then President. During this time he was also Chairman of the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Middle Philippines Annual Conference. In 1974 Emerito Nacpil was named Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia and Dean of the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology, the positions he was holding when the Philippines Central Conference elected him to the episcopacy in November, 1980. He had been Chairman of the Commission on Church Structure of the Philippines Central Conference for the past two quadrennia. Bishop Nacpil has also been very active in ecumenical affairs, serving on both the Faith and Order Commission and the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. Bishop Nacpil was assigned to the Manila Area where he administered the Mindanao Annual Conference, the Philippines Annual Conference and the Southwest Philippines Provisional Annual Conference. He retired in 2001. Angelina Baron del Rosario married Emerito P. Nacpil on April 16, 1956, when he was finishing his theological training at Union Seminary. She became a pastor's wife and mother of their two children, Newell and Cynthia.

Joaquina Nhanala

Active

Africa

Africa Central Conference

Mozambique Episcopal Area

Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala is the Resident Bishop of the Mozambique Area, which includes Mozambique North, Mozambique South and South Africa Provisional Conferences in the Africa Central Conference of The United Methodist Church.   She was elected July 23, 2008, as the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa. ------------------------ Nhanala was the pastor of Matola United Methodist Church in Mozambique when she was elected. Besides serving a large church in Matola, a suburb of Maputo, Nhanala has coordinated women's projects for the Mozambique church and led a World Relief HIV/AIDS program designed to mobilize churches for education and advocacy in Mozambique's three southern provinces. Nhanala and the program were featured in the 2004 Bread for the World video, "Keep the Promise on Hunger and Health." Although she was baptized and confirmed as a Catholic her father's religion, Nhanala also attended her mother's Methodist church. Drawn to the youth programs, she became active in the Methodist church as a teen-ager. Nhanala is married to another United Methodist pastor, the Rev. Eugenio Tomas, and they have four adult children. She and her husband, who married in 1976, were both accepted for theological studies at the 1985 Mozambique Annual Conference and received sponsorship from the Women's Fellowship. They attended Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia and Nhanala was ordained a deacon in 1989. When the civil war in Liberia disrupted the couple's studies, they moved to Ghana, where she completed her diploma in theology at Trinity College. The family then moved to Kenya, where she attended Limuru University and received a bachelor of divinity degree in 1995. In 1998, she graduated from Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology with a master's degree in Bible studies and theology and also served as a teacher and dean of students there. She speaks five native languages, as well as Portuguese and English.

Eben Nhiwatiwa

Active

Africa

Africa Central Conference

Zimbabwe Episcopal Area

Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. He is the Resident Bishop of the Zimbabwe Area, which includes the Zimbabwe East and Zimbabwe West conferences in the Africa Central Conference of The United Methodist Church.  ------------------------ He was born in Gandanzara Village, Makoni, Rusape, Zimbabwe. He graduated from Epworth Theological College, Harare, with a Diploma in Theology; from Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, with a one-year Certificate in Theology; Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Zimbabwe; BA from Goshen College, Indiana; MSC from Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, M.Th from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, and a Ph.D. from Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. Eben was ordained deacon by Bishop Abel Muzorewa and elder by Bishop Ralph Alton. He served a number of churches and more at Old Mutare Mission where he served from 1984-1991. In 1992 Eben was one of the pioneering professors at the newly-established Africa University in the Faculty of Theology where he lectured in Pastoral Theology. He served the church in various capacities from local, District to Conference levels. Eben was the Conference Secretary for the Zimbabwe Annual Conference from 1992 to 2000 and then in the same capacity for the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference from 2001 to 2004. In 1992 and 2000 he was elected delegate to the Africa Central Conference and then in 2004 he served the church as the clergy delegate and head of delegation for the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference. Eben Nhiwatiwa was elected Bishop of the church in August 2004. He is the Episcopal leader of two Annual Conferences, the Zimbabwe East and West. He currently serves as the Board member and Chair of the Finance Committee of the Africa University Board of Directors. At the November 2005 Council of Bishops , Eben was elected to represent Africa Central Conference and the church at the World Methodist Conference in South Korea, in July 2006. He says that his style of Episcopal leadership is based on the theology of the ministry of presence; that is, being with the people to make them disciples for Jesus Christ to make a difference in the world. Eben and Greater Taremeredzwa Munesi were married on June 2, 1979. They have two daughters Mable and Nyasha.

Alfred Norris

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Alfred L. Norris, Sr., is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2004. ------------------------ Alfred L. Norris, Sr. was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He is a child of the church, the first son of Mrs. Adele Washington Norris and the late Reverend L.H.P. Norris. Educated in the public schools of Louisiana, he received his high school diploma from the Southern University Laboratory School, Baton Rouge. He furthered his formal education at Dillard University in New Orleans, obtaining a B.A. degree. He completed his seminary education at Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia, with an M.Div. degree, and was later honored with a D.D. degree. Several other institutions have bestowed honorary degrees upon him. Norris was ordained deacon and then elder by Bishop Noah Moore. In the Louisiana Annual Conference, he has served as pastor of the following churches: Haven; Peck; First Street and Mount Zion. From 1968-1972 he was Director of Recruitment for Gammon Theological Seminary. He was District Superintendent of the New Orleans/Houma District of the Louisiana Annual Conference from 1974-1880, and he served as President of Gammon Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta from 1985-1992. Norris participated in a Preaching Mission to Latin America in September 1967, was Guest Preacher for "Bishop's Week" at Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in June of 1980, and served as Guest Preacher for the Liberia Annual Conference in February, 1988. He has been the guest preacher or lecturer at numerous other conferences, seminars, church services and religious activities nationwide. Norris was a delegate to the General Conferences of 1976, 1984, 1988 and 1992 and was elected to lead the Louisiana Conference Delegation in 1992. He was a delegate to the World Methodist Conference each quinquennium since 1976. While in Louisiana, he served as Chairman of the Board of Ordained Ministry from 1980-1988. Additionally, he served on the Board of Publications of the United Methodist Church and was a member of the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools. Alfred Norris was elected to the episcopacy by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and was assigned to the Northwest Texas/New Mexico Area, with headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the 2000 Jurisdictional Conference, he was assigned to the Houston Area. From 1996 until 2004, he was a member of GCFA, serving as President from 2000-2004. He retired in 2004 and returned to Gammon Theological Seminary to serve as Bishop-in-Residence. Bishop Norris is a 33º Mason. He and his wife, Mackie L. Harper Norris, have a son, Alfred, II (Lisa), daughter Angela R. Johnson (Tyrone) and four grandchildren, Alfred, III (Trey) and Justin Douglass Norris, and Mark David and Faith Rachelle Johnson. The Norrises reside in Jonesboro, GA.

Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo

Retired

Africa

Congo Central Conference

Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1996-2016. ------------------------ He was born at Kailo in then Zaire. His father is deceased, but his mother Kahole Julienne is still alive. He has been a Christian since childhood. Ntambo finished his six years of elementary school in Kabongo. He went to secondary school in Lubumbashi for six years. Then he went to seminary for four years in Mulungwishi. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Nairobi International School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya. His professional activities include: 1967-1972, Elementary School Teacher; 1976-1977. Senior Pastor at the parish in Lubudi; 1977-1982, District Superintendent Bukama-Lubudi; 1982-1983, Bishop's Secretary; 1987-1989; District Superintendent Kamina; 1987-1993, Christian Education Director, North Shaba; 1992-1992, Senior Director at Kamina-Ville UMC. Bishop Ntambo worked as Assistant Legal Representative of North Shaba for sixteen years (1977-1993). He occupied the following positions: Executive Committee Vice-President; Secretary for Swahili-speaking people at the North Shaba Annual Conference; General Board of Global Ministries director; interpreter at the 1992 General Conference in Louisville; chairperson of the North Shaba Aviation Committee, Construction Committee, Ordained Ministry Committee; IPIM in the country of Burundi (1993-on as D.S., Supervisor and spiritual coordinator for refugees). This year he was the North Shaba delegation leader for the Central Conference at Wembo-Nyama. Bishop Ntambo planted about 157 churches in the region of Bukuma and Lubudi. He opened two congregations in Nairobi. During his ministry he visited the following countries in order to fulfill his tasks: Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Senegal, Zambia, U.S.A., Israel, Angola, Gambia, and South Africa. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1996 and serves the North Katanga Area, Democratic Republic of Congo until his retirement. He is married to Nshimba Nkulu; they have eight children (three boys and five girls).

James Jimmy Nunn

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Northwest Texas-New Mexico Episcopal Area

Oklahoma Episcopal Area

Karen Oliveto

Active

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Mountain Sky Episcopal Area

Bishop Karen Oliveto was elected to the episcopacy in 2016 by the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church.  ------------------------ Bishop Karen Oliveto comes to the Mountain Sky Area after serving as senior pastor of the 12,000-member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco for eight years. She is the first woman to be senior pastor at Glide, the fifth largest United Methodist congregation in the U.S. She is the first woman to serve as senior pastor in one of the denominations 100 largest U.S. congregations. "My dream is that we live into beloved community. My dream is that we live boldly as the body of Christ. and love so fully, so completely, that the neighborhoods in which United Methodist Churches stand in are utterly transformed by the love that spills out of these communities,” Bishop Oliveto said in a <a href="http://rmcumc-email.brtapp.com/viewemail/1566117" target="_blank">pastoral letter</a> to the members of the 400 churches she will serve. The Mountain Sky Area covers all of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and a small portion of Idaho. The two regional conferences that comprise the area, the Rocky Mountain Conference and the Yellowstone Conference, are in the process of creating a new annual conference under the name Mountain Sky. Bishop Oliveto is the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church. Her wife, Robin Ridenour, a nurse anesthetist, is a deaconess in The United Methodist Church. <h4><a href="http://www.rmcumc.org/files/content/communications/mountain+sky+area/bishopolivetoleadership+summit2016.pdf" target="_blank">View Bishop Oliveto's quadrennial vision for 2016-2020: Living into Beloved Community</a></h4> <a href="http://www.mountainskyumc.org/musings-in-the-mountain-sky-area" target="_blank">Follow Bishop Karen's blog: Musings in the Mountain Sky Area</a>

Øystein Olsen

Retired

Europe

Bishop Øystein Olsen is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2001-2009. ------------------------ Øystein Olsen was born in Narvik, Northern Norway. His parents were Methodists, and he grew up in and became a member of the United Methodist Church in a country with a 90% Lutheran population. He started singing in a boys' choir at the age of 7 and has liked singing since then. Øystein earned a diploma from The UMC Nordic Theological Seminary in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was ordained deacon and elder by Bishop Ole Borgen. He obtained additional education in Pastoral Supervision (ABV). His has served as local church pastor in the southern part of Norway for the following congregations: Egersund; Bergen Central, as youth pastor (50%) and Bethany Hospital as hospital chaplain (50%); Halden; "pastor in charge" in Strömstad, Sweden; Skien; Kjølberg; Oslo Immanuel. He was elected to the episcopacy in March of 2001, and served the Nordic and Baltic Area until his retirement in 2009. He has served on the General Council on Ministries 1996-2000, as member and officer, re-elected 2000-2004; Central Conference Executive Committee/Committee on Episcopacy since 1987; Delegate to NE Central Conference 1985-1997; the Norwegian Annual Conference Committee on Episcopacy from 1989, chair 1989-2001; Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry 1980-96, 7 years as chair; Annual Conference Church Board of UMC Norway 1981-1989 (1978-81 substitute); as well as other committees and task forces in the Annual Conference, districts and local churches. In addition, for four years he served as the Norway Annual Conference representative in Nordic Ecumenical Council. After his election to the episcopacy, Bishop Olsen served as Chair of ECOM (European Commission on Mission), a joint coordinating commission between the European UMC episcopal Areas and the British Methodist Churches in Europe; as Chair of EMC (European Methodist Council), a European equivalent to WMC; The Bishops' Initiative: Children and Poverty Task Force and Vice President and Director of GBGM. In 1967, he married Toril, who is a special education teacher. Their children are: daughter, Elisabeth and two sons, Geir Thomas and Trond Christian. All three are married and live in the Oslo region. The Olsens have three grandchildren: Nicolai, Hannah and Natascha.

Active

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Ohio West Episcopal Area

Bishop Gregory V. Palmer was elected to the episcopacy in 2000. He is the Resident Bishop of the Ohio West Area, which includes the Ohio West Conference in the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. In 2008, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a two-year term. From July 1, 2021 through January 1, 2022, Bishop Palmer also served as an interim bishop of the Illinois Great River Area.    ------------------------ Bishop Palmer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University, and later earned his Master of Divinity degree from Duke University. In 1999 he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. He was ordained deacon by Bishop James M. Ault in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and ordained an elder by Bishop James S. Thomas in the East Ohio Conference. Greg served as Senior Pastor of the United Methodist Church of Berea, Ohio, for seven years. Prior to that he had been a district superintendent, and had served churches in both Ohio and North Carolina. He was the organizing pastor of the James S. Thomas United Methodist Church of Canton, Ohio. Gregory Vaughn Palmer was elected to the episcopacy in 2000 and was appointed to the Iowa Area, which he began serving on September 1, 2000. In 2008 he was assigned to the Illinois Area. After serving in the Illinois Area for four years, he was assigned to the West Ohio Annual Conference in July 2012. Bishop Palmer has served the church in other ways: President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Canton, Senegal Task Force of the General Board of Global Ministries, General and Jurisdictional Delegate, as a teacher at Pastor's School in the Burundi Annual Conference and Trustee of Baldwin-Wallace College, Ohio Wesleyan University and United Theological Seminary. He served as President of the Council of Bishops from 2008-2010. In addition, Bishop Palmer has served the communities in which he has lived: Trustee of the Berea Children's Home and Family Services Board, Board of Zoning and Appeals in Cleveland and Trustee of the Regional Transit Authority in Canton. He and his wife, Cynthia, have two children: Monica and Aaron.

Jeremiah Park

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Jeremiah J. Park is a retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Northeastern Jurisdiction and retired in 2021, where he was the Resident Bishop of the Harrisburg Area, which includes the Susquehanna Conference.  ------------------------ He was born in Jae Chun, Korea. He graduated from Seoul Methodist Theological School, as an honor student, with a Bachelor of Divinity degree and cum laude from the Theological School of Drew University with the M.Div. degree. He received his D. Min. degree from the same school in 1990. Jeremiah was ordained deacon by Bishop C. Dale White (Northern New Jersey Annual Conference) and elder by Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel (Western New York Annual Conference). For nine years he served as pastor in Rochester, New York,  and Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. From 1988 to 1994 he served the Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry of the Northeastern Jurisdiction, as Associate Director. From 1994 to1996 he served as Associate Council Director and then as Council Director for two years in the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference. During his tenure on staff of the conference, he was instrumental in raising funds for building a Memorial Chapel in memory of Henry G. Appenzeller, the first Methodist missionary from America to Korea, at Aldersgate Center in Swartswood, New Jersey. In 1998 he became the District Superintendent of the Hudson District of the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference, which was changed to the Palisades District in 2000. He was District Superintendent when he was elected bishop. Jeremiah was first elected a delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference in 1996. He was elected a delegate to the General Conference in 2000 and 2004. He served on the Vision Table, Program and Arrangements Committee, Board of Directors of the Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry, and the Korean-American Mission of the Northeastern Jurisdiction (NEJ). He served as Chairperson of the Conference Commission on Religion and Race and the Multi-Ethnic Ministries Coordinating Committee. Upon his election to the episcopacy by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2004, Jeremiah was assigned as Resident Bishop of the New York Area and the NEJ Korean-American Mission. The Council of Bishops assigned him to serve on the National United Methodist Council on Korean-American Ministries and the Connectional Ministries Funding Patterns Task Force. After serving the New York Area for 8 years, he was assigned to the Harrisburg Area in July 2012. On February 16, 1974, Elizabeth (Lisa) Hyeja and Jeremiah were married. They emigrated to the US in 1976, and have two children: Cathy, who was married to George Wang in 2003, and Matthew.

Joseph Pennel

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Jose Quipungo

Active

Africa

Africa Central Conference

Angola East Episcopal Area

Bishop José Quipungo was elected to the episcopacy in 2000. He is the Resident Bishop of East Angola Area, which includes the East Angola Conference in the Africa Central Conference of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ Bishop José Quipungo is the son of Quipungo (King - Khunga Muxinda), and Elisa (Queen - Mbanza Mumbanda), both deceased, born in East Angola - Baixa de Cassange (kingdom of Khunga Muxinda), in Xá-Muteba, Baixa de Cassange, then the province of Malange, and today known as Luanda North. Quipungo has been an active member of the United Methodist Church since he was a teenager. He served as Youth Director of the District of Quela. He was a student and an associate pastor in Rudge Ramos Methodist Church in Brazil, and he earned his degree in theology (Social Science and Religion) from the Methodist Institute of Higher Education, in S. Paulo, Brazil. He has served as deputy to the National Assembly of Angola, and served as pastor of Monte Sinai United Methodist Church in Luanda from 1999 until his election to the episcopacy. Previously, he served the Central United Methodist Church in Luanda for six years. He was elected to the episcopacy at the 9th Africa Central Conference of the Methodist Church in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2000. At the same time, he was appointed to preside at the Annual Conference of East Angola. "I believe that the more united the Church is, the more prosperous it will be in terms of evangelization, health, and education." In 2004, Quipungo was re-elected to the episcopacy, and became a bishop for life at the 10th Africa Central Conference of the United Methodist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 19, 2004. He was appointed as President of the Africa Central Conference for four years, continuing as leader of the East Angola Annual Conference. Quipungo is married to Laurinda Vidal Quipungo, a physician. Bishop and Mrs. Quipungo have three sons and two daughters, Arsénio, Arez, Divino, Elisa and Esperança, and three grandchildren.

Samuel Quire

Active

Africa

West Africa Central Conference

Liberia Episcopal Area

Sharon Rader

Retired

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2004.  ------------------------ Sharon Zimmerman was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. She graduated from North Central College in 1961 with a B.A. degree in Elementary Education and taught in Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey. During that time she did graduate work at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. She later graduated from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Adrian College conferred an honorary doctorate in 1989. She has been a trustee of Albion College, North Central College, and Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Sharon was ordained deacon in the Detroit Conference by Bishop Dwight Loder, and elder in the Northern Illinois Conference by Bishop Paul Washburn. She served as Pastor at Mayfair UMC, Chicago; Baseline UMC, Battle Creek, Michigan and University UMC, East Lansing, Michigan. From 1981-1986, she was a member of the West Michigan Conference Program staff with responsibilities for Global Ministries, New Church Development, and advocacy groups. At the time of her election to the episcopacy, she was the Grand Rapids (Michigan) District Superintendent. Sharon was elected to the 1980 North Central Jurisdictional Conference and to the 1984, 1988, and 1992 General and Jurisdictional Conferences. She served on the General Council on Ministries (where she chaired the Division on Research, Planning and Futuring); the General Commission on Communications; the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry; and for two years worked for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women as the developer of a Talent Bank of Women in the United Methodist Church. Sharon Zimmerman Rader was elected to the episcopacy by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and assigned to the Wisconsin Area. Bishop Zimmerman has served in the following roles: <ul> <li>1996-2004 Secretary of the Council of Bishops.</li> <li>2004-2008 Executive Secretary for the Connectional Table.</li> <li>2008-2012 Ecumenical Officer for the Council of Bishops</li> </ul> She retired as an active bishop in 2008 and is currently Bishop-in-Residence at Garrett Evangelical Seminary.  Sharon and Blaine Rader are the parents of Matthew and Mary, and the grandparents of Ethan and Abigail Rader and Jasper and Zimm Davis.

Harald Rückert

Active

Europe

Germany Central Conference

Germany Episcopal Area

Bishop Harald Rückert was elected to the episcopacy in 2016. He is the Resident Bishop of the Germany Area, which includes the Germany Conference in the Europe Central Conference of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ Bishop Rückert was born in 1958 in Nuremberg where he grew up. After passing his university entrance examinations, he studied Food Technology at the TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan in Munich, before finding his way to the pastoral ministry of the United Methodist Church.  After a twelve-month internship with the South Germany Annual Conference in Munich-Enhuberstrasse (now the Erlöserkirche), he studied Theology from 1980 to 1984 at the UMC Theological Seminary in Reutlingen (now Reutlingen School of Theology). Harald Rückert gained his first experience as a pastor in local church ministry for the UMC from 1984 to 1988 in the Hof-Stammbach circuit, in north eastern Bavaria. He was also ordained during this period (1986). From 1988 onwards, he worked for 12 years as leading pastor in the Schweinfurt-Würzburg circuit in north Bavaria, followed by ten years as Superintendent with responsibility for the Reutlingen District. From 2010 to 2017 he was leading pastor in the Erlöserkirche circuit in Reutlingen.   Since starting his pastoral work in the Hof-Stammbach circuit, where he was responsible for launching the church congregation in Stammbach, Rückert has looked in depth at issues of establishing churches, church leadership and development management. Advanced training courses on the management of social organisations and time management together with staff leadership and mentoring have qualified him to play a major role in developing and running the Church Leadership course. This course model provides probationary pastors in local church ministry with intensive mentoring during their second phase of training after completing their theology degrees. While Superintendent for the Reutlingen District, he also chaired the Committee for New Mission (later: church planting group) for church planting projects and activities involved in establishing new churches, also playing a major role in setting up and organising the Youth Church Karlsruhe.  Besides his work in local church ministry and special ministry, Harald Rückert was also involved in assignments and auxiliary activities in many areas of the UMC and also going over and beyond the UMC:   <h4>In the UMC </h4> Since 1992  Member of the Germany Central Conference   Since 1991 Delivering training courses for full-time ministers on church leadership and selfmanagement/burn-out prevention 2006-2010 Setting up and organising the Youth Church Karlsruhe as Chair of the Youth Church Group 2001-2010 Chair of the Committee for for New Mission (later: church planting group) 1991-1997 Developing and delivering the Church Leadership course for probationary pastors  <h4>Ecumenical activities</h4> 2005-2010 Member of the Board of ACK Baden-Württemberg 2000-2010 Member of the Delegates Assembly of ACK Baden-Württemberg  <h4>Interreligious dialogue</h4> Since 2016  Free-church representative for the National ACK on the steering committee for the »Do You Know Who I am?« project (National ACK, Central Council of Jews in Germany and four national Moslem associations)  <h4>Institutional Welfare</h4> Since 1987  Member of the Supervisory Board of the Martha-Maria Diaconal Work   2006-2010 Church Council Delegate on the Supervisory Board of the »Diaconal Works« Bethanien and Bethesda 2000-2012 Chairman of »Lebenszentrum Ebhausen e.V.« (after-care facility for people with addiction problems)  <h4>International</h4> 2016 Advisory member of the General Conference delegated by the Connectional Table 2010-2016  Member of the Connectional Table 2008, 2012 Delegate for the South German Annual Conference to the General Conference 1995 Two months pastoral ministry at the First United Methodist Church, Osceola, Arkansas, USA as part of the exchange programme run by the World Methodist Council  Harald Rückert is married; he and his wife have three grown-up children.

John Russell

Retired

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Bishop John Russell is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-1992. ------------------------ John Russell was born in Abilene, Texas. He did his college work at Oklahoma City University (B.A.); his alma mater honored him with a D.D. degree in 1968 and a distinguished alumnus award in 1980, where he was Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He holds a L.H.D. from Texas Wesleyan College (1987). John was ordained deacon and elder by Bishop W. Angie Smith, and became a full member of the Oklahoma Annual Conference after graduation from Perkins School of Theology. He did additional study at the Graduate Seminary at Phillips University where he also taught United Methodist polity. After serving relatively smaller churches, Dr. Russell spent twenty years as pastor of some of United Methodism's largest congregations (Village Church, Oklahoma City; First Church, Enid; Boston Avenue, Tulsa), with an interim appointment as District Superintendent of the Tulsa District. John Russell was delegate to the General Conferences of 1976 and 1980 and to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of 1972. He was active in conference affairs, serving as Chairman of the Board of Ordained Ministry, as well as civic organizations. He gave the Britt Lectures in Honolulu in 1980. He was a member of the General Council on Finance and Administration; Board of Trustees, Southern Methodist University, and is on some boards at other institutions. The South Central Jurisdictional Conference elected John Russell to the episcopacy in 1980 and he was assigned to the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. In 1988 he was assigned to the newly created Fort Worth Area where he served until his retirement in 1992. Mary Jean Garrett and John Russell were married the day after Christmas in 1947, while both were still in college. They have two daughters: Mary Margaret (Mrs. William Layton) and Deborah Ann (Mrs. Louis Cordaro). Their son, John Garrett, died in 1982.

Ruben Saenz

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Fort Worth Episcopal Area

Great Plains Episcopal Area

Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. is a native of South Texas and a lifelong United Methodist. He was elected bishop in 2016 at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Great Plains Conference, based in Topeka, Kansas. On January 1, 2022, Bishop Saenz also became the Interim Bishop for the Fort Worth Episcopal Area, while serving the Great Plains Conference.   -------------------------   In his role as an episcopal leader in Kansas and Nebraska, Bishop Saenz has led three former conferences through a unification process that began in 2014. Under his leadership, the conference focuses on the four pillars of a robust ministry and witness for Jesus Christ in the Wesleyan tradition: Love God; proclaim Christ; serve others, especially the poor; and seek justice.   Bishop Saenz is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and a former high school teacher, high school football coach, and businessperson. He earned his master’s of divinity and doctorate of ministry degrees from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. As a pastor, he focused his ministry on intentional spiritual practice and formation, developing a lay apostolate, and giving people the tools and encouragement to move out of generational poverty. He served congregations in East Dallas, Oak Cliff Dallas, El Paso, and Edinburg, Texas. El Buen Pastor — The Good Shepherd — in Edinburg, Texas, which was the largest Hispanic-American United Methodist Church in the country during his pastoral tenure.   In 2010, he was appointed to serve as the Southwest Texas director of congregational and new church development, and he helped start 11 new churches before being named director of the conference connectional ministries and executive director of the Rio Texas Conference’s Mission Vitality Center in January 2015. In that role, he oversaw the conference’s missional strategies and objectives for congregational vitality, starting new churches, clergy, and lay leadership vitality, uniting people, and transforming communities.    He enjoys drawing and painting landscapes with various mediums, endurance cycling, and hi-intensity workouts, fishing and golfing, an aromatic and flavorful cup of coffee from various regions of the world, visiting new places, meeting new people, and watching NFL football. He has a growing interest in writing for publication, Meso-American civilizations, the Abraham Lincoln presidency, learning how to dismantle systemic “isms,” and conflict-resolution that reconciles, restores, and rebuilds community.   Bishop Saenz has been married to Maye for 39 years. They have four children, all of which are active in the life of the church. Two of his sons, Aaron and Ruben III, serve as pastors of growing congregations in the Rio Texas Conference. He and Maye have nine grandchildren.

Roy Sano

Retired

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Roy Sano is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1984-2000. In 1995, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a one-year term. ------------------------ Roy Sano was born in Brawley, California. His parents had emigrated from Japan, and were converted to Christ upon the death of their third child. When Roy was eleven years old, after the start of World War II, the family was sent to the Poston Relocation Center. The family moved to Pennsylvania, under the sponsorship of a Quaker family. It was during this time that Roy felt a call to the Christian ministry and accepted Christ. After World War II, the Sanos returned to California, and their family was reunited after the war. One brother served in the U. S. Armed Forces in the Pacific. Another brother, who had been adopted by a maternal uncle in Japan, served in the Japanese Imperial Army and was imprisoned in Siberia, before returning the U.S. Roy Sano's education includes a B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, in New York City, an M. Th. from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and a Ph. D. from the Claremont Graduate University. He served in student pastorates, and upon his ordination he served in Loomis, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Later, Roy was the chaplain and taught at Mills College, Oakland, CA, and served on the faculty of Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA. From 1972-78 Roy was Director of the Pacific and Asian American Center for Theology and Strategies in Berkeley. Bishop Sano was elected to the Episcopacy in 1984, and served the Denver and Los Angeles Areas, until his retirement in 2000. He was assigned to several Boards and Agencies of the UMC. He was a delegate to five plenary session of the Consultation on Church Union, and to three Assemblies of the WCC. He was the President of the Council of Bishops, 1991-92; COB Liaison to Association of United Methodist Theological Schools, 2000-04; and served as the first Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops from 2004-2008. He is married to Kathleen Thomas-Sano and his children are Topaz, Timothy, and Barton who is married to Sharon King, with grandchildren, Evan and Kira.

Franz Schäfer

Deceased

Europe

Central and Southern Europe Central Conference

Robert Schnase

Active

United States

South Central Jurisdiction

Northwest Texas-New Mexico Episcopal Area

San Antonio Episcopal Area

Bishop Robert Schnase, elected in 2004, is a bishop of The United Methodist Church. -------------------------- He currently serves as the resident bishop of the Río Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.  He was assigned to Río Texas in 2016 after serving twelve years as the bishop of the Missouri Annual Conference.  On January 1, 2022, Bishop Schnase also became the Interim Bishop for the New Mexico Area, while serving Rio Texas. Prior to his election as bishop in 2004, Schnase served for 15 years as senior pastor of First United Methodist Church, McAllen, Texas.  The congregation became known for reaching younger generations, bicultural ministry, and for its extensive mission and outreach.  He also served congregations in Harlingen, Texas, and in Great Britain.   A native of Texas, Bishop Schnase is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Psychology.  He received his Masters of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.   Bishop Schnase is the author of several bestselling books: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, Practicing Extravagant Generosity, Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences, and Just Say Yes: Unleashing People for Ministry.  His latest book is a Revised and Updated Edition of the classic Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.   Bishop Schnase chairs the board of directors of Wespath (formerly known as the United Methodist Board of Pensions).  He served on the UMC Commission on a Way Forward.  He is a frequent teacher and speaker at churches, conferences, and seminaries.     Schnase lives in San Antonio with his wife, Esther.  They have two adult sons, Karl and Paul.

John Schol

Active

United States

Active

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Greater Northwest Episcopal Area

Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky was elected to the episcopacy in 2008.  --------------------------- Elaine JW Stanovsky was born in Vancouver, Washington, the fourth of five children of Edith and Robert Woodworth. She was baptized at First Methodist Church in Vancouver and made her profession of faith as a youth at First United Methodist Church in Bellevue, Washington. Elaine earned her BA degree summa cum laude from the University of Puget Sound and her M.Div. degree from Harvard Divinity School. Elaine was ordained deacon and elder in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference, where she served pastorates at Kennydale and Crown Hill United Methodist churches in the Seattle area. From 1990 to 1995 she served as President/Director of the ecumenical Church Council of Greater Seattle. In 1995 she began her service as the Puget Sound District Superintendent. In 2002 she became the Director of Connectional Ministries and Assistant to the Bishop, a position she held until 2005 when she began her service as dean of the cabinet and superintendent of the Seattle and Tacoma Districts. Stanovsky was introduced to the global church in 1972, as a young adult observer for the Pacific Northwest Conference. She served as staff of the United Methodist Council on Youth Ministries in 1973-74, where she met Clint Stanovsky from the Central Texas Conference. She married Clinton in 1977, and together they have three sons: Walker Clinton Stanovsky, Micah Eli Stanovsky, and Carl Axel Stanovsky. Elaine was elected lay head of delegation to the 1976 General Conference while still in college. Clergy colleagues elected her their first delegate to general conferences in 1996, 2000, and 2004. After graduating from college she worked as a summer intern at the General Board of Global Ministries. She has served as a member of the General Council on Ministries, the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and the General Board of Education and Ministry, as well as the Plan of Organization and Rules Committee of the General Conference. Elaine maintains strong ecumenical and interfaith commitments, including the Renton Ecumenical Association of Churches, the Washington Association of Churches, the Seattle Holocaust Conference, the Consultation on Church Union, and the World Council of Churches. She traveled to Russia twice with the Seattle-St. Petersburg Sister Churches Program. The Western Jurisdiction elected her to the episcopacy in 2008 and assigned her to the Mountain Sky (previously Denver) Area, comprising the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Annual Conferences. She is vice-chair of the General Board of Discipleship and chair of the Curriculum Resources Committee. In 2009 she represented The United Methodist Church on an interfaith peace mission to the Middle East with the National Interfaith Leadership Initiative.

Forrest Stith

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Forrest C. Stith is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1984-1996. -------------------------------- Bishop Stith was born in Marshall, Texas. He earned a B.S. degree in Education at the University of Nebraska and an M. Div. at Drew Theological School. He immediately became a Probationary Member of the Baltimore Annual Conference and was ordained by Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam. Forrest served Douglas Memorial Church, Washington, DC; he was ordained an elder by Bishop Oxnam. He served Sharp Street Church, Baltimore, MD, and became Executive Secretary of the Baltimore Conference Board of Missions and Church Extension and Associate Council Director for Outreach. Forrest became Conference Council Director and was named District Superintendent of Washington East District. At the 1984 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, Forrest was elected to the Episcopacy. He was assigned to the New York West Area; and later was assigned to the New York Area in l992. Upon his retirement in 1996, he and his wife, Josephine, served the United Methodist Church of East Africa, providing episcopal oversight to areas of Uganda, Rwanda, and Southern Sudan, where the late Bishop J. Alfred Ndoricimpa was unable to travel because of political strife. Returning home in 2000, the Stiths served an interim pastorate of one and a half years at Gibbons Resurrection United Methodist Church, Brandywine, MD. Forrest holds honorary degrees from Western Maryland College (D.D., 1979) and Nebraska Wesleyan University (D.D., 1986). He has provided leadership to the church, the community, and to the world. Included are the following: COSROW (1984-88), Vice President of GCFA (1988-92) and President 1992-96). He chaired the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Decade--Churches in Solidarity with Women-- for four years. In retirement, Forrest continues to study, to teach, to lecture, and to preach. He serves as Bishop in Residence at Asbury United Methodist Church, Washington DC; he is President of the proposed African American Methodist Heritage Center. He is a Life Member of BMCR and serves on the Board of Directors of Cameron Grove Community in Upper Marlboro, MD, where he and Josephine live. The Stith's daughter, Lori Stith Robinson, and her husband, Mark, live in Maryland.

Thomas Stockton

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Patrick Streiff

Active

Europe

Central and Southern Europe Central Conference

Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area

Bishop Patrick Ph. Streiff, elected to the episcopacy in 2005, is the Resident Bishop of the Central and Southern Europe Area, which includes Central and Southern Europe Central Conference in the Europe Central Conference of The United Methodist Church. ----------------------------- He was born in Birsfelden near Basel (Switzerland). Having graduated school in Birsfelden and Muttenz, he studied at the Theological Seminary of the United Methodist Church in Reutlingen (Germany) and at the University of Bern (Switzerland). Later he did a doctorate (equivalent to Ph.D.) on John William Fletcher. Patrick Ph. Streiff was ordained elder in the Annual Conference Switzerland-Franceof the United Methodist Church. He served as pastor in Lausanne-Vevey, Neuchâtel and Biel/Bienne, located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland respectively on the border to this region. From 1998 to 2004 he was part-time director of the “Centre Méthodiste de Formation Théologique” in Lausanne (Switzerland), and from 1992 to 2004 he served as lecturer of modern Christian history at the University of Lausanne. His activities beyond the local church also included leadership functions on behalf of the European Section of the World Methodist Historical Society, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Historical Commission of the United Methodist Church in Europe. He served as clergy delegate to General Conference in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and was consultant for theological education and for the Advisory Committee to the Bishops in Cambodia. Patrick Ph. Streiff was elected bishop of the United Methodist Church in Central and Southern Europe in 2005. He succeeded Heinrich Bolleter and assumed his office on May 1, 2006. His area covers twelve countries in Europe (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland) and two countries in Africa (Algeria, Tunisia). Besides his service in this very diverse Episcopal Area, Patrick Ph. Streiff is chairperson of the “Geneva Consultation” for theological education and leadership development in French-speaking Methodism (especially in Africa) and of the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. In addition he is a member of the Connectional Table, of the Study Committee on the Worldwide Nature of the United Methodist Church, of the Task Force of Theological Education and Leadership Formation and of the Task Force “God’s Renewed Creation: A Call to Hope and Action.” In 1979, Heidi Albrecht and Patrick Ph. Streiff were married. They have four children: Rahel Esther, Corinne Simone, Manuel Andreas and Myriam Ruth.

James Swanson

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Mississippi Episcopal Area

James Edward Swanson Sr., elected to the episcopacy in 2004, is the resident bishop of the Mississippi Conference of The United Methodist Church. ----------------------- His tenure in the Mississippi Conference began Sept. 1, 2012, with his first public appearance one day earlier to the conference’s Seashore District. He went there to be with those affected by Hurricane Isaac. The hurricane made landfall on August 28, 2012, causing additional devastation to Mississippi coastal communities recovering from Hurricane Katrina seven years earlier. Swanson listened to the people of Mississippi and discovered values deep within their hearts—love, generosity, justice and apprenticeship—thus, becoming the Core Four Values of the Mississippi Conference. It is from this Core Four that the churches seek to center their unique ministries. However, none of these values are accomplished alone. Swanson travels the Mississippi Conference teaching, “We are one Church in 1,030 locations.” His contagious spirit of hospitality, a determination to excel at being “the you” God created each person to be and spirited preaching has helped bring life, laughter and light to congregations in the Mississippi Conference and beyond. He continues to emphasize that winning people to Christ requires risk-taking love, and crossing old boundaries to discover where the Holy Spirit is at work. He is modeling with the extended cabinet how coaching can revolutionize ministry. Cabinet members and other conference groups meet for two eight-hour sessions each month to be trained in loving, learning and leading. Because of this coaching, Swanson continually asks Mississippians about their “glory sightings”—where they see God at work. Swanson was elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church during the 2004 Southeastern Jurisdiction Conference. He was assigned to the Holston Conference where the episcopal office is located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Swanson served the Holston Conference for eight years. Under his leadership, the Sudan Mission initiated. The number of United Methodist congregations in Sudan grew from three to 30 between 2006 and 2012. A residential home for Sudan’s district superintendent was built and used as a training site for clergy and laity of South Sudan. Plans were laid for Holston to raise funds for the campaign, Imagine No Malaria to prevent and treat the deadly malaria disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. The campaign resulted in $1.2 million dollars.   Swanson serves as the president of the General Commission of United Methodist Men for 2017-2020. He was re-elected to the post following his service for 2012-2016. Swanson is a member of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities (IAMSCU). He serves on the board of trustees for Emory University, Rust College and Millsaps College. He is also the chairman of the board of trustees at Gammon Theological Seminary. Swanson is a sought after preacher, workshop leader and lecturer. He has presented to people in Japan, Korea, Brazil, Russia, Estonia, Chile, Canada, the Holy Land, Egypt, Liberia, Sudan, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe and throughout the United States. Bishop Swanson is the son of the late Carl Swanson and Arnola Triplett. He is married to Delphine Yvonne Ramsey Swanson. They have the joy of being parents to six adult children, Karen Latrese Swanson Jones married to Earl Jones Jr.; James Edward Swanson Jr. married to Yaki Bryant Swanson; Shondell Swanson married to Angela Drain; Carlton Eugene Swanson married to Ivis Rosario; Janae Evonne Swanson Brown married to Vernon and Joshua Emile’ Swanson married to LaShay. The Swansons are blessed with 15 grandchildren.

Mary Ann Swenson

Retired

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Mary Ann McDonald Swenson is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1992-2012. -------------------------- She was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She was raised in Jackson, Mississippi, where she was active in Sunday school, youth group, and choir at Capitol Street United Methodist Church. She graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and received a Doctor of Ministry degree from the School of Theology at Claremont. Mary Ann was ordained both deacon and elder by Bishop Wilbur Choy. She served as Associate Pastor of Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont, California; Pastor of Orchards United Methodist Church, Vancouver, Washington; District Superintendent of the Puget Sound District, Pacific Northwest Conference; Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church, Wenatchee, Washington. She also served as Youth Director for St. Luke's UMC, and Capitol Street UMC in Jackson, Mississippi, Elma UMC and Mason UMC in the PNW Conference, and Claremont UMC in Claremont, California. Mary Ann served as Dean of the Cabinet, PNW Conference. While assigned to First UMC Wenatchee, she also was President of the Board of Directors of the Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence Center and served on the North Central Washington AIDS Coalition. She has served as a director of the General Board of Discipleship and General Board of Global Ministries, where she also was the Chair of the Committee to Eliminate Institutional Racism and the Committee on Personnel and Nominations. She was an elected PNW Conference delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992. Mary Ann Swenson was elected to the episcopacy by the Western Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and assigned to the Denver Area. During her tenure there she served again with the General Board of Discipleship and as President from 1996-2000. In 2000, she moved to the California-Pacific Annual Conference and began to serve with the GCFA, including the President of GCFA. Mary Ann McDonald married Jeff Swenson on August 31, 1968. On their 25th wedding anniversary, the Swensons received a tandem bicycle. Since that time they became avid riders, completing a California coast tour in 1994, an Oregon coast tour in 1995, Washington State tour in 1996, and riding to and from Annual Conference sessions. In the summer of 1998, they rode across the United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, covering 4059 miles in 58 days. In the California-Pacific Conference, they frequently rode to Sunday services wherever Mary Ann is preaching.  Jeff passed on Sunday, August 22, 2021.

Melvin Talbert

Retired

United States

Western Jurisdiction

Bishop Melvin G. Talbert is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1980-2000. ------------------------- Born in Clinton, Louisiana, Talbert was one of seven children of sharecropper parents, Florence George and Nettles. He was married to Ethelou Douglas for thirty-eight years prior to her death in February 1999. Talbert has one daughter, Evangeline Violet, married to James H. Sifford, Sr. They have three children: Kaetlin, James, Jr. and Melvin Douglas. Talbert married Marilyn W. Magee April 1, 2000. After attending public schools and working various jobs, Melvin received a BA degree from Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA, and an M.Div. degree from Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC)/Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, GA. While at ITC, Talbert became President of the student body during his middler year, while serving a two-point charge in Tennessee. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Willis J. King, Jr., and was ordained Elder by Bishop Gerald H. Kennedy. After serving as interim at St. John's (Watts), Associate at Wesley, Los Angeles, and Pastor at Hamilton, Los Angeles, Melvin was named Associate Council Director, Southern California-Arizona Conference. One year later, he was appointed District Superintendent for the Long Beach District. In 1973, Melvin was elected General Secretary for the General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, where he served until he was elected to the episcopacy in 1980 and was assigned to the Seattle Area. He was assigned to the San Francisco Area in 1988, where he retired August 31, 2000. Talbert was visiting professor of Evangelism at Claremont, 1978. He was a delegate to General Conference from 1968-80, and was a member of the Social Principles Commission, 1968-72. He is a trustee and Chair of the Board at Gammon, and at various times served as trustee at University of Puget Sound, Claremont School of Theology, and Pacific School of Religion. His civil rights protest experiences impacted his life profoundly, and he takes pride in having spent three days and nights in jail with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a sports enthusiast, loves camping, a hacker golfer, and plays a little guitar. Melvin was a member of the General Council on Ministries, and was Chair of its Missional Priority Coordinating Committee 1976-84; a member of the General Commission on Religion and Race, 1980-88, and served as its President 1983-88; and a member of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns 1988-96 and 2000-04. He was a director of the National Council of Churches (NCCCUSA) from mid 1970s August 2004, and served as its President 1996-97. He was a member of the World Methodist Council Executive Committee, and the World Council of Churches Central Committee (its Executive Committee and Finance Committee). He was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of his seminary in 1990. He was Secretary for the Council of Bishops (COB) for two quadrennia 1988-92 and 1992-96, during which time he carried the title Head of Communion. Talbert was one of forty Presidential Guests to accompany US President Bill Clinton on his peace pilgrimage to Northern Ireland and Ireland December 1995, and has visited the White House on several occasions representing the NCCCUSA and the Council of Bishops. Talbert was Ecumenical Officer for the Council of Bishops 2000-04, and served as Interim Executive Director of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, Inc.

Mary Virginia Taylor

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor is a Retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church. She was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Southeastern Jurisdiction and retired in 2021, where she was the Resident Bishop for the Holston Conference.  ------------------------ Called Dindy by her friends and family, she was born in Washington, DC. She moved on her fifth birthday to Atlanta, Georgia, and at nine she joined the church on profession of faith, making Decatur First United Methodist Church her church home. After earning her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Georgia, Dindy completed her Master of Divinity degree at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. It was at Candler that she met Rusty Taylor. They were married in June of 1973 and began serving as a clergy couple. They were ordained deacons in 1974 and elders in 1976. Dindy served for 30 years as a member of the Holston Conference. It was in her fifth year as Cleveland District Superintendent that she was elected to the episcopacy in July, 2004, by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. On September 1, 2004, she became the first woman to serve as Resident Bishop of the Columbia Area (South Carolina Annual Conference) in the United Methodist Church. After serving the Columbia Area for 8 years, she was assigned to the Holston Area in 2012. She retired in 2021. Bishop Taylor has served six times as a delegate to the United Methodist General Conference and to the Jurisdictional Conferences. During those 20 years, she served on the General Council on Ministries and the General Board of Church and Society. She has been the chairperson of the Holston Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and the chairperson of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration. In September 2004, Bishop Taylor was elected to serve as president of the General Commission on Status and Role of Women. The Taylors are parents to two daughters: Mandy, who is married to Kyle Young, and Tiffany.

Solito Toquero

Retired

Philippines

Retired

Europe

Debra Wallace-Padgett

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Birmingham Episcopal Area

Holston Episcopal Area

Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett is the Resident Bishop of the Birmingham Episcopal Area. She was elected a Bishop of the United Methodist Church at the 2012 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the North Alabama Conference (Birmingham Episcopal Area) effective September 1, 2012. As of September 1, 2021, Bishop Wallace-Padgett will also serve as the Interim Bishop of the Holston Episcopal Area.  -----------------------   At the time of her election as a Bishop, she was the lead pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky — an appointment she served for eight years. During her tenure, St. Luke UMC grew in membership, strengthened its infrastructure, built a $4.5 million Ministry Life Center and launched a multi-cultural worship service. Her previous service in the Kentucky Conference includes six years as District Superintendent, three years as pastor of Paris First United Methodist Church and 11 years on staff at Lexington First United Methodist Church.   She is a graduate of Berea College (B.A. in Physical Education), Scarritt College and Graduate School (M.A. in Christian Education), Lexington Theological Seminary (M. Div.) and Asbury Theological Seminary (D. Min.).   She has served in a variety of roles in the Kentucky Annual Conference, Southeastern Jurisdiction and the General Church including: <ul> <li>Kentucky Conference Board of Ministries Methodist Home Board chair</li> <li>Kentucky Conference Education chair</li> <li>Kentucky Episcopacy Committee chair</li> <li>District Committee On Ministries / Local Pastors' team chair</li> <li>Primary Task Team Children and Poverty Board</li> <li>Delegate, General Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000</li> <li>Delegate, Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000</li> <li>Delegate, World Methodist Council</li> <li>Director, General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, 2004-20012</li> <li>Member, Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopacy Committee</li> <li>President General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, 2012-2016</li> <li>Member of the Commission on a Way Forward, 2016-2019</li> </ul>   She currently the chair of the standing Committee on Evangelism for the World Methodist Council and a member of the Council of Bishops’ Executive Committee as Council Life Chair.   Bishop Wallace-Padgett is married to Rev. Lee Padgett, a retired deacon in the United Methodist Church. They are the parents of two young adult, Leanndra and Andrew.

Daniel Wandabula

Active

Africa

Africa Central Conference

East Africa Episcopal Area

Hope Ward

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward is a Retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church. She was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the Southeastern Jurisdiction and retired in 2021, where she was the Resident Bishop of the North Carolina Conference - Raleigh Area in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. ------------------------ A native North Carolinian, she was raised on the Morgan family farm in northeastern North Carolina in the community of Corapeake. Her home church, Parkers United Methodist Church, is on a three point charge. Graduate of Duke University and Duke Divinity School. Met spouse Mike on a volunteer in mission workteam to Bolivia in 1975. They were married in 1977. Together, they served as teaching parents at the Methodist Home for Children in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has served as a youth director, Christian educator, pastor, Director of Connectional Ministries and district superintendent in the NC Conference. She was elected to the Episcopacy in July, 2004 and assigned to the Mississippi Conference in 2004 and 2008. In 2012, she was assigned to the North Carolina Conference. Served as president of the General Board of Global Ministries and as president of JustPeace, which is the Center for Mediation and Conflict Transformation of the UMC. She now serves on the General Board of Church and Society and is the bishop assigned to give oversight of the Vietnam Mission Initiative. Her spouse, Mike Ward, is an educator. He has been a high school teacher, coach, principal, and local school superintendent. From 1997-2004, he served as North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elected position. Mike is on the faculty of NC State University, consults across the United States on education, and is an advocate for children. She and Mike have two children and four grandchildren. Brooke Morgan Ward and her husband, Derek Taira, grandson, Morgan, and granddaughter, Nyla, live in Hawaii where they are on the faculty of the UH-Manoa in Honolulu. Jason Ward and his wife, Alison Greene, and grandsons, Amos and Theo, live in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason teaches history at Emory and Alison teaches at Candler.   She and Mike enjoy sailing and other seaside joys, jogging, and reading.

B. Michael Watson

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop B. Michael Watson is a Retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church, having served from 2000-2016. He previously served as the Ecumenical Officer of the Council of Bishops from 2016-2020. -------------------------- He was born into an active Methodist family in Dothan, Alabama. After graduating from Dothan High School, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and real estate from The University of Alabama, a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Vanderbilt University. He was ordained deacon by Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson and elder by Bishop Carl J. Sanders. As a member of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference, Mike Watson served as pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino, Florida, and as pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Milton, Florida. He was appointed to start a new congregation in his hometown, where he served as founding pastor of Covenant United Methodist Church from 1979-1990. From 1990 until his election to the episcopacy in 2000, he served as the pastor of Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Watson also served as president of the Mobile County School Board, which is the largest school system in the state of Alabama with more than 66,000 students and nearly 8,000 employees. He served as chairperson of his conference Board of Ordained Ministry, chairperson of the conference Three-year Covenant Community for Spiritual Formation, chairperson of the steering committee of the Southeastern Jurisdiction's larger church consultation, a member of the Emmaus Community, a trustee of several colleges, a member of Emory University's Clergy Advisory Council, president of two civic clubs, president of The University of Alabama alumni chapter, president of the ministerial union, board member of the United Way, Boys Club, Girl Scouts, Red Cross, and Inner City Mission. A delegate to World Methodist Conferences in Singapore (1991) and Brazil (1996), he is currently a member of the World Methodist Council and a member of the United Methodist National Youth Ministry Organization. Benjamin Michael Watson was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2000 and was assigned to the South Georgia Area. He served there until 2008, when he was assigned to the North Georgia Area. Margaret Lee married Benjamin Michael Watson on June 16, 1973, at First United Methodist Church, Dothan. Margaret and Mike have two children: Benjamin (Ben) Lee Watson and Elizabeth Margaret Watson and three grandchildren.

Peter Weaver

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Peter D. Weaver is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist, having served from 1996-2012. In 2004, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a two-year term.. ----------------------- He was born into a parsonage family in Greenville, PA. He received degrees from West Virginia Wesleyan (B.A.), Drew University (M.Div.), and Boston University (Th.D.) and honorary degrees from Albright and Lebanon Valley Colleges. Ordained deacon and elder in the Western Pennsylvania Conference, he served the Whitaker United Methodist Church, Smithfield United Church, and First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh. Inclusive ministries with urban youth, the poor, industrial workers, the homeless, the arts, young adults, and older adults were developed during these pastorates with a focus on "making disciples of Jesus Christ." During these years, Pete served on many community Boards, was adjunct faculty for Drew and Pittsburgh Theological Seminaries, produced weekly radio programs, and helped found Bethlehem Haven for Homeless Women and "One Voice Against Racism." He was a delegate to the 1984-1996 General Conferences and chair of the Mission Division of the General Council on Ministries. Elected to the episcopacy in 1996, Peter Weaver served the Philadelphia Area (Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula Delaware Conferences) from 1996-2004. During this time, more than thirty new congregations were started, and he helped found "Good Schools Pennsylvania," focusing on public education reform. In 2004, he was assigned to the Boston Area (New England Conference) which is "focusing on being "Transformed by the Holy Spirit, united in trust, and boldly proclaiming Christ to the world." Pete was the first President of the Council of Bishops to be nominated by the "discernment process" and elected for a two-year term (2004-2006). He has also served on the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and the General Board of Global Ministries. He has been an active member on the Boards of five colleges and universities and has worked with Jim Wallis and others to "Make Poverty History." The Weaver daughters and families include: Rebecca Hope Schelling and her husband, Brad, and daughter, Emory Grace; Sarah Joy Park and her husband, Jin, and daughter, Audrey Miseon; and Rachel Faith Weaver. Pete is married to the former Linda Sells.

Mark Webb

Active

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Upper New York Episcopal Area

Bishop Mark J. Webb is the Resident Bishop of the Upper New York Area, which includes the Upper New York Conference in the Northeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. He was elected Bishop in 2012 and assigned to serve as the Episcopal leader of the Upper New York Area effective September 1, 2012.   --------------------------- Bishop Webb holds a M. Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Shippensburg University. He also holds a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Connecticut. At the time of his election to the episcopacy, Bishop Webb was serving as District Superintendent of the York District of the Susquehanna Conference. Bishop Webb served pastorates at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Mechanicsburg, Pa. from 1994-2007, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Wormleysburg, Pa. from 1991-1994, and Linglestown United Methodist Church from 1989-1991. He received the Harry Denman Evangelism Award in 2002. Bishop Webb was a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conference in 2004, 2008, and 2012. He previously served as a director of The Board of Discipleship and a member of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy.   He currently serves the General Church as President of Discipleship Ministries and as a member of the Connectional Table. Bishop Webb serves as the secretary of the Northeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops and as a Trustee of United Theological Seminary. Bishop Webb was named as one of the top 100 leaders by the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award in 2018. Bishop Webb encourages working together to develop strategies and outcomes that will bear fruit. He has a passion for leadership development, New Faith Communities, and ensuring existing congregations grow in vitality and fulfill the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Bishop Webb is a native of Williamsport, Pa., and is married to Jodi. They have two sons, Tyler (who is married to Lyndsay) and Benjamin.      Spouse: Joy Dianne Webb Children: Tyler James Webb - 18, Benjamin David Webb - 16 Education and Honors: Asbury Theological Seminary, Master of Divinity, 1989 Shippensburg University, Bachelor of Science, Sociology, 1986 Ministry: Assigned to Upper New York Area (Upper New York Annual Conference), effective Sept. 1, 2012. Superintendent, York District, Susquehanna Conference, 2007-Present Pastor, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Mechanicsburg PA., 1994-2007 Pastor, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Wormleysburg, Pa., 1991-1994 Associate Pastor, Lingelstown United Methodist Church, 1989-1991 Membership: Susquehanna Annual Conference Other: Delegate, General Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004 Delegate, Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, 2012, 2008, 2004 Director, General Board of Discipleship, 2004-2012 Hymnal Revision Committee, 2009 Board of Ordained Ministry Congregational Vitalization Team Sessions Committee District Superintendency Committee, Chair Order of Elder Chair Bishop's Visioning Task Force Commission on Equitable Compensation Episcopacy Committee, Vice Chair Conference Board of Trustees Committee on Loans Conference Leadership Visioning Team Camp Dean Conference Council on Youth Ministries District Youth Coordinator

Rosemarie Wenner

Retired

Europe

Germany Central Conference

Timothy Whitaker

Retired

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

C. Dale White

Deceased

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop C. Dale White was a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Born in Sac City, Iowa, he was the son of Daniel Columbus and Anna Frances Holladay White. He received his B.A. from Morningside College. While attending Boston University School of Theology (S.T.B.), he served Calvary Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Ordained both deacon and elder by Bishop John Wesley Lord, Dale White joined the New England Southern Conference and served the appointments in Hingham and Stoughton; during this time he completed work on a Ph.D. at Boston University. In 1961, Dale White became Associate General Secretary of the General Board of Christian Social Concerns and served in this capacity for seven years. He then was appointed to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and after three years was designated District Superintendent of the Rhode Island-Eastern Massachusetts District of the Southern New England Annual Conference. Dr. White published over 150 articles, pamphlets, and curriculum units, primarily on issues that required an interpretation of ethical, psychological, and theological data. He was editor of Dialogue in Medicine and Theology and for a number of years, he wrote a column for Teens in Together and United Methodists Today. His most recent book was Making a Just Peace: Human Rights and Domination Systems (1998: Cokesbury). In 1966 he was a delegate to the U. N. Population Conference in Yugoslavia and was a lecturer at the 1967 International Church and Society Conference in Germany. He was a delegate to the 1972 and 1976 General Conferences and was a member of the World Methodist Council. His honors included the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Boston University School of Theology; the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of Boston University Graduate School; the Doctor of Ministry degree from Morningside College; and the Doctor of Humane Letters, Centenary College. In 1976, C. Dale White was elected a bishop by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference and he was assigned to the New Jersey Area. In 1984 he was assigned to the New York Area. Bishop White was a former director of the General Board of Global Ministries. He was also a member of the Board of Center for Theology and Public Policy, Pax World, the International Coordinating Committee for Religion and the Earth, and Population Communications International. Bishop White retired September 1, 1992, at which time he undertook responsibilities as Consultant to the General Board of Global Ministries, World Division, coordinating the Africa Advocacy Project. For two years he directed the Urban Gardening Demonstration Project at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville. For four years he was pastor of St. Paul's UMC in Newport, RI. On August 25, 1946, Gwen Horton and Dale White were married. Gwen White passed on March 27, 2017, and Bishop Dale White passed on March 29, 2019. They were the parents of six children: Lisa Lynn, Teresa Anne Pendl, David Norman, Rebecca Ruth Blair, Gerald Wesley (deceased), and Hazel Lescalleet, a foster daughter.

Woodie W. White

Retired

United States

North Central Jurisdiction

Bishop Woodie W. White is a Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 1984-2004. In 1996, he became the President of the Council of Bishops to serve a one-year term. ------------------------- A native of New York City, Woodie White graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York. He attended Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. While attending Boston University School of Theology (S.T.B.) he served a pastorate in Worchester, Massachusetts. He then became a probationary member of the Detroit Annual Conference and was appointed as Associate Pastor and later, pastor, at East Grand Boulevard Methodist Church in Detroit. Subsequently, he began two years as Urban Missioner for the conference's work in Metropolitan Detroit. With the establishment of a General Commission on Religion and Race by The United Methodist Church in 1968, Woodie W. White became its first General Secretary, serving in that capacity until 1984 when the North Central Jurisdictional Conference elected him to the episcopacy and he was assigned to the Illinois Area (1984-1992). Bishop White was assigned to the Indiana Area in 1992, and he retired there in 2004. He is now serving as Bishop-in-Residence at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Bishop White holds honorary doctoral degrees from Adrian College, Rust College, McKendree College, Illinois Wesleyan University, McMurry College and Evansville University. He holds numerous other honors, including a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University. He was on a four-person task force to examine racism and race relations in Australia and New Zealand for the Committee to Combat Racism of the World Council of Churches. He participated in preaching missions in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. He has written extensively for denominational and ecumenical periodicals and is coauthor of Racial Transition in the Church, Confessions of a Prairie Pilgrim, and Conversations of the Heart. Woodie and Jennie May "Kim" Tolson While have four daughters: Kimberly Yvette, Hope Angela, Valerie Elizabeth, Sharon Denise; one son, Bryan Michael, and two grandchildren.

Deceased

West Africa Central Conference

Joseph Yeakel

Deceased

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel was a retired bishop in The United Methodist Church. Born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, Joe Yeakel attended the Pottsville, Pennsylvania, public schools. His matriculation to Lebanon Valley College was interrupted by a tour of duty with the United States Navy Seabees, returning to Lebanon Valley College from which he graduated with an A.B. degree. He served the Gardners-Mt. Victory Charge near Mt. Holly, Pennsylvania, during his senior year in college. He attended United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio (M.Div.), serving as a Student Assistant Pastor at the Euclid Avenue EUB Church in Dayton. He became a member of the Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church as a probationary member, and was ordained an elder by Bishop George Edward Epp. He was Assistant Pastor at Otterbein Church in Hagerstown, Maryland; Pastor at Messiah Church in York, Pennsylvania; and Memorial Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 1963 he was elected Assistant General Secretary of the Board of Evangelism with offices in Dayton, Ohio. In 1965 he became the General Secretary of the Board and at the time of church union in 1968, he became the General Secretary of the Board of Evangelism of The United Methodist Church. The Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference elected him to the episcopacy in 1972. He administered the New York West Area, 1972-84, and the Washington (DC) Area 1984-1996. He retired on August 31, 1996. From 1972-1980 and 1988-1996 he served on the General Board of Church and Society, and as President 1976-1980 and 1992-1996. In 1980-88 he served on the General Council on Finance and Administration, and as its President 1984-88. He was President-Designate of the Council of Bishops (1991-92) and President of the Council of Bishops (1992-93) Lois Josephine Shank and Joe Yeakel were married while Joe was a college student. Lois passed on March 5, 2014, and Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel passed on July 4, 2021. They were the parents of five children: Claudia Jo (McIntyre), Joseph Douglas Yeakel, Joanna Irene (Drushal), Mary Jo (an elder in the Ohio West Conference), and Jody Lucille (Kampmeier). They had twelve grandchildren.

David Yemba

Retired

Africa

Congo Central Conference

Bishop David Kekumba Yemba is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, having served from 2005-2016.   Bishop Yemba has also served in the following capacities:   <ul> <li>2008-2016: The Moderator of the Committee on Faith and Order of The United Methodist Church</li> <li>2009-2019: Chancellor of Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe</li> <li>2017-2018: One of the three moderators of the Commission on a Way Forward, COB</li> </ul> --------------------- Born in Dungu, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bishop Yemba graduated from Université Libre du Congo with Licence en Théologie (Distinction) and from Université Strasbourg II des Sciences Humaines, Strasbourg, France, with Docteur-ès-Sciences Religieuses.   David was ordained deacon and elder in the Central Congo Annual Conference by Bishop John Wesley Shungu. He combines both academic and pastoral activities in his Christian ministry. He taught Systematic Theology and Ecumenical Studies in many institutions of higher learning, including Africa University where he served as founding Dean for almost fourteen years, with a certificate awarded for ten years of pioneer service (2022) to the University. He received the President’s Medallion of Leadership from Martin Methodist College, Pulaski, Tennessee in 2010 and Certificates of Appreciation for Service from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee in 2012 and 2016. Before moving to Africa University in Zimbabwe, he served also as Dean and then as President of the Protestant Interdenominational Seminary in Kinshasa for twenty-one years. David Yemba is author of one book, Yemba, David K. Seigneur, apprends-nous à prier: une explication contextuelle de la prière de Notre Père. Kinshasa: Éditions CÉDI, 2017. He has also written several articles in theological journals and various church documents and reports. As to pastoral ministry, he served as chaplain of Katubue United High School and as one of the pastors of the International Protestant Parish of Kinshasa. He was an Administrative Assistant to the Bishop in the West Congo Annual Conference. David was elected delegate to the Africa Central Conference in 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1988 and to the General Conference in 1992. He also served as a member of the African Church Growth and Development Committee of the GBGM. The Congo Central Conference elected him to the episcopacy on February 12, 2005. He was re-elected in 2008. In addition to teaching, research, and administrative duties, David has served as a member of the following learning societies and national institutions: National Executive Board of Bible Society in the Congo, Oxford Institute of Methodist Studies, and Editorial Board of Quarterly Review with, for the latter, a certificate of recognition awarded. He was elected President of the Association of Theological Institutions in Francophone Africa, Vice President of the World Methodist Historical Society for Africa, and Moderator of Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, 1998-2006. He was elected one of the five Vice Presidents of The All-Africa Conference of Churches, 2008-2018; and Vice President of the National Board of Ethics and Election in the Rep. Dem. of the Congo.   Henriette K’Untu and David K. Yemba were married on August 24, 1969, at Wembo Nyama Mission. They have five children: Rosalie Ogar, Hélène Ngoy, Emmanuel Yemba, Joseph Yemba and Benjamin Yemba. They also have five grandchildren: Alexandra Ogar, David Ogar, Jonathan Ngoy, Pierre Ngoy, and Nicolas Ngoy.

John Yohanna

Active

Africa

West Africa Central Conference

Nigeria Episcopal Area

teaching, equipping, encouraging...