17 New UMC bishops get warm welcome at COB meeting
12/8/2022 - Bishop News
COB Zoom meeting screengrab
Bishop Ruby-Nell M. Estrella, the first female UMC bishop in the Philippines Central Conference, addresses the COB Zoom meeting on Dec. 1, 2022.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church (UMC) formally welcomed 17 newly elected episcopal leaders of the worldwide denomination during a special meeting on December 1, 2022.
COB President Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, who is also the resident bishop of the New York Area, told the new bishops that their colleagues are available to help them navigate their ways into this new ministry and all the bishops are in it together.
“We have been working very deliberately in this Council to seek alignment of purpose and function together, in trying to provide support and encouragement for one another because these are indeed very challenging days and the gifts that all of us represent needed,” said Bishop Bickerton, adding that the Council was looking forward to the gifts that the 17 new bishops will bring to the Council.
The new bishops in order of their election are:
Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai – North Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Thomas Martin Berlin – Southeastern Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Delores “Dee” Williamston – South Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Laura Merrill - South Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop David Wilson South Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez - Northeastern Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Lanette Plambeck - North Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton - Southeastern Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Dan Schwerin - North Central Jurisdiction - USA
Bishop Robin Dease - Southeastern Jurisdiction -USA
Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut - Western Jurisdiction -USA
Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth - Western Jurisdiction -USA
Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank - Western Jurisdiction -USA
Bishop Stefan Zürcher - Central and Southern Europe Central Conference
Bishop Rodel M. Acdal - Philippines Central Conference
Bishop Ruby-Nell M. Estrella - Philippines Central Conference
Bishop Israel M. Painit - Philippines Central Conference
The new bishops got to introduce themselves and share a bit about their lives, their ministries and their call to the episcopacy.
The bishops have received assignments on where they will be serving effective January 1, 2023. Here is the full list of assignments for UMC bishops including current bishops:
North Central Jurisdiction (The North Central Jurisdiction includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.)
Dakotas-Minnesota: Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Ohio East: Bishop Tracy S. Malone
Illinois Great Rivers: Bishop Frank J. Beard
Indiana: Bishop Julius C. Trimble
Iowa: Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai
Michigan: Bishop David A. Bard
Northern Illinois: Bishop Dan Schwerin
Ohio West: Bishop Gregory V. Palmer
Wisconsin: Bishop Hee-Soo Jung
Northeastern Jurisdiction (The Northeastern Jurisdiction includes the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.)
*Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware: Bishop LaTrelle Easterling
*Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey: Bishop John R. Schol
New York: Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton
*Susquehanna: Bishops Sandra L. Steiner Ball and Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
*Bishops Easterling will continue to provide coverage for Peninsula Delaware; Bishop Schol for Eastern Pennsylvania; Bishops Steiner Ball and Moore-Koikoi for Susquehanna. Bishop Johnson has been approved to provide coverage for New England.
South Central Jurisdiction (The South Central Jurisdiction includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)
Arkansas: Bishop Laura Merrill
North Texas and Central Texas: Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr.
Great Plains: Bishop David Wilson
Louisiana: Bishop Delores “Dee” Williamston
Missouri: Bishop Robert “Bob” Farr
Oklahoma, Oklahoma Indian Missionary: Bishop James G. “Jimmy” Nunn
Rio Texas: Bishop Robert C. Schnase
Texas: Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey
*Bishop Schnase will provide coverage for the New Mexico Conference and Bishop Nunn for the Northwest Texas Conference, as they have been doing.
Southeastern Jurisdiction (The Southeastern Jurisdiction includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.)
*Alabama-West Florida and South Georgia: Bishop David Graves
Florida: Bishop Thomas M. "Tom" Berlin
*Holston and North Alabama: Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
*Kentucky and Central Appalachian Missionary: Bishop Leonard Fairley
Mississippi: Bishop Sharma Lewis
North Carolina: Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton
North Georgia: Bishop Robin Dease
South Carolina: Bishop L. Jonathan Holston
Tennessee-Western Kentucky: Bishop William “Bill” McAlilly
Virginia: Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson
Western North Carolina: Bishop Kenneth Carter
*Bishop Graves will provide coverage for South Georgia; Bishop Wallace-Padgett for Holston; Bishop Fairley for Central Appalachian Missionary.
Western Jurisdiction (The Western Jurisdiction includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.)
California-Nevada: Bishop Minerva Carcaño (Bishop Sally Dyck is ad interim)
Central and Southern Europe Central Conference (has one episcopal area, seven annual conferences in 13 countries: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia.)
Bishop Stefan Zürcher
Germany Central Conference (has one episcopal area, three annual conferences in one country: Germany)
Bishop Harald Rückert
Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference (has two episcopal areas, 10 annual conferences in 15 countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan)
Eurasia Area: Bishop Eduard Khegay
Nordic and Baltic Area: Bishop Christian Alsted
Philippines Central Conference(has three espiscopal areas and 24 annual conferences in one country: Philippines)
Baquio Area: Bishop Rodel M. Acdal
Davao Area: Bishop Israel M. Painit
Manila Area: Bishop Ruby-Nell M. Estrella
Africa Central Conference (has five episcopal areas, 10 annual conferences in 12 countries: Angola, Namibia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe)
East Angola Area: Bishop Jose Quipungo
West Angola Area: Bishop Gaspar Domingos
East Africa Area: Bishop Daniel Wandabula
Mozambique Area: Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala
Zimbabwe Area: Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa
Congo Central Conference(has four episcopal areas, 14 annual conferences, in three countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia)
Central Congo Area: Bishop Daniel Lunge
East Congo Area: Bishop Gabriel Unda
North Katanga Area: Bishop Mande Muyombo
South Congo Area: Bishop Kasap Owan
West Africa Central Conference(has four episcopal areas, six annual conferences in six countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)
The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church is welcoming thirteen (13) bishops who were elected during last week’s jurisdictional conferences in the United States.
