Jeremiah Park

Bishop Jeremiah Park

Retired

United States

Northeastern Jurisdiction

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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. 
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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.