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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
July/August 2004 |
North Central United Methodists to elect three new bishops
By Kathy L. Gilbert
United Methodist News Service
Three new bishops will be elected when 325 delegates to the United Methodist North Central Jurisdictional Conference meet July 14-17 in Davenport, Iowa.
Hoosier United Methodist delegates, 24 from each of the North and South Indiana Conferences, will be part of the conference that will take place in the River Center under the theme, "Soundings of the Soul."
The conference will begin with an Episcopal Nominee Forum sponsored by Black Methodists for Church Renewal at 8:30 a.m., July 14. The first balloting will begin July 14 and continue at intervals through July 17 until all three bishops are elected.
During the final business session July 17, the assignment of bishops to episcopal areas including Indiana will be announced. The new bishops will be consecrated in a service at St. John's United Methodist Church that morning beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The newly elected bishops will take office on Sept. 1 and fill vacancies left by three retiring bishops in the jurisdiction.
Retirees are Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Wisconsin area; Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, Chicago area; and Bishop Woodie W. White, Indiana area.
The new Indiana Area Bishop is scheduled to be installed during a worship celebration at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis on Sunday, September 12 at 4 p.m., according to the Rev. Donald Griffith, interim executive assistant to Bishop White.
Continuing bishops
Continuing bishops, who also will be assigned to episcopal areas, are Bishop Michael J. Coyner, Dakotas area; Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher, Illinois area; Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, Iowa area; Bishop Linda Lee, Michigan area; Bishop John L. Hopkins, Minnesota area; Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, Ohio East area; and Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Ohio West area.
Episcopal candidates
Any United Methodist Elder who is a full member of an annual conference is eligible to be elected as bishop. Nominations or endorsements are common but not necessary for election.
Episcopal candidates endorsed or nominated by annual conferences include the Rev. David Alan Bard, Minnesota; the Rev. Timothy Bias, Illinois Great Rivers; the Rev. Mark Fenstermacher, North Indiana; the Rev. Hee-Soo Jung, Wisconsin (also endorsed by the National Association on Korean-American United Methodist Churches); the Rev. Deborah L. Kiesey, Iowa; the Rev. Margaret M. Mallory, West Ohio (also endorsed by Black Clergywomen of the United Methodist Church; the Rev. Gregory McGarvey, South Indiana; the Rev. J. Lynn Pier-Fitzgerald, West Michigan; the Rev. Gregory D. Stover, West Ohio; and the Rev. Mark Horst, Minnesota.
Among the episcopal candidates endorsed by racial-ethnic caucuses or groups are the Rev. Jerome "Jerry" DeVine, West Michigan, endorsed by the Native American International Caucus' Northeast Region and by the Indian Workers Conference in Michigan; the Rev. Sally Dyck, East Ohio and the North Central Jurisdiction Women's Caucus; the Rev. Neriah Edwards, East Ohio, endorsed by the Black Clergywomen of The United Methodist Church; the Rev. Duk Kyu Kwon, endorsed by the National Association on Korean-American United Methodist Churches; the Rev. William G. Owen, Northern Illinois, endorsed by the Northern Illinois Conference Evangelical Association; and the Rev. Beverly Wilkes, Illinois Great Rivers, endorsed by the Black Clergywomen of The United Methodist Church.
The denomination's North Central Jurisdiction includes North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
Last updated on July 09, 2004