US sees big changes in bishop assignments

What once seemed impenetrable boundaries on The United Methodist Church’s organizational map now look more like dotted lines.

Unprecedented collaboration among the denomination’s jurisdictional leaders has paved the way for two U.S. bishops to soon lead conferences across jurisdictional borders. Those assignments became official when jurisdictional conferences met July 10-13 across the U.S. 

“I would just say the Holy Spirit was present in all of these experiences and processes, in particular ways and throughout all of the people who are participating,” said the Rev. Kim Ingram. She is the chair of the Interjurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy that led the way in developing the history-making plan for U.S. bishop assignments.

Faced with a substantially reduced denominational budget, the committee worked with bishops and other United Methodist leaders across the U.S. to come up with a plan that would both reduce the number of U.S. bishops while still providing effective episcopal oversight across the U.S. church.

Starting Sept. 1, most U.S. bishops will lead more than one conference — the denomination’s primary regional bodies, which consist of multiple congregations.

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