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Southeastern United Methodists to elect 3 bishops


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>
Date 19 Jun 2000 14:18:49

June 19, 2000  News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
10-21SE-71B{282}

NOTE: This report is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS story #283.

By United Methodist News Service

The Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church will meet
during the second week of July to elect three bishops and assign the
jurisdiction's 13 bishops to the areas they will serve for the next four
years.

In addition to the elections, the largest of the church's five jurisdictions
will consider any petitions or other legislative matters and its budget.

To conduct the business of the jurisdiction, 540 delegates - half clergy and
half lay - from 15 regional conferences will gather July 12-15 at Lake
Junaluska in western North Carolina. At the same time, the church's four
other jurisdictions will be meeting and electing another 10 bishops.

The Southeastern Jurisdiction has 2.9 million United Methodists in nine
states, spread from Virginia in the east to the Mississippi River in the
west. It has more than 1 million more members than the next largest
jurisdiction, the South Central, with 1.81 million.

Balloting will be repeated until bishops have been elected to succeed the
three who are retiring this year. They are Richard C Looney, South Georgia
Area; Marshall L. "Jack" Meadors, Mississippi Area; and Robert C. Morgan,
Louisville Area.

Additionally, bishops who have already served two four-year terms in the
same location are often reassigned. Bishops Kenneth L. Carder of the
Nashville Area, Robert E. Fannin of the Birmingham Area, and William W.
Morris of the Alabama-West Florida Area are each completing an eighth year
in their respective area.

Although the other seven bishops in the jurisdiction are completing their
first four-year terms, they too could be reassigned. Those bishops and their
current areas are B. Lindsey Davis, Atlanta Area; Charlene P. Kammerer,
Charlotte; J. Lawrence McCleskey, Columbia (S.C.); Cornelius L. Henderson,
Florida; Ray W. Chamberlain Jr., Holston; Marion M. Edwards, Raleigh; and
Joe E. Pennel Jr., Richmond.

Twelve clergy people have been endorsed for the office of bishop by their
conference delegations. Nominations are being made by the annual conferences
at their meetings, which precede the jurisdictional conference, and other
nominations may be made from the plenary floor during the July gatherings.

Those nominated include one white woman and two African-American men. The
Southeastern Jurisdiction elected its first female bishop in 1996 and has
had male bishops of African- American heritage for decades. The denomination
emphasizes the importance of diverse leadership in its Book of Discipline.

The 12 candidates endorsed by annual delegations are Kermit C. Braswell, 62,
superintendent of the Raleigh District of the North Carolina Conference;
David Brazelton, 57, superintendent of the Tampa District of the Florida
Conference; Harry Durbin Sr., 50, pastor of Collierville (Tenn.) United
Methodist Church, Memphis Conference; Martha H. Forrest, 60, superintendent
of the Atlanta-College Park District of the North Georgia Conference.

Also Larry Goodpaster, 52, pastor of First United Methodist Church of
Tupelo, Mississippi Conference; Charles L. Johnson, 56, Columbia, S.C.,
director of South Carolina Conference Council on Ministries; James King, 52,
pastor of Brentwood (Tenn.) United Methodist Church in the Tennessee
Conference; Thomas Michael Morgan, 60, pastor of Vestavia Hills United
Methodist Church in Birmingham, North Alabama Conference.

And J. Howard Olds, 54, pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church in
Louisville, Kentucky Conference; James H. Rush, 63, superintendent of
Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, South Georgia Conference; B. Michael
Watson, 50, pastor of Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, Mobile, Ala.,
Alabama-West Florida Conference; and Timothy W. Whitaker, 51, superintendent
of the Norfolk District of the Virginia Conference.

United Methodist News Service will provide ongoing coverage of the
jurisdictional conferences and the episcopal elections on its Web site at
http://umns.umc.org/elections.

# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org


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