wfn.org | Clergy being identified for election to church's highest office

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 22, 2000  News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.     10-21-30-71B{246}

By United Methodist News Service

At least 44 candidates have been endorsed for election this July to the
highest office in the United Methodist Church.

Thirteen new U.S. bishops will be elected at five simultaneous
jurisdictional conferences July 12-15 to replace those retiring. The North
Central Jurisdictional Conference will be held in Madison, Wis.;
Northeastern in Somerset, N.J.; South Central, Albuquerque, N.M.;
Southeastern, Lake Junaluska, N.C.; and Western, Casper, Wyo.

Any ordained elder in full connection is eligible, but those elected are
usually people who have been nominated by their annual conference, endorsed
by their annual conference delegation to the jurisdictional conference, or
promoted by a caucus or special interest group. 

When voting begins, delegates simply write on a blank ballot a name for each
opening in that jurisdiction. There are four openings in the South Central
Jurisdiction; three in North Central; three in Southeastern; two in Western;
and one in Northeastern.

The first ballot usually results in dozens of names, but the number drops on
subsequent ballots as some delegates move their votes to those more likely
to get elected. The number of ballots before an election has ranged from one
or two to more than 40. 

United Methodist News Service will provide detailed information on the
candidates, balloting, elections, and assignments on a special
Jurisdictional Conference Web site at  http://umns.umc.org/elections .  

By late May, sessions of the 66 annual conferences in the United States had
just begun, so official conference nominees were not known. However, most
nominees have already been endorsed by their respective annual conference
delegations to jurisdictional conference or by special interest groups.

United Methodist bishops are elected for life but are appointed to areas of
service for terms of four years. Normally, bishops serve in one area for no
more than two terms, or eight years, but they can serve three. New bishops
cannot be appointed immediately to serve an area where they have their
conference clergy membership.

Of the 44 candidates announced by the end of May, 19 are currently serving
as pastors, 18 are district superintendents, two are conference staff
members, two are general agency staff members, and three are seminary
faculty members.   

Six are women; 22 are white, 13 African American, three Asian American, two
Hispanic American, three Native American and one Pacific Islander.   

Candidates announced by late May are:

NORTH CENTRAL JURISDICTION

Philip Brooks, 52, white, superintendent of the Lima (Ohio) District of the
West Ohio Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation.

Terry L. Clark, 54, white, superintendent of the Spoon River District of the
Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Richard Jones, 61, white, pastor of the Whitefish Bay (Wis.) United
Methodist Church in the Wisconsin Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Duk Kyu Kwon, 48, Asian American, superintendent of the Elgin District of
the Northern Illinois Conference and newly named superintendent of the
Korean Mission of the North Central Jurisdiction, endorsed by the national,
jurisdictional and conference chapters of the denomination's Fellowship of
Asian-Americans.

Linda Lee, 50, African American, superintendent of the Detroit East District
of the Detroit Conference, endorsed by the Black Clergywomen of the United
Methodist Church.

Myron McCoy, African American, pastor of St. Mark United Methodist Church in
Chicago, endorsed by the North Central Jurisdiction Black Methodists for
Church Renewal. 

Brent L. McCumons, 50, white, pastor of First United Methodist Church,
Midland, Mich., endorsed by the Detroit Conference delegation. 

Bruce Ough, 49, white, pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, endorsed by the Iowa Conference delegation. 

Greg Palmer, 45, African American, pastor of Berea (Ohio) United Methodist
Church, endorsed by the East Ohio Conference delegation and the North
Central Jurisdiction Black Methodists for Church Renewal. 

Duane Sarazin, 53, white, superintendent of the Metro East District of the
Minnesota Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation.

NORTHEASTERN JURISDICTION

Bickerton, Thomas J., 41, white, superintendent of the Northern District of
the West Virginia Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation. 

Galen Goodwin, 56, white, superintendent of the Delaware District of the
Northern New Jersey Conference delegation, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Marcus Matthews, 54, African American, superintendent of the Washington West
District of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Eugene Matthews, 61, African American, pastor of Asbury United Methodist
Church in Washington, endorsed by the Baltimore-Washington Conference
delegation and Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

Thom White Wolf Fassett, 58, Native America, General Secretary of the Board
of Church and Society, Washington, endorsed by the Native American
International Caucus, and delegates from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Conference and the Troy Annual Conference.

Violet Fisher, 60, African American, superintendent of the Bethune District
of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, endorsed by Black Clergywomen of the
United Methodist Church.

Lewis A. Parks, 53, white, associate dean for church leadership development
at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, endorsed by the Central
Pennsylvania Conference delegation.

SOUTH CENTRAL JURISDICTION

Aaron D. Black, 51, African American, pastor of First United Methodist
Church, Lincoln, Neb., endorsed by the Nebraska Conference delegation and
South Central Jurisdiction Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

Minerva Carcano, 46, Hispanic American, director of the Mexican American
Program at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, endorsed by Rio Grande Conference delegation, MARCHA, the second
National Hispanic Consultation held in August 1999, and the Women's
Leadership Team in the South Central Jurisdiction.

Ben R. Chamness, 59, African American, superintendent of the Houston
Northwest District, Texas Conference, endorsed by the Texas Conference
delegation and by the South Central Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

Donald Cottrill, 55, white, pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in
Slidell, La., endorsed by the Louisiana Conference delegation. 

Joe Harris, 48, African American, general secretary of the Commission on
United Methodist Men, Nashville, Tenn., endorsed by the Oklahoma Conference
delegation.

William Hutchinson, 58, white, executive director of the New Mexico
Conference United Methodist Foundation, endorsed by the Northwest Texas-New
Mexico Conference delegates.

Rhymes H. Moncure Jr., 54, African American, pastor of Missouri United
Methodist Church, Columbia, Mo., endorsed by the Missouri East and Missouri
West Conference delegations, South Central Jurisdiction Black Methodists for
Church Renewal, and the Women's Leadership of the South Central
Jurisdiction. 

D. Max Whitfield, 54, white, superintendent of the Fayetteville District of
the North Arkansas Conference, endorsed by the North Arkansas and Little
Rock conference delegations.

SOUTHEASTERN JURISDICTION

Kermit C. Braswell, 62, white, superintendent of the Raleigh District of the
North Carolina Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation.

David Brazelton, 57, white, superintendent of the Tampa District of the
Florida Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation.

Harry Durbin Sr., 50, white, pastor of Collierville (Tenn.) United Methodist
Church, endorsed by the Memphis Conference delegation.

Martha H. Forrest, 60, white, superintendent of the Atlanta-College Park
District of the North Georgia Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Larry Goodpaster, 52, white, pastor of First United Methodist Church,
Tupelo, Miss., endorsed by the Mississippi Conference delegation.

Charles L. Johnson, 56, African American, Columbia, S.C., director of South
Carolina Conference Council on Ministries, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

James King, 52, African American, pastor of Brentwood (Tenn.) United
Methodist Church in the Tennessee Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

Thomas Michael Morgan, 60, white, pastor of Vestavia Hills United Methodist
Church in Birmingham, North Alabama Conference, endorsed by the conference
delegation.

J. Howard Olds, 54, white, pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church in
Louisville, Ky., endorsed by the Kentucky Conference delegation.

James H. Rush, 63, white, superintendent of Epworth By The Sea, St. Simon's
Island, endorsed by the South Georgia Conference delegation.

B. Michael Watson, 50, white, pastor of Dauphin Way United Methodist Church,
Mobile, Ala., endorsed by the Alabama-West Florida Conference delegation.

Timothy W. Whitaker, 51, white, superintendent of the Norfolk (Va.)
District, Virginia Conference, endorsed by the conference delegation.
 
WESTERN JURISDICTION

Marvin Abrams, 65, Native American, pastor of the Native American United
Methodist Church, Anaheim, Calif., endorsed by the Native American
International Caucus.

Eddie Kelemeni, 59, Tongan-American, superintendent of the Utah Western
District of the Rocky Mountain Conference, endorsed by the Pacific Islanders
National Caucus of the United Methodist Church.

Cheol Hwan Kwak, 45, Asian American, superintendent of the Santa Ana
District of the California-Pacific Annual Conference, endorsed by the Korean
and Asian-American caucuses of the California-Pacific Conference and the
Western Jurisdiction. 

Jaime Nolla, 48, Hispanic American, pastor of Christ United Methodist
Church, Racine, Wis., endorsed by MARCHA.

Benoni R. Silva-Netto, 56, Asian American, professor at Pacific School of
Religion and American Baptist Seminary of the West, endorsed by the National
Filipino Caucus and the Asian American Caucus of the California-Nevada
Annual Conference

Evelyn "Tweedy" Sombrero, 46, Native American, pastor of Phoenix Native
American Ministries, Phoenix, endorsed by the Native American International
Caucus.

Lydia Waters, 57, African American, pastor of Crossroads United Methodist
Church, Compton, Calif., endorsed by the Black Clergywomen of the United
Methodist Church.

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United Methodist News Service
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