wfn.org | Seven of 13 new bishops, including 3 women, are African American

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

July 17, 2000 News media contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)
742-5470)*Nashville, Tenn.  10-21-30-71BP{327}

NOTE: Lists of assignments and retirees are at the close of this story and
may be used as sidebars. More details on the election of bishops, including
all ballots, may be obtained at http://umns.umc.org/elections on the
Internet. Photographs and a sidebar, UMNS story #328, are available with
this report.

By United Methodist New Service

Retired Bishop Leontine Kelly has often expressed hope that in her lifetime
another African-American woman would join her in the church's Council of
Bishops.  

When five simultaneous U.S. jurisdictional conferences concluded July 15,
her wish came true --- three times.

Seven of the 13 new bishops elected in the predominantly white denomination
were African Americans. Three of those were women. 

In 1984, Kelly became the first African-American woman elected a bishop in
the church and served in the San Francisco Area for four years until her
retirement.

"It is great to no longer be the 'only'," Kelly said. "I am proud that
across the church there has been a response to the diversity in the church
in the election of three very strong women to the episcopacy. The church is
blessed with the leadership of men and women of color and to acknowledge
that leadership in these elections is so very heartening."

Adding to Kelly's cause for enthusiasm was the election earlier in the month
of the Rev. Vashti McKenzie as the first female bishop in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.   

The denomination has 8.4 million members in the United States, including
about 382,000 black members. Following the elections this summer, 15 of the
50 active U.S. bishops are African American, an increase of five over the
previous 1997-2000 quadrennium. Eleven are women, an increase of two. 

During the July 12-15 conferences, each jurisdiction elected at least one
African American.  

The 356 delegates to the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, meeting in
Somerset, N.J., elected Violet Fisher of West Chester, Pa., an
African-American woman, to fill the only vacancy in the 13-state region.  

Likewise, the 112 delegates at the 12-state Western Jurisdictional
Conference, meeting in Casper, Wyo., filled both of their vacancies with
African Americans -- Beverly Shamana of Eagle Rock, near Pasadena, Calif.,
and Warner H. Brown Jr. of Bakersfield, Calif.

The 364 delegates to the nine-state North Central Jurisdictional Conference,
meeting in Middleton, Wis., filled two of three vacancies with African
Americans: Linda Lee of Detroit and Gregory Palmer of Berea, Ohio.

With three vacancies, the 540 delegates at the nine-state Southeastern
Jurisdictional Conference, meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C., elected one
African-American male -- James R. King Jr. of Brentwood, Tenn., a suburb of
Nashville.  

With four bishops to elect, the 320 delegates at the eight-state South
Central Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., elected Rhymes H. Moncure Jr. of
Columbia, Mo., on the first ballot.  

The six new bishops who are not African American are all white males: Bruce
R. Ough, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Ben Chamness, Houston; William W. Hutchinson,
Albuquerque, N.M.; D. Max Whitfield, Fayetteville, Ark.; Larry M.
Goodpaster, Tupelo, Miss.; and B. Michael Watson, Mobile, Ala.  

Retired Bishop James S. Thomas of Atlanta, an African-American bishop
elected in 1964, said he was "deeply moved" by the affirmation of black
leadership in the church.  He was one of the last bishops elected in the
racially segregated Central Jurisdiction that existed in the former
Methodist Church from 1939 until 1968.  

When the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches merged in 1968
to form the United Methodist Church, each of five active bishops from the
former Central Jurisdiction was transferred to a geographic jurisdiction in
the new denomination.  Thomas was appointed to Iowa and later served in the
church's East Ohio Area before retiring in 1988.  

Some African-American members were concerned that with the elimination of
the Central Jurisdiction no black clergy would ever be elected in the
predominantly white church, he said. 

"We worked through those early stages of resistance," he recalled. "The
election of these (black) bishops is a testimony to the church's
determination to be a diverse church. It represents steady faithfulness. The
church has done this with eyes wide open."

Beyond European- and African-Americans, active bishops on the council
include one Korean American, Hae-Jong Kim, and two Mexican Americans, Elias
Galvan and Joel Martinez. 

The church's Book of Discipline says jurisdictional conference delegates, in
electing bishops, "shall give due consideration to the inclusiveness of the
United Methodist Church with respect to sex, race and national origin."  

The United Methodist Church has never had a Native American bishop. Native
Americans receiving more than 10 votes on a ballot this year were Marvin
Abrams, a pastor in Anaheim, Calif., and Thom White Wolf Fassett, top staff
executive of the churchwide Board of Church and Society in Washington.
Fassett will soon be leaving that position to become a district
superintendent in western New York. 

Abrams received his highest number of votes (20) in the Western Jurisdiction
on the 11th and 12th voting ballots with 75 votes needed to elect. Fassett
received his highest number of votes (48) in the Northeastern Jurisdiction
on the sixth ballot, with 190 needed to elect.  He withdrew after the 12th
ballot when he had 25 votes. 

Hispanic candidates receiving a significant number of votes were Minerva
Carcano, a staff member at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, and Jaime Nolla, a pastor from Racine, Wis.  

Carcano received her largest number of votes (121) on the fifth ballot in
the South Central Jurisdiction, with 192 votes needed to elect. As Western
delegates were trying to get 60 percent of the votes needed to elect a
second bishop, Carcano's name began to gather strength on the eighth voting
ballot. Her highest number of votes there was 32 on the 16th voting ballot,
with 75 needed to elect. Nolla received votes on the first 14 ballots in
North Central, the highest being 34 votes.

A few Asian-American candidates received votes. Filipino-American Benoni
Silva-Netto of Hercules, Calif., received as many as 51 votes at the Western
Conference, while Duk Kyu Kwon of Elgin, Ill., received as many as 29 votes
at the North Central Conference. 

It took 19 ballots for North Central and Southeastern delegates to elect
their three bishops. The Western delegates elected their second and final
bishop after casting ballot No. 19, but the ballot was renumbered as the
18th for official records since the first ballot was for nominations and
didn't count toward election.  

Northeast delegates cast 17 ballots before electing one bishop, while South
Central delegates set the record by casting only seven ballots to elect four
bishops. South Central delegates elected Moncure on the first ballot with
201 votes, well beyond the 187 needed to elect. 

The five conferences, held every four years, elect bishops to fill vacancies
left by retirements or deaths. Bishops are elected for life but are assigned
to serve in geographic areas for four-year terms. Bishops will assume new
assignments Sept. 1. 

Normally, bishops serve no more than two four-year terms in one area but may
serve a third term with special permission from the jurisdictional
conference delegates. With at least a two-thirds vote of all delegates, this
special provision for a third term in one area was extended to six of 37
continuing bishops: Sharon Z. Rader, Wisconsin; Woodie W. White, Indiana; A.
Frederick (Fritz) Mutti, Kansas; Ann B. Sherer, Missouri; Robert E. Fannin,
Birmingham Area; and S. Clifton Ives, West Virginia.

Traditionally, new bishops are not appointed immediately to areas from which
they have been serving, but North Central delegates invoked a little-used
provision in the church's Book of Discipline and assigned Lee to the
Michigan Area. She has served as superintendent of the Detroit East District
since 1995 and dean of the cabinet since 1999.  It is believed that the last
time a bishop was returned to his home area after election was in the
Methodist Church in 1960.

Average age of the 13 new bishops is 53.5. At 45, Palmer is the youngest and
can serve six four-year terms before mandatory retirement in August 2024.
Shamana and Fisher, both 60, are the oldest and can serve two terms before
retirement.  

Seven of the new bishops had been serving as pastors, four as district
superintendents, one as the director of a conference foundation and one as a
conference staff member.  

Conference agendas included business sessions, worship, celebration of
significant accomplishments, special activities to honor retiring bishops,
reports from various organizations throughout the church and consecration
services for new bishops. 

Among consecration services, the one in Somerset, N.J., for Fisher may be
the most unusual in United Methodist history. Just before the service,
electricity went out in the hotel, prompting a move to an outdoor setting by
a pond on the hotel grounds. During the service, a cloudburst soaked the
participants, forcing them back inside the hotel. Filling the hotel lobby,
which had the advantage of natural light, they watched as Fisher was
consecrated on a kneeler in front of the registration desk. As the service
concluded, electricity was restored and the hotel lights came on. 

During business sessions, the Northeastern Conference approved the merger of
the Northern and Southern New Jersey annual conferences, which will formally
take place early in August. North Central delegates called on United
Methodist-related colleges in the jurisdiction to explore the possibility of
offering a concentration or undergraduate degree in youth ministry.

Western delegates approved a resolution asking the church's Judicial Council
to reconsider a decision made during the General Conference in May.
Delegates approved a slate of new members to the Judicial Council, after
which the justices ruled that the election of the Rev. Jane Tewes of Phoenix
was invalid. The council cited legislation adopted by the General Conference
lifting the retirement deadline for members of the court. That meant that
one of the council members who was to retire would remain after all. The
jurisdiction's resolution argues that the ruling was based on a statement in
an early version of the legislation that never came before the General
Conference.

ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments of all 50 active United Methodist bishops were announced near
the close of conferences. Assignments are recommended in each jurisdiction
by an episcopacy committee composed of representatives from each area and
then must be approved by the entire delegation. In addition to the 13 new
bishops, six continuing bishops received new appointments. (In the list
below, ** designates newly elected bishops, and *designates new assignments
for continuing bishops.) 

NORTH CENTRAL

Chicago Area -- Northern Illinois Conference
	C. Joseph Sprague
Dakotas Area -- Dakotas Conference
	Michael J. Coyner
Illinois Area -- Illinois Great Rivers Conference
	Sharon Brown Christopher
Indiana Area -- North Indiana and South Indiana conferences
	Woodie W. White
**Iowa Area -- Iowa Conference
	Gregory V. Palmer
**Michigan Area -- Detroit and West Michigan conferences
	Linda Lee
Minnesota Area -- Minnesota Conference
	John L. Hopkins
Ohio East Area -- Jonathan D. Keaton
**Ohio West Area -- West Ohio Conference
	Bruce R. Ough
Wisconsin Area -- Wisconsin Conference
	Sharon Z. Rader

NORTHEASTERN

Albany Area -- Troy and Wyoming conferences
	Susan M. Morrison
Boston Area -- New England Conference
	Susan W. Hassinger
Harrisburg Area -- Central Pennsylvania Conference
	Neil L. Irons 
New Jersey Area -- Northern and Southern New Jersey conferences
	Alfred Johnson
New York Area -- New York Conference
	Ernest S.  Lyght
**New York West Area -- North Central New York and Western New York
conferences
	Violet Fisher
Philadelphia Area -- Eastern and Peninsula-Delaware conferences
	Peter D. Weaver
*Pittsburgh Area -- Western Pennsylvania Conference
	Hae-Jong Kim
Washington Area -- Baltimore-Washington Conference
	Felton E. May
West Virginia Area -- West Virginia Conference 
	S. Clifton Ives

South Central

Arkansas Area -- Little Rock and North Arkansas conferences
	Janice Riggle Huie
Dallas Area -- North Texas Conference
	William B. Oden
**Fort Worth Area -- Central Texas Conference
	Ben R. Chamness
*Houston Area -- Texas Conference
	Alfred L. Norris
Kansas Area -- Kansas East and West conferences
A.	Frederick (Fritz) Mutti
**Louisiana Area -- Louisiana Conference
	William W. Hutchinson
Missouri Area -- Missouri East and West conferences
	Ann B. Sherer
**Nebraska Area -- Nebraska Conference
	Rhymes H. Moncure Jr.
**Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area -- New Mexico and Northwest Texas
conferences
	D. Max Whitfield
Oklahoma Area -- Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
	Bruce P. Blake
*San Antonio Area -- Rio Grande and Southwest Texas conferences
	Joel N. Martinez

Southeastern 

**Alabama-West Florida Area -- Alabama West Florida Conference
	Larry M. Goodpaster
Birmingham Area -- North Alabama Conference
	Robert E. Fannin
Charlotte Area -- Western North Carolina Conference
	Charlene Kammerer
Columbia Area -- South Carolina Conference
	J. Lawrence McCleskey
Florida Area -- Florida Conference
	Cornelius L. Henderson
Holston Area -- Holston Conference
	Ray W. Chamberlain Jr.
**Louisville Area -- Kentucky and Red Bird Missionary conferences
	James R. King Jr.
*Mississippi Area -- Mississippi Conference
	Kenneth L. Carder
*Nashville Area -- Tennessee and Memphis conferences
	William W. Morris
North Georgia Area -- North Georgia Conference
	Lindsey Davis
Raleigh Area -- North Carolina Conference
	Marion M. Edwards
Richmond Area -- Virginia Conference
	Joe E. Pennel Jr.
**South Georgia Area -- South Georgia Conference
B. Michael Watson

Western

**Denver Area -- Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone conferences
	Warner H. Brown Jr.
*Los Angeles Area -- California-Pacific Conference
	Mary Ann Swenson
Phoenix Area -- Desert Southwest Conference
	William W. Dew Jr.
Portland Area -- Alaska Missionary and Oregon-Idaho conferences
	Edward W. Paup
**San Francisco Area -- California-Nevada Conference
	Beverly Shamana
Seattle Area -- Pacific Northwest Conference
	Elias G. Galvan
RETIREMENTS

North Central
Charles W. Jordan, Iowa
Donald A. Ott, Michigan
Judith Craig, Ohio West

Northeastern
George W. Bashore, Pittsburgh

South Central
Joe A. Wilson, Fort Worth
J. Woodrow Hearn, Houston
Dan E. Solomon, Louisiana
Raymond H. Owen, San Antonio

Southeastern
Robert C. Morgan, Louisville
Marshall L. Meadors Jr., Mississippi
Richard C. Looney, South Georgia

Western
Roy I. Sano, Los Angeles
Melvin G. Talbert, San Francisco

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