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Episcopal Elections 2022

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For the first time since 2016, new bishops will be elected on Nov. 2-5 by U.S. delegates in five areas or jurisdictions – North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern and Western. Original photo by Paul Jeffrey; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Latest results and news coverage 

United Methodists in the United States, the Philippines and Central and Southern Europe are meeting in November to elect and consecrate new bishops and assign bishops to specific regions or episcopal areas.

Bishops are the top clergy leaders of The United Methodist Church. This will be the first time since 2016 that new bishops have been elected for the church, which has more than 12 million members worldwide.

Delegates to the Central and Southern Europe Central Conference will meet Nov. 15-19 to elect a new bishop. Three new bishops will be elected in the Philippines Nov. 24-26. U.S. delegates elected 13 bishops Nov. 2-5.

Find election results, stories on the elected bishops and the latest news from United Methodist News below.

Election Updates

Follow the balloting as it occurs in each jurisdiction:

Central and Southern Europe
Central Conference
Philippines Central
Conference
North Central
Jurisdiction
Northeastern
Jurisdiction
South Central
Jurisdiction
Southeastern
Jurisdiction
Western
Jurisdiction
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Newly elected Bishop Israel M. Painit (center) is greeted by retired Bishop Solito K. Toquero and Bishop Ciriaco Q. Francisco after Painit’s election during the Philippines Central Conference at Wesleyan University-Philippines in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Painit was the third bishop elected at the Nov. 24-26 meeting. Photo by Gladys P. Mangiduyos, UM News.
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Bishops

Philippines Central Conference elects Painit as bishop

The country director of mission in Southeast Asia was the third bishop elected at the Nov. 24-26 meeting.

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Newly elected Bishop Ruby-Nell Estrella receives her episcopal pin from College of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton (right) during the Philippines Central Conference at Wesleyan University-Philippines in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Estrella is the first woman to be elected a United Methodist bishop in the Philippines. Photo by Gladys P. Mangiduyos, UM News.
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Bishops

Estrella elected Philippines Central’s first female bishop

The Rev. Ruby-Nell M. Estrella, treasurer of the Philippines Central Conference, was the second bishop elected at the Nov. 24-26 meeting.

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Bishops Christian Alsted (left) and Thomas J. Bickerton pray for newly elected Bishop Rodel M. Acdal after he received his episcopal pin during the Philippines Central Conference at Wesleyan University-Philippines in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. On the right is Acdal’s wife, Maria Rosario Cherry Acdal. Delegates to the conference elected Acdal on the sixth ballot on Nov. 25. Photo by Gladys P. Mangiduyos, UM News.
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Bishops

Philippines Central Conference elects Acdal as bishop

The president of John Wesley College was elected on the sixth ballot. He will lead the Baguio Episcopal Area.

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Newly elected Bishop Stefan Zürcher addresses delegates and guests at the Central and Southern Europe Central Conference. Zürcher was elected Nov. 18 at the conference, which met in Basel, Switzerland. The central conference comprises United Methodist churches in 13 countries in Europe and North Africa. Photo by the Rev. Joerg Niederer.
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Bishops

Central and Southern Europe elects Stefan Zürcher bishop

The district superintendent of Northwestern Switzerland was elected Nov. 18 on the fourth ballot, receiving 41 of 68 votes cast.

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In an episcopal election that saw several firsts, the Rev. Delores Williamston (left), the first Black female bishop elected to the South Central Jurisdiction; the Rev. David Wilson (right), the first Native American bishop in The United Methodist Church; and the Rev. Laura Merrill stand during their consecration service. The South Central Jurisdiction’s service of consecration was Nov. 5 at Houston First United Methodist Church. Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Conference via Facebook.
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Bishops

Jurisdictions see shift in bishops, more cooperation

Even as The United Methodist Church faces mounting disaffiliations, those who plan to remain United Methodist are working together more across jurisdictional lines. Jurisdictional conferences also elected more women and more people of color as bishops.

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Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank, a United Methodist elder in the Desert Southwest Conference, is accompanied to the podium by young people from MARCHA West, honoring her roots in the Hispanic/Latino community. From left, Bishops Karen Oliveto and Warner Brown look on. Escobedo-Frank was elected to the episcopacy on the 19th ballot by the Western Jurisdiction on Nov. 4 at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Photo by Patrick Scriven (Pacific Northwest) for the Western Jurisdiction.
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Bishops

Western elects Dottie Escobedo-Frank as bishop

Delegates elected Dottie Escobedo-Frank, the jurisdiction’s third Hispanic bishop, Nov. 4 on the 19th ballot.

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Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, a United Methodist elder in the California-Pacific Conference, embraces his husband, Christopher Hucks-Ortiz, after his election was announced. Bridgeforth was elected to the episcopacy on the 18th ballot by the Western Jurisdiction on Nov. 4 at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Photo by Patrick Scriven (Pacific Northwest) for the Western Jurisdiction.
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Bishops

Western elects Cedrick Bridgeforth as bishop

The Rev. Cedrick D. Bridgeforth’s Nov. 4 election makes him the first openly gay African-American man to be elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church.

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Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut greets delegates at the United Methodist Western Jurisdictional Conference, after he was elected to the episcopacy on the 13th ballot on Nov. 4 at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Rapanut, an elder in the Pacific Northwest Conference, served in Alaska and was ordained in the Northwest Philippines Conference. Photo by Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Western Jurisdiction.
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Bishops

Western Jurisdiction elects Rapanut in historic vote

The Rev. Carlo A. Rapanut, assistant to the bishop in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, is the first Filipino American bishop in The United Methodist Church, and the first U.S. bishop who was ordained in a central conference.

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The Rev. Dan Schwerin reacts to being elected bishop Nov. 3 at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference. Schwerin, assistant to the bishop in the Wisconsin Conference, was elected on the sixth ballot with 100 votes. He was the third and final bishop elected by jurisdictional delegates at their Nov. 2-5 meeting in Fort Wayne, Ind. Photo by Lisa Wink.
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Bishops

North Central elects Schwerin as bishop

The Rev. Dan Schwerin was the third and final bishop elected for The United Methodist Church's North Central Jurisdictional Conference. He received 100 votes of the 166 valid ballots cast Nov. 3, giving him the 60% needed to be elected.

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Newly elected Bishop Robin Dease thanks the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference upon her election on Nov. 3. Dease, a South Carolina pastor and former district superintendent, was elected on the 25th ballot with 206 votes. She was the third and final bishop to be elected at the Nov. 2-4 conference, held in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Photo by Matt Brodie.
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Bishops

Southeastern elects Robin Dease as bishop

The Rev. Robin Dease, who was a write-in candidate on the first ballot for bishop in The United Methodist Church’s Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, was elected Nov. 3 on the 25th ballot at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She received 206 votes, the exact number needed.

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Newly elected Bishop Connie Shelton thanks the delegates of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference after her election Nov. 2. Shelton, a district superintendent in the Mississippi Conference, was elected on the 12th ballot with 213 votes. Her husband, the Rev. Joey Shelton, stands behind her. The Southeastern Jurisdictional delegates are meeting Nov. 2-4 in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Photo by Ben Smith, UM News.
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Bishops

Southeastern Jurisdiction elects Shelton as bishop

The Rev. Connie Mitchell Shelton, district superintendent in the Mississippi Conference, was elected Nov. 2 on the 12th ballot.

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Retired Bishop Sharon Rader gives newly elected Bishop Lanette Plambeck her episcopal pin following her election to the United Methodist episcopacy at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Nov. 2. Photo by Kaitlyn Winders Photography.
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Bishops

Plambeck wins bishop post in North Central

The Rev. Lanette Plambeck, a former intelligence analyst for the Army and the only endorsed candidate for bishop of the Iowa Annual Conference, was elected bishop on the third ballot at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference.

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The Rev. Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez addresses the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference after being elected bishop on Nov. 2. Burgos, who has been serving as a district superintendent in the Greater New Jersey Conference, was elected on the third ballot. His wife, Jazelis Burgos, is at his side. The conference is meeting Nov. 2-4 in College Park, Md. Photo by the Rev. Thomas Kim, UM News.
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Bishops

Northeastern Jurisdiction elects Burgos-Núñez as bishop

With his election on the third ballot, the Rev. Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez became the first Hispanic/Latino bishop elected in the jurisdiction.

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The Rev. Laura Merrill accepts congratulations from delegates at the Nov. 2 United Methodist South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Houston. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
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Bishops

South Central Jurisdiction elects Merrill as bishop

The Rev. Laura Merrill was elected as a bishop along with two others on the first ballot in the South Central Jurisdictional Conference. The former church secretary received 99 votes.

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The Rev. David Wilson, the first Native American United Methodist bishop, accepts congratulations after his election to the episcopacy at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference Nov. 2, in Houston. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
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Bishops

South Central elects Wilson as denomination’s first Native American bishop

The Rev. David Wilson, assistant to the bishop of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, was elected Nov. 2 on the first ballot, becoming the first Native American bishop in The United Methodist Church.

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The Rev. Delores "Dee" Williamston acknowledges applause after her election to the United Methodist Episcopacy at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Houston on Nov. 2. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
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Bishops

Williamston elected South Central's first Black female bishop

The Rev. Delores “Dee” Williamston, director of clergy excellence and assistant to the bishop of the Great Plains Conference, was elected on the first ballot with 141 votes.

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The Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai (right) and her husband, Kee, greet delegates at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Fort Wayne, Ind., following her election as bishop. Photo courtesy of NCJ Communications.
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Bishops

North Central elects Bigham-Tsai bishop in historic vote

The Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, chief connectional ministries officer for the Connectional Table, was the first to be elected on the first round of voting within the North Central Jurisdiction’s history.

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The Rev. Tom Berlin speaks to delegates at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Lake Junaluska, N.C., following his election as a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Delegates met Nov. 2-4 in Lake Junaluska, N.C., for the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, with the purpose of electing new bishops, assigning bishops to regions of supervision and doing other business. Photo by Ben Smith.
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Bishops

Southeastern Jurisdiction elects Berlin as bishop

The Rev. Thomas M. Berlin, lead pastor of Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia, was elected Nov. 2 on the fourth ballot.

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The Rev. Sharon Austin, a candidate for bishop from the Florida Conference, is supported by another delegate during the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Austin withdrew her candidacy Nov. 3 and described the process as “humiliating.” Two United Methodist jurisdictions on opposite sides of the U.S. grappled with the problem of racism in their midst. Photo by Ben Smith, Southeastern Jurisdiction.
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Bishops

2 jurisdictions tackle racism in bishop elections

Both the Western Jurisdiction and Southeastern Jurisdiction found themselves addressing how bigotry has marred the bishop election process. The Western Jurisdiction held a highly unusual closed session.

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The Rev. Stan Copeland speaks Nov. 3 at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Houston. Copeland criticized in a floor speech three United Methodist bishops for being pro-Global Methodist Church. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
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Bishops

Three bishops accused of aiding disaffiliation

A South Central Jurisdictional Conference delegate asked the jurisdiction’s college of bishops to address the conduct and status of three episcopal leaders he said had provided “promotion and support” to the breakaway Global Methodist Church.

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Newly elected United Methodist bishops David Wilson (third from left, wearing blue jacket), Laura Merrill (wearing green print jacket) and Delores “Dee” Williamston (second from right) are joined by other bishops and church leaders as they pray after being elected during the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Houston. On Nov. 3, the jurisdiction announced its episcopal assignments, effective Jan. 1. Photo courtesy of the Great Plains Conference.
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Bishops

US bishops receive assignments

After electing new bishops, the denomination’s U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced episcopal assignments, effective Jan. 1.

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For the first time since 2016, new bishops will be elected on Nov. 2-5 by U.S. delegates in five areas or jurisdictions – North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern and Western. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Learn more

United Methodists typically meet every four years to elect bishops to fill vacancies, as well as elect representatives to agency boards and commissions, adopt budgets for jurisdictional programs and do other business. Those gatherings follow the quadrennial meeting of General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly. The pandemic-driven postponements of General Conference have resulted in delays in the elections, which ordinarily would have occurred in 2020.

While United Methodists in the Philippines, United States and parts of Europe are electing bishops in November, leaders with the three African central conferences have stated that their areas will wait until after General Conference in 2024 to hold elections.

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