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Seeing a Way Forward: Bishop Ough

Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops 
Bishop Bruce Ough is the resident bishop of the Dakota and Minnesota Episcopal Areas.

Bishop Bruce Ough is the resident bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area. He was also president of the Council of Bishops during the 2016 General Conference that authorized the Commission on a Way Forward.

Ough spoke with UM News as part of "Seeing a Way Forward," a video series featuring different perspectives of church leaders on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.

Watch videos.

"What I'm praying for."
As the called 2019 General Conference nears, Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area prays for a unified church.

God's mission is contextual
As bishop over churches with a wide range of theological perspectives, Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area says he reminds them that they remain unified in serving out God's mission.

Misconceptions about Way Forward process
Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area says he often hears from United Methodists who think the bishops are trying to control the outcome of the Commission on a Way Forward. He insists they are following out the mandate given them by the 2016 General Conference.

The only way to a breakthrough
Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area asks that everyone in the church overlook their preconceptions and continue to pray for the church as decisions about its future arrive.

This is the fifth in a series of video interviews by United Methodist News Service. View the interviews with Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey, Bishop Christian Alsted, Bishop John Yambasu, and Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball.


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General Conference
The Minneapolis Convention Center stands in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. United Methodist organizers plan to make good on the original location of the COVID-delayed 2020 General Conference, choosing Minneapolis as the host city for the next legislative assembly scheduled for May 8-18, 2028. Photo by Dan Anderson, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis. (www.minneapolis.org)

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Theology and Education
Graphic by Taylor W Burton Edwards based on The 2020/2024 Book of Discipline, Copyright 2024, United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.

Ask The UMC: Part 1, Local churches, annual conferences, and general agencies

Some are smaller, and some are bigger, but changes have come in the 2020/2024 Book of Discipline for local churches, annual conferences, and general agencies.

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