By Sybil Davidson (North Georgia Conference)
LAKE JUNALUSKA, NC—On Thursday, July 11, delegates and guests gathered for the final business session of the 2024 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church for the much-anticipated episcopal assignments.
The Rev. Kim Ingram, chair of the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, brought the report. She shared about the collaborative spirit, respect, and honesty of the members of the Committee on Episcopacy as they went about this work.
“We utilized a discernment process that continued to reveal possibilities,” she shared. “We worked to eliminate preconceived ideas and were open to listening to each other. We celebrated that all conferences could and would receive many different bishops. Our process continued until it was good with the Holy Spirit and with us.”
In addition to the announcement of assignments, the committee announced new names for the ten SEJ Episcopal Areas that better reflect their ministry setting. Assignments begin September 1, 2024.
The assignments are as follows:
- Alabama-Panhandle Area (Alabama-West Florida and North Alabama Conferences) – Bishop L. Jonathan Holston
- Florida Area – Bishop Tom Berlin
- Georgia Area (North Georgia and South Georgia Annual Conference) – Bishop Robin Dease
- Holston Area jointly with an Annual Conference in the NEJ – Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
- Kentucky-Tennessee Area (Kentucky, Central Appalachian Missionary, and Tennessee-Western Kentucky) – Bishop David Graves
- Mississippi Area – Bishop Sharma Lewis
- North Carolina Area – Bishop Connie Shelton
- South Carolina Area – Bishop Leonard Fairley
- Virginia Area – Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson
- Western North Carolina Area – Bishop Ken Carter
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