A special-called session of the North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church was held on Tuesday, January 23 “for the sole purpose of approving new episcopal areas for episcopal assignments to be effective September 1, 2024.” Delegates to this special-called NCJ Jurisdictional Conference voted to form two new episcopal areas, one to include the East Ohio Conference and the West Ohio Conference, and one to include the Northern Illinois Conference and the Wisconsin Conference. The two conferences in each new episcopal area will share one bishop.
“I and Bishop Palmer convened a leadership team that has been working to identify the key administrative matters that need to be addressed and to examine the best practices of other episcopal areas where shared episcopal leadership has worked well. This work will continue as we prepare the conferences for this transition,” said Bishop Tracy S. Malone, resident bishop of the East Ohio Conference.
“I am confident the people of the East and West Ohio Conferences are well suited to be served by one bishop with a single eye to living the mission of ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,’” said Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, resident bishop of the West Ohio Conference.
The United Methodist Church General Conference will be in Charlotte, NC, April 23 – May 3, 2024
Planning a big family wedding with dozens of people coming in for a weekend is challenge enough. But imagine trying to bring more than a thousand people together from four continents for a gathering that lasts two weeks. They speak 10 languages, have various dietary needs, require multiple hotel rooms and must be able to come together to pray, worship and make decisions that affect millions of United Methodists.
Hundreds of these visitors also need visas just to attend. Making sure United Methodist delegates, bishops and others can come together for the denomination’s top legislative assembly is the responsibility of the Commission on the General Conference. That international commission gathered May 21-24, 2023 for its first in-person meeting since 2019 to determine some of the final details for 2024’s General Conference. The theme for the gathering will be “… and know that I am God” from Psalm 46. Kim Simpson, the commission’s chair, said that focus on God is critical, especially in this tumultuous time. For the past three years, the commission’s planning has been hampered by the COVID pandemic and resulting travel complications — leading the commission to postpone General Conference three times. The assembly, originally planned for 2020 in Minneapolis, is now scheduled for April 23-May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information about the General Conference, visit eocumc.com. To receive more East Ohio Conference news, go to eocumcnews.com/e-news.