The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.
Thomas J. Bickerton is an American United Methodist bishop. Bickerton was raised in West Virginia and graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Psychology. Subsequently, he entered seminary at Duke University Divinity School, completing his Master of Divinity degree in 1983. While attending seminary he served as student pastor following his ordination in 1982 as Deacon. His first appointment out of seminary was to Perry Memorial United Methodist Church, in Shady Spring, West Virginia, in June 1983; he served in that location for six years. In 1985 he was ordained as an Elder by Bishop William Boyd Grove. In 1989, he was appointed to serve Forrest Burdette Memorial United Methodist Church in Hurricane, West Virginia, where he pastored for the ensuing nine years. While in ministry there he also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, completing it in 1994. In 1998, he became District Superintendent of his home area, the Northern District.
William Henry Willimon is a retired American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church who served the North Alabama Conference for eight years. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School. He is former Dean of the Chapel at Duke University and is considered by many as one of America's best-known and most influential preachers. A Pulpit & Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership survey determined that he was one of the two most frequently read writers by pastors in mainline Protestantism alongside the Roman Catholic writer Henri Nouwen. His books have sold over a million copies. He is also Editor-At-Large of The Christian Century. His 2019 memoir Accidental Preacher was released to wide acclaim, described by Justo L. Gonzalez as "An exceptional example of theology at its best."
Geoffrey Wainwright was an English theologian. He spent much of his career in the United States and taught at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright made major contributions to modern Methodist theology and Christian liturgy, and played a significant role on producing the text Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, as a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Gregory Vaughn Palmer is an American bishop of The United Methodist Church, elected in 2000. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Herbert Palmer, is also a United Methodist pastor.
Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church. She was the second woman elevated to the position of bishop within the United Methodist Church, and the first African American woman.
Robert Tsugio Hoshibata is a bishop of The United Methodist Church (UMC), the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. His first assignment was as Bishop of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the UMC. He currently serves as Bishop of the Phoenix Episcopal Area, Desert Southwest Conference for the UMC.
Scott Jameson Jones is an American bishop of the Global Methodist Church and former bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 2004, serving until his retirement and subsequent resignation from the episcopal office and transfer to the GMC in 2023. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in Illinois, Indiana and Colorado.
Wilbur Wong Yan Choy was an American bishop in the United Methodist Church, elected in 1972. He was the first Asian American elected as a bishop in the church.
Robert Eric Hayes Jr. is a member and serves as Bishop Emeritus of the Global Methodist Church. At its May 22, 2023, weekly meeting, The Global Methodist Church’s Transitional Leadership Council (TLC) received the Rev. Dr. Robert Hayes, Jr. as a clergy member in the new denomination and then immediately voted to confer upon him the title bishop emeritus. Hayes joins Bishop Emeritus Mike Lowry as the only other bishop granted that status.
Violet L. Fisher is a retired bishop in The United Methodist Church, elected and consecrated to the Episcopacy in 2000.
Bishop Richard B. Wilke created The DISCIPLE Bible Study with his wife, Julia. This training for Christian leaders has been completed by nearly two million graduates in more than 10,000 congregations and 30 denominations. The DISCIPLE series is now available in German, Korean, Spanish, and Chinese.
Alfred Wesley Gwinn, Jr. is a former residing bishop of the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He held the office of Bishop of North Carolina from 2004 to 2012. His offices were located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
B. Michael Watson is a bishop of The United Methodist Church, elected in 2000. He served as resident bishop of the North Georgia Annual Conference, which comprises 1,000 churches, more than 1,500 clergy members, and more than 320,000 lay members. He retired in 2016 and currently serves as ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops.
Helen Gray Crotwell served as the Associate Minister to Duke University from 1973 to 1979. She had previously served as the associate director of the Duke Methodist campus ministry. During her time at Duke, she published a compilation of sermons written by women and participated as a campus minister in the Silent Vigil at Duke University. Crotwell was the first woman appointed as a district superintendent in the United Methodist Church in North Carolina and one of the first in the Southeast. She served as the chairperson of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women in the United Methodist North Carolina Conference and advocated for inclusivity and female empowerment in the church. Her major interests included women and the church, women and theology, counseling, and the church and social justice.
Sally Dyck is an American minister who is a bishop in the United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. In 2021, she will begin serving as the Ecumenical Officer of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church.
Karen Oliveto is an American bishop. She is the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church. She was elected bishop on July 15, 2016, at the Western Jurisdictional conference. Her four-year term of service began September 1, 2016 and she currently serves as the bishop of both the UMC's Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Conferences; she was officially installed on September 24. At the time of her election, she was the senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. Oliveto is married to Robin Ridenour, who is a deaconess in the United Methodist Church's California-Nevada Conference.
Frank Beard is an American United Methodist Church bishop serving the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
Glenn M. Wagner is an American United Methodist pastor and author. Throughout his 40-year pastoral career, Wagner served congregations in four states and two countries, most notably in Freeport and Harvard, Illinois and North Muskegon, Holt, and Grand Haven, Michigan. Wagner announced his retirement from the United Methodist Church of the Dunes in Grand Haven in October 2016.
Sharma Lewis is an American bishop in the United Methodist Church. She was consecrated in 2016, and is the resident bishop of the Mississippi episcopal area. She is the first African American woman to be elected as bishop in the UMC's Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference.
