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.
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."
Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also one of 13 seminaries affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
George Lindsey Davis is an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1996.
David Jerald Lawson was an American who gained notability as a pastor and university campus minister in the Methodist and United Methodist churches, as a district superintendent, annual conference official, and as a bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC), elected in 1984. He also played a key role establishing and developing Africa University, which is the only UMC university on the continent.
Timothy Wayne Whitaker is a bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 2001. Whitaker distinguished himself as a U.M. pastor, a college lecturer, a member of Annual Conference and U.M. General Agencies and community organizations, a district superintendent, an author, and as a bishop.
Larry Martin Goodpaster is a bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 2000.
Earl Gladstone Hunt Jr. (1918–2005) was an American who distinguished himself as a Methodist pastor and evangelist, as the president of Emory and Henry College, as an author and theologian, as a bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, and as a leader in World Methodism.
Richard Carl Looney is a retired American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1988.
An annual conference is a regional decision-making body within various Methodist denominations. Conferences are a key characteristic of the connectional system of government in Methodism. Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge. Each conference is a geographical division. In general, the smaller states in the United States hold one conference each, while larger states often include two or more conferences. Several annual conferences are held in other nations as well.
Leo A. Soriano is a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church. He was elected in 2000 in the Philippines and held his position until 2012.
Alfred Lloyd Norris is a retired American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1992. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist/United Methodist Pastor, as a District Superintendent, as the President of a U.M. Seminary, and as a Mason.
Hope Morgan Ward is a bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected and consecrated to the episcopacy in 2004. She has served as the Bishop of North Carolina since 2012.
Methodist viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because there is no one denomination which represents all Methodists. The World Methodist Council, which represents most Methodist denominations, has no official statements regarding sexuality. British Methodism holds a variety of views, and permits ministers to bless same-gender marriages. United Methodism, which covers the United States, the Philippines, parts of Africa, and parts of Europe, concentrates on the position that the same-sex relations are incompatible with "Christian teaching", but extends ministry to persons of a homosexual orientation, holding that all individuals are of sacred worth.
Frazer Church is a Free Methodist megachurch located at 6000 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, Alabama. It has 4,055 members with a mission to "Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the hope of the world".
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.
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.
David W. Graves is an American clergyman in the United Methodist Church who is bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. He was elected July 13, 2016 to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference quadrennial meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C. He has been assigned for the next four years to the Alabama West-Florida Conference.
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.
