In a few days, I will be heading to Harrisburg, PA for the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference. UM Portal recently published a list of candidates endorsed for the episcopacy. Electing bishops is one of the primary tasks of the jurisdictional gathering. In our jurisdiction, I believe we are electing just one bishop this time around. Other jurisdictions have many more elections, and the process can be quite lengthy.A few observations about the list of candidates:
The North Central Jurisdiction has two female candidates, and the Southeastern and South Central Jurisdictions each have just one female candidate. The jurisdictions also seem to vary in their degree of racial/ethnic diversity among candidates as well.
Candidates in NCJ and SEJ all (almost) have their own websites! Candidates seem to list several endorsements on their pages from many individual endorsers, in addition to listing biographical/resume information.
(In the NEJ, campaigning for the episcopacy is against the rules. I wonder if a website would count as campaigning? Of course, campaigning can take place in some indirect, discreet ways, but generally is frowned upon.)
What are your thoughts, if any, about these candidates? What are you looking for in a bishop?
1 comment:
Eric Park is a phenomenal guy. He'd make an excellent bishop.
I'd like to see bishops who are theologically well grounded and committed to our covenant and doctrine, who will abide by our Discipline even where it's imperfect, who will inspire us, who will be persons of prayer, and who will guard the faith by talking about and preaching about our Wesleyan heritage (sanctification, perfection, etc.). I'd like to see bishops who talk and act like "traditional bishops", whether they are female or male or of an ethnicity I am not. We seem to have precious few in that traditional model nowadays; it's missed.
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