Council of Bishops

Bishop Tracy S. Malone addresses the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., after taking over as president of the denomination’s Council of Bishops from outgoing council president Bishop Thomas Bickerton (rear). The Council of Bishops is calling for a five-day leadership gathering in April or May 2026. The bishops plan to hold the gathering instead of the special session of General Conference that they previously announced. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Bishops plan for different kind of gathering

United Methodist bishops have called for a leadership gathering in 2026 — rather than a special session of General Conference. Here is what is known so far about the event.

General Church

Nigeria Area Bishop John Wesley Yohanna says a prayer alongside members of his cabinet during a gathering of United Methodists from the North East and Southern Nigeria annual conferences on July 24 at McBride United Methodist Church in Jalingo. Yohanna announced July 29 that he has left The United Methodist Church. Photo by Ramson Danjuma, communications director for the North East Nigeria Conference.

Nigeria bishop leaves United Methodist Church

Bishop John Wesley Yohanna has joined a new Methodist denomination, and the Council of Bishops will name interim leadership for The United Methodist Church in Nigeria.

Bishops

Bishops urged to prepare for seismic shift

United Methodist Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton sees potential for big changes coming out of General Conference — including an end to the denomination’s bans related to LGBTQ people. Bishops, he said, will have a role to play in what comes next.

Ecumenism

Bishop Sally Dyck, ecumenical officer for the Council of Bishops, speaks about the importance of The United Methodist Church’s relationships with other Christian bodies and the challenges those relations face. Sitting to her right are East Congo Area Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda, Nordic-Baltic Area Bishop Christian Alsted, Germany Area Bishop Harald Rückert, Central and Southern Europe Area Bishop Stefan Zürcher and ecumenical staff officers the Rev. Jean Hawxhurst and David N. Field. Photo by Rick Wolcott, courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

Church faces shake-up in ecumenical relations

The United Methodist Church is grappling with questions that affect its relationships with other Methodist denominations and its growing ties with The Episcopal Church.

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