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NEJ reduces episcopal areas to six

July 11, 2024 / By John Coleman, Daily Christian Advocate contributor / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Editor's Note: John Coleman served on the Eastern PA and Greater New Jersey staff before retiring on June 30 and is a Daily Christian Advocate contributor.

The announcement of the assignment of bishops by the Jurisdictional Committee on the Episcopacy along with the new names of episcopal areas will be made on Friday, July 12.  

The 2024 Northeastern Jurisdictional (NEJ) Conference reduced its episcopal areas from nine to six on Wednesday night, July 10, 2024 after hearing an extensive report and approving a motion from its Committee on Episcopacy. In the new configuration, eight annual conferences will each share a bishop and two conferences will each have one bishop. The decision was affirmed by a 123 to 19 vote.

The new episcopal areas, which will receive names before bishops are assigned on Friday, July 12 comprise of these conferences:

• Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware
• Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey
• New York and New England
• Susquehanna and Upper New York
• Western Pennsylvania
• West Virginia

Since 2022, the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences have shared a bishop, and Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey have also shared a bishop. Meanwhile, supervision of the Susquehanna Conference has been shared by the bishops of the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia conferences.

Currently, the jurisdiction is served by seven bishops, including Bishop John Schol, who retires at this conference, and Bishop Peggy Johnson, who will return to retirement status.

Those retirements leave five active bishops. The 2024 General Conference voted in May to apportion six bishops to the Northeastern Jurisdiction and varying numbers of bishops to the other four jurisdictions, approving a recommendation from the UMC’s Interjurisdictional Episcopacy Committee.

General Conference also allowed jurisdictions to assign active bishops who are willing to transfer across jurisdictional lines. While no current bishops were able or willing to transfer, the NEJ agreed to share a bishop with the Southeastern Jurisdiction. The two jurisdictions will make that joint episcopal assignment this week, bringing the NEJ total effectively to six bishops.

The NEJ Committee on Episcopacy, led by Judi Kenaston, worked many hours before and during the Jurisdictional Conference, aided by research and recommendations by the NEJ Boundaries Committee, to configure the new episcopal areas for the 2024- 2028 quadrennium. They also explored possible adjustments if the 2028 General Conference requires the NEJ and other jurisdictions to further reduce their number of episcopal areas due to financial and missional reasons.