Bard is back

Episcopal assignments were announced Saturday morning during the consecration service of the three newly elected bishops to conclude the 2022 North Central Jurisdictional Conference.

JAMES DEATON
Content Editor

Nov. 5, 2022 | FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 2022 North Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church concluded Saturday morning with the consecration of the three newly elected bishops and the announcement of episcopal assignments.

Bishop David Alan Bard will remain resident bishop of the Michigan Conference for the remainder of this quadrennium, until August 31, 2024. Bishop Bard has been serving the Michigan Conference since his election in 2016. He has also been serving as interim bishop of the Minnesota Conference following the retirement of Bishop Bruce Ough at the end of 2020. That interim assignment will conclude in January 2023 once Bishop Lanette Plambeck, one of the newly elected bishops, begins her assignment there.

Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, the Michigan Conference’s endorsed candidate who was elected on the first ballot on Wednesday, will serve the Iowa Conference beginning January 1, 2023. Bishop Bigham-Tsai is the third consecutive bishop serving that conference that has a connection with the Michigan Conference. Bishop Laurie Haller is the current bishop of the Iowa Conference until she retires at the end of this year. Retired Bishop Deborah Kiesey recently served as interim bishop of the Iowa Conference for six months while Bishop Haller was on medical leave.

The Holy Task of Episcopal Assignments

The North Central Jurisdiction’s Committee on Episcopacy is responsible for assigning bishops—a process that begins immediately after all bishops are elected. The committee includes two people—one clergy and one lay—from each annual conference. The announcement of the assignments of all nine bishops was made on Saturday morning at the end of the consecration service for the three new bishops. Their assignments take effect on January 1, 2023. Bishops are usually assigned a four-year term, but this will be a shortened assignment, as the next jurisdictional conference is scheduled to meet in its regular sequence following the 2024 General Conference to elect and assign bishops for the 2024-2028 quadrennium.

Rev. Paul Perez, Nichea VerVeer Guy, and Jackie Euper (from the former Detroit Annual Conference), the Michigan Conference’s three members of the Committee on Episcopacy, met all day Friday to discern where each bishop would be assigned for this abbreviated term.

The work of the committee is a time of relationship building, one that has been especially challenging since the pandemic delayed the election of bishops. Nichea VerVeer Guy said that it is a blessing getting to know the delegates from the other conferences and providing support to current and retired bishops. It’s also a time of discernment, learning about the new bishops in a short amount of time and evaluating the gifts and graces each one brings.

VerVeer Guy confessed, “It’s exciting. It’s emotional because of the links and ties you have with the bishops, but it’s fundamental that we get it right. That we at least try to get it right.”

The work of the Committee on Episcopal is filled with consensus building, a time of Holy Spirit-led discernment on behalf of the church. The pairing of bishops with annual conferences is not a light task, and each member took it seriously as they evaluated the context of each annual conference to see which bishop is best suited for the ministry there. It’s also a process that is continually evolving. “It’s ever-changing,” VerVeer Guy noted. “What we started discerning six years ago changed over the course of time. Even as of yesterday, there were new insights coming to us and we had to reassess.”

Rev. Paul Perez just joined the committee this week following the election of Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, who was the Michigan Conference’s clergy delegate on the Committee on Episcopacy and had to resign. Even though his time on the committee has been short, Perez felt the same spirit VerVeer Guy has felt: “I found it to be a really thoughtful and compassionate group that welcomed me on as a new member. It was a prayerful discernment consensus process. It was a long day, and we did hard work, but it’s good work. I pray for all the bishops, especially the new bishops, as they begin their new assignments.”

The work of the Committee on the Episcopacy continues for the next two years as more episcopal retirements and changes are forecasted for the North Central Jurisdiction and the whole denomination. The committee hopes to provide continuity during this time of unusual instability, looking toward the future gathering of the church at General Conference 2024. Both Perez and VerVeer Guy will continue to serve on the committee in this interim period.

Consecrated for Service in the Church

Saturday morning’s consecration service was a celebration of ministry and an opportunity for the newly elected bishops to be welcomed into the College of Bishops. Bishops Gregory Palmer and Tracy Smith Malone presided at the table of Holy Communion. Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader presented each bishop with a stole, a symbol of servant leadership. Bishop Bruce Ough gave each bishop a crosier, a staff that symbolizes the shepherding role they are called to as episcopal leaders. And Bishop Julius Trimble presented each bishop with a Bible, God’s Word.

Using the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13 as the key scripture for her sermon, Bishop Sally Dyck said that some say the church is in the wilderness these days and then warned the newly elected bishops—and all those listening—to watch out for three temptations in ministry. She noted these are the terms and conditions for what it takes for clergy, laity, and episcopal leaders to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The first temptation is to question one’s very identity. Each person is a child of God, and we must claim that first and foremost. That is true for bishops, clergy, laity, and everyone. There’s a tendency to conflate one’s work role with one’s self-image. “Being a bishop is a tool,” Bishop Dyck said, “a very important tool to build up the body of Christ, but it dare not be your identity.”

Believing you have power and authority over others is the second temptation in ministry. This is the devil’s model of power, not what God desires. Being a bishop is not about having power at all. It’s about empowering others to be who they are. “The symbol of power, for us, is not the pyramid. Hot tip: Never cathedral your fingers. The symbol of power is the table.” Bishop Dyck said that some tables need to be chopped up, as Bishop Bard suggested in his Episcopal Address on Thursday. But one of the greatest things about being a bishop is that “you do have the power to call people together. You can broker those conversations that help people do their very best ministry.”

The final temptation is the false notion of being the savior of the church. Bishop Dyck reminded the new bishops that they were not elected to save the church. They are to be disciples of Jesus, teaching people to live and love and forgive. She said, “You are called to help inspire and equip and bring new life into our beloved United Methodist Church.”

Bishop Dyck ended her sermon by reminding them that, as the Holy Spirit accompanied Jesus into the wilderness, so shall the Holy Spirit be present with them, always, even into the wilderness ahead.

Below is the complete list of episcopal assignments for the North Central Jurisdiction, from January 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024:

• • Dakotas–Minnesota Conferences: Bishop Lanette Plambeck
  • East Ohio Conference: Bishop Tracy Smith Malone
  • Illinois Great Rivers Conference: Bishop Frank Beard
  • Indiana Conference: Bishop Julius C. Trimble
  • Iowa Conference: Bishop Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai
  • Michigan Conference: Bishop David Alan Bard
  • Northern Illinois Conference: Bishop Dan Schwerin
  • West Ohio Conference: Bishop Gregory Palmer
  • Wisconsin Conference: Bishop Hee-Soo Jung

For up-to-date episcopal assignments throughout the five jurisdictions, check this web page.

Rev. Cindy Gregorson, director of connectional ministries and clergy assistant to the bishop for the Minnesota Annual Conference, contributed to this story.