CHICAGO — In a meeting last week in Chicago,
During the fall of 2019, the report of the Jurisdictional Study Committee was also released, containing a recommendation to maintain the current number of bishops in each jurisdiction through the 2020-2024 quadrennium. The NCJ College of Bishops has been in conversation with the NCJ Committee on the Episcopacy, chaired by the Rev. Sara Isbell, Illinois Great Rivers Conference, since the release of both recommendations. More recently, the release of the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation has added new dimensions to this conversation.
The decision to reduce the number of episcopal areas in a jurisdiction is made by the General Conference, on the recommendation of the Interjurisdictional Committee on the Episcopacy, which will meet during the May 2020 session. The Interjurisdictional Committee considers the recommendation and missional needs of the affected jurisdictions. If General Conference votes a reduction, the Jurisdictional Committee on the Episcopacy (in this case, the NCJ) identifies and enacts the adjusted configuration of episcopal areas.
The NCJ College of Bishops and the NCJ Committee on the Episcopacy met in Chicago, IL, January 20-22, and made the following decisions:
Members of the task force are:
“The church is dealing with a lot of change right now,” said Bishop Bard, “Your prayers for the jurisdiction and for the task force are appreciated.” Bard invited comments on these decisions be sent to: Rev. Sara Isbell Sisbell2@gmail.com and Bishop David Bard bishop@michiganumc.org.