Conferences to bid farewell to bishops

11 leaders to leave
reagional offices when
terms end Aug. 31

United Methodist News Service
Some United Methodist conferences meeting this spring and summer are to say goodbye to retiring bishops and become better acquainted with candidates they have endorsed to succeed them.
The 2008 meetings will be the last for 11 retiring U.S. bishops. In July, their successors will be chosen by jurisdictional conferences, and the new bishops will begin serving Sept. 1. In addition, five bishops from the central conferences—regions in Africa, Asia and Europe—are to retire this year or next.
Annual conference sessions are the second of three major denomina-tionwide events this year in the United States. The 2008 General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body—which convenes once every four years—meets April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth. Afterwards, the church’s 63 U.S. annual conferences meet individually during the spring and early summer. Conferences for the five U.S. jurisdictions, which also convene once every four years, meet in July.
Bishops hold the top clergy positions in The United Methodist Church and are elected in the United States for life.
Retiring U.S. bishops as of Aug. 31 include one Hispanic man, one African-American man, four white men, two African-American women and three white women.
Church law requires U.S. bishops to retire after a jurisdictional conference if they turn 66 on or before July 1 of the jurisdictional year.
A Task Force to Study the Episcopacy is asking the 2008 General Conference to increase the mandatory retirement age by two years to 68.
The South Central Jurisdiction meets July 16-19 in Dallas. Four bishops are to retire: Benjamin Chamness, Fort Worth Area; William Hutchinson, Louisiana Area; Joel N. Martinez, San Antonio Area; and Alfred Norris, Dallas Area. Norris has been serving as interim bishop since 2006 following the death of Bishop Rhymes Moncure.
The Southwest Texas Conference runs June 4 to 7 in Corpus Christi.