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The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.
The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant denomination from 1946 to 1968 with Arminian theology, roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed, and communities, and close ties to Methodism. It was formed by the merger of the Evangelical Church and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The United Brethren and the Evangelical Association had considered merging off and on since the early 19th century because of their common emphasis on holiness and evangelism and their common German heritage. In 1968, the United States section of the EUB merged with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church, while the Canadian section joined the United Church of Canada.
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th-century Pennsylvania, as well as close ties to Methodism. It was organized in 1800 by Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein and is the first American denomination that was not transplanted from Europe. It emerged from United Brethren churches that were at first unorganized, and not all of which joined this church when it was formally organized in 1800, following a 1789 conference at the Otterbein Church.
The Methodist Church was the official name adopted by the Methodist denomination formed in the United States by the reunion on May 10, 1939, of the northern and southern factions of the Methodist Episcopal Church along with the earlier separated Methodist Protestant Church of 1828.
Robert Sheldon Duecker was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1988.
John Samuel Stamm (1878–1956) was an American bishop of the Evangelical Church, elected in 1926.
Wayne Kenton Clymer was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1972. He also distinguished himself as a pastor in the Evangelical United Brethren Church (E.U.B.); as a Preacher and Lecturer; as a professor, Dean and President of an E.U.B./U.M. Seminary; as a Delegate to United Nations and Ecumenical church bodies; and as an author.
David Jerald Lawson was an American who gained notability as a pastor and university campus minister in the Methodist and United Methodist churches, as a district superintendent, annual conference official, and as a bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC), elected in 1984. He also played a key role establishing and developing Africa University, which is the only UMC university on the continent.
W. Maynard Sparks was an American Bishop of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (E.U.B.) and of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1958.
Rueben Philip Job was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church. Elected in 1984, he served the Iowa episcopal area and retired in 1992.
John Wesley Hardt was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1980. He also distinguished himself as a preacher and a pastor of Methodist Churches, as a district superintendent, and as an author and biographer.
Scott Jameson Jones is an American bishop of the Global Methodist Church and former bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 2004, serving until his retirement and subsequent resignation from the episcopal office and transfer to the GMC in 2023. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in Illinois, Indiana and Colorado.
Robert Eric Hayes Jr. is a member and serves as Bishop Emeritus of the Global Methodist Church. At its May 22, 2023, weekly meeting, The Global Methodist Church's Transitional Leadership Council (TLC) received the Rev. Dr. Robert Hayes Jr. as a clergy member in the new denomination and then immediately voted to confer upon him the title bishop emeritus. Hayes joins Bishop Emeritus Mike Lowry as the only other bishop granted that status.
Leroy Charles Hodapp distinguished himself as a Methodist pastor, district superintendent, Annual Conference official, and bishop of the United Methodist Church (U.M.C.) who was elected in 1976.
Paul Eugene Virgil Shannon was a bishop of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, elected in 1957.
The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.
An episcopal area in the United Methodist Church (UMC) is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is within a single episcopal area; some episcopal areas include more than one annual conference. Episcopal areas are found in the United States as well as internationally. In some cases, such as the Western Jurisdiction of the US as well as some places internationally, an episcopal area covers a very large territory.
Bowman Foster Stockwell was an American Methodist missionary, teacher, scholar and theologian. In 1960, he was elected to Bishop of The United Methodist Church (UMC), which is a mainline Protestant denomination and a major part of Methodism in the United States.
Lloyd Christ Wicke (1901–1996) was an American bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1948. When he died in 1996 he was the oldest of the 117 active and retired United Methodist Bishops at that time, as well as the last one elected during the decade of the 1940s.
Eugene Maxwell Frank was an American bishop of the Methodist and United Methodist Churches, elected in 1956. He was notable for his passion for racial equality in the Church and beyond. He also distinguished himself as a pastor, as both the youngest Methodist bishop and as the most senior United Methodist bishop, and as the one person more than any other responsible for the establishment of the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO.
References
- ↑ Profile at University of Indianapolis website
- United Methodist News Service.
- Milhouse, Paul W., Nineteen Bishops of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, Nashville, The Parthenon Press, 1974.