We Have An Election! Lesbian Pastor Elected Bishop

Saturday, July 16

7:08 p.m. (CDT) South Central Jurisdiction CORRECTION

Here is a corrected list of bishop assignments for the South Central Jurisdiction:

Arkansas: Bishop Gary E. Mueller

Central Texas: Bishop J. Michael Lowry

Great Plains: Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr.

Louisiana: Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey

Missouri: Bishop Robert “Bob” Farr

North Texas – Bishop Michael McKee

Northwest Texas/New Mexico – Bishop Earl Bledsoe 

Okla / Okla Indian Missionary : Bishop James G (Jimmy) Nunn

Rio Texas: Bishop Robert C. Schnase

Texas: Bishop Scott J. Jones

7:01 p.m. (CDT) Western Jurisdiction: Bishop assignments in the Western Jurisdiction:

San Francisco Area -- Bishop Minerva Carcano

Los Angeles Area -- Bishop Grant Hagiya

Phoenix Area -- Bishop Robert Hoshibata

Mountain Sky Area -- Bishop Karen Oliveto

Greater Northwest Area -- Bishop Elaine Stanovsky

12:22 p.m. South Central Jurisdiction: Bishops assigned in the South Central Jurisdiction listed on the SCJ website:

SCJ Episcopal Assignments – 2016

Arkansas: Bishop Gary Mueller

Central Texas: Bishop Mike Lowry

Great Plains: Bishop Ruben Saenz

Louisiana: Bishop Cynthia Harvey

Missouri: Bishop Robert "Bob" Farr

Oklahoma: Bishop Jimmy Nunn

Rio Texas: Bishop Robert Schnase

Texas: Bishop Scott Jones

Not listed on the SCJ website were Dallas (North Texas) and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Bishop Mike McKee has been bishop in North Texas, and historically the bishop of Oklahoma also serves as bishop of Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, but that hasn't been confirmed officially.

12:14 p.m. North Central Jurisdiction: Bishops assigned in the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church:

Laurie Haller - Iowa

Tracy Smith Malone - East Ohio

Frank J. Beard - Illinois Great Rivers

David Alan Bard - Michigan

Sally Dyck - Chicago Northern Illinois

Bruce Ough - Dakotas Minnesota

Julius Trimble - Indiana

Gregory Palmer - West Ohio

Hee Soo Jung - Wisconsin

6:37 a.m. (CDT) Western Jurisdiction: In a move that both makes history and defies United Methodist policy, Western Jurisdiction delegates late on July 15 elected the Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto, a lesbian in a same-sex marriage, as a United Methodist bishop. Bishop-elect Oliveto comes to the episcopacy from service as senior pastor of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, an appointment long associated with the kinds of innovative social justice ministries that cause many conservative United Methodists to cringe and squirm.

Although she is scheduled to be consecrated a bishop today, whether she will be permitted to fulfill her office remains clouded. According to a United Methodist News Service report by Kathy L. Gilbert, Dr. Oliveto's election to bishop "raises significant concerns and questions of church polity and unity," said Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, In a statement issued following Oliveto’s election.

Gilbert's story quoted Ough acknowledging "that the Council of Bishops does not have constitutional authority to intervene in the election, but 'is monitoring this situation very closely. ... Our differences are real and cannot be glossed over, but they are also reconcilable,. We are confident God is with us, especially in uncharted times and places.'”

United Methodist has no central episcopal authority in the same way that the worldwide Anglican Communion acknowledges the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Episcopal Church in America acknowledges its Presiding Bishop. And while she has been accepted as a colleague by her Western Jurisdiction counterparts, it's questionable whether she will be accepted into the United Methodist Council of Bishops, the international body that includes hardline anti-LGBTQ bishops from Africa and the Philippines. She could be barred from being seated in that body in the same way that Anglican bishops refused to acknowledge openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and the immediate past Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori as a female church leader.

Dr. Oliveto's election also opens her to the possibility of being brought up on charges of violating the Book of Discipline as a "self-avowed, practicing homosexual," a class of people barred from ordination. In addition, the Judicial Council has authority to rule on all actions of Jurisdictional Conferences, and could invalidate Bishop-elect Oliveto's election as a violation of The Book of Discipline, the collection of United Methodist laws. This outcome seems most likely, given that the 2016 General Conference, dominated by conservative United Methodists, put into office the full slate of candidates proposed for the 2017-2020 Judicial Council.

Previously, the Judicial Council invalidated the involuntary retirement of Bishop Earl Bledsoe Jr., an action taken by the 2012 South Central Jurisdictional Conference after an investigation into Bledsoe's alleged administrative failures. Bishop Bledsoe was restored to office and now serves the conferences of Northwest Texas and New Mexico.

Reaction to Dr. Oliveto's election ranged from horror to jubilation.

In a overnight statement in Good News Magazine, the journal of the unofficial conservative caucus of United Methodists, the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president of Good News, decried Dr. Oliveto's election and recent "non-conformity" resolutions adopted by half a dozen annual conferences and the Northeastern Jurisdiction.

“In light of the Western and Northeastern Jurisdiction’s actions effectively renouncing their connection to the rest of global United Methodism, evangelicals and traditionalists within the church will be conferring in the next few days to agree upon responses that will acknowledge this grave breach of unity,” said Lambrecht. “If our covenant is no longer in force, we will be forced to live into a new reality in our denomination.”

Reconciling Ministries Network, the unofficial United Methodist caucuses that advocates for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people and their rights, said in a statement that it  “celebrates with great joy the election of the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church.

“This is an historic moment in the movement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) persons for spiritual and civil equality both in the church and the public square,” the group said in a statement.

 However, Gilbert's report also included a cautionary note from Alaska Conference delegate Lonnie Brooks, one of the leaders of the Plan UMC Revised effort that failed again at the 2016 General Conference. Like Lambrecht, Brooks likened Oliveto's election to "the Western Jurisdiction declaring its independence from The United Methodist Church," Gilbert wrote.

Saying he sounded a "note of caution," Gilbert quoted Brooks: “A lot of folks will look at it and think that is what they intend. What they haven’t given much thought to is that this will also cause a split in the West. We have some of the strongest red states here."

Friday, July 15

10:06 (CDT): Coverage of the Western Jurisdiction ballot, plus bishop assignments for South Central, North Central and Western Jurisdictions, will be reported on Saturday, Jan. 16.

9:53 p.m. (CDT) Western Jurisdiction: Top 3 candidates on ballot 13. Karen Oliveto 39; Dottie Escobedo-Frank 35; Walter "Skip" Strickland 25.

5:00 p.m. PDT Western Jurisdiction

Ballot 12: No election. 65 needed to elect. Karen Oliveto, 44. Dottie Escobedo-Frank 36. Walter "Skip" Strickland, 12. Frank Wulf, 6.

3:49 p.m. PDT Western Jurisdiction

Ballot 10: No election. 100 votes cast, 67 needed to elect. Frank Wulf, 5. Walter "Skip" Strickland, 14. Dottie Escobedo Frank, 32. Karen Olivedo, 49.

5:19 p.m. South Central Jurisdiction

SCJ Ballot 35: Bob Farr elected Bishop with 138 votes. David Wilson had 72 votes. 128 votes needed to elect. Bishop-elect Farr comes to the episcopacy from service as Director of the Center for Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Annual Conference.

4:10 p.m. Western and South Central Jurisdictions:

SCJ Ballot 30: 128 to elect, no election. Bob Farr 100, David Wilson 80, Eradio Valverde 19.

Western Jurisdiction episcopal election: Top 3 candidates on ballot 6. The Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto:41. The Rev. Dr. Dottie Escobedo-Frank:30. The Rev. Walter "Skip" Strickland:12.

3:10 p.m. (CDT) South Central: South Central Ballot 28 results: Needed to elect 127; Bob Farr 103, David Wilson 91, Eradio Valverde 16.

2:53 p.m. (CDT) South Central: South Central Ballot 27 results: Need to elect 128. Bob Farr 108, David Wilson 92, Eradio Valverde 13. Now in 10-minute recess.

2:40 p.m. (CDT) South Central: South Central Ballot 26 results: Bob Farr 104, David Wilson 88, Eradio Valverde 18. Needed to elect 127.

2:25 p.m. (CDT) South Central: Rev. Lynn Dyke has withdrawn. Rev. Morris Mathis withdrew earlier. Down to Bob Farr and David Wilson in South Central.

12:12 p.m. (CDT) Western Jurisdiction: Sorry, folks, we shared an erroneous post on Facebook from UMNS on Western Jurisdiction's Ballot. Correct Ballot 3 results announced on live stream by Bishop Minerva Carcano: Karen Oliveto 37, Dottie Escobedo-Frank 27, Walter "Skip" Strickland 12. Needed to elect: 62. Western has only one episcopal office to fill this year.

11:52 a.m. (CDT) South Central: SCJ has bid farewell to retiring bishops Janice Riggle Huie and Robert Hayes Jr. and recessed for lunch. Last results for Ballot 22 showed only four candidates remaining for the one open seat: David Wilson 78, Robert "Bob" Farr 50, Morris Mathis 45 and Lynn Ann Dyke 36. All others have dropped out or received fewer than 10 votes.

10:19 a.m. South Central Jurisdiction: With the election of the Rev. Jimmy Nunn, South Central has one more bishop to elect. Here's our Facebook commentary:

The pressure is really on now in South Central. With one slot open, will delegates choose to elect a clergywoman (typically a hard sell in this male-dominated jurisdiction) or will they finally elevate the Rev. David Wilson from Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference to be the UMC's first Native American bishop? Balloting will resume after the 10:15 a.m. (CDT) service honoring retiring bishops Robert Hayes Jr. and Janice Riggle Huie. (South Central has three bishop seats open this year because of the resignation of Bishop Jim Dorff, former leader of the Rio Texas area, for having an extramarital affair).

With the exceptions of Bishop Earl Bledsoe (Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area), Bishop Cynthia Harvey (Louisiana Area) and Bishop-elect Ruben Saenz (to be assigned), the episcopal leadership in South Central Jurisdiction is all white and male. Even the historically white-male-dominated Southeastern Jurisdiction has a more inclusive showing this year.

9:52 a.m. Northeastern Jurisdiction: Thanks to Kerry SDG Bart on Twitter for this full list of episcopal assignmentsL

• West Virginia: Sandra Steiner-Ball
• Baltimore-Washington: LaTrelle Easterling
• Eastern Pennsylvania/Peninsula-Delaware: Peggy Johnson
• Upper New York: Mark Webb
• Western Pennsylvania: Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
• New York: Thomas Bickerton
• Greater New Jersey: John Schol
• Susquehana: Jeremiah Park
• New England: Sudarshana Devadhar

9:45 a.m. (CDT) South Central Jurisdiction: The Rev. James "Jimmy" Nunn elected bishop on the 21st ballot. Bishop-elect Nunn comes to the episcopacy from service as director of connectional ministries of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference. The conference is now in a required 30-minute break. Celebration for retiring bishops will commence at 10:15 a.m. (CDT).

9:31 a.m. (CDT) Northeastern Jurisdiction: More episcopal assignments: Bishop Thomas Bickerton moving from Western Pennsylvania to New York Annual Conference, hotbed of pro-LGBT efforts in UMC. Bishop Sudharsana Devadhar will return to New England Conference. Bishop Mark Webb to remain in Upper New York.

9:22 a.m. South Central Jurisdiction: Louisiana Conference tweets praise for morning message from the Rev. Junius Dotson through meme of quote:

9:19 Northeastern Jurisdiction: More sporadic reports of episcopal assignments: Bishop Jeremiah Park will return to Susquehanna Conference; Bishop-elect LaTrelle Easterling has been assigned to Baltimore-Washington Conference, its first African-American female bishop. 

9:09 a.m. South Central Jurisdiction: South Central results of 20th ballot, No Election. Jimmy Nunn 110, David Wilson 84. Delegates report pressure to elect Wilson, superintendent of Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, as first Native American Bishop, with strong resistance from Northwest Texas delegates and others for Nunn, NWTX director of connectional ministries.

9:01 a.m. Northeastern Jurisdiction: You hadda be there to find out the episcopal assignments in Northeastern Jurisdiction, because no listing has been posted yet. One tweet affirmed that Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball will return to West Virginia Conference.

8:58 a.m. South Central Jurisdiction: Delegates remain divided on a field of candidates, but some of the vote-getters with fewer than 10 votes are starting to drop out. Rio Texas District Superintendent Laura Merrill has withdrawn. As 20th ballot begins, Bishop Scott Jones warns: "I'm concerned about our workload for today, so we're going to keep things moving." Will time pressure force compromise?

7:43 a.m. All Jurisdictions: The Bastille Day (July 14) attack in Nice, France, overshadows all deliberations this morning, as prayers are raised for the victims, their families, the terrorist-beleaguered French nation, and the world's ongoing terror war. As spiritual and temporal leaders of The United Methodist Church, bishops bear responsibility for leading the global UMC in responding to international tragedies.

North Central Jurisdiction: Check out the following video wrap-up of proceedings prepared by the Dakotas Annual Conference.

Western Jurisdiction: Oregon-Idaho Conference shared this photo of the Ballot 2 results on Twitter.

Southeastern Jurisdiction: Delegates approved a mission initiative crafted by its College of Bishops (all the bishops of a jurisdiction) with the addition of a goal to work on racism and white privilege. Bishop Bill McAlily (Nashville, Tenn., Area) posted the text on his website:

A Missional Initiative of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference

From The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops

The Bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction recognize the unique strengths, characteristics, and challenges of our Episcopal Areas. As leaders of the Church in the SEJ, we see a timely opportunity to increase our strategic thinking and action with regard to our context in the Southeast.  Further, it is our hope to continue to focus on the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

In Article V Paragraph 27.1 of the constitution of the 2012 Book of Discipline, the jurisdictions are given responsibility to:

Promote the evangelistic, educational, missionary, and benevolent interests of the Church and to provide for interests and institutions within their boundaries.

To that end, the Bishops of the SEJ recommend the following:

Forming a Southeastern Jurisdictional Missional Initiative for the purpose of focusing on the following:

1.) new forms of church beyond the walls,

2.) children and poverty,

3.) unity and human sexuality,

4.) making disciples,

5.) racism and white privilege,

6.) structure, finance and the future church.

At the 2017 College of Bishops meeting in January, we will collaborate with the Conference Lay Leaders, the Committee on Episcopacy, and Directors of Connectional Ministries on this initiative. It is our hope that our collaboration will offer input to the commission being formed by the Council of Bishops.  We also will connect this work to the Four Areas of Focus for the United Methodist Church.

We will assign a bishop and appropriate lay leaders to convene and guide the work of these five initiatives. We hope to then invite every delegate here this week to a gathering which will be held within the next eighteen months where recommendations will be received from the leadership of the Initiative.  Expenses will be the responsibility of individual delegates.  We encourage each conference to provide scholarships as needed.

The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops

Prior to the start of Jurisdiction Conferences, the SEJ College of Bishops issued the following statement, also from Bishop McAiliy's website:

A Pastoral Letter from the Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops to the United Methodists in the Southeastern Jurisdiction

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We celebrate the way God is working through you and the churches you represent to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  Your witness is making a difference in the lives of individuals and communities around the world.

We write this pastoral letter with hope in Jesus Christ.  Yet our hearts are heavy as we recognize that as a result of our denominational conflicts we stand at a fragile place.  Our Christian witness is defined, not by an absence of conflict, but by how we act in our disagreements.

Many in our church are working to change our Book of Discipline’s current position on human sexuality, believing that it is exclusive, unjust and based on a misinterpretation of Scripture.  These actions are being done through processes our polity has in place for making such changes.

Many others in our denomination are working to maintain our Book of Discipline’s current position on human sexuality, believing that it is grace-filled, orthodox and biblically-based.   These actions are also being done within the context of our church’s polity.

Still others in our denomination, including some Boards of Ordained Ministry and Annual Conferences, are acting in nonconformity to our church’s legislation about marriage and ordination standards.   These actions are not within in the bounds of our church’s polity.

We, the Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops, grieve over the deep divisions in our beloved United Methodist Church. We recognize the pain felt both by those advocating for and those opposing change.  We also view the acts of nonconformity as a violation of our covenant and as divisive and disruptive.

As a College of Bishops, we are fully committed to keeping the promises we made at our ordinations and consecrations, including:

• shepherding all persons committed to our care;
• leading our areas in mission, witness and service;
• ordering the church, including administering processes for handling complaints about violations of our Book of Discipline that occur within our episcopal areas;
• and seeking unity in Christ, including the work the General Conference requested the Council of Bishops do in relation to the Commission on Human Sexuality;

We invite you to join us in prayer as we strive to faithfully and compassionately fulfill our covenant with God, the church and one another.  We also encourage you to stay the course in your covenant relationship with God, the United Methodist Church and each other.

In Christ,

The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops

Thursday, July 14

9:41 p.m. South Central Jurisdiction: With STILL no election, South Central Jurisdiction has adjourned for the night. And so shall we. See you Friday morning.

9:36 p.m. (CDT) Western Jurisdiction: Delegates will return for their evening plenary at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Since Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time, nobody outside is quite sure what time it is there.

9:03 p.m. (CDT) South Central Jurisdiction: And ... they're still inching along in South Central Jurisdiction: Top 3 candidates on ballot 16. The Rev. James G (Jimmy) Nunn: 111. The Rev. David Mark Wilson: 96. The Rev. Lynn Ann Dyke: 64.

9:01 p.m. (CDT) Northeastern Jurisdiction: Northeastern Jurisdiction adopts a resolution asking the "Way Forward" commission to allow regional bodies to adapt the Book of Discipline to meet their missional contexts, according a report from United Methodist News Service.

8:35 p.m. (CDT) Southeastern Jurisdiction: Episcopal assignments have been announced to the delegates, but no official listing has been published yet. Martha Stokes posted on Facebook that Bishop-elect Sharma D. Lewis has been assigned to the Virginia Annual Conference. Assignments gleaned from Nancy Speas Hill on Twitter: Bishop-elect David Graves to Alabama-West Florida; Bishop-elect Leonard Fairley to Kentucky; Bishop-elect Sue Haupert-Johnson to North Georgia; Bishop-elect Lawson Bryant to South Georgia;  Bishop Paul Leeland to Western North Carolina. In other tweets, returning episcopal leaders are Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett to North Alabama; Bishop Mary Virginia "Dindy" Taylor to Holston; Bishop Hope Morgan-Ward to North Carolina; Bishop Ken Carter to Florida; Bishop Bill McAilily to Tennessee; Bishop Jonathan Holston to South Carolina; Bishop James Swanson to Mississippi.

7:15 p.m. (CDT), South Central Jurisdiction: The 12th ballot was coming up. Leading from the previous ballot were the Rev. James "Jimmy" Nunn, the Rev. David Wilson and the Rev. Lynn Anne Dyke.

12:18 p.m. (CDT) All Jurisdictions: We have more elections to report from this morning's balloting:

Northeastern Jurisdiction: The Rev. LaTrelle Easterling (New England Conference) was elected bishop on the 17th ballot. Bishop-elect Easterling comes to the episcopacy from service as superintendent of the Metro-Boston-Hope District in the New England. Her election marks the fourth for an African-American clergywoman in the 2016 class, and the final election for the Northeastern Jurisdiction.

North Central Jurisdiction: The Rev. Laurie Haller (West Michigan Conference) was elected bishop on the 13th ballot. Bishop-elect Haller comes to the episcopacy from service as senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Birmingham, MI. Her election completes the 2016 class for North Central.

South Central: The Rev. Dr. Ruben Saenz Jr. (Rio Texas Conference) was elected bishop on the third ballot. Bishop-elect Saenz comes to the episcopacy from service as director of connectional ministries in the Rio Texas Conference. He is the denomination's fourth bishop of Hispanic-Latino heritage. South Central still has two bishops to elect.

Western Jurisdiction has not reported its first ballot yet. Southeastern Jurisdiction concluded all its elections on Wednesday.

6:54 a.m., (CDT) All Jurisdictions:  Good morning, United Methodists! At breakfast time on Thursday, July 14, delegates to the Southeastern, Northeastern and North Central Jurisdictions had elected candidates to nearly two-thirds of the 15 bishops' seats open in 2016.

Southeastern delegates turned in a supersonic election, choosing all five of its new bishops in only 10 ballots, with two new episcopal leaders elected on the tenth ballot. New bishops (and their conferences) in the SEJ in order of election are: Sharma D. Lewis (North Georgia), David Graves (Holston) Leonard Fairley (North Carolina), R. Lawson Bryan (Alabama-West Florida) and Sue Haupert-Johnson (Florida).

SEJ's performance apparently energized its northern counterparts late Wednesday after some slow early ballots. Northeastern Jurisdiction delegates elected Cynthia Moore-Koikoi (Baltimore-Washington). North Central Jurisdiction elected Frank Beard (Indiana), Tracy Smith Malone (Northern Illinois) and David Bard (Minnesota). Northeastern and North Central each have one more episcopal seat to fill.

South Central and Western were scheduled to begin their balloting today.

As of Thursday morning, 2016 has shaped into a banner year for the elevation of African-American clergywomen to the episcopacy. Coming from the racially mixed Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District in North Georgia Conference, Bishop-elect Lewis is the first African-American female bishop in the Southeastern Jurisidiction, and was elected by a wide margin of votes on the first ballot. Known for her steady leadership in the Baltimore Metropolitan District as that city agonized over the police-involved death of Freddie Gray, Bishop-elect Moore-Koikoi was a front-runner from the beginning of Northeastern voting. Bishop-elect Smith Malone started out as a community organizer and conflict mediator, skills that she used effectively at the 2016 General Conference as chair of the agenda and calendar committee.

Meanwhile, the three openly gay candidates nominated for bishop haven't yet made a mark. The Rev. David W. Meredith (West Ohio) shows no votes on the North Central Jurisdiction tally being kept by United Methodist News Service. Western Jurisdiction delegates have yet to cast a ballot, where the Rev. Karen Oliveto (California-Nevada) and the Rev. Frank Wulf (California-Pacific) are candidates. Both the North Central and Western Jurisdictions have one episcopal seat to fill.

In the Northeastern Jurisdiction, embattled Rev. Jisun Kwak, suspended from ministry while awaiting disciplinary action on as-yet-unspecified charges, saw her support dwindle from an opening 29 votes to 6 by the 16th ballot late Wednesday night. Northeastern also has one more episcopal seat to fill.

South Central Jurisdiction will elect three new bishops.

While awaiting more election results, here are some links to live streams. 

Northeastern Jurisdiction

North Central Jurisdiction

Southeastern Jurisdiction

South Central Jurisdiction

Western Jurisdiction

Wednesday, July 13

11:34 a.m., Southeastern Jurisdiction: The Rev. Sharma D. Lewis is elected on the first ballot. She comes to the episcopacy from service as District Superintendent of the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District (ADOX) in the North Georgia Annual Conference. She is the first African-American woman to be elected a bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction.

Read communicator Sybil Johnson's report on Bishop-elect Lewis at United Methodist News Service.

3:08 p.m. (CDT) Southeastern Jurisdiction: The Rev. David Graves is elected on the fourth ballot. He comes to the episcopacy after serving as senior pastor of Church Street United Methodist Church in downtown Knoxville, a 2600+ member congregation adjacent to the campus of the University of Tennessee. Prior to being appointed to Church Street in June 2015, he served as the District Superintendent to 58 churches in the Kingsport District of the Holston Annual Conference in upper east Tennessee.

Twitter reports that two candidates, the Rev. Tom Grieb of Kentucky and the Rev. Harold Lewis of Florida have withdraw from the election. Grieb garnered 37 votes while Lewis drew fewer than 10 on the last ballot.

Commentary: The Southeastern Jurisdiction is noted for its rapid and efficient election of bishops. SEJ has already elected two of its five bishops by 3:20 p.m. on the first day of balloting. Meanwhile, the Northeastern Jurisdiction has had one ballot, while the North Central, South Central and Western Jurisdictions have yet to hold their first votes on episcopal candidates. The protocol of The United Methodist Church holds that bishops are ranked in succession according to the date and time of their election.

3:39 PM (CDT) Northeastern Jurisdiction: On the third ballot, The Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi leads with 75 votes, followed by the Rev. LaTrelle Easterling, 67, and the Rev. Derrick Porter, 36. Needed to elect: 197.

3:48 PM (CDT): Southeastern Jurisdiction: The Rev. Leonard Fairley is elected a bishop on the seventh ballot. He comes to the episcopacy from service as superintendent of the Capitol District in the North Carolina Annual Conference. The Rev. Farley Stuart has withdrawn; he gained 26 votes on the last ballot.

4:04 PM (CDT), Northeastern Jurisdiction: UMNS reports top 3 candidates on ballot 4. the Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi: 83; the Rev. LaTrelle Easterling: 77; the Rev. Derrick Porter: 36.

4:08 PM (CDT), Southeastern Jurisdiction: The Rev. Sky McCracken of the Memphis Annual Conference withdrew his name from contention. McCracken garnered 44 votes on Ballot 6.

4:11 PM (CDT), Southeastern Jurisdiction: BAM! The Southeastern delegates conclude their election of five bishops on the tenth ballot by elevating TWO candidates from neighboring conferences: the Rev. Sue Haupert-Johnson of the Florida Annual Conference and the Rev. R. Lawson Bryan from the Alabama-West Florida Conference.

Commentary: The consecration ceremony for new bishops in the Southeastern Jurisdiction is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, July 15. So what's everybody gonna do until then? Fish on Lake Junaluska? If anybody in the SEJ can enlighten us, please do!

4:30 p.m., Election Status, All Jurisdictions:  With the stunning performance of the Southeastern Jurisdiction electing five bishops in only 10 ballots, it appears likely that there will be no more elections today, July 13. The Northeastern Jurisdiction remains far from a choice, with its top three vote-getters reported by UMNS as the Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi with 83 votes, the Rev. LaTrelle Easterling with 77 votes and the Rev. Derrick Porter with 36 votes on the fourth ballot. Needed to elect in the NEJ, 197, with two slots open. South Central, North Central and Western have yet to report their first ballots. We'll check in after dinnertime and post results if they come in. If not, see everyone early Thursday morning.

9:38 p.m. (CDT) All Jurisdictions: Looks like the Southeastern Jurisdiction lit a fire under some of its northern counterparts with elections in both the Northeastern and North Central Jurisdictions during late afternoon and early evening July 13.

Northeastern Jurisdiction:  After struggling along with a series of leading but low votes, the Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, superintendent the Baltimore District of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, surged to election as bishop on the 11th ballot. Northeastern will elect one more bishop.

North Central Jurisdiction: Like its southern counterpart, the NCJ elected two bishops on the seventh ballot: the Rev. Tracy Smith Malone of Northern Illinois Conference and the Rev. Frank Beard of the Indiana Annual Conference. Then the Rev. David Bard of the Minnesota Conference was elected on the tenth ballot. Bishop-elect Beard comes to the episcopacy from  Castleton UMC in Indianapolis. Bishop-elect Smith Malone served as superintendent of the Chicago South District. Bishop-elect Bard come to the episcopacy from First UMC in Duluth, Minn. North Central will elect one more bishop.

South Central Jurisdiction and Western Jurisdiction had not reported ballots as of 10 p.m. CDT  on July 14.