The 2024 General Conference made several major decisions on the number of bishops and how their leadership will be distributed. 

The final outcome means, for us, that one bishop from the Southeastern Jurisdiction will be transferred to another U.S. jurisdiction—and that bishop won't be Bishop Robin Dease. 

How many bishops?
General Conference voted to set the number of U.S. bishops at 32. That marks a decrease from the 39 active bishops currently serving in the U.S. and the 46 approved by the 2016 General Conference. The General Conference also voted that every jurisdiction is guaranteed a minimum of five bishops. 

By a vote of 631 to 65, the General Conference delegates supported the committee’s unanimous recommendation for the following distribution of U.S. bishops:

• Southeastern Jurisdiction: Nine (today SEJ has 11, with one expected 2024 retirement)
• Northeastern Jurisdiction: Six
• North Central Jurisdiction: Six
• South Central Jurisdiction: Six
• Western Jurisdiction: Five

Who Developed the Plan?
An Interjurisdictional Committee on the Episcopacy spent hours, after plenary sessions adjourned, deciding how many bishops the U.S. should have — based on what the denomination can afford and how those episcopal leaders should be distributed among the jurisdictions. 

The North Georgia Conference was represented on that committee by Rev. Dr. Byron Thomas and Rachel Fullerton.

Which bishops might move?
We don't know yet which bishops may move to serve in another U.S. jurisdiction, but we do know who won't be eligible to move. The Judicial Council has ruled that bishops must serve a full four-year quadrenium in the Jurisdiction in which they are elected before being eligible to move to another jurisdiction. That means Bishop Robin Dease is not yet eligible to move (nor are Bishop Tom Berlin and Bishop Connie Shelton). 

Will we elect bishops in 2024?
The Rev. Kim Ingram, the chair of the interjurisdictional committee and a delegate from the Western North Carolina Conference, noted that the reduction in bishops would mean no elections for new U.S. bishops to replace the currently expected seven retirements.

She and others acknowledged this would require sacrifice. To reach this distribution, the Southeastern (our jurisdiction), North Central, and South Central jurisdictions each will see one of their bishops transferred. Two bishops will go to the Western Jurisdiction and one to the Northeastern. The committee will work with bishops to discuss who might be willing to transfer.

“Our priority will be to do no harm,” she said.

Sybil Davidson and Heather Hahn (Read Heather Hahn's full report at UMNews.org.)