We Have a New Bishop!

With the retirement of Rev. James (Jimmy) Nunn, Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference needed a new Episcopal leader. Last week at the South Center Jurisdictional Conference, we were assigned our new bishop who will also continue to serve the Arkansas area. This group of conferences include Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Here is the letter sent out to every church:

Dear Oklahoma United Methodist Friends in Christ,

With great joy and excitement, we welcome Bishop Laura Merrill to the Oklahoma Annual Conference as she steps into her role as our new episcopal leader. As our newly appointed leader, Bishop Merrill will bring not only her inspiring vision and dedication but also the distinction of being the first woman bishop to serve in Oklahoma. This historic milestone fills us with pride and excitement as we look forward to embarking on this new chapter together.

Bishop Merrill’s dedication to our faith and commitment to guiding us into the future will empower our conference to reach new heights. Together, we will embrace innovative approaches to ministry and mission that will help us cultivate vibrant congregations and will resonate with the next generation.

Let us join in prayer and celebration as we welcome Bishop Merrill. We look forward to the exciting path ahead and to the continued growth and transformation of our beloved United Methodist community under her leadership.

In Christ's love,
Don Kim,
Chair of the Oklahoma Delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conference
Conference Lay Leader

I invite you to pray for our new Bishop in this transition and for all of the faithful United Methodist churches as we vision for our future and proclaim that we are better together as the children of God. If you would like to read Bishop Merrill’s biography, you can do that here.

In addition to this significant development, Rev. Steven Spradling invited me to join him and the COO of Church of the Resurrection (Dan) to brainstorm about the potential for a new Bixby location for Faith. Rev. Adam Hamilton set up this lunch for us and is excited about this possibility because he is from Bixby. He has said that they would advertise for us on the CoR publicity. Don’t forget that we will be voting on this possibility in August.

Remember, God loves you and I love you,