A special-called session of the North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church was held on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, “for the sole purpose of approving new episcopal areas for episcopal assignments to be effective September 1, 2024.”

Delegates to this special-called NCJ Jurisdictional Conference voted to form two new episcopal areas, one to include the East Ohio Conference and the West Ohio Conference, and one to include the Northern Illinois Conference and the Wisconsin Conference. The two conferences in each new episcopal area will share one bishop.

By the action of the special session, the North Central Jurisdiction will transition from nine to seven episcopal areas. The North Central Jurisdiction Committee on the Episcopacy assigns the bishops to the episcopal areas and all assignments will be announced at the NCJ Jurisdictional Conference July 10-13, 2024, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The new episcopal areas and the bishop assignments to each of the seven episcopal areas will be effective September 1.

The NCJ Committee on Episcopacy announced that there would be no new episcopal elections when the Jurisdictional Conference next meets in July.

Read the NCJ press release
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Read East Ohio/West Ohio story
Read Northern Illinois/Wisconsin story