News of the Western Jurisdiction Conference

WJC Elects Two Bishops

Day 3 of the Western Jurisdiction Conference saw the process of episcopal elections unfold as delegates met in together, sometimes in single-conference gatherings, sometimes in multi-conference groups, and sometimes in caucuses. During the day, as it became clear that the votes just were not there for one nominee or another, they withdrew with grace and gratefulness. At one point, there was a motion for an hours' recess to allow a women's caucus to meet. They met instead in a thirty-minute recess. It was after this recess that the body saw Minerva Carcano rise through several ballots and withdrawals of her sisters.

The main part of the hotel is without power tonight; the meeting room was running on emergency power, due to the loss of one of the 3 transformers that supply power to this large hotel. This is being written on a laptop with a flashlight and a phone system operating on batteries. (Power is still out at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.)

The session which ended about 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning was characterized by several recesses, and by  the eventual withdrawals of all candidates except Rev. Carcano, who was elected with 83 of 88 votes. In each case, the nominees who withdrew did so with much grace and thanksgiving for their experience of the process. Some were tearful, some were funny (Chuck Schuster, for example), and some were entertaining, but all were graceful.

Though more detail will come over the next several days, one significant action that was passed wat the adoption of a follow-up resolution to the 2000 Western Jurisdiction resolution, "We Will Not Be Silent." Read this resolution here. The top half was adopted in full; the bottom was referred to the Western Jurisdiction Leadership Team.

Hoshibata Elected Bishop

Rev. Robert Tsugio Hoshibata has been elected bishop by the Western Jurisdiction Conference meeting in San Jose, California. Rev. Hoshibata is dean of the cabinet in the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, and district superintendent of the Seattle District.

Bob graduated with high honors from Wesleyan University in Connecticut with a BA and in 1977 from Claremont School of Theology with a D.Min. Bob has been described as a reconciler, trying to get as many people at the table as possible. At 53, he has served as youth and senior pastor in Connecticut, California, Hawai’i, and Washington State as well as vice-president of the General Council on Ministries and the Western Jurisdiction Leadership Team. He was endorsed by the Pacific Northwest Conference and the National Federation of Asian-American United Methodists. He says, “I will lead with a Christ-centered pastor's heart offering my gifts to our church. I will encourage conversation and invite all to the table of discernment and prayer as we meet the challenges of our future together.”

The election came on the 12th ballot, after he fell short of election by one vote on the 11th.

Carcaño Elected Bishop

The Rev. Minerva G. Carcaño, District Superintendent, Metropolitan District of the Oregon-Idaho Conference, was elected Saturday morning, July 17, at 12:20 a.m. on the 26th ballot at the Western Jurisdiction Conference in San Jose, California.

Rev. Carcaño served in the Rio Grande Conference as pastor, district superintendent, teacher, and new church start pastor before coming to the Oregon-Idaho Conference in 2000. She has taught and preached at seminaries and schools of Christian mission, and written curriculum materials for youth, adults, and confirmands. She graduated from the University of Texas with a BA in Social Work and from Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University with an MTh. She is 50.

She was endorsed by a total of 7 organizations, including both her own Conference and the Rio Grande Conference, as well as the California-Pacific Methodist Federation for Social Action chapter. She describes herself as a person who is good listener and as a pastor who is very willing to learn from those with whom she serves. She says she is committed to looking at old problems in new ways.

She says, "The one true loving God excludes no one...redemption is possible for all; no one is abandoned or forgotten."