Bishop News

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, in an October 30th email to Western Pennsylvania United Methodist leaders, stressed the importance of voting in the 2020 General Election, but emphasized that regardless of the outcome, the people of God must make sure that God wins. That will happen, she said, if "we treat each other with love and compassion ... engage in civil discussion..and respect diverse opinions when we encounter them."  The Bishop put it this way: As disciples of Jesus Christ, United ... read more

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and Connellsville District Superintendent Robert Zilhaver will be among the speakers during the Associates in Advocacy online seminar scheduled for November 9, 2020.  Associates in Advocacy, which started in the civil rights era when clergy were often accused of violations of church law in order to stop their civil rights work, includes clergy and laity working in a variety of areas assisting those caught in unfamiliar disciplinary processes. In one workshop ... read more

Updated August 7, 2020 Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, after consultation with her Coordinating Cabinet, Conference Secretary John Wilson and Conference Sessions Chair Alan Morrison, announced on April 3 that the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference session scheduled for June 11-13, 2020 at Grove City College had been cancelled. The celebrations and the necessary business of the Conference will be cared for in different ways and at different places, she said. "While much about the spread of ... read more

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi has been elected President of the board of the United Methodist Church’s General Commission on Religion and Race. The vote took place during a July 11 virtual meeting.  As she took office, Bishop Moore-Koikoi acknowledge the opportunity and the challenge now before GCORR and The United Methodist Church:  “George Floyd’s cries of ‘I can’t breathe’ have brought us to an inflection point in the centuries-long quest for justice for people of African descent living in ... read more

Conference Announcements Updated Dec. 11, 2020.  Our Bishop and District Superintendents urge church leaders to follow current state and local health mandates and guidelines to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and to consider the risk to the most vulnerable in our churches and communities in determining whether to hold in-person worship services. On Dec. 11, 2020, after Gov. Tom Wolf issued a temporary executive order reducing the number of people permitted to gather both indoors and ... read more

Bishop Cynthia Moore Koikoi emailed the following letter to clergy and church leaders late Friday, May 22, 2020.  Dear Siblings in Christ, In a statement issued Friday morning, President Trump asked governors to allow churches to reopen.  Fortunately, at the beginning of his stay-at-home order, Governor Wolf designated churches, mosques, and temples as “life sustaining businesses”.  Therefore, they could remain open with specific guidelines in place.  Those guidelines were determined by whether... read more

In an email message sent to Western PA United Methodist clergy and local church leaders, Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi addressed the fear and anxiety affecting so many in our churches and communities in these rapidly changing and trying times.  Here is the text of the Bishop's message: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not ... read more

UPDATE:  The Commission on the General Conference, in a March 16 press release said: As concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic continue to escalate, the Commission on the General Conference will meet on March 21 via teleconference to discuss plans for the 2020 General Conference, scheduled for May 5-15, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn.  According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, in the absence of a convened General Conference, only the full Commission, as the duly authorized ... read more

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  ---- John 17:21  As one of our pastors has often said to me, “Bishop, sometimes unity takes on different forms.”  And sometimes to reach unity it takes time, repeated failures, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ... read more

A 16-member group representing United Methodist advocacy groups with contrasting views and bishops from around the world have proposed an agreement for the separation of The United Methodist Church (UMC) that has the unanimous support of all the parties involved. The agreement, the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, was reached on December 17, 2019 and announced today. The document’s signers include individuals from Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and the United States, ... read more