Louisiana United Methodist bishop elected president-designate of UMC Council of Bishops
Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church has been elected president-designate of the UMC Council of Bishops. Harvey, an ex officio member of Centenary College’s Board of Trustees, has served the Louisiana Conference as bishop since July 2012.
“I congratulate Bishop Harvey on her new appointment,” says Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman. “Clearly her peers have recognized her powerful leadership and deep wisdom. Both are in great need in the Church and also in higher education. Centenary is honored to have her on our Board and I am privileged to have her as a friend.”
The United Methodist Council of Bishops is made up of all active and retired bishops in the church, including representatives from the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Harvey has served as secretary for the Council for the past four years and will continue in that role until May of 2018, when her two-year term as president-designate begins. Pending confirmation by the Council of Bishops in the fall of 2019, Harvey would begin another two-year term as president at the conclusion of General Conference 2020.
As president, Harvey would preside over the Council’s executive committee and semiannual meetings. Although the Council president does not speak for the United Methodist Church, he or she is sometimes called to comment on church teachings both inside and outside the denomination. The president also often takes a leading role in Council initiatives.
“I am honored by this election,” said Harvey in a recent interview with the Louisiana Conference. “This is a critical time in our life and our work and I am humbled to represent the whole church. These are anxious times that call for non-anxious leadership and it is important that we remain strong and steady and lead with the confidence that God is still creating, recreating, and still transforming.”