Methodist Church appoints first Bishop
THE Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas has inducted its first Connexional Bishop, the Rev Otto Ogden Wade.
This ends the 255 years practice of referring to the head of the Church as either chairman or president.
The induction on Sunday, May 31 followed the decision of the 38th Connexional Conference meeting in Georgetown, Guyana, on Friday, May 29, 2015, that the heads of the Connexion and each of the eight Districts (Bahamas/Turks and Caicos Islands, Belize/Honduras, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Panama/Costa Rica, and South Caribbean) will be referred to as “Bishop”.
The use of the title “Bishop” brings the Methodist Church in line with the biblical naming of the threefold ministry of deacon, presbyter and bishop.
In a moving ceremony at the Bedford Methodist Church, Rev Wade was inducted by Bishop Kenneth Carter of the South Eastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, USA.
The eight District Bishops participated in the induction which was witnessed by a large congregation of Methodists of all ages from across the Guyana District, and delegates and visitors from 16 countries in the Caribbean, the Americas and the United Kingdom.
