- Lloyd Christ Wicke
Lloyd Christ Wicke was an American
Bishop of The Methodist Church and theUnited Methodist Church , elected in 1948. When he died in 1996 he was the oldest of the 117 active and retiredU.M. Bishops at that time, as well as the last one elected during the decade of the 1940s.Birth and Family
Lloyd was born 22 May 1901 in
Cleveland, Ohio , the son of John and Katherine Christ Wicke. Lloyd married Gertrude Jane Allen ofWaterville, New York in 1924. Mrs. Wicke died 2 January 1978 inFort Myers, Florida after a long illness. The Wickes had taken up residence in Fort Myers following the Bishop'sretirement in 1972. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Wicke was survived by their two daughters (ofBasking Ridge, New Jersey andFort Wayne, Indiana , respectively), and by a sister, Mrs. Charles McClean of Waterville. Mrs. Wicke was interred in the WatervilleCemetery .In 1979 Bishop Wicke married Eunice LeBourveau Ensley, the
widow of fellowU.M. Bishop F. Gerald Ensley. She graduated fromBoston University in 1932 and taught school before marryingFrancis Gerald Ensley . He died in 1976. She was President of the Methodist Council of Bishops' Wives at one time, as well as active in theAlpha Phi andP.E.O. sororities . She was a member of the North Broadway U.M. Church in Columbus, Ohio when she died 11 July 2002. She was survived by four children and their spouses: Frederick and Jean Ensley, Philip and Cynthia Ensley, Elizabeth and Roger Grime, and Charlotte and Robert Linville; by a stepdaughter, Elaine Wicke Cowan; and by eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial serivce celebrating her life was held 18 July 2002 at the Westminster Thurber Retirement Community [http://www.oprs.org/communities/Westminster_Thurber/Westminster_Thurber_Community.aspx?section=Communities] in Columbus.Education
Lloyd earned the
B.A. degree in 1923 fromBaldwin Wallace College ,Berea, Ohio . He then earned hisB.D. andPh.D. degrees from The Theological School atDrew University ,Madison, New Jersey .Ordained Ministry
Following
college graduation , the Rev. Wicke served two years in the Central GermanAnnual Conference of theMethodist Episcopal Church as aPastor inTerre Haute, Indiana and inChili, Ohio . During his final year of seminary, Rev. Wicke served the East Side Terrace Church inPaterson, New Jersey . Followingseminary graduation, he wasordained in the Newark Annual Conference. Between 1926 and 1943 he served churches in Lafayette, Alpine, and Leonia,New Jersey . He was appointed Superintendent of theJersey City District, 1941-43. Then he was appointed to the Mt. Lebanon Methodist Church in the Mt. Lebanon suburb ofPittsburgh .Episcopal Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Lloyd Christ Wicke was elected to the
Episcopacy of The Methodist Church by the 1948 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference. He was assigned to the PittsburghEpiscopal Area , where he served until 1960. During the time of his episcopacy, the Pittsburgh Area included the western third ofPennsylvania and most of theState of West Virginia . In 1960, Bishop Wicke was assigned to theNew York Area, serving until hisretirement in 1972. During the time of his episcopacy, the New York Episcopal Area included the Troy Annual Conference in northeastern New York, and the entireState of Vermont .Bishop Wicke served as
President of the General Boards of Church and Society and of Global Ministries of theU.M. Church at different times during his episcopacy. He was the President of the MethodistCouncil of Bishops , 1964-65.Church Merger
One of the highlights of Bishop Wicke's career was chairing the
committee of The Methodist Church that drew up theproposal leading to the 1968denominational merger with theEvangelical United Brethren Church (E.U.B.). During the uniting service inDallas , Wicke symbolically clasped hands with E.U.B. Bishop, Reuben H. Mueller, across a table bearing the "Plan of Union." As they did, they prayerfully said together::"Lord of the Church, we are united in Thee, in Thy Church and in the United Methodist Church."This prayer was then repeated, in turn, by twochildren of each denomination, twoadolescents , twoadults , sixclergy representing the two Churches around theworld , and finally by the 1,200delegates to the Uniting Conference from fiftyNations , who stood and joined hands as they voiced this samedeclaration .Death
Bishop Lloyd Christ Wicke died 29 December 1996 in
Columbus, Ohio at the age of ninety-five. He was survived by his wife, Eunice Ensley Wicke; by his two daughters, Shirley Jane Shoaf and Elaine Nalda Cowen; and by sevengrandchildren , twelvegreat grandchildren , fourstepchildren and eleven step-grandchildren.References
* Howell, Clinton T., Prominent Personalities in American Methodism, Birmingham, Alabama: The Lowry Press, 1945.
* "Obituary," United Methodist News Service, 6 January 1997. [http://wfn.org/1997/01/msg00016.html]
* "Mrs. Gertrude Wicke," Obituaries from the "Hamilton County News," 1978. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyhamilt/vitals/HamNewsObits1978.html]
* "The Rev. Lloyd C. Wicke," Obituaries from the "Record Delta Newspaper," 1996 (published in Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia). [http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvupshur/96obi.htm]
* "Eunice Ensley Wicke," Obituaries, Boston University School of Theology "Focus," Spring 2003 [http://www.bu.edu/sth/focus/spring03/obits.htm]ee also
*
List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church External links
* [http://wfn.org/1997/01/msg00016.html "Wicke, Oldest Bishop, Dies"]
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