Thomas Bickerton

Thomas Bickerton

Thomas J. Bickerton is a Bishop in The United Methodist Church, elected and consecrated to the Episcopacy in 2004.

Born July 2, 1958, Bishop Tom Bickerton was reared in West Virginia and graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Psychology. Subsequently, he entered seminary at Duke University Divinity School and completed the Master of Divinity degree in 1983. While attending seminary he served as student pastor following his 1982 ordination as Deacon. His first appointment out of seminary was to Perry Memorial United Methodist Church, in Shady Spring, West Virginia, in June 1983; he served in that location for six years. The year nineteen eighty-five saw his ordination as an Elder by Bishop William Boyd Grove. In 1989, he was appointed to serve Forrest Burdette Memorial United Methodist Church in Hurricane, West Virginia, where he gave servant leadership for the ensuing nine years. While in ministry there he also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, completing it in 1994.

In 1998, having been appointed by Bishop S. Clifton Ives, then Rev. Dr. Bickerton moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, to serve as the superintendent of the Northern District of the West Virginia Annual Conference. In both 2000 and 2004, he was endorsed and nominated by the WVAC for election to the Episcopacy. In July 2004, at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church held in Syracuse, New York, he was elected and consecrated a Bishop of the Church. Assigned to the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference, headquartered at Pittsburgh, he relocated to serve his first quadrennium as a United Methodist Bishop. Bishop Bickerton and his family now live in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Bishop Bickerton is married to Sally Bickerton. They have four children: Elizabeth, T.J., Ian, and Nicholas. At the 50th anniversary celebration of Windover Hills United Methodist Church in South Park, PA, on September 7, 2008, Bishop Bickerton noted that he is the youngest bishop in the United States; that he is currently the tallest Bishop in the world, at 6 feet, 7 inches; and he has the largest feet of any bishop, wearing a size 15 shoe.

References

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church [http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=5855 ]
*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church. [http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1244]

ee also

* List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

External links

* [http://www.wpaumc.org/news/news.php?newsid=112 Episcopal Installation sermon] , Cranberry Township, PA, Sept. 15, 2004
* [http://www.wpaumc-files.org/Interlink%20Archives/11-26-04.pdf War on Poverty Key to Church Renewal (PDF)] , Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 2004
* [http://www.wpaumc.org/uploads/resources/2622005%20Spring%20Presentation.doc "Visioning for a New Day"] (Microsoft Word document)
* [http://www2.umc.org/umns/photos_headshots.asp?ptid=2&mid=2060&photo=hsb251 Another Photo of Bishop Bickerton]


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