The South Central Jurisdictional Conference will begin meeting this Wednesday, July 18, to elect bishops. The meeting will be at the Cox Center in Oklahoma City. You can watch the proceedings live at http://scj.umportal.org/main/article.asp?id=8808.

The session will begin with the Holy Communion and Memorial Service at 7 p.m. July 18 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. Bishop Robert Hayes will preach. Business sessions will begin Thursday morning. A schedule can be found on page 10 of The Christian Advocate.

The conference theme is Woven Together for Transformation. Learn more about the event at http://scj.umportal.org/main/section.asp?id=1016.

The official Twitter hashtag for the conference is #SCJ12. Lisa Diehl, Kansas communications director, will be on-site throughout the conference, posting updates to Facebook, Twitter, and the conference websites as well as sending email news like this one. Follow @kecumc or @KsAreaUMC on Twitter.

If you received this copy from someone else, you can sign up to receive updates at: www.kansaseast.org/site/stayconnected. Choose "General Conference News."

Episcopal elections this week
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Eleven new United Methodist bishops will be elected this week at three jurisdictional conferences in the United States. The Southeastern Jurisdiction will elect five bishops to replace five retiring bishops, and the Northeastern and South Central jurisdictions will elect three each. The conferences begin Wednesday, July 18.

Learn more: http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=8231525&ct=11931865¬oc=1

Bishop Bledsoe hearing today
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (UMNS) — Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe, who leads the North Texas Annual (regional) Conference, will face a hearing today that ultimately could determine whether he remains an active bishop or must retire early. The South Central Jurisdiction Committee on the Episcopacy, to which Bledsoe reports, has scheduled the closed-door meeting at 2 p.m. Monday, July 16 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

Read more: http://elections.umc.org/2012/07/13/bishop-bledsoe-hearing-monday/.

Who will be the next bishops?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Three jurisdictional conferences in the United States will elect at least 11 new bishops next week and, by July 21, all active U.S. bishops will know where they will serve for the next four years. Voting to elect the new bishops will begin July 18 in the Northeastern, South Central and Southeastern jurisdictions. United Methodist News Service will provide continuous coverage of the elections. To receive up-to-the-minute ballot reports, text “Elections” to (615) 482-1777 and receive results as they come in.

For more coverage, visit: http://elections.umc.org/

44 Candidates for the Episcopacy
(UMNS) - There are now 44 candidates for the episcopacy. Learn who they are. Click here for list.

Important links:

Live Stream: http://scj.umportal.org/main/article.asp?id=8808.

Conference Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kansaseast

Enews subscribe page: www.kswestumc.org/site/stayconnected. Choose "General Conference News."

Election coverage from across the U.S.: http://elections.umc.org/