Bruce P. Blake is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1988.

Family

Blake is from Wichita, Kansas, having graduated in 1955 from the Wichita East High School. In 1957 he married Karen Eileen Miers of

Furley, Kansas Furley is an unincorporated community in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 39. It is located northwest of the intersection of Greenwich Road and 101st Street N, ...

, who has worked as personal secretary for doctors David and Vera Mace. The Blakes have three sons: Steven Keith, Scott Douglas, and Darin Paul; and four grandchildren.

Education

He graduated from Friends University, Wichita, and from Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, in 1962 ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

.''

Ordained ministry

He served a church in New Jersey while attending Drew. Upon returning to Kansas (the Kansas West

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

), he served the Ransom-Brownell U.M. Charge (1962–67). He was pastor at

Herington, Kansas Herington is a city in Dickinson and Morris counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,109. History 19th century Herington was named after its founder, Monroe Davis Herington. His name at b ...

(1967–69); then as the director of the first cooperative ministry in the Kansas West Conference: the Tri-County Cooperative Ministry at Herington (1969–74). He then served as senior pastor at Woodlawn U.M.C., Derby, Kansas (1974–84). Bruce then served as president of Southwestern College,

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. Hi ...

(1984–88).

Episcopal ministry

Blake was elected to the episcopacy in 1988 by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the

U.M. Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

. He was assigned to the Dallas Episcopal Area. In 1996 he was assigned to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Area. In retirement, the Blakes reside in Winfield, Kansas.

References

*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church.

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

External links