{{methodism The North Alabama Conference is an

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 ...

(a regional episcopal area, similar to a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

) of the

United Methodist 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 ...

. This conference serves the northern half of the state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, with its administrative offices and the office of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

located in

Birmingham, AL Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. It is part of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. The bishop is the Reverend Doctor Debra Wallace-Padgett.

Bishops

*1944-1948 Bishop Costen J. Harrell, D.D. *1948-1952 Bishop Clare Purcell *1984-1992 Bishop J. Lloyd Knox *1992-2004: Bishop Robert Eugene Fannin *2004-2012 Bishop Will Willimon, D.D *2012–present: Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett

Districts

The North Alabama Annual Conference is further subdivided into eight smaller regions, called "districts," which provide further administrative functions for the operation of local churches in cooperation with each other. This structure is vital to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

, and is referred to as

connectionalism Connexionalism, also spelled connectionalism, is the theological understanding and foundation of Methodist ecclesiastical polity, as practised in the Methodist Church in Britain, Methodist Church in Ireland, United Methodist Church, Free Metho ...

. The Districts that comprise the North Alabama Conference are: Central, Cheaha, Mountain Lakes, Northeast, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, and Southwest. It used to include the former districts of: Albertsville District, Huntsville District, and Gadsden District.

External links

North Alabama Conference official website
United Methodism by region United Methodist Annual Conferences Methodism in Alabama