United Methodists elect two new bishops in the West

July 17, 2004    

The Rev. Robert Hoshibata is congratulated after being elected as a bishop in the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (UMNS)—United Methodists in the Western Jurisdiction have elected two new bishops.

During a July 14-17 conference in San Jose, Calif., 88 delegates elected the new episcopal leaders.

The new bishops, in order of election, are the Rev. Robert Hoshibata, Pacific-Northwest Conference, and the Rev. Minerva Carcaño, Oregon-Idaho Conference.  The two will be consecrated during a July 17 worship service at Los Altos United Methodist Church in Los Altos, Calif. They will officially begin their first assignments as bishops on Sept. 1.

Balloting for the new bishops began at 1:46 p.m. (PT) on July 15 with the first election coming on the 12th ballot on July 16. The second and final election occurred on the 26th ballot, which was announced around 12:30 a.m., July 17.

Four Western United Methodist leaders will continue in office. They are Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr., Bishop Edward W. Paup, Bishop Beverly Shamana and Bishop Mary Ann Swenson.  All six bishops received assignments July 17 to episcopal areas throughout the 12-state region that also includes Guam and Saipan.

In addition to electing new bishops, the conference also recognized the retirements of Bishop William W. Dew Jr., Phoenix area, and Bishop Elias G. Galvan, Seattle Area.

Bishop Minerva Carcano

Hoshibata, 52, a native Hawaiian of Japanese decent, is currently a district superintendent in Seattle, Wash., and is dean of the cabinet for the Pacific-Northwest Conference.  He also serves as a co-superintendent of the Tacoma (Wash) District.  From 1984-88, he was senior pastor of Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, Seattle. He also served as senior pastor of North Gardena United Methodist Church, Gardena, Calif., 1977-1984; and youth minister, First Congregational Church, Portland, Conn., 1970-1971.

He has also been youth minister at North Gardena United Methodist Church, 1973-77, and was a ministerial intern at Kahalu’u, Parker and Palolo United Methodist churches in Hawaii, 1974-1975.

Hoshibata received a doctorate of ministry degree from, Claremont School of Theology in 1977 and did post-graduate work at Vancouver School of Theology and at the Pacific School of Religion. He was one of the denomination’s Crusade Scholars, 1974-1977, and received a bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. in 1973.
Hoshibata has been a member of the denomination’s General Council on Ministries, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the Western Jurisdiction Leadership Team and the Western Jurisdiction Task Force on Theological Education and Ministry. He has been a delegate to the 1996, 2000 and 2004 General and Western Jurisdictional conferences.
Carcaño, 50, is the first Hispanic clergywoman to be elected a United Methodist bishop. She has a master’s degree from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and a bachelor’s degree with a specialization in social work from the University of Texas--Pan American in Edinburgh.

With a wide-ranging history of service in the United Methodist Church, she is currently the superintendent of the Metropolitan District of the Oregon-Idaho Conference. From 1996 to 2001, she served as director of the Mexican-American Program, the Hispanic Studies Program, coordinator of the Spanish Language Section of the Course of Study School and adjunct faculty at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. 

Carcaño has also been a district superintendent in the Rio Grande Conference, an organizing pastor in Albuquerque, N.M., and from 1979 to 1992 was pastor of local churches throughout Texas.

She was a director of the former United Methodist Board of Education and has served as a director on the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Board of Church and Society and the United Methodist Publishing House. She served on two General Conference commissions--Our Theological Task and the Connectional Process Team—and on the South Central and Western jurisdictions’ Korean ministry councils. She was a delegate to the 1996 and 2004 General Conferences and to the 1998 World Council of Churches Assembly in Zimbabwe, Africa.

News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org