On Saturday, July 13, 2024, the Western Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy announced that Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut would be assigned to both the Desert Southwest Conference in the Western Jurisdiction and the NM Conference in the South Central Jurisdiction. 

In order to be more responsible with the resources entrusted to the UMC, the General Conference voted to decrease the number of bishops serving the U.S.  This created a situation which encouraged a broader approach to episcopal assignments.  The Inter-Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, the Council of Bishops, and delegations from the conferences most impacted by these decisions worked creatively together to arrive at the best assignments for all.  This is not a unification or a merger.  One bishop will offer episcopal leadership to two conferences across jurisdictional lines.

Bishop Rapanut or "Bishop Carlo" as he prefers to be called, said that he was very excited about this new assignment and new way to serve.  He shared his thoughts in an introduction video:  click here.

The Desert Southwest Conference shares a very similar mission field and a similar size, both geographically and in number of churches. They have churches in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Most of Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time, so sometimes they have two time zones, Pacific and Mountain. They just celebrated their 40th anniversary, but most of their churches are much older. Some of their churches have celebrated their 100th anniversary. That is because their area was once part of the California-Pacific Conference.  Bishop Carlo has challenged the Desert Southwest Conference to start 40 new churches in 10 years by their 50th anniversary.  If you'd like to read the Desert Southwest Conference announcement, Click Here.

We look forward to learning more about Bishop Carlo and the Desert Southwest Conference in the weeks and months to come.  Stay tuned.