Methodists May Cut Bishops to Save Money

The United Methodist Church may have too many bishops, and trimming the number of prelates could save the church $1 million per bishop, according to the church’s finance agency.

A proposal to cut at least five bishops will be considered by next year’s General Conference meeting in Pittsburgh.

The 8.4-million member church has 50 bishops in the United States and 18 bishops in central conferences outside the United States. Bishops are elected to their posts by five regional U.S. jurisdictions.

Officials said an expected increase in retirements would make it easy to cut one bishop in each of the five jurisdictions. Each cut would save the church $1 million over four years.