Bruce P. Blake is a retired American

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

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

, elected in 1988.

Family

Blake is from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

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

Ordained ministry

He served a church in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

while attending Drew. Upon returning to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

(the Kansas West Annual Conference), he served the Ransom-Brownell U.M. Charge (1962–67). He was pastor at Herington, Kansas (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 (1984–88).

Episcopal ministry

Blake was elected to the episcopacy in 1988 by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church. He was assigned to the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Episcopal Area. In 1996 he was assigned to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

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