Hope Morgan Ward (born September 18, 1951) is a
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 and consecrated to the episcopacy in 2004. She has served as the
Bishop of North Carolina since 2012.
Biography
Hope Morgan Ward was raised on the Morgan family farm in
Corapeake, North Carolina. She graduated from
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in 1973 with an
A.B. degree in English and Religion. She entered seminary at
Duke Divinity School
The Duke Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 ...
and completed the
M.Div.
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...
degree in 1978.
Bishop Ward married career educator
Michael E. Ward in 1977. Mike served as the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1997 - 2004. The Wards have two children, Jason and Brooke.
Ordained ministry
*Director of Christian Education and Mission, Fairmont UMC, 1973-1978
*Teaching parent, chaplain, Methodist Home for Children, 1977-1979
*Minister of Education, White Plains UMC, 1979-1983
*Pastor, Broadway UMC, 1983-1986
*Pastor, Soapstone UMC, 1986-1997
*Director of Connectional Ministries, 1997-2002
*Raleigh District Superintendent, 2002-2004
*Bishop of Mississippi Conference 2004-2012
*Bishop of North Carolina Conference 2012–present
See also
*
List of bishops of the United Methodist Church
This is a list of bishops of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead.
1784–1807
;Founders
* Thomas Coke 1784
* Francis Asbury 1784
* Richard Whatcoat ...
References
The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist ChurchInfoServ the official information service of The United Methodist Church
, Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church
;Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Hope Morgan
1951 births
Living people
United Methodist bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction
Spouses of North Carolina politicians
Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Duke Divinity School alumni
21st-century American Methodist ministers
20th-century American Methodist ministers
People from Gates County, North Carolina
21st-century American bishops