Richard Carl Looney (born 14 February 1934) is a

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

American

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

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

, elected in 1988.

Birth and family

Richard was born in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

Hillsville, Virginia Hillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County. Geography Hillsville is located in central Carroll County at (36.758814, −80.734510). U ...

. He married Carolyn Adele McKeithen of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

3 September 1957. They have three children: Teresa Carolyn, David William, and Jonathan Carl; one granddaughter, Maria; and three grandsons: Logan, Joseph and Ian.

Education

Looney graduated from

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College i ...

Emory, Virginia Emory is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,251 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a comp ...

, and the

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is al ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

; with additional study in the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and Union Theological Seminary,

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Ordained ministry

Looney was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

deacon in 1955 and elder in 1959 by Bishop

Roy H. Short Roy Hunter Short (19 October 1902 – 2 July 1994) was an American bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1948. Birth and family Roy was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Jesse Peters and Minnie L. ( ...

. A member of the Holston

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

of the Methodist Church, Rev. Looney served the following appointments: Rising Fawn Circuit,

Rising Fawn, Georgia Rising Fawn is a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the southern part of Dade County, Georgia, Dade County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, TN&nda ...

; Baker's Chapel - Wyndale,

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

; and Pleasant View (formerly Baker's Chapel), Abingdon. In

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

he served these appointments: White Oak,

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

; Broad Street,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

; Superintendent of the Chattanooga District; Munsey Memorial, Johnson City; and Church Street,

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

. Rev. Looney also shared in Pulpit Exchanges in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and Australia, and work missions in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

, and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Episcopal ministry

Bishop Looney was elected by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, July 1988, and assigned as the first bishop of the newly created South Georgia Episcopal Area (the South Georgia Annual Conference). General Church responsibilities have included service on the United Methodist Church, U.M. General Council on Finance and Administration, the General Board of Church and Society, and the General Council on Ministry. In retirement, Bishop Looney served as the president of the Foundation for Evangelism,

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina Lake Junaluska is a census-designated place (CDP) in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States, and a manmade lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Junaluska is named after nearby ...

and the episcopal director of the foundation. Bishop Looney served as the pastor of Telford United Methodist Church in Telford, Tennessee, from 2009–13, and in January 2013 began filling the role of pastor of Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Tennessee.

References

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church.

External links