Congregations

Gregory Palmer: Cohesiveness and capacity

Denominations will always exist, says UMC Bishop Gregory Palmer, because they provide cohesiveness and capacity -- the ability to bring resources together and leverage them to do enormous good.

Monday, March 29, 2010

This article is part of a series: What’s the future of denominations?

Editor’s note: As the Christian landscape changes, leaders must ask and answer a new question: What’s the future of denominations? This video is part of an occasional series that offers the thoughts of people across American Christianity on this vital issue. To see the entire series, click here.

[Updated: Bishop Gregory V. Palmer was assigned as Episcopal Leader of the Ohio West Area of The United Methodist Church on September 1, 2012.]

Gregory V. Palmer is the former resident bishop of the Illinois Episcopal Area (Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference) of the United Methodist Church and president of the worldwide Council of Bishops of the UMC, from 2008 to 2010.He served from 2000 to 2008 as bishop of the Iowa Annual Conference. He is the co-author of “Becoming Jesus’ Prayer: Transforming Your Life through the Lord’s Prayer” (The Pilgrim Press).

A native of Philadelphia, Palmer earned his undergraduate degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. He was ordained an elder in the East Ohio Annual Conference after beginning his ministry in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and served local churches in Ohio and North Carolina.