Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi will preach at this afternoon’s Opening Worship with Communion.
Moore-Koikoi was elected as a bishop of The United Methodist Church in 2016 and began her assignment to lead United Methodists in Western Pennsylvania that same year. Five years later, she and West Virginia Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball joined forces to take on episcopal oversight of the Susquehanna Conference in addition to their respective Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia conferences.
She was a friend to West Virginia long before she and Steiner Ball began their work together. In fact, she was born in Shepherdstown.
Moore-Koikoi grew up in a preacher’s family and went on to become a school psychologist, all the while serving in leadership roles as a layperson before answering her call to ordained ministry.
Ordained an elder in 2010, she served on the Western PA Conference staff working with churches on discipleship. She later served as district superintendent for the Greater Washington Area and then as superintendent of the Baltimore Metropolitan District.
According to her profile on the Western PA Conference website, Bishop Moore-Koikoi sees herself as a bridge-builder, clear and confident about what she believes, while respecting others who might not believe the same way.
“Her vision is of a diverse church that embraces justice and the life-saving love of Christ,” the profile states. “As a bishop, she’s committed to work for that. It won’t be easy, she said, ‘but I remind myself, God has got this. God is in control.’ ”
Opening Worship begins at 1 p.m., and will be followed by clergy and laity sessions at 3 p.m.
Read more about Bishop Moore-Koikoi.