Bishop to speak at Lenten lunch
Bishop Thomas Bickerton will speak at the first Lenten lunch Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, North College and East Beau streets, Washington.
The “Soup for the Soul” luncheons are held from 11:45 a.m. to 12:55 p.m. Worship begins at 12:35 p.m.
Bickerton has been the spiritual leader of the nearly 850 United Methodist congregations in Western Pennsylvania since 2004.
He also serves as chairman of the United Methodist Church’s Global Health Initiative, which deals with the church’s response to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and is a member of the General Commission on United Methodist Men.
Bickerton began his career as a student pastor serving a six-point charge. He later was pastor of medium and large membership churches and was serving as superintendent of the Northern District when he was elected bishop.
As he worked in partnership with laity, the churches he served experienced significant growth in the number of baptisms, professions of faith and members. His church in Shady Spring, W.Va., grew from 85 members to 225 in the six years he served there, and membership at Forrest Burdette Church increased from 585 to 1,368 during his nine-year tenure.
He also has worked with Volunteer-in-Mission teams in his native West Virginia, as well as Africa, Argentina, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Cuba and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
For more information, call the church at 724-222-2520.