June 23, 2013
Closing worship service of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference
Bishop Larry Goodpaster, presiding Bishop of
the Western North Carolina Conference, will preach during the closing session
of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference. Before moving to the Charlotte Episcopal Area
in 2008, Bishop Goodpaster was presiding
bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference for 8 years, and served in
a variety of appointments in the Mississippi Annual Conference.
For two years,
Goodpaster served as President of the Council of Bishops, which includes
United Methodist bishops from around the world. In that role, he preached at
the opening worship service of the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, FL, and
then presided over the opening session.
Bishop Goodpaster earned a B.A. degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS,
and both the M.Div. and D.Min. degrees from Candler School of Theology,
Atlanta, GA. He has received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from
Huntingdon College (Montgomery, AL), Birmingham-Southern College (Birmingham,
AL), and Millsaps College (Jackson, MS).