The Oklahoma Conference ministry for prisoners reentering society started receiving residents in 1998, but it began two years earlier in the minds of two United Methodist pastors who wanted to do something about recidivism.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decisions, which side with The United Methodist Church’s Oklahoma Conference, could have wider implications for church-disaffiliation cases in other state courts.
A court order had the Oklahoma Conference scrambling to hold an unplanned special session in August to vote on the disaffiliation of a church that filed suit. The conference also is appealing the ruling, arguing the judge’s order violates the First Amendment.
Bishop David Wilson, who leads the Great Plains Conference, shares his thoughts about being the first Native American bishop in The United Methodist Church and what he hopes to accomplish in the next four years.
