It is to say goodbye, and to sincerely thank you for being in ministry with me

By Bishop Grant Hagiya

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Without a doubt, this is the hardest letter that I have had to write as your Bishop of the Greater Northwest Area. As you have heard by now, the Western Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy has assigned me to the Los Angeles Area, and I will be starting there on September 1, 2016.

I have to be honest, this news caught me completely by surprise, and I have been reeling from it ever since. Although United Methodist bishops are subject to reassignment every four years, and the standard term is for eight years or two terms, I was hoping that the work that we have started could have been completed by coming back for one more quadrennium. I was more confident of returning than not ... Read the rest of the pastoral letter.