Karen Oliveto
| The Reverend Karen Oliveto | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 4, 1958 Long Island, NY |
| Occupation | Bishop |
| Spouse(s) | Robin Ridenour |
Karen Oliveto (born April 4, 1958)[1] is the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church. She was elected bishop on the night of July 15, 2016 at the Western Jurisdictional conference.[2] Her four-year term of service began September 1, 2016 and she currently serves as the bishop of both the UMC's Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Conferences;[3][4] she was officially installed on September 24.[5] At the time of her election, she was the senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.[6] Oliveto is married to Robin Ridenour, who is a deaconess in the United Methodist Church's California-Nevada Conference.[2]
Biography
Originally from Long Island, NY. She was born on Good Friday (April 4, 1958) and raised in West Babylon, which is on the South Shore of Long Island.
Education
Oliveto is a graduate of Pacific School of Religion (MDiv, 1983) and Drew University, where she received a Ph.D. in Religion and Society in 2002 as well as a BA (cum laude) Psychology, 1980 as well as a MPhil, 1991.[7][1] Her PhD is in Religion and Society. Her dissertation topic was: "Movements of Reform, Movements of Resistance: Homosexuality and The United Methodist Church. A Case Study
Status as Bishop
On April 28, 2017, The United Methodist Church's high court ruled 6-3 that while her lesbian status was in violation of the Church's policies governed by the Book of Discipline, she could still retain her position as Bishop and the Church's Western Jurisdiction would handle the matter.[8] The Judicial Council also ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to review her nomination, election, or assignment.[9]
Personal life
Married to Robin Ridenour, who is a deaconess in The United Methodist Church.
Ordained Ministry
Pastor, Bloomville UMC, Bloomville, NY 1983-1986
Campus Minister Ecumenical House Campus Ministry, San Francisco State 1989-1992
Pastor Bethany UMC, San Francisco 1992-2004
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA 2004-2008
Adjunct Professor of United Methodist Studies at Pacific School of Religion, 2005-2016
Senior Pastor. Glide Memorial Church, San Francisco. 2008-2016
Resident Bishop of the Mountain Sky Area of The United Methodist Church, 2016–present
References
- 1 2 Communications, United Methodist. "Bishop Karen Oliveto - The United Methodist Church". The United Methodist Church.
- 1 2 Communications, United Methodist. "Western Jurisdiction elects openly gay United Methodist bishop - The United Methodist Church". The United Methodist Church.
- ↑ River, Brick. "Bishop". www.rmcumc.org.
- ↑ "Bishop". www.yacumc.org.
- ↑ Church, Rocky Mountain Conference of The United Methodist. "Installation Service for Bishop Karen Oliveto - 24/09/2016". Evensi.
- ↑ "United Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop, In Defiance Of Church Rules".
- ↑ "Executive Leadership - GLIDE". www.glide.org.
- ↑ "Karen Oliveto, first openly gay bishop, in violation of Methodist church law, court says".
- ↑ Communications, United Methodist. "Commentary: Attorney on confusion over Oliveto’s status - The United Methodist Church". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2017-05-09.