Bruce P. Blake is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of the United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

, elected in 1988.

Family

Blake is from Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

, having graduated in 1955 from the Wichita East High School. In 1957 he married Karen Eileen Miers of Furley, Kansas

Furley, Kansas

Furley is an unincorporated community in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States.-19th century:In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north-south from Herington through Furley to Caldwell. By 1893, this branch line was incrementally built to Fort Worth, Texas...

. She has served as Personal Secretary to Doctors David and Vera Mace, authors of Marriage & Family. The Blakes have three sons: Steven Keith, Scott Douglas, and Darin Paul; and four grandchildren.

Education

He graduated from Friends University

Friends University

Friends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends by James Davis, a St. Louis...

, Wichita; and from Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey

Madison, New Jersey

Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....

 in 1962 cum laude.

Ordained Ministry

He served a church in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 while attending Drew. Upon returning to Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 (the Kansas West Annual Conference

Annual Conference

An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...

), he served the Ransom-Brownell U.M. Charge (1962-67). He was Pastor at Herington, Kansas

Herington, Kansas

Herington is a city in Dickinson and Morris counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. Named after its founder, Monroe Davis Herington. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,526.-19th century:...

 (1967-69); then as the Director of the first cooperative ministry in the Kansas West Conference: the Tri-County Cooperative Ministry at Herington (1969-74). He then served as Senior Pastor at Woodlawn U.M.C., Derby, Kansas

Derby, Kansas

Derby is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. Formerly known as El Paso, it is a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 22,158. As of 2008 the population was estimated at 22,517, making it the 17th largest city in the state of Kansas...

 (1974-84). Bruce then served as President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 of Southwestern College

Southwestern College (Kansas)

Southwestern College is a four-year private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Winfield, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1889. In addition to its campus programs, it offers online programs.-Academics:The main campus is a...

, Winfield, Kansas

Winfield, Kansas

Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...

 (1984-88).

Episcopal Ministry

Dr. Blake was elected to the Episcopacy in 1988 by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church. He was assigned to the Dallas Episcopal Area. In 1996 he was assigned to the Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 Area. In retirement, the Blakes reside in Winfield, Kansas.

See also

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church