New bishop, the Rev. Robin Dease, to deliver first sermon
The Rev. Robin Dease, the first African-American bishop of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, is scheduled to deliver her first sermon on Sunday since being assigned to lead the conference.
She succeeds Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, former federal law clerk and litigator with a Tampa law firm, who was assigned to the Virginia Annual Conference after serving as bishop in North Georgia for six years.
The installation and service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at Oak Grove United Methodist Church, 1722 Oak Grove Rd. in Decatur.
Dease, 55, was formerly senior pastor at St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head Island, S.C. She was elected bishop by the 2022 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“I’m a collaborator,” Dease said in a statement at the time. “Let’s have fun. Let’s make disciples. Let’s love one another. Let’s build bridges. I am looking forward to working together.”
The North Georgia Conference is made up of roughly 700 churches.
The service will be livestreamed at www.ngumc.org/Installation.
About the Author
Shelia has worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for more than 30 years. Previously, she worked at The Lexington Herald-Leader and The Louisville Defender. Her beat is a bit of a mixed bag that includes religion and spirituality, culture and trends, race and aging. She earned degrees from Spelman College and Northwestern University.
