Hearing about the 200th Anniversary celebration at Copper Hill United Methodist Church, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton has announced his intention to visit the church on December 11. Excitement is increasing as no one remembers a United Methodist bishop visiting Copper Hill Church.
Bishop Bickerton was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and served the Western Pennsylvania annual conference from 2004 to 2016. He began his service to the 447 congregations of the New York Annual Conference just a couple months ago. New York Annual Conference includes Methodist congregations in CT west of the Connecticut River. Bishop Bickerton has also served as the chairperson of the United Methodist Church’s Global health initiative which deals with the church’s response to the killer diseases of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This effort, through the church’s Imagine No Malaria campaign raised over $70 million within the denomination to eliminate malaria-related death across the world. Copper Hill church participated each year in that campaign through their annual fundraising walk on the rail trail.
Bishop Bickerton will bring the morning message during the 9:30 AM worship service on Dec. 11. The service will be followed by a coffee hour to facilitate less formal conversations. Copper Hill Church is delighted to host this visit from our Bishop and counts it an honor to have him cap our 200th anniversary celebration by bringing his greetings and message to our church in person.