A West Virginian has been named the new United Methodist bishop of Western Pennsylvania.

Thomas J. Bickerton

Newly elected Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton will replace Bishop Hae-Jong Kim, who is retiring. Bickerton was elected at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference, which ended yesterday in Syracuse, N.Y.

He will take over his new post Sept. 1, said Tom Burger, communications director for the West Virginia Annual Conference of the church.

At 46, he is considered young for a bishop. The married father of four was born in Glen Dale, W.Va., and has been a district superintendent since 1998. Prior to that held pastorates in Hurricane and Shady Spring, W.Va. He began his ministry as a circuit-riding pastor of six small congregations in 1979.

In an interview with The West Virginia United Methodist newspaper prior to his election, Bickerton said bishops must face up to serious theological and ideological differences within the denomination.

"We are very much at a crossroads," he said. "There is a discord that is stronger than I have ever seen it. We need episcopal leadership that will admit the struggle and not deny it; name it and call people together for dialogue."

He called for "passionate spirituality" that is "centered in Christ."

"Too often, our leadership is centered on a secular model of leadership. It seems to me that the church has been more impacted by the culture than the culture has been influenced by the church," he said.

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Bickerton earned his basic ordination degree at Duke University Divinity School and a doctor of ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where he has been an adjunct professor since 1997. He has served on the denomination's Commission on Communication, Commission on Archives and History and Commission on the Role and Status of Women.

Meanwhile, Bishop Ernest Lyght was appointed to oversee West Virginia -- except for the Eastern Panhandle -- and Garrett County, Md.

Lyght has been a bishop since 1996 in New York.

"My first priority is to get to know the people of West Virginia and Garrett County, Md. -- to discover the issues and their concerns," Lyght said.

Lyght takes over for Bishop S. Clifton Ives, who retires Aug. 31 after 12 years as leader of more than 108,000 United Methodists in the area.

The church is the largest denomination in West Virginia, with more than 1,300 congregations statewide.