Bishop Pedro Torio to Celebrate Holy Communion at WCA’s Fourth Global Gathering
The Wesleyan Covenant Association is pleased to announce that Bishop Pedro Torio will celebrate Holy Communion and deliver a brief meditation to close its Fourth Global Gathering at Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, November 9, 2019. The Rev. Tom Harrison, Senior Pastor at Asbury UMC, will assist Torio in the celebration.
“Bishop Torio is one of the youngest and most dynamic bishops in the UM Church,” said the Rev. Keith Boyette, President of the WCA. “We are honored to have him lead WCA members and friends of different races, ethnicities, and many nationalities as we celebrate Holy Communion together at our Fourth Global Gathering.”
Bishop Torio leads the Baguio Episcopal Area, which includes nine annual conferences in the Philippines Central Conference of The United Methodist Church. He was elected bishop in 2012, and then re-elected in 2016. His passion for evangelism led to the planting of 28 new local churches in the Baguio Episcopal Area during the 2013-2016 quadrennium.
Torio currently represents the Philippines Central Conference on the Commission on Central Conference Theological Scholarship and Continuing Education Financial Assistance Funds for the Baguio Episcopal Area. He is also the bishop assigned to the Philippines Central Conference Division of Ordained Ministry, Council on Finance and Administration, and the University Senate. He presently leads the University Senate in developing the first accreditation standards for United Methodist theological education institutions. During the 2016 General Conference he was elected to serve as the director of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries for a four-year term.
Torio has a rich background in education, having served as dean at both World Citi College and Aldersgate Divinity School, vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Eastern Pangasinan, and as a visiting professor at Wesley Divinity School and John Wesley College Divinity School. He has served as president of the United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines at the district, conference and national level, and ministering to young people is still a high priority for him today. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology degree from Duke Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Divinity School.
