Bishop Jones’s Retirement Moves From 2024 to End of 2022
On June 16, 2022, Bishop Scott J. Jones submitted a letter to the South Central Jurisdiction and the Council of Bishops requesting retirement from the active episcopacy effective Dec. 31, 2022.
In making this announcement, Bishop Jones updated his statement that said, “At as of today…I am willing to stay as bishop of the Texas Annual Conference for two more years.”
During the final day of the Texas Annual Conference session, held May 29 through June 1 at the Hilton Americas – Houston, Bishop Jones was met with a standing ovation and thunderous applause when he declared that he believed the Judicial Council Memorandum 1446 allied him to serve the Texas Annual Conference until 2024.
While Bishop Jones announced his intent to remain as bishop of the Texas Annual Conference, he made sure to emphasize his flexible position with the words “as of today.” In a letter to conference members announcing his updated decision to retire at the end of 2022, he referenced those words while also offering further reason for his change.

“Since the Judicial Council decision on June 1, I have prayed and thought a lot about my future,” said Bishop Jones. “Increasing disobedience and escalating conflict in the denomination have made my service as a bishop of the whole church seem much more problematic. My further reflection has led me to believe that my best service to Christ for the next two years is in retirement.” Although Bishop Jones knows that changing bishops could have an impact on some people’s commitments to their local churches, he announced to the Texas Annual Conference that his deepest value is to go where the church sends him. The decision to retire was not a quick or easy decision for Bishop Jones, and he notes that it involved a lot of prayer and discernment. In his letter, he expressed gratitude to the Conference for their constant support and for the blessing it was to serve in that capacity. “We were humbled by the response of the Conference to our announcement that we were probably staying,” said Bishop Jones. “Mary Lou and I have been blessed to serve here, and we wish the Texas Annual Conference a most fruitful future for the Kingdom of God.” Bishop Jones will continue serving through December 31, 2022. Delegates from the South Central Jurisdiction of United Methodist Church will elect new bishops from Nov. 2 through Nov. 5. The newly elected bishops and continuing bishops will then receive their assignments from the Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee. The assigned bishop to the Texas Annual Conference will then begin January 1, 2023.