Bishop Dan Schwerin

Bishop Dan Schwerin, Bishop of The United Methodist Church, is serving as the resident Bishop in the Northern Illinois Conference for 2023. Bishop Schwerin was elected to the episcopacy at the North Central Juristiction gathering in November 2022.

Bishop Schwerin (he, him, his) is husband to his wife, Julie, and a father, grandfather, poet, and Jesus is the gold in his life. He is a graduate of Perkins School of Theology and did post-graduate Bowen family systems theory work there. He has enjoyed many contexts for pastoral ministry, including urban and rural churches, a new church plant, a Superintendent of two districts, as well as a multi-staff downtown setting which became a reconciling congregation and launched a beloved community of non-profits to benefit children dealing with grief, persons who wanted help to battle generational poverty, and children who desired access to stringed instruments, lessons, and a community who would enjoy their growth in musical ability.

After the General Conference of 2019, Bishop Schwerin was asked by Bishop Hee-SooJung to lead a collaborative effort with conference partners to increase racial justice and radical inclusion. He then served as Assistant to the Bishop in the Wisconsin Conference.  He has also served on the General Conference Task Force on Funding Patterns in the UMC.

Dan and Julie love evening walks and labyrinths. His poetry comes from life on a farm or making his rounds across thirty plus years as a pastor in Wisconsin. His debut haiku collection, ORS, from red moon press, won the Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Award in 2015.

Read Bishop Dan Schwerin's Council of Bishop's Bio

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