During a recent trip to Oklahoma (USA), the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, visited Oklahoma Methodist leaders and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, Rev. Laferty visited the headquarters of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of The United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, where he met with Rev. Margaret Johnson, assistant to Bishop Laura Merrill, and Rev. Donna Pewo, OIMC director of connectional ministries. They discussed OIMC’s history, the ministries of the Conference, and Native American spirituality.
First established in 1844, OIMC encompasses 79 predominately indigenous/Native American United Methodist congregations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
Director Laferty was accompanied by Mr. Caleb Siems who is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Rev. Laferty also met the Most Rev. Paul Coakley, Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at his office in Oklahoma City on 15 May 2026 to discuss MEOR’s ministry, Methodist-Catholic relations, and the Catholic Church in the United States.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 