Speaker

Bishop Ruby-Nell M. Estrella

Bishop Ruby-Nell M. Estrella is the first female bishop of The United Methodist Church in the Philippines. Bishop of the Manila Episcopal Area, she was elected a bishop in November 2022.

Her journey in the ministry began when she volunteered as church secretary of Tangos United Methodist Church, the church where she was baptized and nurtured and finally heeded the call to the ordained ministry in 1987. During her ministry, she has pastored a small church in a remote village in Leyte, oversaw the multi-faceted ministry of the country’s “Cathedral of Methodism”, held several annual and central conference positions, and represented the Philippines Central Conference on the Connectional Table and the Study Committee on the Worldwide Nature of the Church.

Bishop Estrella was the first female district superintendent of the Philippines Annual Conference.  She served on the Cabinets of four bishops over the span of more than 10 years. It was under her term that the first United Methodist Church in the Middle East was organized, The First United Methodist Church Dubai.  She was also the first woman administrative pastor of the Central United Methodist Church in Manila. Prior to being elected bishop, she was the first clergyperson to be elected as treasurer of the Philippines Central Conference.

Bishop Estrella graduated cum laude with a degree in Accounting from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and earned a Master of Divinity with high honors from the Union Theological Seminary in Cavite.