The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference

The Revd Sonia Hicks

The Revd Sonia Hicks has been elected and inducted as President of the Methodist Conference. The induction took place on Saturday 26 June at the National Conference Centre, Birmingham, during the Methodist Conference which is taking place in hybrid form this year. 

Sonia Hicks, who comes from a long line of Methodists as far back as her great-grandfather who was a Local Preacher in Jamaica, has served as a Circuit Superintendent in three connexions: Britain, the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas and the Methodist Church in Ireland (MCI). She is currently Superintendent Minister in Wembley, north London.

In her Conference address Mrs Hicks focused on her theme for the year, “God’s Table: An Invitation for All”, reflecting on the racism and marginalisation she and her family have experienced and how the Church can respond to injustice and division in society today. She recalled the experience of her Great Aunt Lize, who had arrived from Jamaica with her Methodist membership card only to be rejected from her local Methodist Church because she was black. Sonia and her family eventually found a Methodist home at Walworth Methodist Church in South London.

Sonia, who is the first black woman to be elected as President of the Methodist Conference, speaking about her theme, said:

“In a world where people are excluded because of their ethnic background, their sexual orientation, their gender or simply because, like me, they were brought up on a council estate, I believe that we are called to show God’s love for all people. It is a calling that Christian people have always struggled with, but we can and should be better at making God’s love a reality in the British Methodist Church, overcoming the systemic discrimination that exists.”

Sonia’s commitment to oppose all forms of injustice began when she was a member of the Youth Exchange to Zimbabwe.  She has since been Convenor of the World Relief and Development Committee for MCI, and has served as a Trustee for both All We Can and Christian Aid Ireland.

Looking to the future, the President said:

“As Christians we are to mirror the grace and the mercy of God. We are to find ways of issuing God’s invitation of acceptance to those we meet on a daily basis. No ifs, no buts.

“I believe that there is a place for all in the presence of God, at God’s Table. But, as we acknowledge that everyone has a place, we also must acknowledge that we will therefore live with the tension of not all thinking the same. We will also have to recognise that living with such tension is never the easy option.”

Barbara Easton

The Vice-President, Barbara Easton, was also elected and inducted this afternoon. Barbara Easton’s vocation has been the world of education. Before becoming Connexional Director of Education in 2014 she was an RE teacher, inclusion and interfaith specialist and secondary headteacher in the West Midlands. She now leads the Methodist Academies and Schools Trust, committed to shaping our schools as diverse communities of empowerment and transformation in their work at the margins of the church. Barbara is also a Local Preacher and has regularly volunteered at 3Generate and Greenbelt.

In her speech to the Conference, the Vice-President spoke of her rootedness in Methodism that began as a baby when she was adopted by a Methodist family. Speaking about how the Church moves forward ecumenically Barbara said: “I am urging you, my sisters and brothers, to see that we still have something valuable to bring to the Church’s table and to be confident about the colour and texture that we add to make the ecumenical quilt richer. If the Church is called to be a sign to the world, then we are raised up as a sign to the sign.”

The role of President of the Methodist Conference is reserved for presbyters and that of Vice-President for lay people or deacons. During his lifetime John Wesley chaired the Methodist Conference but after his death the Conference determined to elect a President annually.

Watch the Presidential address here
The text of the Presidential address is available here.

Watch the Vice-Presidential address here
The text of the Vice-Presidential address is here.

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The Secretary of Conference

The Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler has been a member of the Connexional Team since 2014 and was Assistant Secretary of the Conference since 2017. Prior to this he was the Ministerial Coordinator for Oversight of Ordained Ministries in the Connexional Team.

He has a wide experience of ministry having entered circuit ministry after graduating from Wesley House, Cambridge in Theology and Religious Studies during which time he studied as a Finch Scholar in Rome for a year. He was ordained in 1992 and served in three circuit appointments over 20 years, in Leighton Buzzard and Stewkley, Cleveland, and Mid-Lincolnshire (including 10 years as Superintendent). He returned to Wesley House in 2011 as Vice-Principal and Director of Pastoral Studies.

Jonathan obtained his PhD in Mediaeval Ecclesiastical History through part-time study during his first two circuit appointments and has served on a number of committees in the Church and as a District Ecumenical Officer. His involvement in the training of local preachers and ministers has been extensive and he continues to write on pastoral theology, preaching and church history.

Jonathan is married to Lesley and they have two adult children. He is an avid Archers listener and has published articles and spoken about the long-running radio soap.

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The Methodist Church in Great Britain is still organised in a methodical way using many of the structures introduced by its founder, John Wesley. However, the Church is quite pragmatic, and is willing to make changes where they seem desirable. 

Structures exist to enable decision making that takes account of all concerns and views within the Church. No one is given supreme authority, but consultation is vital. At the same time, Churches cannot simply arrange their own affairs, but have some shared disciplines and ways of working. Methodists belong to local churches or ecumenical partnerships, but also feel part of a larger connected community, i.e., the Connexion.

Being connected

This sense of being ‘connected’ makes a difference to how the Methodist Church as a whole is structured. At its heart is an understanding of the Christian community as the 'body of Christ'. Just as a human body contains different limbs and organs that depend on each other, so we should be close and caring enough to feel each other's pain and delight. We should put the good of the whole body before our own individual needs.

When ministers or deacons are ordained in the Methodist Church, they are also 'received into full Connexion.’ Included in the British Methodist Connexion are all the districts of Scotland, Wales and England, along with the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Shetland.

“Do not allow yourself one thought of separating from your brothers and sisters, whether their opinions agree with yours or not.” (John Wesley)

Find out more here about our calling, our structure, the views and doctrine of the Methodist Church, and more about what makes Methodism distinctive:

http://methodist.org.uk
http://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-church/views-of-the-church/

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