15 October 2014
Methodist Council announces nomination of Secretary of the Conference
• Click here for the full list of Council papers
The Methodist Council, which is meeting from 15 to 16 October at
the High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddeston, has agreed to
nominate to the Conference the Revd Gareth Powell to serve as the
Secretary of the Conference from 1 September 2015. The role is one
of the most senior positions of Church leadership in Methodism,
alongside the roles of President and Vice-President of the
Conference.
Gareth will succeed the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, who remains in post
until 31 August 2015. "I congratulate Gareth in this nomination to
be the next secretary of the Conference," said Martyn. "He is a
person of great gifts and I look forward to the next nine months
when we shall work together in a time of transition seeking the
health, unity of benefit of the whole Methodist Church."
Gareth said: "Martyn has helped to create in the Church a fresh
enthusiasm for God's calling on Methodists to engage joyfully and
seriously with mission and evangelism. My commitment to this vision
means that I want the church to pay careful and considered
attention to its patterns of oversight and pastoral care. In doing
so, I hope we will be better resourced and enabled to respond to
the challenges of the Gospel and of contemporary society."
Gareth has been the Assistant Secretary of the Conference since
2011 and is currently Head of Governance Support in the Connexional
Team. He read theology at Westminster College, Oxford and then
undertook ministerial training at The Queen's College, Birmingham,
obtaining an MA in Pastoral Theology before spending time at the
Graduate School of Ecumenical Studies, the University of Geneva.
Having served in the Coventry Circuit, he was ordained in 1999,
when he was stationed to the Cardiff Circuit as a circuit minister
and university chaplain. From 2002-2008 he was Methodist Chaplain
and Chaplaincy Coordinator at Cardiff University.
In 2009 he was directly stationed to the Connexional Team to be
based in the Governance Support Cluster as the President's
Assistant. Since 2010 Gareth has been a member of the Council of
Cardiff University. He has vast experience of ecumenical
partnerships and is highly respected in such circles. He is a
member of the Council of Christian Unity of the Church of England.
He was a member of the Methodist/Roman Catholic Committee from 2001
to 2012 and was The Ecumenical Officer of Y Gymanfa from 2005-7. He
has served on a variety of committees of the Methodist Church.
Notes
1. The Methodist Council meets three times annually to undertake ongoing work on behalf of the Methodist Conference, which is the governing body of the Methodist Church. The 2015 Methodist Conference will take place in Southport from 25 June to 2 July. Visit the Methodist Conference website for more information.