President and Vice-President Designate of the Methodist Conference
29 June 2026
The Methodist Conference has designated the Revd Dr Jennifer Smith to serve as President and Daniel Keen to serve as Vice-President, starting their year of office when the Representative Session of the Methodist Conference opens in June 2027.
President Designate
The Revd Dr Jennifer Smith is a Methodist minister serving as Superintendent of the City Road Circuit. The Circuit incorporates Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission, the London church opened in 1778 for John Wesley, founder of Methodism. She also chairs the Global Relationships Committee of the Methodist Church in Great Britain and has a particular interest in the global work of Methodism in education. She has served across the Districts, Connexion, with overseas partners and is a regular contributor on BBC Radio 4.
An Honorary Canon of St Paul's Cathedral in London and a dual US/UK citizen, Jennifer is a regular contributor to BBC religious broadcasting and a widely invited speaker and preacher.
Jennifer has a passion for pastoral ministry and says that, by God’s grace, the Methodist Church is called to be a prophetic voice across nations, grounded in the integrity of local wisdom. She believes that God’s ministers should listen, study, pray, speak and act with clarity in front of all audiences.
Dr Smith said: “There has never been a more important time for our church to be a healing presence in our communities as we seek God’s purpose for our future. It is an extraordinary privilege to be part of that work with Daniel and the whole of the Conference.”
Vice-President Designate
Daniel Keen is an accredited local preacher and has served as a representative at Conference five times. He has been a member of the Conference Business Committee for three years and held various roles in the Church.
A lifelong Methodist, he considers the Church to be his second home and is passionate about music seeking new opportunities to showcase new and traditional hymns in church and non-church settings.
Daniel is a former teacher and now a pre-registration pharmacy technician and on the board of trustees for an academy trust in Stoke-on-Trent.
He is also strongly committed to heritage and to learning from it. Daniel said: “It is a great honour to be given the opportunity to serve the Church in this way. I am excited to work with Jennifer to further the Methodist cause and champion our values to all.
As the Methodist Church looks forward it must not forget its history and roots – particularly in terms of social justice.”