Rev Michaela A Youngson has been inducted as the new president of the Methodist Conference in the UK.
Rev Youngson’s election, which sees her succeed Rev Lorraine N Mellor in the role, represents the first time a woman has been elected to succeed a woman president.
The Methodist Conference, which elects a new president annually, is the body that agrees policy for the Methodist Church which has some 188,000 members and 4,650 churches in the UK. John Wesley was the first conference chairperson.
Rev Youngson, who was inducted into office in a ceremony on Saturday during which she was presented with a Bible used by John Wesley, was ordained in 1997 and is one of two chairpersons of the London District.
During her presidential address, Rev Youngson described God’s grace as “radical”.
“It goes beyond what is only fair, to a prodigious reckless generosity. It is prevenient grace, which flows from the Lover’s desire to see the beloved flourish, to be whole and to live in delight.”
“We need to let go of our tendency to ‘niceness’ and, prompted by just how uncomfortable God’s grace is, make a nuisance of ourselves again in the market place and in the public square, refusing to remain silent in the face of systems that reinforce injustice, and oppress vulnerable people.”
