Methodist Church names leadership team of planned London Regional District

Ermal Kirby to be Lead Chair; Jenny Impey and StuartJordan to serve as Co-Chairs

The Methodist Church of Britain has named Rev Ermal Kirby asLead Chair of the London Regional District that will come intoexistence on 1 September 2006. Rev Jenny Impey and Rev StuartJordan will serve as Co-Chairs. The new District will cover theareas currently served by the 33 boroughs in Greater London, andwill consist of about 252 churches with 23,000 members, employing169 ordained staff (as of July 2004).

Ermal is currently chair of the London North-East District, apost he has held since 1998. Prior to that he was a tutor theQueen's College and West Midlands Ministerial Training Course(1995-98), Co-ordinating Secretary for Public Affairs with theCouncil of Churches for Britain and Ireland (1990-95),Superintendent of the Birmingham Central Mission (1985-90) and aminister in the Birmingham (West) Circuit (1980-85).

Jenny has been Deputy Chair of the London South-West Districtsince 2002. She has been a circuit minister in the Thames ValleyCircuit (2002 to the present), the Wimbledon Circuit (1995-2002)and the Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted Circuit (1992-95). StuartJordan has served in the Connexional Team as Secretary of theLondon Committee since 1997. Before that Stuart was a minister andlatterly superintendent in the London Mission (North West) Circuit(1987-97), chaplain to London University and Colleges whilestationed in the West London Mission (1982-87), minister in theManchester & Salford Mission (1976-81) and President'sAssistant/Assistant Tutor at Wesley College, Bristol (1975-76).

The decision to create a single London Regional District, with aLead Chair and two Co-Chairs, was taken at the 2004 MethodistConference. There are currently four districts covering London andthe South-East, but Conference agreed that London Methodism needsto be able to speak with one voice, and committed the Church tocreating the new District by September 2006.