Methodist response to appointment of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury

Methodist leaders have welcomed the appointment of Justin Welbyas the new Archbishop of Canterbury. In a statement Church leaderspraised Welby for his 'spiritual depth and wisdom.' Bishop Welby'sMethodist colleague in Durham, the Revd Ruth Gee, described him asa valued colleague and expressed her delight at his newappointment.

The full statements follow:

"Bishop Justin has demonstrated himself to be a man of spiritualdepth and wisdom. He has shown great passion and enthusiasm forworking together with other Churches and we look forward to workingwith him in the context of the partnership between our twoChurches. His generous nature, and commitment to serving hiscommunities that have been so greatly valued in Durham will be ahuge blessing to the wider Church. We look forward to seeing hisleadership guide the Church of England in the coming years and willkeep him and his family in our prayers as he takes up thissignificant global role."
The Revd Dr Mark Wakelin, President of the MethodistConference
Mr Michael King, Vice-President of the MethodistConference
The Revd Canon Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of theMethodist Church

"Bishop Justin is a deeply spiritual man who has been warmlyreceived by Christians here, not least because he has quicklyunderstood and related to their hopes and concerns. He has a heartfor ecumenism and enthusiasm for mission and I have valued him as acolleague. I am delighted that he has been appointed as Archbishopof Canterbury though sorry that he will be moving from the NorthEast so soon. We will be praying for him and for his family in thistime of change."
The Revd Ruth Gee, Chair of the Darlington MethodistDistrict