Welcome to the Bea, New Youth President

The new Methodist Youth President, Bea Hulme, was welcomed to their role with a service that took place at their home church in Penrith on Sunday afternoon, 8 September. Attending were the President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Helen Cameron, the Vice-President Carolyn Godfrey, the Superintendent minister for Penrith Methodist, the Revd Tim Cooke and Tom Hart, the previous Youth President.

The Methodist Youth President is a national, salaried position working full-time for one year to serve the children and young people of the Methodist Church in Britain. The role involves meeting and representing the young Methodist people to ensure that their voices are heard and to help them be involved in every aspect of Church life.

Bea, 22, grew up a Christian and a Methodist, “I looked at the job description for Youth President. My mum said I’d do a good job, and gradually I began to agree with her. As I researched more about it, it seemed like God was pushing me towards it.

“My welcome service was great with so many friends and family.

“I am so excited at the prospect of the year ahead. I hope that I get time to visit as many young people as possible. I am especially interested in getting young people to have the conversations that they maybe don’t often get the chance to have around social justice that will encourage and motivate them to take action.

“I think it is vital that young people are seen as Church now, in the present, not just being in training as the Methodists of the future.

Helen and Carolyn, President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference expressed their good wishes for Bea, commenting, “We congratulate Bea on becoming the Methodist Youth President for 2024-5. We already regard Bea as a valued colleague and look forward to working with them in the coming year. We will be praying for Bea and the young people of our Church as we as God’s people, ‘learn to do what is right, seek justice and defend the oppressed’.

Tom Hart, the outgoing Youth President, has been supporting Bea as they prepared for the new role. “It has been a privilege to work with Bea over the past few weeks as they’ve prepared for their year as Youth President. I have seen great promise in Bea, and I pray that they will serve our children and young people faithfully in this challenging yet truly rewarding role.”

The Revd Tim Cooke, Superintendent Minister at Penrith commented, “Knowing Bea as I have for nine years, we are so proud they are from Cumbria and have stepped up to this role. But knowing them personally, Bea will be a real advocate for forging ahead with passion in sharing God’s love, advocating for young people and mobilising them across the country.

Sarah Yallop was Bea’s youth worker when younger, “Bea was always a fervent speaker and an active participant in our group meetings with lots of strong opinions. Bea is a very kind person, especially on our trips and always concerned for others and taking care of new people.”

Bea’s grandparents, Rita and Steve Parkinson, were also there for the service, saying, “We’ve watched Bea grow over the years. We are proud and pray for Bea.”