Church elects new President and Vice-President designate

04 July 2012

The Revd Ruth Gee has been elected President Designate of the Methodist Conference for 2013-2014 and Dr Daleep Mukarji has been elected Vice-President Designate. The results of the elections were announced today at the annual Methodist Conference, meeting this week in Plymouth.

Revd Ruth Gee is the Chair of the Darlington Methodist District, and represents the Church on Churches Together in England, the Free Churches Group and the Joint Implementation Commission, which supports the Anglican Methodist Covenant. She is passionate about sharing the Gospel and enabling people to grow in their discipleship. She lives in Darlington, with her husband Robert, who is a Methodist minister. Ruth has two grown-up children: Andrew and Rachel.

"It's an enormous privilege and very humbling to be elected", Ruth said. "I am looking forward very much to serving alongside Daleep. I believe that there is a need for us as Christian disciples to raise our eyes beyond ourselves to see glimpses of God's glory. We are called to walk so closely with Christ that we can instinctively recognise him at work in the world and be challenged and inspired by that."

Dr Daleep Mukarji OBE was born and raised in India, where he trained as a medical doctor. He recently retired as director of Christian Aid. Daleep lives in North Finchley, London, with his wife Azra, where they attend Muswell Hill Methodist Church. They have three grown-up children. He is passionate about international development, ecumenism and the Gospel.

"I am overwhelmed and very humbled to have been elected Vice-President of the Methodist Conference," said Daleep. "It is a huge privilege and a great challenge and opportunity, and one has to prepare spiritually and personally to make the most of it. I am passionately committed to the Methodist Church and am very excited about this possibility. I believe the Church has so much potential to reach out to people here and overseas; it needs to be spiritually alive and socially relevant - that is the part of the Church that I want to be associated with."

Ruth and Daleep will be inducted as the first item of business at the 2013 Methodist Conference, which will take place at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, London, 4-11 July.

Hi-res photos are available to download: Ruth and Daleep.