Happy New Connexional Year! On Friday 28th August 2026, we joyfully welcomed Revd Romeo Pedro as our new District Chair of Yorkshire North and East Methodist District. Please see below a letter from him, and some pictures from Friday night. You will also see below a button which will give you access to the Namibian tune of ‘Praise my Soul the King of Heaven’ which we learnt on Friday. We have had many requests for the music, so please see it attached below.
Dear siblings,
As I write these words, I am standing at the beginning of a new journey — and I am deeply grateful for the warmth of the welcome I have already received across Yorkshire North and East.
Coming from Namibia and having journeyed through different places and communities before arriving here, I have learned that you never really arrive anywhere empty-handed. We each bring our stories, our experiences, our hopes and even our scars. But we also arrive with open hands, ready to receive what others have to offer.
That is something of how I hope to begin my ministry among you. I don’t come with a finished map or with all the answers. I come wanting to listen, learn and walk alongside you.
My own thinking about leadership has increasingly been shaped by four words: Remember, Reimagine, Risk and Review. We remember and honour the people and stories that have brought us this far. We reimagine what church and mission might look like in a changing world. We find the courage to take faithful risks when God opens new possibilities. And we review what we are doing with honesty and humility, always willing to learn.
But perhaps even more important than any strategy is relationship. Ubuntu teaches us, “I am because we are.” Our flourishing is bound together. Churches flourish when people flourish; communities flourish when relationships flourish; and leadership flourishes when it is shared.
But above all, I am convinced that we need to build all of this on Prayer. I fast and pray every Friday (and have been doing so for about 33 years). I’d like to invite you to “stop” on a Friday (just for a couple of minutes at any time of the day) to pray for the life of the District and particularly for the mission in your Circuit and Local Church. For the early risers, I also pray every morning between 5 and 6 if you’d like to join me.
So, during these first months, I hope to travel, listen, ask questions, share meals, hear stories and discover more of this wonderfully diverse District. I particularly want to hear not only about the challenges we face, but also: Where are you seeing signs of life? Where is God already at work?
Perhaps these are good questions for all of us as we begin this new Methodist year.
We may not yet know everything about the road ahead. But we know that we do not travel it alone.
May God give us the courage to remember well, the imagination to reimagine boldly, the faith to risk faithfully, and the humility to keep learning together.
I look forward to walking the road with you.
With every blessing,
Your sibling, Romeo
District Chair
Watch the welcome Service
You can re-watch the live stream here: