Lay Leader

Mrs Gillian Kingston BA (Mod), Lay Leader of the Methodist Conference 2011

Mrs. Gillian Kingston made history at last year's Annual Methodist Conference when she became the first person to hold the newly created position of Lay Leader of the Conference. The post lasts for a three year period.

Lay Leader's Loiterings 2010 - 2011

It has been a great privilege and joy to have walked and worked alongside the Revd Paul Kingston during this past Connexional year. Coming from the same circuit on the same District, we have had common perspectives and interests. We have shared experiences and opinions, raised eyebrows, laughed, pondered, at much the same things. It has been a great year - thank you, Paul!

Here are just some of the things in which I've been involved:

Sharing in worship with the President in the Methodist Church, Bandon;
Attending National Ploughing Championships at Athy;
Leading discussion at the Junior Ministers' Conference in the Emmaus Centre;
Speaking at the North-East Local Preachers' dedication evening in Carrickfergus;
Bringing greetings to the MWI residential Conference at Glenada;
Chairing the General Committee with the President;
Listening in on committees of the Connexion that I'd only read about before;
Sharing in the RTE broadcast of the Covenant service from the Methodist Church, Adare;
Speaking to the meeting of the retired Ministers at ‘The Church on the Hill';
Welcoming Paul and Edna on the now annual Presidential visit to University College, Dublin;
Attending the opening of the new church in Kenmare;
Attending the Trauma and Spirituality Conference at the Europa Hotel, Belfast;
Leading the Midlands and Southern MWI annual residential Conference in Killarney;
Preaching at the Whiteabbey 75th anniversary celebration service.

Thank you for all these wonderful opportunities to meet people and to share in significant events!

Blessings,

Gillian

Gillian's Profile:

Married to the Rev. Tom Kingston, Gillian, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin with a BA (Mod) in English Language and Literature, has been a teacher, an assistant to the Methodist Chaplin, Trinity College, and is currently a Chaplain at University College Dublin.

Mrs. Kingston has a great variety of experience in the life of the Methodist Church in Ireland, serving as a member of the General Committee and also previously as Convenor of the Faith and Order Committee. Gillian is a member of the Covenant Council of the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland (formerly its Honorary Secretary) She has served as a member of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (1986-2006) Mrs. Kingston was the Chair of Programme Planning Committee for the World Methodist Conference, Seoul, South Korea (July 2006). 'From 1995-1997, Gillian was all-Ireland President of the Methodist Women's Association, taking the theme 'To work and speak and think for Thee'.

Gillian Kingston's work on behalf of the Christian Church is not confined to Methodism. She is a former President of CTBI (Churches Together in Britain & Ireland) and Moderator of Church Representatives Meeting of CTBI. A Co-Chair of the Theology Forum of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting, she is also a Past President of the Irish Council of Churches and co-Chair (with Cardinal Brady) of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting.

The Lay Leader elect is also a Member of the Trustees Board of
Christian Aid (GB/Ireland), Christian Aid (Ireland), Irish School of Ecumenics,Dublin and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Since 2008 she has been Director of the Glenstal Ecumenical Conference

Gillian has four grown-up children.
She lists her interests as music, reading, art, theology, country life.

Read her Conference address from June 2010.