GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN (MEOR) – The World Methodist Council elected a new president and a new general secretary during its Council meeting on Wednesday, 14 August 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Council elected Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett of The United Methodist Church as Council president and Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leao Neto of the Methodist Church in Great Britain as general secretary.
Bishop Wallace-Padgett was elected bishop in The United Methodist Church in 2012. She is currently assigned as the bishop of Holston and North Alabama and will serve as the bishop of Holston and West Virginia starting 1 September 2024. She concluded her tenure as the chair of the WMC Evangelism Standing Committee in 2024 and was a member of the WMC Steering Committee prior to her election as Council president. Bishop Wallace Padgett has served as a district superintendent and pastor in The United Methodist Church and has extensive service to United Methodist churchwide agencies, including the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women, the Commission on the Way Forward, and the Connectional Table. A graduate of Berea College, Scarritt College, Lexington Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary, Bishop Wallace-Padgett is described as having “the unique ability to bring together persons of polarized theological perspectives and believes strongly in the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Wallace Padgett follows the Rev. Prof. Jong Chun Park from the Korean Methodist Church who served as Council president from 2016-2024.
The Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leao Neto is the new general secretary of the World Methodist Council. Prior to his election, Dr. Neto was the Connexional Global Communities Officer for the Methodist Church in Great Britain and served previously as their Assistant Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer. A native of Brazil, Dr. Neto has been a minister in the Methodist Church in Great Britain for over 20 years. He served as a member of the World Methodist Council since 2006 and was a member of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission. He chaired the WMC Interreligious Relationships Committee from 2016-2024.
Dr. Neto succeeds Bishop Ivan Abrahams from the Methodist Church in Southern Africa. Bishop Abrahams served as WMC general secretary from 2011-2024.
Bishop Wallace-Padgett and Dr. Neto assumed office on 18 August 2024 and convened the World Methodist Council for a short meeting on the same day.
Others officers and leaders elected to serve the World Methodist Council for 2024-2029 were Mr. Joshua Rathnam of the Church of North India as vice president, Rev. Myron Howie of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as treasurer, and Bishop Rosemarie Wenner of The United Methodist Church in Germany as Geneva Secretary.
The World Methodist Council was meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, alongside the World Methodist Conference. The World Methodist Conference is the every-five-year international gathering of the worldwide Methodist, Wesleyan, and related United/Uniting family to celebrate our shared heritage and common mission, meet and network with Methodist church leaders from around the globe, learn from one another, and grow in Christ. The last Conference was held in Houston, Texas, USA, in August 2016. The 2024 Conference was delayed three years due to the Covid pandemic. The Uniting Church in Sweden, a member of the World Methodist Council, co-hosted the Conference with the support of The United Methodist Church in Norway and Denmark.
The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome is the presence of the World Methodist Council in Rome for ecumenical dialogue, joint action for peace and justice, prayer and reflection, and hospitality.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 