wfn.org | Kirby Named District Chairman

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3352 notes).

Note 3351 by UMNS on Dec. 19, 1996 at 16:04 Eastern (4659 characters).

SEARCH: British, Methodists, Kirby, district, race
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CONTACT:  Ralph E. Baker                      639(10-31-71B){3351}
          Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            Dec. 19, 1996

Kirby, first person of color to serve
as district chairman in British Methodist Church

by Kathleen LaCamera*

     LONDON (UMNS) -- A black man, the Rev. Ermal Boston Kirby,
will be the first person of color to serve as a district chairman
(equivalent to a bishop) in the British Methodist Church.  A tutor
in Ethics at Queen's College in Birmingham, Kirby takes up the
position in the London North East District in September 1998. 
     "I have mixed feelings about being the first black person to
become a district chairman", confided Kirby. "The job is difficult
because the chairman doesn't have as much direct power to change
things as one might think."  
     He added with a laugh, "A friend said to me 'I thought you'd
never be stupid enough to go for something this difficult'".   
     One priority Kirby has set for himself is to remain at the
border between church and society.  
     "There seems to be a fault line between worship and social
action. I want to play some part in healing that division.     
     The London North East District will provide him with just
that opportunity. Geographically stretching from inner-city London
to rural Cambridge, the District must cope with the widest range
of urban-rural problems familiar to churches both in Britain and
the United States.    
     "The district seems well aware of addressing social issues
while at the same time ... maintaining a vibrant worshipping
community ... The challenge," according to Kirby, "is to hold both
together."        
     Upon hearing of Kirby's appointment, the British Methodist
Church's Secretary for Racial Justice exclaimed, "Wonderful news,
it's been a long time coming."   
     The Rev. Naboth Muchopa said that black people have been in
England in large numbers for a long time and have made many
diverse contributions to the life of the church especially in the
inner-city areas.  "Until now, no real headway had been made at
getting black people into the center of decision-making and
power." 
     In addition to positions as a superintending minister
(roughly equivalent to a U.S. district superintendent) and a
parish minister in the Birmingham area, Kirby also has served as a
coordinating secretary for the United Kingdom-wide Council of
Churches in Britain and Ireland.  It was during his travels with
the council that he became convinced that Methodists must hold on
to their unique sense of "connectedness".   
     "I'd meet people up north in Scotland or in some small parish
in Wales and their eyes would light up when I'd say I was a
Methodist.  We all need a sense of belonging, we need to feel
grounded in something larger than ourselves." 
     Born in Barbados, but residing in Britain since he was eight,
Kirby has always felt a sense of belonging to several worlds.  He
grew up in a traditional black family and community, but attended
a high school where he was one of three black students out of 600
pupils.  Kirby later went on to Oxford University where he studied
Theology at St. Peter's College.   
     "I was aware of the different worlds of home and church and
school, but I experienced a security in both worlds. ... It's
helped me to face new situations with confidence." 
     Commenting on why it has taken so long for someone like Ermal
Kirby to become a chairman, Muchopa admits that it has something
to do with an inherent sense among British people that to be
British means being white. 
     "Even now it will still be a struggle for black people to get
into positions of leadership because of the UK's move towards more
politically right-wing policies.  Much has been said about wanting
to make it more and more possible for black people to make a
fuller contribution to the life of the Methodist Church in
Britain, however, the reality of what is said and what is actually
done is a bit different." 
     Kirby stands ready to face such a challenge.  He only regrets
that after all the excitement over his appointment, it will be
almost two year before he steps into his new role as chairman.  He
plans to use that time to begin to get to know the new people and
communities who will come under his care.   

                             #  #  # 

     * LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent
based in Europe.

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