John Hellyer began his role as Chair of the South East District in September 2006. Following three years training at Wesley College, Bristol he served as a minister in the Bradford (Great Horton) Circuit from 1984-1989 and then moved to Birmingham where he was minister in an inner city area of the Eldon Circuit from 1989 to 1997. He was then the Superintendent of the Mosley Road and Sparkhill Circuit from 1997 to 2006.

I have had the privilege of serving the South East District, as one of the Assistant Chairs, since the launch of the District. My time as a Circuit minister ended in August 2009 and Tom and I moved to Crowborough, in the Tunbridge Wells Circuit. My travels as a minister took me to Bromley (Kent), Canterbury, London Mission Plumstead - Thamesmead (now part of Lesnes Circuit) and Eastbourne (now part of the Central Sussex United Area). During my time in Canterbury and Thamesmead I also served as a Prison Chaplain - 3 years at Canterbury and 10 at Belmarsh. As one of the prisoners pointed out when I was leaving Belmarsh, I had served longer than most of those committed by the courts!

I am married to Tom and we have a large extended family. My hobbies include genealogy - more an obsession really, and reading. Since moving to Crowborough I have also enjoyed walking in the lovely countryside that surrounds us.

I am currently a minister in Leatherhead, in the Dorking and Horsham Circuit. I have now been in circuit 23 years, serving in South Wales, South-West London and Surrey.

Before entering the ministry I was a music teacher and still enjoy taking part in music, particularly singing.

Tell us a bit about yourself…
I was born in Norwich, England and have lived in various parts of the world for 52 years. I am married to Judith whom I met at a local Methodist Church in 1972. We are blessed with a daughter and a son. I `married into Methodism', having been a Deacon in the Congregational Church and an Elder in the URC at the tender age of 17. Judith and I have been very happily settled at St Mark's Crescent Methodist Church, in the Thames Valley Circuit since 1982.

I have had a career in marketing and business development with BP and worked in the UK and overseas in Rome and Singapore.

Outside my Synod role, I am a local preacher, and enjoy running marathons and appearing in pantomime as the pantomime dame!

Having trained as a Chartered Accountant and working with Price Waterhouse, I moved into the field of Venture Capital, where I finished up running the Corporate Finance Department. I then moved into International Merchant Banking and was asked to become Chief Executive of the Merchant Bank in India. After three and a half years there I returned and then helped pioneer the firm's work in Central and Eastern Europe, advising on post communist financial and economic problems. I thought that I had retired in 1997, but it doesn't seem that way right now!

Graham joined the Connexional Team in September 2006 when he was appointed as Training and Development Officer (part-time) for the newly formed South-East District and in November 2006 he was also appointed as a Policy Development Officer (part-time) working on the Team Focus changes at Methodist Church House. Prior to joining the Connexional Team Graham was a Circuit Superintendent and before entering the ministry he was a Technical Production Manager in Repertory Theatre.

Heather was born in Newport, south east Wales and grew up in the local Methodist circuit there, whose people and preachers remain an influence still. She read English at Oxford (where the ecumenical dimension of the college chapel and the huge diversity of worship in the city opened up her view of how we understand church and ministry.)

While candidating for the ministry she was a lay worker in the Hereford circuit for two years. Heather trained for ministry at Wesley House Cambridge and then studied new testament theology at Heidelberg University (and shared in leading worship at the “English Church” there.)

Returning to circuit life she was a minister and university chaplain in the Oxford circuit, then served in the Rugby circuit, and then as Superintendent of the Chislehurst Circuit, and it was during this appointment that developing an odd limp led, by a circuitous route, to a diagnosis of Parkinson’ s Disease. In a sense since then, there has been a whole re-learning that comes with progressive acquired disability.

Following an appointment in the South East Berks circuit Heather is now living in the Thames Valley Circuit and is theological consultant on discipleship and ministry . This scarily grand title can cover many areas – teaching on theology and practice regarding disability , writing liturgy and meditative material, working with others on transforming sacred space, listening to ministerial colleagues who are testing out ideas ...and like many other people with impairments, learning from the queues at clinics, the roller coaster of medical side effects and the extended and often unsung networks that enable us to be.

Hobbies include genealogy , and planning the garden, largely for others to do and being the agent of the chamber music trio of ministers, Parsons’Noyse.

I began in this new post in January 2009. My role is to help the District’s churches and circuits with aspects of training – so please get in touch with me. A focus will be the nurturing of Christian disciples and finding ways for individuals to explore Christian vocation. There are many resources to help us, Methodist and ecumenical. Please share what you’ve found useful.

I have been committed to training as a priority within the Church since my first job – with Administry. I subsequently worked in the Methodist Connexional Team, first as Mission Education Secretary, more recently as Coordinator of Creative Arts in Methodism.