The Beckly Lecture 2026:
Together towards life in a world of division
Roland Fernandes, United Methodist Church
The event was held on Monday 29 June at Methodist Conference in Telford and also livestreamed. The recording is available below and a report of the event, and transcript of the lecture, can be found on the Methodist Church website.
In a world where political leaders invoke the language of civilisation to justify exclusion, where creation care is dismissed as a cult and the stranger is feared, what does faithful Christian mission look like? And what does it demand of us? For the Beckly Lecture’s 100th anniversary, Roland Fernandes will bring an international perspective to some of the most pressing questions facing the global church today. Drawing on the World Council of Churches’ landmark document ‘Together Towards Life’ and the theology of mission that shapes Global Ministries’ work across the world, this address will engage honestly with the political currents of our moment — and refuse to let the Gospel be captured by any of them. From the ecological crisis to colonial memory, from Pentecost to the politics of fear, these reflections will be about ‘what it means to serve a God of Life in a world that is choosing division’. The lecture will also be a call to partnership — between our two Methodist traditions, and between all who believe that mission begins not with us, but with God.
Roland Fernandes serves as general secretary for the General Board of Global Ministries, which includes humanitarian agency UMCOR, and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, agencies of The United Methodist Church. In this dual role, he oversees the denomination’s worldwide mission, relief and development efforts, while also leading the agency that connects the church and the academy and prepares clergy and lay leadership for ministry. He oversees programmes and partnerships in more than 100 countries, including nearly 200 missionaries serving in more than 60 countries.
Roland first joined Global Ministries as a missionary, serving in India and the Philippines before moving to New York to work in financial services. Over his 30 years in the Church, he has held key leadership roles, including chief operating officer, chief financial officer and interim general secretary, and been instrumental in guiding Global Ministries through numerous transitions. Originally from Kolkata, India, Fernandes holds a master of commerce from Calcutta University and is a Chartered Accountant. In 2025, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for his leadership in global mission and education.
The Beckly Social Services Lecture takes place every year, as one of the fringe events at the Methodist Conference.
John Henry Beckly, a lay Wesleyan Methodist, founded the trust which is responsible for the lectures in 1926.
According to the original charter of the Beckly Trust, ‘the function of the Lectureship shall be to set forth the social implications of Christianity and to further the development of a Christian sociology and the expressions of the Christian attitude in reference to social, industrial, economic and international subjects’
Recent Lectures
- 2025 – Whiteness is the sea not the shark: a postcolonial critique of British Methodism – Professor Anthony Reddie
- 2024 – What would it take to end poverty in the UK? Building connections, breaking chains, and making food banks history – Emma Revie and Val McKie
- 2023 – Human Rights in the light of the Jewish Tradition – Responsibility towards Humanity – Rabbi Nava Hefetz
- 2022 – Britain: Global Power or Good Neighbour? – Rt Hon Lord Paul Boateng
- 2021 – Faith and Leadership in a Global Pandemic – Prof Jason Leitch CBE
- 2020 – Peace, Pandemics and Plastic Bottles: Prioritising the Future – Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal OBE
- 2019 – Politics and Faith in the US: Pursuing justice in divided times – Revd Dr Susan Henry-Crowe
- 2018 – Social mobility: a task for all of us – Rt Hon Baroness Gillian Shephard
You can find out more on the history of the lectures on the Methodist Church website.