Liverpool - A former Sikh is to become the first Asian to lead the Methodist Church in Britain, the country's third largest denomination. The Rev Inderjit Bhogal (46) of Sheffield will take over as president of the Methodist Conference next June. Mr Bhogal was voted by a large majority to succeed the Rev Stuart Burgess at this year's conference in Merseyside and said that he hoped his appointment would encourage members of minority racial groups to recognise that the Church was open to all, no matter what their colour.
Mr Bhogal, who was brought up as a Sikh in Nairobi, Kenya, moved to Britain in 1964 and lived in Dudley in the West Midlands. He explained that the lack of a Sikh temple in the area led to his conversion to Methodism.
