The Methodist Conference got underway in Portsmouth yesterday with a fresh call from the new President to pay attention to God and to those who have been discarded or rejected by society.

The Rev Alison Tomlin was inducted as President during the opening of the Conference. Addressing Conference members, she said paying attention to God meant living with him at the centre and loving even enemies.

“We talk about God as central, except of course that the God we serve tends to spend a lot of time on the edge, on the periphery, on the outside, not within our buildings, not within the places we choose to call home, but out there with those who have been discarded, rejected, those who are distressed and distraught,” she said.

“So if we are serious about paying attention to God at the centre of our lives we have to make sure that we are paying attention far wider than ourselves.

“We have to make sure we are paying attention to others and those who are far off ... we have to be willing to pay attention to those with whom we profoundly disagree and call enemy.”

Also inducted was the Methodist Conference’s new Vice President, Deacon Eunice Attwood, who called upon the Church to remember the unchanging nature of God’s love and bring God’s hope to the world.

“If God had a Facebook page I think his status page would permanently say ‘I love you’ and he would write on your wall ‘I love you’. If God used Twitter, I believe he would write ‘I love you’,” she said.

“We’re good at talking but we lack confidence in talking specifically about God. I wonder if it’s because we are not convinced of this transforming, awesome, overwhelming love. I think we need to hear these words again. God loves us.”

The President and Vice President, who are elected to serve for one year, will visit Methodist churches across the UK and abroad as part of their duties.

The Conference meets until Thursday in Portsmouth under the theme of ‘Transforming Love, Engaging Faith’. It was last held in the historic port city in 1987.

The opening of the Conference was attended by representatives of the Methodist Church’s ecumenical partners, including the Church of England and the United Reformed Church, and representatives of Methodist Churches worldwide.

The Methodists from Connexions overseas delivered a message to Conference expressing their hope to be “true partners” that could give as well as receive from one another. Also present was the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth.

Business gets underway in earnest on Monday, with key votes taking place on racism and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Conference will also hear a statement on abortion.

The head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is due to address Conference on Tuesday. The two Churches have been in dialogue over deepening their relationship and entered into a formal Covenant agreement with one another in 2002.