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DISCIPLES
CENTER for PUBLIC WITNESS |
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COUNCIL
of GOVERNORS
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The
Rev. Dr. William Chris Hobgood
Dr.
Hobgood, who was
born in the Republic of the Congo, is the President
and co-founder
of the Disciples Center for
Public Witness. He is also the recent past General Minister of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ),
a former director
of The Center, the former Regional Minister of the Christian
Church
Capital Area, and the former
regional minister of the Christian
Church
in Arkansas. Dr. Hobgood has also served on numerous denominational
boards and committees, and pastored congregations in Lexington, KY,
Charlestown, IN, and Arlington, VA. Currently, he serves as the Senior
Pastor of Bethany
Beach Christian Church in
Bethany Beach, DE, and as an antiracism
trainer for various groups and ministries. A commitment to justice and
peace have always been at the center of his faith, his ministry, and
his life.
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The
Rev. Dr. Alvin O. Jackson
Dr.
Jackson is the
Senior Pastor of Park
Avenue Christian Church in New
York, NY, and a co-founder
of the Disciples Center for Public Witness.
Prior to his ministry at Park Avenue, Dr. Jackson served as Senior
Pastor of National City Christian Church, President of the National
City Christian Church Foundation, and Moderator of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). Before that, he served as Senior Pastor of
Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, TN, and, before
that, as Senior Pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church in Roanoke,
VA. Dr. Jackson's ministry is based on his strong belief in
the
gospel's radical inclusivity and thus its good news to the poor and
marginalized. (Because of Dr. Jackson's leadership and commitment, and
the hospitality of his congregation, The Center has office space at
Park Avenue).
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Bishop
T. Garrott Benjamin, Jr.
Bishop Benjamin, who was
consecrated to the Bishopric by an ecumenical group of national
bishops, is the Senior Pastor of Light of the
World Christian
Church in
Indianapolis, IN. He is also an author, a motivational
speaker, and an abundant life coach. His ministry has
produced 40 seminary graduates with M. Div. degrees, one third of whom
are women. Six of tht number have earned doctorates and three
are on the ordination track. They serve the church globaly
and ecumenically, ranging from local pastors to seminary administrators
and denominational partner heads. The Bishop is also a life-time member
of the NAACP and has received an award from them to honor his dedicated
work in the area of civil and human rights. He proclaims, teaches and
lives a gospel of both personal and social transformation.
(Because of the Bishop's
leadership and generosity, and the hospitality of his congregation, The
Center has office space at Light of the World).
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The
Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale
Dr. Cynthia Hale is the
Senior Pastor of Ray of Hope
Christian Church in Decatur, GA.
In addition to this ministry, Dr. Hale has served in a number
of leadership positions, including convener of the Women in Ministry
Conference, member of the Board of Trustees of Hollins University,
Necrologist for the
Hampton Ministers' Conference, Secretary of the Board of Beulah Heights
University, Chairperson of City of Hope Ministries, Co-Chair of the
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and Chair of the 21st Century Vision
Team of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Dr. Hale
was invited to pray at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to read
Scripture at the 2009 Inaugural Prayer Service, to pray on a historic
conference call that included over 140,000 people of faith and the
President of the United States, and to serve
on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. Dr.
Hale's faith, theology, and Christian leadership are woven together in
an uncompromising and liberating combination of worship, prayer,
evangelism, and social justice.
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The
Rev. Lari Grubbs
The
Rev. Grubbs is the
Regional Minister of the Christian
Church
Capital Area. As Regional
Minister, Rev. Grubbs is the chief
administrator and evangelist on staff. He is also pastor to the pastors
in the Christian Church Capital Area, which serves 48 congregations in
Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Delaware. Prior
to his current ministry, Rev. Grubbs held pastorates in Missouri,
Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Iowa. He also served for eight
years as the Southeast Gateway Area Minister in the Mid-America Region
of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His commitment
to justice and peace, especially racial justice and
reconciliation, is well-known,
and his leadership in this area inspires and supports the work of
others in the region and beyond. (Under his leadership, the
region
serves as the fiscal agent for the Disciples Center for Public
Witness).
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The
Rev. Dr. Delores Carpenter
Dr.
Carpenter is the
Senior Pastor of Michigan Park
Christian Church in
Washington, DC, and a Professor of Religious Education at Howard
Divinity School (also in Washington, DC). She is also a
former President of the National Convocation of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), the founder
and executive director of the African Heritage and Cultural Institute
of America, the author-editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal,
the former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Howard Divinity
School, and the author of numerous articles on theological education,
women, African American history, and Biblical exegesis. Dr.
Carpenter's approach to church is simultaneously grounded in
Afrocentrism and oriented towards greater multi-culturalism.
Her
worship, preaching, and teaching combine Biblical truth
with African American themes, Black Church traditions, serious
theological reflection and a strong commitment to justice and peace.
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The
Rev. Dr. Paul Saddler
Dr.
Saddler is the Senior Pastor of Twelfth
Street Christian Church and the
Director of Twelfth Street Community Services, both in Washington, DC.
He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Thurgood
Marshall
Center in Washington, DC. His is a vision of church in which
personal faith, social service, and
justice advocacy all come together and mutually reinforce one another.
(Because of Dr. Saddler's leadership and the hospitality of
his
congregation, The Center has office space at 12th Street).
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The
Rev. Noemi Parrilla-Mena
The
Rev. Mena is the Pastor for Hispanic
Ministries at National
City
Christian Church
(Washington, DC), the
pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Nacional (which meets at
National City), and a
Hispanic Ministry Specialist for the Christian Church
Capital Area.
She has also served as a hospital chaplain, a chaplain in the
United States Navy, and a ministerial co-leader at Plymouth
Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, DC.
While
in seminary at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN, Rev.
Mena co-founded Iglesia Hermandad Cristiana, the first Hispanic
Disciples of Christ Church in Indianapolis. In her ministry,
Rev.
Mena blends the gospel's gift of grace and love for all people with its
clear demand for personal commitment to God's reign of peace and
justice.
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The
Rev. Dr. Marcus Leathers
Dr.
Leathers is the
Senior Pastor of Shepherd
Park Christian Church in
Washington, DC, the chair of the Proreconciliation/Antiracism
Team
of the Christian Church Capital Area, and an antiracism trainer for
various groups and ministries. Before serving in these
ministries, Dr. Leathers served as the Associate Pastor at Michigan
Park Christian Church in Washington, DC. Committed to
promoting
strong personal faith and vibrant corporate worship, Dr. Leathers also
believes that an indispensible part of the church's mission is "to
dismantle the obstructions that prevent people from experiencing the
richness of faith and the societal evils that threaten to rob us of our
heritage of courage and promises of blessings."
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The
Rev. Dr. Stephen Gentle
Dr.
Gentle is the Senior
Pastor of National City
Christian Church and
the President of the National City Christian Church Foundation. Before
serving in these ministries, Dr. Gentle served as the Senior Minister
of Central Christian Church in Orlando, FL. Dr. Gentle has
also served the wider church as a member of the General Board of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Administrative Committee,
the Time and Place Committee for the General Assembly, and the Board of
the Christian Church Foundation. Although speaking out when
necesary and frequently modeling Christian commitment through
his
own participation in social witness events, Dr. Gentle believes
strongly in doing the hard work of promoting constructive dialogue and
building consensus around crucial issues of justice and peace. (Because
of the leadership
of Dr. Gentle and the hospitality of his congregation, The Center has
office space at National City).
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Mr.
Oscar Haynes
Throughout
his life, Mr.
Haynes has served the denomination in a number
of important ways, including President of the National Convocation of
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has also
served on
the many boards and commisions, including the Disciples Historical
Society, Disciples Home Missions, the National City Christian
Church Foundation, and Twelfth Street Christian Church.
Recently,
Mr. Haynes was the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Oldtimer's
Grapevine, a
newsletter to which he still contributes a regular column.
Mr.
Haynes currently serves as an usher at United
Christian Parish
in Reston, VA, where his spouse, The Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes, is the
Senior Pastor. Besides reminding all of us that ministry is
not
limited to the clergy, Mr. Haynes also demonstrates by his Christian
life and sevice that the ability to get along well with everyone (even
those with whom one strongly disagreess) can go hand-in-hand with an
uncompromising commitment to racial, social, and
economic justice.
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The
Rev. Ron Degges
The
Rev. Ronald J. Degges is the President of Disciples
Home Missions
of the Christian
Church (Disciples
of Christ). Ron
is gifted with a deep, joyous, articulate, and always
respectful-of-others faith that has been a constant inspiration to his
parishioners, colleagues in ministry, and ecumenical and interfaith
partners. Through his 30-plus years in ministry serving
churches
in Maryland, Iowa, Delaware, Virginia, and California, he has seen and
experienced the Disciples from coast to coast. Through his
work
with the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council Ron has developed and
hosted a series of interfaith discussions throughout Southern
California and produced an interfaith film entitled, Putting Faith Into
Action. In his work
with churches and interfaith groups,
Ron
encourages members to reach out of their comfort zones to participate
in leadership and team roles. He encourages people to never settle for
anything less than the best in their life, in their world, and in their
universe.
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The
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins
Dr.
Watkins is the
General Minister and President of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada,
and
an ex
officio member of the
Council of Governors of the Disciples Center for Public Witness.
She is also a member of the Central Committee of the World
Council of Churches, the governing board of the National Council of
Churches, the board of directors of Sojourners, and the U.S.
President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships.
Dr. Watkins
has also served as a mission partner in the Congo, the moderator of the
Christian Church in Oklahoma, and the pastor of several
congregations. At the invitation of the President of the
United
States, Dr.
Watkins preached at the 2009 Inaugural Prayer Service in
Washington, DC, and, at the invitation of national religious leaders,
she served as one of the main speakers on a historic conference call
about health care reform that included over 140,000 people of faith and
the President of the United States. Throughout her tenure as
GMP
and before, Dr. Watkins has spoken out, with a pastor's heart, on
issues of justice and peace.
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