In addition to Bishop Yvette Flunder as our keynote speaker, confirmed presenters include: Beverly Wildung Harrison, Delores Berry, Jessica Vasquez Torres, Eily Marlow, Nadean Bishop, Judith Hoch Wray, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Donna Prince, Kathi Martin, Ruth Garwood, Paulina Hernández and Sylvia Rhue.
Bishop Yvette Flunder, senior pastor of City of Refuge Community Church UCC in San Francisco and founder of “The Fellowship,” will preach at our opening and closing worship services. Known for her work in response to the AIDS epidemic, the Rev. Flunder is a dynamic evangelist who challenged us at Mills College, saying, “The mainstream will learn from the radical inclusivity of the margins. Look for those who are most marginalized and serve them on purpose.”
The Rev. Delores P. Berry defines herself as “an out of the closet Christian Evangelist who Preaches, Prays, and Sings.” She was ordained in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and lives in Lancaster PA. We look forward to her leadership in worship and workshops.
Acclaimed ethicist, Beverly Wildung Harrison, will also give leadership to discussion sessions and plenaries. Bev Harrison, is Professor Emerita of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan and the author of Toward a New Ethic of Abortion and Making the Connections (ed. by Carol S. Ross), which includes the essay, “The Power of Anger in the Work of Love.”
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author of Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach, will participate in one of several workshops on gender issues. Professor Emeritus at the William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, Virginia co-authored (with Letha Dawson Scanzoni) the 1978 classic “Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? A Positive Christian Response.” One of the founders of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women’s Caucus, she is a frequent presenter at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, PA.
One of our younger presenters is the Rev. Eily Marlow, who heads the Lilly Foundation “Project for Vocation and Ethical Leadership” at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. She led a Re-Imagining session on intergenerational issues and will reflect on that issue with CLOUT. Following seminary at McCormick. Eily served for three years with “That All May Freely Serve,” the Presbyterian agency to promote LGBT participation in Presbyterian churches, which was founded by CLOUT co-founder Janie Spahr. After her almost four-year stint as Associate Chaplain at Macalester College, she became Executive Director of the Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. She will be joined in the intergenerational workshop by the Rev. Dr. Nadean Bishop, the first LGBT person to be called to pastor an American Baptist church in 1992. A published poet and former Professor of English Literature and Women’s Studies at Eastern Michigan University, Nadean serves on the Council of Governors of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice representing CLOUT.
The Rev. Jessica Vasquez Torres, a skilled speaker and workshop leader, is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). From 1999 until the spring of 2006 she served as General Staff in the Office of the General Minister and President. A graduate from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL, and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN, she currently serves as National Religious Outreach Coordinator with Interfaith Worker Justice in Chicago, IL. She is also an Anti-Racism Core-Organizer/Trainer with the Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis, IN, and Crossroads in Chicago, IL. A “1.5 generation” Latina of Puerto Rican descent, Rev. Vazquez Torres is an older daughter, older sister, someone’s beloved and aunt to the most beautiful girl in the world. When asked why she dedicates her ministry to the transformation of social institutions she says: “So that my niece can experience a church community where her identity as a young Latina woman of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent are affirmed and nurtured.
The Rev. Dr. Judith Hoch Wray, a biblical scholar and professor of preaching, is also known as a workshop leader on sexuality, relationships and grace. Wray was a co-founder of CLOUT and of the Gay, Lesbian and Affirming Disciples Alliance. She is on the Advisory Editorial Board and writes for the Out in Scripture on-line lectionary for the Religion and Faith Program of the Human Rights Campaign. She is active in leadership for CLOUT and for the Holy Relationship movement. Judith often writes for The Living Pulpit.
The Rev. Donna Prince is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and member of Safe Haven UCC. As a trained chaplain, she worked for the UCC New York Conference for two years providing a post-September 11th pastoral care ministry. She then went on to serve as a Director of Pastoral Care at Casa Promesa, a 200 bed JACHO accredited long-term nursing care facility in the South Bronx serving persons living with HIV and AIDs. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York, she currently offers spiritual life coaching. Her most favorite workshop to present is entitled, "Sacred Pampering" and she is active in the Holy Relationships movement.
Rev. Dr. Kathi E. Martin is the founder and Spiritual Leader of God, Self, and Neighbor (GSN) Ministries. GSN has evolved to be an outreach ministry that puts love into action. At GSN, love manifests itself in works of care and justice. Dr. Martin is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. She also serves as Staff Pastor for Multicultural Outreach for First Metropolitan Community Church in Atlanta.
Dr. Martin has degrees from New Jersey Institute of Technology, The Interdenominational Theological Center (concentration in preaching and ethics), and Columbia Theological Seminary (where her project was entitled: “Wounded and Healed in the House of a Friend: The Faith Experience of African American Gay and Lesbian Persons”).
Dr. Martin is also a motivational speaker with a message of hope and encouragement for persons living with chronic illnesses. She is working on two books. One is based on her own journey with Multiple Sclerosis, the other is a novel that explores the ethical dynamics of relationships.
Paulina Hernández is a cha-cha girl, artist, community organizer and activist from Veracrúz, Mexico. She lives in Durham, NC and is the Co-Director of Southerners on New Ground, having joined the staff after coordinating the youth activism program at the Highlander Research & Education Center for over 4 years. She also serves on the board of the Third Wave Foundation, a feminist foundation that supports movement work involving and led by young women and Trans folks. Paulina has a background in farm worker and immigrant rights organizing, anti-violence work, and cultural work.
Dr. Sylvia Rhue is the Director of Religious Affairs for the National Black Justice Coalition, based in Washington DC. She also directed the pioneering film “All God’s Children” with a focus on African American churches and LGBT people.
Rev. Ruth Garwood is National Coordinator for the The UCC Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.
