GUEST PREACHERS at WESTMINSTER. April through July 2016

Transcription

1 1 GUEST PREACHERS at WESTMINSTER April through July 2016

2

3 A Letter from Rev. Chandler Stokes 3 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Grace and peace to you in the Lord Jesus Christ and in God our Creator. This brochure is intended to offer a brief introduction to the visiting preachers who will be gracing Westminster s pulpit during my sabbatical, April July, Through the generosity of the Lilly Foundation, who funded this clergy renewal grant, we are able to bring preachers from Georgia, Alabama, California, Kansas, Washington, D.C., Illinois and even Michigan. When I first saw this brochure, I immediately thought, Why did I plan to be gone while these people will be here? That was a mistake! I m going to really miss out. What a line-up. You are not going to want to be absent from worship during these months. We started off this list with people that I simply wanted you to hear: colleagues of mine, whose voices I cherish, friends, whose grace and character inspire and strengthen me. I truly covet for you the opportunity to hear their voices, experience their person, and receive from their bounty of gifts. I believe the overall experience will encourage your sense of God s great generosity to the church. It is a particular grace also to have our former senior pastors coming. As many of you know, the small black Bible I often read from on Sunday mornings and at many meetings is inscribed from Jack Stewart to Bill Evertsberg, and from Bill to Riley Jensen, and from Riley to me. I have inherited from them far more than that little book. A tradition of faithful leadership preceded me here. One note: Due to some lingering health challenges and his busy schedule, Riley Jensen is planning to grace us in worship on August 21, after I am back. And that fills out the picture. I am so glad that you all will get to hear these fine leaders from Westminster s past. A very special worship service is planned for April 3. Under Rev. Jen Porter s creative leadership, Heritage Sunday will be celebrated with Holy Communion and some liturgical surprises! Then, on April 10, Rev. Laurie Hartzell, the pastor of our partner congregation in Benton Harbor, will preach to begin the line of our visiting preachers. I am grateful for all of those who are coming to Westminster in my absence. And again I am grateful for this sabbatical rest, refreshment, and renewal. I will miss being with you. Grace and peace, Rev. Chandler Stokes

4 Sunday Schedule 4 April 3...Rev. Jen Porter April Rev. Laurie Hartzell April Rev. Tom Are Jr. April Rev. Kamal Hassan May 1... Rev. Leanne Pearce Reed May 8... Rev. Jessica Tate May Rev. David Baak May 22...Rev. Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks May Rev. David Baak June 5...Rev. Dr. Jack Stewart June Rev. Paul Timothy Roberts June 19...Rev. Bill Evertsberg June 26...Rev. Karen Haygood Stokes July 3... Rev. Jen Porter July Rev. Sarah Juist July 17...Kyle Kooyers July Rev. David Baak July Rev. Jen Porter

5 5 SUNDAY, APRIL 10 Rev. Laurie Hartzell Laurie has spent most of her adult life living, working, and learning from people in multi-racial contexts and in physically poor communities. She lived in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Macon, Georgia, and Philadelphia before moving to Benton Harbor in 1995 and joining the ministry of the First Presbyterian Church. After a 20-plus-year career as a teacher and school counselor, Laurie became a pastor in 2010 and has the joy of serving First Presbyterian in Benton Harbor. Laurie holds a BA in music and an education degree from Calvin College. She did graduate studies at Georgia State University and Western Theological Seminary, earning a MEd in School Counseling and MDiv, respectfully. Laurie also holds a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Institute of Spiritual Formation. Laurie loves being married to Ted Hartzell. She has two adult children, Nathaniel and Gabrielle Baur; a stepson, Eric Hartzell; and a crazy cat, Spicey.

6 6 Rev. Tom Are Jr. SUNDAY, APRIL 17 Tom Are is Senior Pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. He also served as Pastor and Head of Staff at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and at Seven Oaks Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. Prior to that he served as Associate Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He was educated at Presbyterian College (B.A & Doctorate of Humane Letters (honoris causa) 2006), Union Theological Seminary (Richmond) (M.Div. 1986), and Yale Divinity School (Masters of Sacred Theology 1990). He is married to the former Carol Wells. Both of us are preacher s kids. Carol is an R.N. who has worked in oncology from 1986 to 2008, at which time she became a hospice nurse. We count their greatest blessings to be Sarah, (1992), and Nathan, (1994). Sarah attends Columbia Theological Seminary, Atlanta, GA and Nathan is a Senior at Macalester College, St. Paul, MN. When time allows Tom enjoys watching baseball, woodworking, and canoe camping in Quetico, Canada.

7 7 SUNDAY, APRIL 24 Rev. Kamal Hassan The Reverend Kamal Hassan is a spiritual leader, educator, and community servant. He currently serves as Pastor/Teaching Elder at the Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church in Richmond, California, a position he has held since Before this call Reverend Hassan spent more than three decades as both a public and private school educator, community organizer and religious worker. He holds an AA degree in Radio Broadcasting from Los Angeles City College, a BA in History from California State University Los Angeles, and a Master of Divinity degree from the San Francisco Theological Seminary. He firmly believes that, Spiritual Communities must be critically engaged in the effort to mend the tear in our social fabric that has allowed so many of us to focus on our individual needs and ignore the sufferings of others. To be true to our prophetic calling, he believes that we must act locally for justice, freedom, and peace while considering the global implications of these commitments. At the same time we must each pursue our inner and outer journeys of faith. Rev. Hassan has served the PC(USA) as the former Moderator of the Presbytery of San Francisco. He is currently an ecumenical representative for the Office of the General Assembly in a multiyear dialogue with the Episcopal Church, and is also serving as a member of the Advisory Board for the revision of the Book of Common Worship.

8 8 Rev. Leanne Pearce Reed SUNDAY, MAY 1 The Rev. Leanne Pearce Reed serves as pastor of Montevallo Presbyterian Church in Montevallo, Alabama, a quirky college town right in the middle of the state. Leanne is a graduate of Georgetown University and McCormick Theological Seminary. In her first call, she served as a Presbyterian mission coworker with our partners in Central America. With a passion for growing, cooking and eating good food, Leanne helped launch a community garden and thriving farmer s market in Montevallo. She lives in her hometown of Birmingham with her husband Mark and sons Thomas (11) and Adam (7).

9 9 SUNDAY, MAY 8 Rev. Jessica Tate Jessica Tate is the Director of NEXT Church ( a network of leaders across the Presbyterian Church, USA who are discerning together how to be the faithful church in the 21st century. Prior to coming on board with NEXT, she served as Associate Pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Northern Virginia. Jessica is a lifelong Presbyterian, in fact, a joyful preacher s kid. Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jessica served as a Young Adult Intern for the PC(USA) at the denomination s Washington Office. From there she went on to seminary at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, where she received a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Christian Education. Jessica and her husband John live in Washington, DC with their rescued chocolate lab, GiGi, who constantly pulls them outdoors to walk and hike and keeps them humble with her antics and gregarious affection.

10 10 Rev. Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks SUNDAY, MAY 22 Randal Maurice Jelks is Professor of American Studies and African and African American Studies. Professor Jelks also holds courtesy appointments in History, Religious Studies, and is the co-editor of the journal American Studies. Jelks is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA in History), McCormick Theological Seminary (Masters of Divinity) and Michigan State University (Ph.D. in Comparative Black Histories). Jelks is an ordained Presbyterian clergy (PC(USA)) and an award-winning Professor and scholar. He has published both scholarly and journalistic articles. His research and writing interests are in the areas of American Religious Studies, African Diaspora Religions, and American Religion in Social Movements. He is the author of the two award winning books African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle for Civil Rights Struggle in Grand Rapids (The University of Illinois Press, 2006), which won the 2006 State History Award, University and Commercial Press, Historical Society of Michigan and Benjamin Elijah Mays, Schoolmaster of the Movement: A Biography (University of North Carolina Press 2012), winner of the 2013 Lillian Smith Book Award; 2013 Literary Award, Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Jelks has also taught internationally. He has held a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies at Masaryk University, Brno Czech Republic, been a Visiting Lecturer at University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany, and taught in Ghana at the University of Ghana, Institute for African Studies. He is currently writing a new book titled I am free to be what I want to be: Faith and Political Struggle in the Lives of Four African Americans.

11 11 SUNDAY, JUNE 5 Rev. Dr. Jack Stewart The Rev. John (Jack) W. Stewart recently retired as a professor of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. A graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (M.Div) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D), he has taught at Hope College and Yale Divinity School. He has served as pastor in two congregations in Western Pennsylvania and from 1974 to 1989 he was the Senior Pastor at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of several books and articles on religion and American culture and his most recent book is entitled Envisioning the Congregation, Practicing the Gospel. In addition to consultations with perplexed congregations, he has been a guest lecturer at universities and seminaries in South Korea, South Africa, Egypt and, most recently, Nepal. None of the above, however, are serious impediments to his fly fishing in Michigan s blue ribbon trout streams.

12 12 Rev. Paul Timothy Roberts SUNDAY, JUNE 12 The Reverend Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. is President of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA, a position he has held since the spring of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary is one of the ten theological schools of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the only one that is historically African American. Paul graduated from Princeton University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture and African American Studies. Paul later received the Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in New Testament Studies from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul is also an Academic Fellow of The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Celigny, Switzerland. Paul is a contributing writer to Pastoral Care: A Case Study Approach by Orbis Books in 1998, and to Feasting on the Gospels by Westminster/John Knox Press released in December He writes occasionally for the Presbyterian Outlook, and has been a cohort leader with the Louisville Institute. A popular speaker, Paul has preached at the NEXT Church Conference, the Montreat Youth Conference, the Mid-Winter Lectures at Austin Presbyterian Seminary, the Baccalaureate Service at Presbyterian College, and at congregations around the country. Paul and his wife, Nina, have one daughter and two sons.

13 13 SUNDAY, JUNE 19 Rev. Bill Evertsberg William A. Evertsberg is the Senior Minister at the Kenilworth Union Church in Kenilworth, Illinois. He has also served the Abington Presbyterian Church in Abington, Pennsylvania ( ); the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan ( ); and the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, Connecticut ( ). Calvin College (B.A.) and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.) tried, in vain, to educate him, but awarded him diplomas nonetheless. Bill and his wife Kathy (née Van Dyken), a dental hygienist, have a son, Michael (28), a graduate student at the University of Michigan; a daughter, Taylor (23), a second-grade teacher in Greenwich, Connecticut; and a golden retriever, Dudley (6), who has served as the Walmart Greeter at Bill s churches since he was six weeks old. Bill s three favorite things are Books, Bikes, and Barks. He also fancies Wolverines (in Ann Arbor), Tigers (in Detroit), Patriots (in New England), and the sparkling erudition of Riley Jenson, Jack Stewart, and Chandler Stokes.

14 14 Rev. Karen Haygood Stokes SUNDAY, JUNE 26 Karen Stokes is a native of Oakland, California, where she grew up with her parents and four brothers in a house filled with music, good conversation, bad puns, various pets, and an expectation of political engagement and public service. It wasn t until her father s death when she was 14 that she started going to church - the local Presbyterian church, whose pastor had worked with her father on some social justice issues in their town. It was there that she discovered a love of scripture and the conversation about life s meaning and purpose. After college, where she majored in music, she attended San Francisco Theological Seminary, receiving her MDiv in She also met and married Chandler Stokes during her time in seminary, finding in him the same love of music, scripture, good conversation, and the church. (He learned to love dogs later.) Since her ordination, Karen has been co-pastor, associate pastor, solo pastor, and senior pastor at churches throughout Northern California; and following her move to Michigan in 2010, has served as an interim pastor in UCC and PC(USA) congregations. She is currently serving as Interim Pastor of Parkwood Presbyterian Church in Jenison. Karen loves living in Michigan, with its humane pace, dramatic seasons, and many opportunities for experiencing its natural beauty. She enjoys kayaking, and exploring the woods, lakes, and beaches of West Michigan with Chandler and her two dogs. She is thrilled to have their son Jeremy and his family here in Grand Rapids, and enjoys visiting their son Dusty in Puerto Rico.

15

16 Grand Rapids, mi