October 26th Will Be a Day of Inspiration and Impact
The Matthew 25 Summit next month will be an opportunity to explore how Matthew 25 congregations and partners are living into Matthew 25 through innovation, empowerment and change. The Presbytery of Baltimore is organizing this unique event in partnership with the Dismantling Racism Team of National Capital Presbytery. There will be workshops offered with a range of topics to choose from, in addition to two plenary speakers, who we are very excited to hear from. Please plan to join us on Saturday, October 26th, in Columbia Maryland!
Keynote Speakers
Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam (he/him) serves as the director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms at the Presbyterian Mission Agency, PC(USA) where his team is focused on growing the number of human beings working to share the Good News that restorative justice and Reparations make common sense for the common good as soon as possible and for as long as it takes. Jermaine was ordained as minister of Word and sacrament by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities in 2013 where he began ordained ministry as executive director of 21st Century Academy at Kwanzaa Community Church PC(USA) in North Minneapolis—renamed Liberty Community Church—and Associate Pastor for Social Justice at Oak Grove Presbyterian Church. In addition to serving as the Center for Repair’s director, Jermaine is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan where he is completing a book tentatively titled “Trammeled by the Bonds of Union: Social Ecology of anti-Black Violence and Impunity after Emancipation.” Jermaine is also the author of two recent articles on reparations entitled “Breaking the Miller Cycle” and “Reparations and the Ministry of Planetary Peace.”
Amanda Tyler (she/her) is the executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) and lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. She wrote the new book, How to End Christian Nationalism. As a member of the Texas and U.S. Supreme Court Bar, Tyler worked in Congress and served as a law clerk for a federal judge. In 2018, 2022, and 2023, she testified in Congress on Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and religious liberty. Tyler has been featured by news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, and CNN. Religion News Service named her one of “2022’s rising stars in religion.” She regularly preaches in churches and community gatherings. Tyler earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign service, magna cum laude, from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and a juris doctor, with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law.
Mid-Council Leadership
Rev. Warren J. Lesane, Jr. (he/him) serves as Executive and Stated Clerk of the Synod of Mid-Atlantic (PCUSA) and chairs the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board. A native of Mayesville, SC, Rev. Lesane received his Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith University and then pastored multiple congregations in South Carolina and North Carolina. He continues to be a Teaching Elder member of the Presbytery of Charlotte. Rev. Lesane has served as Associate Executive for Church Development with the Presbytery of the James, as the Transitional Associate Executive in the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic until becoming Executive and Stated Clerk in 2014. Rev. Lesane served in the United States Air Force Reserves and retired after 28 years as a Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel. He is a Life Member of the NAACP and the Military Officers Association of America.
Rev. John Molina-Moore (he/him) was called as the General Presbyter of National Capital Presbytery in May of 2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Sterling College (2005), a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary (2011), and in 2017, completed a Certificate in Advanced Executive Leadership for Ministers from Howard University. John was ordained by New Castle Presbytery and served pastorates at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church and Calvary Presbyterian Church, both located in Wilmington, Delaware. In National Capital, he has served as Stated Supply Pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church, and Stated Supply Pastor for Community Life at Western Presbyterian Church.
Rev. Dr. Jacqueline (Jackie) Taylor (she/her) serves as the General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Baltimore. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Government and Politics and received her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. She has served as a pastor, a hospital chaplain, a hospice chaplain and as the Associate Executive Presbyter in New Castle Presbytery for 17 years prior to coming to Baltimore.
Workshop Presenters & Facilitators
Adlai Amor is a ruling elder at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He has been a member since 1995 after working in Switzerland. Adlai was a commissioner to the 217 PC(USA) General Assembly in Birmingham, AL in 2006. He also served as a director and chair of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, as well as a trustee of the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Adlai is currently working on his credentials as a commissioned ruling elder under the National Capital Presbytery (NCP). He is a member of the NCP’s Dismantling Racism Team and was recently trained as a facilitator for the Dialogue for Peaceful Change methodology. In his secular life, Adlai currently works as the associate general secretary for communications and information technology of the nonpartisan Quaker advocacy organization, Friends Committee for National Legislation. He also serves as global president of the Silliman Alumni Association, whose members are graduates of the Presbyterian-related Silliman University in the Philippines.
Dr. Adam Barnes (he/him) is the Director of Religious Affairs at the Kairos Center. Born in St. Louis, MO and raised in Colorado, he has lived in New York since 2006 and worked at the Poverty Initiative/Kairos Center since 2007. In 2016 he completed a PhD in Comparative Theology at Union Theological Seminary. His dissertation investigates the liberative theology and spirituality emerging from anti-poverty struggles in the US and in a Sufi-Muslim community in West Africa. He received a BA in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dr. Harold (Hal) Bennett, COL/US Army Retired. Hal currently pastors Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, MD. He previously served as pastor of Dulatown Presbyterian Church in Lenoir NC; as interim pastor of two congregations; and moderator of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. He also served as an Army Ranger and Senior Intelligence Analyst. Hal has earned degrees from Morgan State University (Bachelor of Science), Georgia State (Master of Education), the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology (MDiv) and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, P.A. (DMin). Hal is active in a number of local community organizations and is a life member of the NAACP.
Rev. Dr. Karen Brown (she/her) Rev. Brown’s 30 years of ministry in Baltimore includes: Associate Pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and currently as the Temporary Supply Pastor of Hope Presbyterian. Karen’s ministry includes Community Based Urban Development: affordable housing, small business enterprise (youth and adults), community organizing, transformational leadership development and grant writing as she addresses social justice issues.
Deacon Samantha Paige Davis (she/they) is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. They grew up in Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church and presently serves as the Associate of Gender, Racial and Intercultural Justice (PCUSA). Samantha is a graduate of American University and the Founder and Executive Director of the Black Swan Academy in Washington D.C. which fosters the development of Black Youth Leaders. They previously served on national committees within the Presbyterian Church USA: Black Women and Girls Advocacy Task Force and the Self Development of People. Their past work experience includes YWCA USA, the Urban League and local advocacy coalitions. They have been recognized by Essence Magazine’s 2019 Woke 100 as a change agent and power player.
Rev. DeEtte Decker (she/her) serves as the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s (PCUSA) Vision Integration & Constituent Services Manager. In this role, she leads initiatives that integrate the agency’s vision and mission with its constituents’ needs, creating cohesive and impactful strategies that coordinate and synchronize the agency’s work. DeEtte previously served as the Director of Communications for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. She also works as a consultant specializing in digital media strategies for faith-based and non-profit organizations. DeEtte has served churches for over two decades as a Christian Educator, Associate Pastor, and Communications Director. DeEtte graduated from the University of Louisville with a B.A. in Communications and holds a Master of Divinity from the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Miriam Dewhurst (she/her) is a ruling elder at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. She has served there in many capacities and currently is a member of the church’s Justice Ministries Committee. She has also served in various roles in National Capital Presbytery, including Moderator and most recently Chair of the Leadership Council. She currently serves as co-chair of NCP’s Dismantling Racism Team. She comes late to realizing the extent of structural racism in the U.S. and feels the “fierce urgency of now” to do something about it. She lives in Falls Church, Virginia, with her husband of 50 years, a son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Elder June Eakin (she/her) is chair of the Earth Stewardship Team at Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church of Kensington, Maryland. Now both retired and active in Earth care advocacy, she and her husband Mark Eakin live in Silver Spring, MD and drive electric vehicles.
Rev. Eric Forsyth (he/his) has served as associate pastor at Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Derwood, MD for nine years. He has a passion for intercultural ministry and the challenges of the immigrant church. This work has grown out of his time overseas in Taiwan and Brazil as an English teacher. Eric loves a long walk, birding with a telephoto lens, playing video games with his sons and watching TV series with his wife of 20 years.
Rev. Cat Goodrich (she/her) is pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore (since 2020) after serving churches in downtown Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA. A graduate of Austin College in Sherman, TX and Boston University School of Theology, Cat’s passion for service and justice grew out of serving the church on the US-Mexico border and as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer in Guatemala. After seminary, she spent three years as a community organizer for an affordable housing agency outside of Boston. Cat is an enthusiastic runner, crossfitter, and bread baker; partner to Dary, and mom to two girls.
Rev. Pat Jackson (he/him) is executive director of Interwoven Congregations, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping faith communities be agents for racial justice and healing. He also serves as a parish associate at Bethesda Presbyterian Church and as co-chair of the Dismantling Racism Team for National Capital Presbytery. A Baltimore native, Pat is a “second career” pastor who served a congregation in Kansas City for nine years. He received a Master of Divinity from the Saint Paul School of Theology, a Master in Public Administration from New York University, and his BA from the University of Michigan. He finds joy in building community.
Rev. Carlton Johnson (he/him) currently serves as the Associate Director of Theology, Formation and Evangelism for the PC(USA). Carlton is an associate minister at the First Afrikan Presbyterian Church in Lithonia, GA and also serves as a Chaplain for both Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Grady Health Systems. He received his undergraduate degree from Emory University in English, a Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, and a Master of Theology from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Elder Charese Jordan Moore (she/her) Charese Jordan Moore is a Ruling Elder at Knox Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. In that role, she is passionate about chairing Knox’s ministry of Mission and Community Engagement. Her life’s mission is organizing people of faith to act on the values of their faith traditions – knowing that all religions value justice, which should include racial justice. Charese first became committed to dismantling racism in high school when she was elected to serve as the youth representative to the national board of the YWCA USA. Her commitment deepened when she joined Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) in 2004 as director of the Faithful Citizenship Project, an internship program that registered over 20,000 new voters.. As Deputy Director, she spearheaded IWJ’s strategic planning efforts, and coordinated the work of the organizing, public policy, and communications departments. After relocating to Baltimore, Maryland, she led Community for Excellent Public Schools, a national coalition of local community organizations focused on school reform. Charese currently co-chairs the Presbytery of Baltimore’s Dismantling Racism Team and is a board member of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Currently she represents the PMAB on the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations.
David Kepley (he/him) earned a master’s and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Maryland and was adjunct assistant professor at the University of Maryland and Northern Virginia Community College. His day job was working for the National Archives for 37 years. Since retiring, he has been actively involved in earth care as a leader, advocate, teacher, and photographer. He formed the Earth Care Team at Providence Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, VA which has been certified as an Earth Care Congregation for the past 13 years. David leads NCP’s Earth Care Network and was a founding member of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, a coalition of over 190 faith communities in Fairfax County, VA., that persuaded the county to take action to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% in 2030 and 100% by 2050.
Megan Klose (she/they) is Associate Pastor at Falls Church Presbyterian Church in Falls Church, VA. Prior to ministry, Megan managed study fellowships in China, designed infographics for print publications, and was a stay-at-home mother. Since earning her MDiv from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2014, Megan has served as a hospital chaplain and as an intentional transitional pastor. Megan serves on National Capital Presbytery’s Response Coordinating Team and leads Healthy Boundaries training. In her free time, Megan enjoys making cards and spending time with her husband, Frank, and their offspring, Xande.
Elder Susan Krehbiel (she/her) is the Social Justice Consultant for the Presbytery of Baltimore where her primary focus is supporting the Dismantling Racism Team. She is active with Dialogue for Peaceful Change (DPC) as an Associate Trainer and excited to see how DPC can support pastors and congregational leaders as they navigate change in their congregations and communities. Susan also directs Migration Accompaniment Ministries for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in the Presbyterian Mission Agency to provide financial, educational support and technical assistance to ministries in the U.S. and around the globe. Susan has over 30 years of experience working with refugees and asylum seekers at local, national and international levels. She is a staunch advocate for refugee rights and pathways for their long term success.
Dawn Kyser (she/her) is lead Facilitator and Curriculum writer for Challenging Racism, a non-profit based in Arlington, VA. There, Dawn leads Racial Equity and Diversity workshops for government, municipal, community, and faith-based groups. As a teacher in the Arlington Public School System 20 years ago, Dawn was in the first cohort of teachers trained to train teachers in Racial Equity and Diversity. In addition to her work with Challenging Racism, Dawn serves as Director of Music and Worship at Walker Chapel United Methodist Church in Arlington. She and her husband John live in Arlington with their vocal and handsome coonhound, Hawthorne.
Ana Guisselle Lara López, MDiv (she/they) is the Coordinator of Care & Engagement for the Freedom Church of the Poor – a spiritual and political home for movement leaders committed to realizing the abundant world God promises by identifying, developing, and uniting leaders who will build a movement to end poverty led by the poor. As a queer, Guatemalan immigrant, Ana is committed to the work of dismantling in/visible norms of capitalism, white supremacy, ableism and patriarchy, and discerning the myriad ways we can ground our everyday practices as the catalyst for our collective liberation. They are guided by the ethos of disability justice, trauma-informed intergenerational care, and love as a verb. She is passionate about organizing communities to savor their collective power and beauty.
Rev. Dr. Melissa K. López (she/her) is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Belair and also serves as chair of POB’s Commission on Thriving Congregations. A Denver native, Melissa grew up in the PC(USA), felt the call to ordained ministry in college, and obtained her Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. There, Melissa fell in love with Tex-Mex, BBQ, and an Aggie named Jose. Melissa and Jose married, have two awesome kids, and Jose serves as a minister in Baltimore Presbytery. They love being in ministry together. Melissa received her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary.
Jessica Maudlin (she/her) is the PC(USA)’s Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns and has been with the Hunger Program since 2009. She resources Presbyterians as they address issues of faith and sustainability. In addition to convening the PC(USA)’s Climate Change Roundtable, she also represents the denomination at the UN COP talks and on Ecumenical boards working to address climate change. She finds particular joy in accompanying PCUSA Earth Care Congregations that have made special commitments to care for God’s earth in four categories: worship, education, facilities, and outreach. Her background includes an emphasis on Liberation Theology.
Elder Shani E. McIlwain (she/her)is a ruling elder at Faith Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. She serves as a mission communication strategist for the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PCUSA), and writing and sharing the good news are two things that give Shani joy. Shani loves people and all things social media — so if you see her in person, don’t hesitate to ask for a selfie!
Rev. Ray Meute (he/him)is the pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church in Street, Maryland. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from Princeton Seminary and then served as the Associate Pastor of the Hampton Presbyterian Church (Gibsonia, PA) in the North Hills of Pittsburgh for eight years. He next served as Pastor of Avondale Presbyterian Church (Avondale, PA) for 20 years prior to coming to Highland Presbyterian. Ray is a current member and past co-chair of the Presbytery of Batimore’s Dismantling Racism Team and Convenor of POB’s Ministry Groups.
Elder Guy Moody (he/him)is a Ruling Elder at St. John United Church and co-chair of the Dismantling Racism Team of the Presbytery of Baltimore (POB). Guy has dedicated 40 years in public service and as a volunteer community organizer, including past co-chair of People Acting Together in Howard County; past Moderator/Chair of the Steering Cabinet for PoB, Transitions Team member of the Commission on Ministry, PoB; commissioner to the 222nd General Assembly in 2016; and volunteer with the Sisseton Learning Camp, Dakota Presbytery. Guy is passionate about birds and feels called by God to fight for racial and social justice for all on the margins of a white supremacist society.
Elder Susan Moody (she/her) chairs the Finance Committee and is a member of the Anti-Racism Committee at St. John United Church (SJU) in Columbia, Maryland. Susan is passionate about helping congregations learn about themselves and their neighborhoods using MissionInsite and the Holy Cow Congregational Assessment Tool. She is trained in Community Organizing and a long-time leader in PATH (People Acting Together in Howard). In the summer she serves on the staff of the Sisseton Learning Camp on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota and Vacation Bible School at SJU. Whenever she is outside, her eyes and ears are alert to the sounds and movements of birds. She also works on projects dedicated to saving these beautiful creatures and has traveled the world exploring and gaining appreciation for the diversity of God’s creation – both its natural beauty and its cultural diversity.
Rev. Steve Nofel (he/him) Steve is Interim/Transitional Pastor from Cleveland, Ohio with 31 years in ministry. He loves baseball, sumu, and hiking while listening to books.
Rev. M. Cristina Paglinauan (she/her)is Associate Rector for Community Engagement at The Church of the Redeemer, a vibrant parish of 700 households in north Baltimore, where she has served since 2010. She oversees Redeemer’s engagement in the city of Baltimore through key community partnerships and serves on the leadership team of BUILD, Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development, which is committed to changing Baltimore for the better. A certified yoga instructor, Cristina finds the intersection of Eastern and Western spirituality life-giving and enjoys leading Yoga Church Redeemer.
Acknowledgements
Matthew 25 Mid-Atlantic Summit Planning Team
- Rev. Pat Jackson, Co-Chair (NCP)
- Elder Charese Jordan Moore (PoB), Co-Chair and Summit Coordinator
- Elder Adlai Amor (NCP)
- Rev. Hal Bennett (PoB)
- Elder Miriam Dewhurst (NCP)
- Elder Shani McIlwain (NCP)
- Elder Susan Moody (PoB)
- Rev. Steve Nofel (PoB)
Special thanks to Dina Bickel of NCP, Felicia Scott and Susan Krehbiel of PoB, as well as our host, First Presbyterian Church of Howard County.
We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic.
