Preacher Profiles 2010:

Sunday – March 7, 2010, 7:30 pm
UTI Alumni Night
The Rev. Joseph Conner
The Reverend Joseph A. Conner, Sr. serves as Pastor of New Beginnings Sanctuary of Praise.  He is the Chief Adjutant and personal secretary to Bishop Benjamin J. Ravenel, Sr. of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ.  In 2006, Rev. Conner was elected assistant secretary of the prestigious Hampton University Ministers' Conference.  He founded and directed an After School program for Boys, which has served as a model for similar programs in West Philadelphia.  He has also served on the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Community Clergy Steering Committee, as a Board Member of the Center for Urban Resources, the Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia and the Southwest Youth and Family Network of Philadelphia.  Rev. Conner earned a BA degree from Antioch University of Philadelphia and a MDiv degree from The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, where he is currently pursuing a DMin degree.

Monday – March 8, 2010, 7:30 pm
The Rev. Dr. Wayne E. Croft, Sr.
The Reverend Dr. Wayne E. Croft, Sr. serves as the pastor of the Church of the Redeemer Baptist in Philadelphia.  During his tenure, the membership at Redeemer has risen from 177 to over 1,800.  Dr. Croft serves as founder of the Redeemer Renaissance Community Development Corporation, and has been inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr., Board of Preachers of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.  Dr. Croft is an author with publications in The African-American Pulpit Journal and contributor  to the book From One Brother to Another: Voices of African-American Men, Volume II.   He is an adjunct professor of Homiletics at Palmer Theological Seminary.  Dr. Croft is a scholar holding two Masters degrees, including the MDiv and the ThM from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary, respectively, and DMin and PhD degrees from Drew University.

Tuesday – March 9, 2010, 11:30 am
Preaching with Power Lecture
The Rev. Dr. Cleophus J. LaRue
Dr. Cleophus J. LaRue is the Francis Landy Patton Associate Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. LaRue received his BA and MA degrees from Baylor University, and his MDiv and PhD degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary.  He specializes in the theory and method of African American preaching and worship.  He is an ordained minister in the National Baptist Convention of America, and has served as pastor of two churches in Texas, as well as the interim pastor of churches in Harlem and Jamaica, Queens, New York.  He is a frequent speaker at churches, seminaries, and conferences throughout the country and is a member of the Academy of Homiletics.  His publications include The Heart of Black Preaching (1999), Power in the Pulpit: How America's Most Effective Black Preachers Prepare Their Sermons (2002), and This Is My Story: Testimonies and Sermons of Black Women in Ministry (2005).

Tuesday – March 9, 2010, 7:30 pm
The Rev. Stephen G. Marsh, Bishop
Bishop Stephen G. Marsh serves as spiritual leader for the Southeast Michigan Synod of the ELCA.  Prior to his election to bishop in 2009, he served as Assistant to the Bishop for African American Ministries and Justice Concerns, and was Director of Acts in Common, a non-profit organization committed to resourcing and renewing urban Lutheran and Episcopal congregations in Detroit and Flint.  Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he received a BA degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He received his MDiv degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.  He also attended Makumira Theological College in Arusha, Tanzania in 1981. Bishop Marsh currently serves on the Board of Directors of Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He supports several ecumenical activities that promote the welfare of the community, including The Hampton University Ministers' Conference, The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and local faith-based organizing through MOSES (Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength). He is the first African American Theologian to have a column in The Lutheran, the national publication of the ELCA.

Wednesday – March 10, 2010, 7:30 pm
The Rev. J. W. Macklin, Bishop
Bishop Jerry W. Macklin serves as Second Assistant Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., and Chairman of the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America.  He is the founding pastor of Glad Tidings Church of God in Christ in Hayward, California, established in 1978.  In 1992 he established Northern California Community Development Corporation to revitalize the deteriorating community in South Hayward.  As a visionary and catalyst for change, Bishop Macklin serves as a board member to St. Rose Hospital, Patten University of Oakland, and the National Prison Fellowship Board in Virginia.  His ministry in the Church of God in Christ extends over thirty years.  He was consecrated to the sacred office of Bishop in 1998, and as Episcopal Prelate of Nor Cal Metropolitan Jurisdiction in 2001.  In 2004 Bishop Macklin was elected to the presidium of the Church of God in Christ.  Bishop Macklin is the recipient of numerous citations, honors, and awards, including The Bay Area's Most Influential African American in 2000, and in 2001 the city of Hayward's highest honor, the John N. Pappas Humanitarian Award. 

Thursday – March 11, 2010, 7:30 pm
The Rev. Kim Anderson

The Reverend Kim W. Anderson serves as Pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Harlem, New York.  Prior to her appointment to Metropolitan, Rev. Anderson served as pastor of Friendship AME Church in Browns Mills, NJ, and  Dean of Ministerial Training for the New Jersey Conference.  Rev. Anderson earned her BA degree from Montclair State University and her MDiv from Drew University, where she received honors for her creativity and overall excellence in the areas of Womanist Scholarship, Pulpit Oratory, and Community Life Ministry.  Rev. Anderson is pursuing a doctorate degree concentrating in Family and Marriage Counseling at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University.  Prior to ministry she worked for PBS - Channel Thirteen/WNET in New York City, managing the local educational training team, training teachers how to effectively use television in the classroom.