Rev. Adriene Thorne
The Rev. Adriene Thorne (shey/they) is the Senior Minister of The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, NY. Adriene received her Master of Divinity degree from The Pacific School of Religion and completed post-graduate studies in pastoral care and counseling at The Blanton-Peale Institute. Adriene’s background in the performing arts includes performance credits with The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Metropolitan Opera, and the world-famous Radio City Rockettes. When she’s not parenting, pastoring, creating, or mentoring, Adriene is probably on the squash court or in the dance studio fantasizing about what is newly possible.
Rev. April Stace, Ph.D.
April (no pronoun preference) is the Convener of the Beyond These Walls initiative and the Director of Contextual and Competency-Based learning/Visiting Professor of Practical Theology at The General Theological Seminary in New York City. She is a classically-trained harpist, a beginner banjo player, and the author of two books: White Knuckle Love: A Memoir of Holding and Secular Music, Sacred Space: Evangelical Worship and Popular Music. She lives in the Finger Lakes area of New York State with her spouse, her teenage kid, and a very anxious chihuahua.
Rev. Carla E. Roland Guzmán, PhD
Rev. Roland (any pronoun) is a Puerto Rican, queer, gender-non-conforming Priest working in NYC. Since 2004, they have served at St. Matthew & St. Timothy’s—a bilingual, multicultural, and inclusive outreach- and community-focused congregation; since 2019 as an Affiliate Faculty in Church History at General Theological Seminary. In February 2020 they published Unmasking Latinx Ministry for Episcopalians: An Anglican Approach (CPI). Since 2016, they have coordinated Faith, Family, Equality: The Latinx Roundtable (fefamiliaigualdad.org) out of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (clgs.org), which promotes understanding, acceptance, and affirmation of Latinx LGBTQ+ persons and their families. They were profiled in NBC Out’s #Pride30 (June 2018). Rev. Roland is committed to the full inclusion of Latinx and LGBTQ+ persons and communities in all aspects of the Episcopal Church.
Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
The Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining (she/her) currently serves as the Rector of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, PA and the Director of the Doctorate of Ministry Program at The General Theological Seminary. She is also the founder of The Hive, an online wellness and spirituality community. As a long-time yoga practitioner and 500 hour registered yoga instructor, Hillary also teaches yoga and meditation regularly. She is a published writer whose work can be found in many different sectors and media—inducing print, academia, and the web. She has published two books including, “Joy in Confession,” and “Faith with a Twist - A 30 Day Yoga Journey.“ Hillary is also a Certified Daring Way Facilitator (CDWF), having trained with Brené Brown and her team in February 2015. Learn more at www.hillaryraining.com and www.thehiveapiary.com.
Rev. Dr. Jee Hei Park
The Rev. Dr. Jee Hei Park (she/her) serves as Assistant Professor of New Testament at The Seminary of the Southwest. Her research and teaching interests include the New Testament, race/ethnicity in the Roman world, material culture in early Christianity, and decolonial and postcolonial theories and theologies. Her first book, All Citizens of Christ: A Cosmopolitan Reading of Unity and Diversity in Paul’s Letters will be published by Brill. She is currently a provisional deacon in The United Methodist Church.
Lydia Kelsey Bucklin
Lydia Kelsey Bucklin (she/her) serves as Canon to the Ordinary for Discipleship & Vitality in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan. She was formed from a young age in baptismal, collaborative ministry and currently works with communities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to discover fresh, creative ways of being church in the world.
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Lea Schweitz, Ph.D.
Lea (she/her) is a lifelong Midwesterner who calls Oak Park home along with her musician/composer husband, Kurt, two wildly inspiring kids, and a cat named Goose. She is the co-founder of Nature120, a non-profit organization that provides nature play and airway therapy for children on Chicago’s west side and in the western suburbs, Director of Children’s Ministries with Urban Village Church, an outdoor educator with The Children’s School in Oak Park, and the Visiting Theologian at The Upper House at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Previously, she was a tenured professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science. She loves playful theology, inclusive life-giving faith formation, prairies, puns of all kinds, and the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of kids and justice-building communities.
Dr. Oluwatomisin Oredein
Dr. Oluwatomisin Oredein (she/her) joined Brite Divinity School in 2019 as Assistant Professor in Black Religious Traditions, Constructive Theology and Ethics. She also serves as Director of the Black Church Studies Program. Dr. Oredein was previously Visiting Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary. While there she taught classes such as “Womanist Theology and Ethics,” “Introduction to Christian Ethics,” “Theopoetics: Race, Gender, and Performance in Popular Art,” and “The Salvation of Words: Practical Theology and Black Women’s Poetry. She is in the process of completing a book which is tentatively titled, Mercy, Me: The Theo-Feminism of Mercy Amba Oduyoye. In addition, Dr. Oredein has contributed several articles to academic and professional journals, chapters and essays in edited volumes, and has published several pieces of poetry. She is already taking leadership in the academy and guild by providing lectures and presentations at meetings and has participated in workshops at the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology. Dr. Oredein is a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church, USA.
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Rev. Dr. Lisa M. Weaver
The Reverend Dr. Lisa M. Weaver (she/her), a native New Yorker, is assistant professor of worship at Columbia Theological Seminary, in Decatur, Georgia. The focus of her research and teaching is also her life’s passion: the worship life of the Christian church. Dr. Weaver also does specialized ministry in the area of father-daughter relationships. This ministry work is called Healing Jephthah’s Daughters: Healing the Wounds of the Father-Daughter Relationship. In this work, she journeys with women in exploring the landscape and the effects of unhealthy paternal relationships and guides and supports them as they move towards freedom, healing, and wholeness (www.healingjephthahsdaughters.com). Dr. Weaver’s international ministry has included service as a preacher, teacher, seminar convener, seminar and workshop leader, Bible study leader, panelist, and most recently as a member of a liturgy consultation team.