Co-Chairs:
Bishop Clarence Laney | Monument of Faith
Bishop Clarence Laney, Jr. is a native of Selma, NC. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Louisville Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University School of Divinity, Durham, NC, a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism from St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC and is a 2007 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Leadership Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In 1996 he was appointed to the Monument of Faith Church (“MOF”) in Durham, NC. Under his leadership, education (spiritual and academic) has become the cornerstone of this ministry. MOF is a progressive liturgical Pentecostal church with a strong commitment to social justice and community outreach.
Bishop Laney has preached and taught throughout the United States, Canada, and Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Bishop Laney serves as Presbyter of the NC Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) Region #3, providing oversight to four districts and 26 denominational churches. Bishop Laney is also a Co-Chair of the Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods Clergy Caucus, community organizer and a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
He is married to Lisa Laney and together they have two sons: Caleb Elijah, a senior at NC A&T State University, Greensboro and Joshua Holt, a freshmen at Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, NC and a Labradoodle name Max.
Bishop Laney enjoys exercising, reading, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends. His favorite saying is that of Fredrick Douglas, ‘‘where there is no struggle there is no progress.''
Bishop Clarence Laney, Jr. is a native of Selma, NC. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Louisville Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University School of Divinity, Durham, NC, a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism from St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC and is a 2007 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Leadership Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In 1996 he was appointed to the Monument of Faith Church (“MOF”) in Durham, NC. Under his leadership, education (spiritual and academic) has become the cornerstone of this ministry. MOF is a progressive liturgical Pentecostal church with a strong commitment to social justice and community outreach.
Bishop Laney has preached and taught throughout the United States, Canada, and Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Bishop Laney serves as Presbyter of the NC Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) Region #3, providing oversight to four districts and 26 denominational churches. Bishop Laney is also a Co-Chair of the Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods Clergy Caucus, community organizer and a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
He is married to Lisa Laney and together they have two sons: Caleb Elijah, a senior at NC A&T State University, Greensboro and Joshua Holt, a freshmen at Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, NC and a Labradoodle name Max.
Bishop Laney enjoys exercising, reading, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends. His favorite saying is that of Fredrick Douglas, ‘‘where there is no struggle there is no progress.''
Reverend Doctor Katie Crowe | Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church
Katie became the pastor of this Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in 2012. She and her husband Rob and their son love Durham, and are excited about the ways that God is at work in and through Trinity Avenue.
Rev. Dorisanne Cooper | Watts Street Baptist Church
Rev. Melinda Keenan Wood | Pilgrim United Church of Christ
I am ordained in the Disciples of Christ tradition, (2000), a denomination that shares communion with the United Church of Christ. I was called to serve with Pilgrim, after a two year transition and search process, beginning our ministry together in September, 2017.
Prior to coming to Pilgrim, I served a Disciples of Christ congregation in Orlando, FL for fifteen years, ultimately helping my former congregation negotiate a settlement for its campus through eminent domain with the county in 2017. As I moved with the congregation through this painful four year process, I felt God’s call of leave-taking so that my former congregation could open itself to resurrection and new creation.
I have also served as the Minister in Residence for Chicago Theological Seminary and the Florida Center for Theological Studies. I graduated from University of Chicago with a Master of Divinity degree in 2000. I currently serve as a trustee for Disciple Divinity House, University of Chicago and served as President of its Alumni Council.
Prior to entering ministry, I worked for many years in corporate, government, nonprofit arenas, in Washington DC and Chicago. The concentration of my work, prior to accepting my call to ministry, was in international public policy through the Agency for International Development and World Vision. I hold a MBA from Loyola University, Chicago and a BA (French and Spanish) from Indiana University.
I pray my entire journey shapes and informs our ministry together.
Fr. Hugh Macsherry, O.F.M. | Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Fr. Hugh joined the friars in 2002, he made his first profession in 2004, and was ordained in 2009. He grew as the seventh of eight children from Baltimore, MD. In his home parish, he sang in the choir and participated in the Boy Scouts. Fr. Hugh graduated from the University of Maryland and taught middle school Spanish for a year before entering formation with the friars of Holy Name Province. As a friar, Fr. Hugh has served in Boston, MA and Camden, NJ, especially in Spanish-language ministry and with the Deaf. He is happy he is living, working, and praying with the faith community of Durham.