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Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ~ Presents~ A Symposium – Living Our Faith Through Action A Conversation on Race, Gender, & Equity Monday, April 26, 2021 10am Welcome from the President of United Lutheran Seminary The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin I want to welcome you, on behalf of United Lutheran Seminary, to this symposium conversation! We are glad to have you with us, and hope that you will find this time to be educational, inspiring, and edifying. Our panelists come from a variety of backgrounds, but all share—as ULS does—a deep commitment to raising understanding around questions of diversity and inclusion in religious communities and agencies and seminaries like ours. The pressing need for dialogue and constructive conversation, based in the idea that to listen well is to learn deeply, has never been more urgent in our country than it is right now. Christians and Americans of good will need, I believe, to find ways to stand together, language they can use in common to describe the realities around us, and the mutual respect that will allow us to grow closer in our commitments. I hope today’s conversation contributes richly to that goal, at least in our own circles and networks. Wherever you are, and however you are joining us today, know that you are heartily welcome here as a sibling and a neighbor, as we all think together about how to translate our faith in God’s mercy and grace into true care for the well-being of our neighbor, especially those different from ourselves. May God bless our time together and may the joy of Easter remain in your heart! In Christ, The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin United Lutheran Seminary Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion ~ Presents ~ A Symposium - Living Our Faith Through Action A Conversation on Race, Gender and Equity April 26, 2021 @ 10:00 a.m. Welcome Address…………..…………..………….ULS President, The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin Opening Prayer …….…….....……….UTI Executive Director, The Rev. Dr. Quintin Robertson Introduction of Panelists……….………………President/Vice President, ULS Student Council W.R. Randolph / Sarah Moore Moderator, Dean/Vice President of Student Affairs……… The Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian ~ Panelists ~ The Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw……………. Sr. Pastor, White Rock Baptist Church, Phila, PA The Rev. Dr. Karyn Wiseman, …………….……………Faculty, Pastor of Gloria Dei Church The Rev. Dr. Martin Zimmann…...………..…. ..………….Director of ULS Church Relations The Rev. John H. Roberts…………………………Pastor Emeritus Garden of Prayer, COGIC The Rev. Canon Dr. Lynn Collins .……....Rector, St. John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church Mr. Damon Fordham……..……....….…Adjunct Professor at Charleston Southern University Closing Remarks …………….…………………..……………………………President Erwin The Charge …………………President, Sarasota Chapter of the NAACP, Mr. Trevor Harvey Closing Prayer ……….…..…………………………………………………….Dean Sebastian This Symposium is in honor of and dedicated to the memory and service of our late Director of Safety, Michael Cecil Reid. The Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian is a Presbyter of the Church of South India, and currently Dean and H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures at the United Lutheran Seminary. He has been Professor in the Department of Theology and Ethics at the United Theological College, Bengaluru, India, where he has served as Chairperson of the Department and also as Dean of Doctoral Studies at the College. He regularly preaches and presides at worship services in congregations in the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. His doctorate (magna cum laude) is from the University of Hamburg, Germany, where his dissertation was entitled 'baptisma unum in sancta ecclesia': A Theological Appraisal of the Baptismal Controversy in the Work and Writings of Cyprian of Carthage. He is a Member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ, and was in residence there from August 2003 to May 2004. He is also a member of the North American Patristics Society, the International Association of Patristic Studies, International Association of Mission Studies, and the American Academy of Religion. He has been the Associate Editor and now Contributing Editor of the journal, Mission Studies. He is also a member of the Global Network for Public Theology and is an Advisory Panel member of its journal, the International Journal of Public Theology. He is the Co-editor of the series, Postcolonialism and Religions, published by Palgrave Macmillan, and 14 books have already been published as part of this series (http://www.palgrave.com/jp/series/14535) The Rev. Dr. Quintin L. Robertson, a native of Newark, New Jersey, is the Director of the Urban Theological Institute and the Black Church Studies Program. He holds ordination in the Baptist Church (Pennsylvania Eastern Keystone Baptist Association) and the Church of God in Christ. Prior to joining United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), he served as Director of Admission and Recruitment for the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA. Since his arrival at ULS he has seen the growth of African American students by over 120% and overseen the growth of the endowed chair in African American Studies by more than $500,000 and the collection of more than $350,000 in scholarship aid. He has served as Interim Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church of Germantown and the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia. He has preached at more than 25 colleges and universities. He has preached and conducted seminars and workshops across denominational lines at local churches, associations, and conferences throughout the nation. Trevor Harvey, a native of Sarasota FL. received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Administration from Eckerd College. He is a member of Light of the World International Church where he serves as the executive assistant to the senior pastor, an ordained deacon, and currently employed with State College of Florida as a Student Development Advisor. Currently he is the Vice-Chair of the Coalition of African- American Leadership, Vice-Chair of the School Advisory Council for Booker High School and its foundation, board member of the Sarasota County Enterprise Zone Agency Board, the Robert L. Taylor community Center Taskforce, Humanity Working to End Genocide, a board member of the Sarasota Family YMCA and was appointed to the Civil Service board for the State of Florida in 2015 by President Barack Obama and Governor Rick Scott. If that is not enough, Trevor currently serves as the President of the Sarasota County Branch of the NAACP a title he has held since 2005 and was appointed the Area Director for the Florida State Conference of the NAACP in 2007. He received the inaugural 2008 Humanitarian of the Year Award given by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Committee and the Citizens of the Year Award by the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; 2011 Greatest Beyond Measure Spotlight Award and the Man of the Year by the Sarasota County Youth Branch- NAACP; the 2013 NAACP Trailblazer Award by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter Teamsters National Black Caucus; 2015 Congressional Associate Service Award by Congressman Vern Buchanan. The Rev. Dr. Martin Zimmann serves with the Advancement team as gift officer and alumni/ae relations director; he also serves as Adjunct faculty in the field of culture and ethnic studies at ULS. He is the Executive Director of the Stewardship of Life Institute. Martin helped shape the synodical partnership between the Southeast Michigan Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Holy Land and Jordan and has helped to organize ELCA delegations to Jerusalem and the West Bank. He has taught a variety of topics, including Ethnic Studies, White Fragility, Climate Change and Sustainability, Practical Uses of Digital Technology for Ministry, and Apocalypse Theology. Beginning in February of 2013, he served the English Congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem and was assistant to former LWF President, Bishop Munib Younan for 1.5 years. He currently serves on the board of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development in the Middle East, the LGBTQIA+ Affirming Task force of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, the Adams Council Human Rights Council, and the Candidacy Committee of the Northwest Pennsylvania Synod. Martin is the founder of the Gettysburg Flag Removal Team, a group of volunteers committed to removing hate symbols from the Gettysburg Battlefield in concordance with National Park Service Guidelines. Martin is a frequent contributor to the online Living Lutheran magazine. Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw attended Bishop College graduating Summa cum laude at age nineteen with a major in Philosophy and Religion and a minor in World History. Pastor Shaw received his Bachelor of Divinity Degree (now known as the Master of Divinity) from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1957. He earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, New York in 1975 with an emphasis on Biblical Interpretation from the Black Perspective. Pastor Shaw was called to serve as Pastor of the White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia in 1956. Pastor Shaw is a recognized leader in Pennsylvania and across the nation. He serves as Chairman of the Trustee Board for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is a member ex officio on the Board of Penn Medicine. His affiliations include a seat on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Delaware Valley, Inc., membership in the Philadelphia Rotary; Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellows in Black Church Studies; Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, and the Airport Advisory Board. Pastor Shaw has also served as Executive Director of the Opportunities Industrialization Center. On September 9, 1999, Pastor Shaw was elected the sixteenth President of The National Baptist Convention, USA. Inc. and re-elected in 2004. He served on the Bush-Clinton Katrina Hurricane Relief Fund, as a member of the steering committee for Christian Churches Together—an interracial fellowship of Baptists in the United States, Canada and North America and in 2009, President Barack H.

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