Keynote Speaker: Sara Miles
Sara Miles is the author of Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion; Jesus Freak: Feeding Healing Raising the Dead, and City of God: Faith in the Streets. She is Director of Ministry at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, and the founder and director of The Food Pantry. |
Keynote Speaker: Jane Ellen Nickell
Jane Ellen Nickell is Chaplain at Allegheny College, where she advises religious groups, counsels students, leads Sunday morning chapel services, takes part in ritual events in the life of the college, and teaches in the Department of Religious Studies. She is an ordained in the WV Annual Conference and holds degrees from WV Wesleyan College (B.A.), Vanderbilt Divinity School (M.Div.), and Drew University (Ph.D.). Her book We Shall Not Be Moved: Methodists Debate Race, Gender, and Homosexuality was published in October 2014. |
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kevass Harding
Rev. Dr. Kevass J. Harding was born in Wichita, Kansas. He was educated in the Public School System of Wichita. He is a graduate of Wichita Southeast High School. He received his Associate of Art Degree from Hutchinson Community College. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at El Paso. He received his Master of Divinity Degree (cum laude) from Phillips Theological Seminary. He received his Doctor of Ministry Degree, specializing in Church Administration and Congregational Growth and Revitalization from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Harding is married to the former Teketa Berry and they have two children: Carnez and Makayla. |
Keynote Speaker: Drew Smith
Drew Smith is an artist whose music speaks to the heart, mind, and soul of the dreamer. His vision and passion for music has lead him to speak to leaders and students pushing them passed their limits and sharpening their faith beyond measure. If ever at a Drew Smith show you’ll leave feeling that your biggest fear is no longer a match to you. “ The goal is to offer hope and life to the wavering soul” |
Keynote Speaker: Peter Rollins
Peter Rollins is a provocative writer, philosopher, storyteller and public speaker who has gained an international reputation for his work in developing a type of Religionless Christianity. Challenging the idea that faith concerns questions relating to belief Peter’s incendiary reading of Christianity attacks the distinction between sacred and secular, blurs the lines between theism and atheism and sets aside questions regarding life after death to explore the possibility of a life before death. Peter gained his higher education from Queens University, Belfast and has earned degrees (with distinction) in Scholastic Philosophy (BA Hons), Political Theory (MA) and Post-Structural thought (PhD). He is the author of numerous books, including Insurrection, The Idolatry of God, and The Divine Magician. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, currently lives in Los Angeles and will die somewhere as yet not known. |
Breakout Session Leader: Dianne D. Glave
Rev. Dr. Dianne Glave is currently a staff member of the Western Pennsylvania United Methodist Conference Center as the Coordinator of Diversity Development. She completed her M.Div. at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. After completing her degree, she served as a local pastor at Crafton United Methodist Church and Ingomar Church in Pittsburgh. Dr. Glave's background, an M.A. and Ph.D. in History with an emphasis on African American and environmental history and experience as a professor in African American Studies and Ethnic Studies, serves as a foundation for her current position. Her publications include Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage and To Love the Wind and the Rain: African American Environmental History, a co‐edited volume. |
Worship Leader: Bay Allen
Bay Allen is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, singer-songwriter, and pastor. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Allen is currently the associate pastor and worship leader at the Faith On 68 campus of Faith Community United Methodist Church in Rochester, Pennsylvania. Allen composes on piano, electric guitar, AND acoustic guitar, favoring guitar when leading worship. Allen has led worship in various church settings with congregations ranging in size from 25 to more than 1,000 congregants. His specialty is in modern worship leadership, hymn revitalization, and team building. Apart from his solo career and worship leading, Allen is also a founding member and lead vocalist for TreeBorn Worship, a worship team based out of Indiana, Pennsylvania. |
Keynote Speaker: Craig Catlett
Craig Catlett serves as the Training and Development Specialist at United Methodist Communications. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion, a Master’s Degree in Communication, and has over twenty years of experience working for churches and religious organizations. Before coming to work for United Methodist Communications, Craig taught interpersonal communication, public speaking, and business and professional communication for colleges and universities across Kentucky. Craig’s background in ministry and teaching communication have uniquely aligned to help him tell God’s story in the United Methodist Church. Keynote Speaker: Timothy Van Meter
Dr. Timothy Van Meter is Associate Professor of Christian Education and Youth Ministry at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, where he teaches courses in practical theology and ecology, social justice, food security, land, place, youth, young adults and spiritual practices. He is the author of Created in Delight: Youth, Church, and the Mending of the World, which outlines an approach to youth ministry which puts humans’ relationship with all of creation, in light of contemporary ecological challenges, front and center. Breakout Session Leader: Manning Brailsford
Manning Brailsford is a Benefits Educator who provides financial, retirement and other benefits education for clergy and lay employees. Prior to joining Wespath in 2015, Manning worked at TIAA-CREF for 10 years as a Financial Consultant providing retirement advice and education to participants serving in the academic, medical and cultural fields. Manning started his financial career path in 1999 with Bank of America as a licensed stock trader. Breakout Session Leader: Brandon J. Moore
Brandon is a 2000 graduate of Butler High School and a 2014 Graduate of Ashford University with a B.S. Political Science and B.S. Social Science. Brandon grew up in a Catholic home in Butler, PA. At age 18, Brandon left home to set out on his own, and quickly fell flat on his face. Brandon met his wife in 2001 and was married in 2002. Brandon then spent 11 years in the Church of the Nazarene until he had a “Road to Damascus” moment and was set free from anger, pornography, and doubt. Since then Brandon has served at the Harmony-Zelienople United Methodist Church and at K-LOVE Radio. Brandon is a man who loves Jesus with all his heart and strives to daily walk out Jesus’ love in tangible ways. Breakout Session Leader: Chad Bogdewic
Chad Bogdewic graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in California, PA in 2002 where he earned a BS in business administration. Starting in 2003, he worked for three years for Centerville Clinics, Inc. as the Assistant Director of Grants and Support Services. After receiving a call from God, Chad went to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where he earned a Master of Divinity with an Urban Ministry focus in 2010 and a Master of Sacred Theology studying Old Testament ethics and modern idolatry in 2013. In 2016, he was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church and is a member in full connection of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is currently the pastor of Wurtemburg and Koppel United Methodist Churches. His interests include comic books, disability and ministry, Christianity and mental health, prison ministry, racial reconciliation, and the study of idolatry. He is currently on the WPAUMC’s disability concerns committee and health as wholeness team. He is married to his wife Patricia and they have two young children. Breakout Session Leader: David Harris
Minister David Harris is currently a fourth year seminarian at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO), pursuing an M.Div degree with a specialization in the Black Church and African Diaspora and an MTS degree with a specialization in Theological Ethics. David currently is serving in a field education placement as the Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church in Delaware, OH. Licensed to preach within the Baptist church, David has served in and worked in youth ministries across multiple denominations, and continues to develop and grow in his ministry experience. David graduated from the University of Toledo in 2012 with a B.A. in History and a minor in Religious Studies. |