Outstanding Preacher Series

Join us for Foundry’s fifth annual Outstanding Preacher series this July. In 2012, we welcome five renowned preachers to share the word of God with the congregation and community. Specifically, we have asked that all of the preachers bring the biblical word to our congregation in the national capital in the midst of a presidential campaign.

This year we would like to welcome Rev. Thom White Wolf Fasset, Rev. Dr. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, Bishop Hee Soo Jung, Bishop Sally Dyck, and Rev. Trey Hall. All will be preaching at our 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM services.

July 1: Rev. Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett

Sermon Title: "Generous Redemption: A Journey Beyond Fear"

Scripture: Psalm 130 and 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

As emeritus General Secretary of the international rights organization of The United Methodist Church, The General Board of Church and Society, Thom White Wolf Fassett brings a rich and varied background of experience as he works in the field of faith, politics and issues of justice. Dr. Fassett received advanced degrees from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and The American University. He is a life member of the NAACP as well as a life member of the National Congress of American Indians.

Dr. Fassett has worked extensively in radio and television hosting three radio programs and co-hosting a daily television series that ran for six years during the NBC "Today" program. He has also been extensively involved in civic organizations including service as Executive Chairperson of the Indian Manpower Planning Consortium sponsored by the Seneca Nation of Indians. Fassett has written and published extensively authoring Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival, co-authoring three other books with over 300 articles appearing in periodicals and scholarly publications.

Dr. Fassett is well known for his activities in conflict resolution/management and mediation and has participated in White House negotiations resulting in the peaceful “invasion” of Haiti by the U.S.; traveled to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on a peace mission with the President of the United States; negotiated Cuban principles of religious freedom face to face with Fidel Castro, and played the determining role in breaking the impasse between the United States and Cuba in the case of Elian Gonzalez.

July 8: Rev. Dr. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks

Sermon Title: It's Not Radical; It's Just Christian

Scripture: Romans 12:9-12 and Matthew 13:24-30

Rev. Dr. Gennifer Brooks is the Ernest and Bernice Styberg Associate Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Styberg Preaching Institute at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She is an ordained elder and full clergy member of the New York Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Dr. Brooks holds a Bachelor of Business, cum laude and an MBA from Pace University, a Master of Divinity, summa cum laude, and a Doctor of Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and a Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in Liturgical Studies from Drew University. She is the author of several books and articles on liturgy and preaching including Good News Preaching, a textbook on preaching, and Praise the Lord, a book of liturgy. Upcoming publications in 2012 include Black United Methodists Preach! (Abingdon) and Unexpected Grace: Preaching Good News from Difficult Texts (Pilgrim).

July 15: Bishop Hee Soo Jung

Sermon Title: "Nice is Not Enough."

Scripture: Mark 6:14-29, Psalm 24 and Ephesians 1:3-14

Bishop Hee- Jung was the first of three bishops elected at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in 2004 and was assigned to be the Episcopal leader of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church (Chicago Episcopal Area). Bishop Jung is the first non-Anglo bishop to serve as the head of this ethnically diverse Conference.

Bishop Jung earned a Doctor of Philosophy from University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Arts in Institute of Buddhist Studies (affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union), Berkeley, California, and Dongguk University Graduate School, Seoul, and, graduated from Methodist Theological Seminary in Korea.

Known across the denomination for his work on refugee, immigration, cross cultural and interfaith relations issues, Jung has been a board member of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-religious Concerns and General Commission on United Methodist Men. Bishop Jung is on the Board of Directors for Just Peace, the National Hispanic Plan and the National Korean Plan. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops. Bishop Jung is the visionary, leading development and redevelopment efforts in the Northern Illinois Conference and the Harvest 2020 movement.

July 22: Bishop Sally Dyck

Sermon Title: "On the Meat of God's Law"

Scripture: Matthew 23:23-24 (The Message)

Bishop Sally Dyck, ordained as a United Methodist clergy in 1981, served as a pastor and district superintendent in the East Ohio Conference, was consecrated a bishop in 2004, at which time she was assigned to be the resident bishop of the Minnesota Area of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Dyck received theological training from Boston University School of Theology (M. Div., 1978), University of Geneva/World Council of Churches (graduate certificate, 1978), and United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio (D. Min., Black Church Studies, 1989).

Bishop Dyck authored two books in 2010. The first, A Faithful Heart, is a study designed for those who want to open themselves up to the richness of God’s daily presence. The second, A Hopeful Earth – Faith Science and the Message of Jesus, written with her niece, Sarah Ehrman, guides readers in understanding that living as good stewards of God’s creation is a significant component of what it means to follow Jesus.

Bishop Dyck has been married to the Rev. Kenneth Ehrman, a United Methodist Elder, since 1976. The two have traveled the globe together by plane, bicycle, and on foot.

July 29: Rev. Trey Hall

Sermon Title: "The Importance of Not Being Earnest"

Scripture: Luke 10:1-12

Trey Hall looked up at the blackboard one day in a college Organic Chemistry course and realized he was never going to be a doctor. Since then he’s been on a haphazard journey of trying to serve God in a different way than he’d originally planned. It’s been a good ride so far.

A Southerner by birth and formation, Trey has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN (1996), and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta (2000), where he was a Woodruff Fellow. Before seminary, in 1997, Trey served as the first student intern for Reconciling Ministries Network, where he helped launch and organize MOSAIC, the student/young adult stream of the Reconciling movement. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, he’s been a pastor since 2000 and has served congregations in Atlanta, the United Kingdom, and Chicago.

Trey is one of the founding pastors of Urban Village Church, a bold, inclusive church plant located in the Downtown, Andersonville, and Wicker Park communities of Chicago: www.urbanvillagechurch.org. A reader, runner, coffee drinker, public transit junkie, and very novice guitar student, Trey is grateful to have the best job in the world in one of the best cities in the world.