Black Women in Ministry to Host Gala at National Press Club for Women Faith Leaders

Three hundred trailblazing Black women faith leaders from across the country will convene at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, this Friday, Dec. 2, 6-10 p.m. for a gala recognizing 20 outstanding “She-roes.” The event is part of an unprecedented effort to mentor emerging Black female clergy taking the reins of an almost exclusively male-led religious sector of American life. Hosting the ceremony will be President Obama’s appointee, the Honorable (Reverend Dr.) Suzan D. Johnson Cook, the first woman and African-American to be Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Dr. Cook was also the first woman president of the legendary Hampton Ministers’ Conference, a major association of Black clergy, denominations, and institutions. Now in her 40th year of ordained ministry, Ambassador Cook has dedicated this season of her work “not to retiring, but to inspiring.”  Among the honorees will be Turner Theological Seminary of Atlanta’s first African-American female president, Dr. Ammie L. Davis, the first Black woman to lead a Baptist missions agency, Dr. Gina Stewart, and the First Lady of the 1.3 million-member Full Gospel Movement, Elder Debra Morton.  Dr. Johnson Cook said, “You can’t keep good women down. The strength of their character, charisma, spirit, and intellect causes them to rise to the top. These women and the generations that will follow them constitute the soul of America. They are, in fact, the keepers of our country’s soul and conscience, and they inspire us all to rise to our very best, as they have done.” Proceeds from the dinner will help establish the first-ever Women in Ministry Center on an HBCU campus, reflecting the objectives of Women on the World Stage, “leadership development for enhancing, empowering, equipping, and advancing women.” The event invites reporters to attend.  To arrange interviews, contact Jeri Wright at 312-607-3848 or [email protected]. Source: R.E.A.L. Black Women in Ministry Thrive Initiative