Keynoter: Bernice Powell Jackson

The keynoter for the 135th Annual Meeting October 18-20, 2002 will be Bernice Powell Jackson, Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and a member of the Collegium of officers of the United Church of Christ. Bernice will bring her passion for social and economic justice, her commitment to peacemaking and reconciliation, and her vision of an exciting, inclusive and accessible Church of Jesus Christ, alive for our time and alive to our challenges.

Ms. Bernice Powell Jackson is Executive Minister of Justice and Witness Ministries, responsible for the church's work on human rights and social, racial and economic justice. Before her election, she was head of the UCC Commission for Racial Justice. Prior experience includes directing a scholarship fund for former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Her undergraduate studies were at Wilson College, Chambersburg, Penn. She also holds master's degrees from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, N.Y. Bernice, an African American, is a member of Mount Zion Congregational UCC in Cleveland, Ohio

Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ

Justice and Witness Ministries, one of four Covenanted Ministries in the United Church of Christ, helps local congregations and all other settings of the church respond to God's commandments to do justice, seek peace, and effect change for a better world. The work of JWM is guided by the pronouncements and resolutions approved by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ.

Working out of three offices in Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and the historic Franklinton Center at Bricks in eastern North Carolina, JWM empowers individuals and local congregations across the nation to do advocacy for justice in their communities and in the world.

She is scheduled to speak Saturday at 9:50 AM and Sunday at 11:10 AM.

[Annual Meeting 2002 Information]