Bishop Deon K. Johnson moved to St. Louis from Brighton, Michigan in March 2020 after being elected at the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri’s 180th Convention in November 2019. Originally from Barbados, he moved to New York as a teenager and went on to study at Case Western Reserve University and General Theological Seminary. As an Episcopal priest, Bishop Deon has deep experience in social justice issues and ministry to LGBTQIA+ communities. On June 13, 2020, he was ordained as the 11th Bishop of Missouri. He and his husband Jhovanny are the proud parents of two children. He enjoys cooking, photography, hiking, and being an armchair movie critic.

Schedule: Session 2 – 3:30pm – 5:00pm

William Stell is a doctoral student in the Department of Religion at Princeton University, where he is researching the history of evangelical gay activism in the 1970s and 1980s. He is ordained in the United Church of Christ and formerly served as the pastor of a Presbyterian church in New Jersey. You can find some of his writing at Huffington Post, Commonweal Magazine, Religion Dispatches, Unfundamentalist, and Patheos.

Connect with him on Twitter: @wmstell.

Schedule: Session 1 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm

Brother Merrick Moses is an ordained Old Catholic Priest, Benedictine monk, writer, community activist, and teacher living in Baltimore, MD. This native New Yorker is a graduate of Morgan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish language. Br. Merrick was one of the first Black Transmen ordained within the Old Catholic Movement in Baltimore. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2008 and in independent Catholic movement for 19 years.

Schedule: Session 1 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm

Isaac Barber (He, Him, His) currently lives in Connecticut where he works at the University of Connecticut, overseeing all aspects of the Event Services unit of the Student Union. Growing up in a military family, he has lived and traveled around the country, and he even spent a few years in England.

Isaac is a person who holds multiple marginalized and under-represented identities which, in part, motivates him to invest and involve himself in learning and development opportunities around diversity, inclusion, and difference. In addition to this work, Isaac has always been connected to or involved with music in some form or fashion throughout his entire life. He began learning his first instrument at 6-years old, he was a music major for two-years at Louisiana Tech University, he earned a music minor when he completed his undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech, and he has directed many gospel and contemporary Christian choirs in different states over the years.

From 2000 to 2014, he served as worship leader for churches and events around the country. For six of those years, he also served as the advisor and coordinator for the vtONE organization at Virginia Tech with Michael Snow, hosting campus-wide worship events, as well as several concerts with well-known christian music and worship artists. Isaac believes that “credentials” are important for some people and that is why some of the details in this bio were included. But, he doesn’t take himself too seriously and always hopes that people connect to God through the fellowship, community, and unity we experience through this medium we call music.

How do we create community where we see a need? How do we identify ways to brings people together? Our panelists have each worked to develop community opportunities in a variety of ways, including geographic meetups, church ministries, online special interest gatherings, and more. Come listen to their discussion in how we can look to create meaningful and impacting community support wherever we see a need or opportunity.

Panelists: Kelli Quail, Peggy Sue Paulsen, Alejandro Ugarte, Terri Augustine, Adam Evers

Moderated by: Trey Weaver
Schedule: Session 2 – 3:30pm – 5:00pm

We’re cookin’ up something delicious! Kalevi Chen will guide us through cooking a special sweet treat in this interactive group session, capping off the Saturday Service on a yummy note!

(Ingredients and necessary cooking items will be provided ahead of time!)

Hosted by: Kalevi Chen
Schedule: 7:30pm – 9:00pm