Mar 28, 2015: Huffington Post: Disciples Of Christ Church Threatens A Boycott Over New Indiana Bill That Allows LGBT Discrimination
“Purportedly a matter of religious freedom, we find RFRA contrary to the values of our faith — as well as to our national and Hoosier values,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sharon E. Watkins, the church’s general minister and president, as well as the leaders of its overseas and domestic missions.
“Purportedly a matter of religious freedom, we find RFRA contrary to the values of our faith — as well as to our national and Hoosier values,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sharon E. Watkins, the church’s general minister and president, as well as the leaders of its overseas and domestic missions.
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins serves as General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. As General Minister, she is general pastor of the denomination, responsible for representing the wholeness of the church, for reconciling differences, and for helping the church retain its clarity of mission and identity. Her work includes interpreting The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and convening tables for cooperative work.
Dr. Watkins has an extensive background of service both in this country and abroad. She is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches based in Geneva, having been re-elected to that body during the 2013 assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. As chair of the WCC programme committee, she also serves on the executive committee. She served for two years as a missionary in the Congo early in her professional career, working on adult literacy programs. In 2008, she returned to the Congo, renewing her ties with the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo there. She serves on the National Council of Church's governing board, based in Washington, DC. In 2014 she serves as Chair-Elect for that board. Dr. Watkins also a former board member of Sojourners, a Washington, DC based group which seeks to build a movement that puts faith to work for justice.
At the invitation of then President-Elect Barack Obama, Dr. Watkins preached at the National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2009, the day after his inauguration. She also served a term on President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and offered the call to worship at the President's second National Prayer Service in 2013. She is former pastor of Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville, Okla. where she served for eight years. In the academic world, she held positions as Director of Student Services at Phillips Theological Seminary in Oklahoma and Associate Vice-President for University Relations at Phillips University. She has been a member of the Church's General Board Task Force on Reconciliation Mission, Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma, and part of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue Group, which looks, in part, at the traditions and history of the Disciples. She also served as pastor of Boone Grove Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Boone Grove, Ind., and Assistant Minister at Spring Glen Church (United Church of Christ) in Hamden, Conn.
Dr. Watkins has an extensive background of service both in this country and abroad. She is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches based in Geneva, having been re-elected to that body during the 2013 assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. As chair of the WCC programme committee, she also serves on the executive committee. She served for two years as a missionary in the Congo early in her professional career, working on adult literacy programs. In 2008, she returned to the Congo, renewing her ties with the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo there. She serves on the National Council of Church's governing board, based in Washington, DC. In 2014 she serves as Chair-Elect for that board. Dr. Watkins also a former board member of Sojourners, a Washington, DC based group which seeks to build a movement that puts faith to work for justice.
At the invitation of then President-Elect Barack Obama, Dr. Watkins preached at the National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2009, the day after his inauguration. She also served a term on President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and offered the call to worship at the President's second National Prayer Service in 2013. She is former pastor of Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville, Okla. where she served for eight years. In the academic world, she held positions as Director of Student Services at Phillips Theological Seminary in Oklahoma and Associate Vice-President for University Relations at Phillips University. She has been a member of the Church's General Board Task Force on Reconciliation Mission, Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma, and part of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue Group, which looks, in part, at the traditions and history of the Disciples. She also served as pastor of Boone Grove Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Boone Grove, Ind., and Assistant Minister at Spring Glen Church (United Church of Christ) in Hamden, Conn.
