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Presenters (continued)
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Bishop
Alfred Johnson
Presiding Bishop for the New Jersey Area and Chair,
The Advance for Christ and His Church, The United
Methodist Church
Dr. Jan Love
Professor,
Department of Religious Studies, University of
South Carolina
Jan Love is a “preacher’s kid”
who grew up in the Alabama-West Florida Conference.
She received her B.A., with honors, in African
Politics from Eckerd College (St. Petersburg,
FL) in 1975. She received her MA in Political
Science from Ohio State University in 1977, and
her PhD in Political Science from OSU in 1983,
where she won a prize for her dissertation research.
Jan
is now an Associate Professor in the Department
of Religious Studies at the University of South
Carolina (USC). From 1982 until 2001, she taught
full time in the Department of Government and
International Studies at USC, and she continues
to teach one course a semester there.
Jan’s
publications range across a variety of topics
and include two books as well as articles and
book chapters on globalization, political economy,
social change, Southern Africa, religion and politics,
and ecumenism. A common thread in all her research
is a central concern for citizen involvement in
global problem solving.
Complementing
her academic life is Jan's service in the United
Methodist church and ecumenical organizations.
Jan is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church
in Columbia, SC, where 15 years ago she helped
to found an intentionally cross-racial “Celebration
Community” service and where she currently
coordinates an adult Sunday School Class. In the
South Carolina Annual Conference, Jan has served
on several boards and agencies since the 1980s.
She also works closely with ecumenical and inter-religious
organizations in South Carolina. Jan was a youth
leader in the Alabama West-Florida Conference,
and when she was in high school and college, Jan
served on the General Board of Global Ministries
(and its predecessor, the Board of Missions) from
1970-1976. She now serves on the General Commission
on Christian Unity and Interreligious concerns.
Among
a number of honors bestowed on her, in May 2000,
the United Methodist Council of Bishops, in the
presence of the church's General Conference, recognized
Jan for her "exceptional leadership in ecumenical
arenas," primarily for her work in the World
Council of Churches. The WCC is an organization
of about 340 denominations from more than 120
countries, headquartered in Geneva. Jan served
as a member of the WCC Central Committee (158
member board of directors) from 1975 to 1998 and
filled a number of leadership roles. From 1983-91,
she served on the 25-member Executive Committee
as Moderator (chair) of the Programme Unit on
Justice and Service. From 1992 to 1998, she was
Moderator of the Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs (CCIA). She served on the
Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in
the WCC, 1999-2002, and currently moderates (chairs)
the global group that oversees the Decade to Overcome
Violence (DOV). The DOV is a WCC initiative that
coincides with the United Nations Decade for Peace
and a Culture of Nonviolence (2001-2010). Within
the United States, Jan serves on the board of
directors of Church World Service. In addition,
Jan continues to give speeches, conduct seminars,
and preach in a number of places across the country
and the world, as she has for many years.
Jan
is married to Peter Sederberg, and they live in
Columbia, SC with their daughter Rachel (15).
They enjoy visits back home from their son, Per
(28), who now lives in Boston.
Bishop Edward Paup
Presiding Bishop, Oregon-Idaho Area and President,
General Council on Ministries, The United Methodist
Church
Background
Information 1
Background
Information 2
The
Rev. Dr. Bruce Robbins
General
Secretary, General Commission on Christian Unity
and Interreligious Concerns
The Rev. Dr. Bruce W. Robbins serves as the General
Secretary of the General Commission on Christian
Unity and Interreligious Concerns of The United
Methodist Church. The Commission is responsible
for ecumenical advocacy, for strengthening relationships
with other living faiths, and for enabling ecumenical
understanding and experience among all United
Methodists. As General Secretary, he is the ecumenical
staff officer for The United Methodist Church.
Mr. Robbins was born in Brooklyn, New York. He
attended Oberlin College in Ohio and graduated
with majors in English and Spanish literature.
He then went to Union Theological Seminary (New
York) funded by a Rockefeller Fellowship for a
Masters of Divinity where he specialized in theology.
He received his Ph.D. in Church History from Southern
Methodist University. His dissertation was a history
of the Latin American Biblical Seminary in San
Jose, Costa Rica. First ordained in 1974, he is
a full member and elder of the Troy Annual Conference.
For five years he served churches in that conference.
He has served in numerous ecumenical and interreligious
relationships. He attended the Fifth and Sixth
Assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC)
in Nairobi, Kenya, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
He was a delegate to the WCC Seventh Assembly
in Australia, and to the Eighth Assembly in Zimbabwe,
where he provided the staff leadership for United
Methodist delegations. In addition, he was a delegate
to the Fifth World Conference on Faith and Order.
He serves on the WCC Central Committee and co-moderates
the WCC/Pentecostal dialogue.
Mr. Robbins serves on the Executive Board and
General Assembly of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., various units
and committees of the NCC and has specialized
in Christian-Jewish relations. He also represents
the church on the Executive Committee of the World
Methodist Council and is a member of bilateral
dialogue with the Roman Catholics. Through his
office he participates extensively in numerous
other ecumenical and academic opportunities.
Mr. Robbins is married to Carol Braswell Robbins
who serves on the faculty of Cornell University.
They have two children.
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