Christian Church in Arizona Welcomes our 2018 Regional Assembly Guest Speakers
Rev. Erin Wathen
Rev. Erin Wathen is the Senior Pastor of Saint Andrew Christian Church in the Kansas City area and serves as the Moderator of the Christian Church, Greater Kansas City Region. Prior to SACC, Erin served at Foothills Christian Church in Phoenix. She is the author of two books: “Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality” and ”More Than Words: Ten Values for the Modern Family“. Publisher’s Weekly said of her most recent book “A helpful tool for teachers and professors… This trenchant book is a much-needed manifesto for 21st-century Christian feminism“.
Erin is a graduate of Transylvania University and Lexington Theological Seminary. She is the 2010 recipient of the Fred Craddock Award for Excellence in Preaching. Erin lives in Olathe, KS with her husband and two kids. A widely recognized voice in Progressive Christianity, Erin’s blog “Irreverin,” featured on the Patheos Interfaith Network, explores the intersection of faith, culture and politics.
Rev. Al Lopez
Rev. Al Lopez is the founder and one of three co-pastors of UrbanMission, a new church in Pomona, California, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The UrbanMission’s approach to being an actively engaged spiritual community has garnered recognition in several academic circles; most recently being highlighted as an example in Rev. Dr. Timothy Murphy’s Counter-Imperial Churching for a Planetary Gospel.
Al is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology was ordained by the Pacific Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2015.
Al currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Disciples Seminary Foundation, and on the Reconciliation Ministry Commission of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He also helps co-facilitate the Disciples Seminary Foundation’s Seed Planters group; a cohort of recently graduated/current seminary students exploring new church planting and congregational revitalization.
Al and his wife Tanya are the proud parents of two amazing little girls.
Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens
Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens was elected as the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in July 2017. She is the first person of color and second woman to lead the denomination. A descendant of one of the oldest African-American free settlements in Indiana and a Disciple since young adulthood, Hord Owens was dean of students at the University of Chicago Divinity School and pastor of First Christian Church of Downers Grove, IL prior to her election.
Hord Owens’ resume includes more than 20 years in corporate America leading diverse teams in data management in health care and other industries before she entered seminary. After ordination, she served 15 years at the University of Chicago Divinity School, shepherding a varied student body in both background and theology.
Hord Owens is widely sought after as a preacher, speaker and workshop facilitator. Her ministry and intellectual interests include a theology of reconciliation, cultural intelligence, developing inclusive and multi-cultural congregations, and the mentoring of young adults. She marked three decades of marriage with Walter Owens, Jr., prior to her election. They are the proud parents of an adult son.