Distinguished Service Award: Recipients

The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis G’02, G’04 is Senior Minister at Middle
Collegiate Church, a 1000-member multi-racial, welcoming, and inclusive congregation in New York City. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Jacqui is the first African-American and first woman to serve as senior minister in the Collegiate Church, which was founded in New York City in 1628. She is an activist, preacher, and advocate for racial equality, economic justice, and LGBTQ equality.

Jacqui is the Co-Founder of The Middle Project, which hosts an annual conference to train faith leaders to build multiracial congregations. The 12th annual conference, “Revolutionary Love – Complete the Dream,” took place April 6–8, 2018 at Middle Church in New York City, and is part of the curriculum of the Public Theology Doctor of Ministry cohort at Drew Theological School led by Rev. Dr. Lewis and her spouse Dr. John Janka.

Jacqui earned her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion from Drew University. She has been adjunct professor at seminaries across the country, including Drew Theological School, Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, and the Graduate Theological Union.   

She is the author of The Power of Stories; 10 Essential Strategies to Grow a Multiracial, Multicultural Congregation; and the children’s book, You Are So Wonderful! 

Bishop Karen Oliveto C’80, G’91, G’02 currently serves as the bishop
of the Mountain Sky Area of the United Methodist Church, after serving as senior pastor of the 12,000-member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco for eight years. She is the first woman to be senior pastor at Glide, the fifth largest United Methodist congregation in the U.S. She is the first woman to serve as senior pastor in one of the denomination’s 100 largest U.S. congregations. She has served parish and campus ministries in rural and urban settings in both NY and California. In 2004, she performed the first legal same-gender marriage held in a United Methodist Church during San Francisco’s “Winter of Love.” She has served as the associate dean of academic affairs at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, where she also taught United Methodist History/Doctrine/Polity and Evangelism as an adjunct professor for 12 years.

Bishop Oliveto is the first openly gay bishop to serve in the United Methodist Church; her wife, Robin, is a deaconess in the UMC.
Bishop Oliveto, prophetic leader and prolific author, has recently published two books, Together at the Table: Diversity without Division in The United Methodist Church, and Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into God’s Call. She is an activist and advocate for civil rights for all, but particularly for the LGBGQI community.

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II T’03 is a Protestant minister and
political activist. Dr. Barber received his Doctor of Ministry from Drew University Theological School with a concentration in public policy and pastoral care in 2003. He is a member of the national board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the chair of its Legislative Political Action Committee. Since 2006 he has been president of the NAACP’s North Carolina state chapter, the

largest in the Southern United States and the second-largest in the country.  Barber has served as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Goldsboro, North Carolina since 1993.  The Wall Street Journal has credited Barber’s NAACP chapter with forming a coalition in 2007 named Historic Thousands on Jones Street People’s Assembly, composed of 93 North Carolina advocacy groups. Historian and professor Timothy Tyson named Barber, “the most important progressive political leader in this state in generations,” saying that he “built a statewide interracial fusion political coalition that has not been seriously attempted since 1900.”

In 2014, Rev. Barber founded Repairers of the Breach, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization “formed to educate and train religious and other leaders of faith who will pursue policies and organizational strategies for the good of the whole and to educate the public about connections between shared religious faith.” As part of a campaign to train seminarians
in public advocacy and activism, Barber and the Repairers of the Breach staff toured the US offering daylong workshops.

In May 2017, Barber announced he would step down from the state NAACP presidency to lead “a new & ‘Poor People’s Campaign'”, named Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival in honour of the original 1968 campaign founded by Martin Luther King.

The Rev. Michael D Mather T’85 is the pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis (1986 to 1991, and 2003 to present). He was also pastor of Broadway Christian Parish UMC in South Bend, Indiana, from 1992 to 2003. He is married to Kathy Licht and they have two sons, Conor and Jordan Mather-Licht. He is the author of Sharing Stories, Shaping Community and an upcoming book to be published by Eerdman’s tentatively titled As Possessing Everything: Finding Abundance in Surprising Places.

Dr. Hwain Lee T’99  has been an alumni-elected trustee of Drew University since 2010 and recently recommitted to serving for another four years. During her term, she has faithfully advocated for and supported the mission of Drew Theological School. She is founder and president of the Board of Trustees of the Asian Women’s Christian Association. She has been devoted to raising awareness of women’s status in the Asian community. Lee received the Urban Angel award from New York Theological Seminary in 2004 and the Leadership Award from the Asian Women’s Christian Association in 2005. She is an ordained elder at the Bedford Park Presbyterian Church of the Bronx. Lee earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Yale University, before attending Drew, where she earned her Doctor of Ministry degree. She is a research professor of global leadership and spirituality at New York Theological Seminary and has numerous publications including 2009’s Building Capacity for Ministry. She and her husband, William, reside in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and have three children.

The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Williams G’83 served as the general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church from 2006 until his retirement in 2014. He is a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference and served as pastor of six New Jersey churches. He has taught United Methodist studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer) and Drew Theological School.

In addition to various leadership posts in his Annual Conference, including co-chairing the Board of Ordained Ministry, Williams has served on the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, the General Conference Study Commission on Ministry, the World Methodist Council, the Board of Trustees of the Pennington (N.J.) School and the Board of Trustees of the Epworth Old Rectory.

Williams and his wife, Renee, have two daughters, Shauna and Erin, and now three grandchildren.

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth S. Hall (Betsey), T’84, started her fourteen year career in parish ministry serving in Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Troy, NY and then moved to West Seneca Presbyterian Church in NY. Betsey is an ordained Presbyterian Minister. Her Master of Divinity degree is from Drew Theological School and she has a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Seminary.  She serves on the Executive Board of the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ and Chairs the Board of the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, Pennsylvania. In 1998, Betsey was named President/CEO of Homeless Solutions, Inc. At Homeless Solutions Betsey directs the largest homeless shelter in Morris County and has developed or rehabbed 76 apartments of affordable homes for families in the Morris County area. HSI currently has developers’ agreements for another 42 apartments.  In 2006, Betsey received the Community Foundation of  NJ’s Exemplary Performance in Nonprofit Management Award. In 2007, she received the Abigail Allen Women’s Leadership Award from Alfred University.

In 1984 Betsey was part of a group of students, faculty and alums who sponsored a portrait series of women faculty Nelle Morton and Mildred Eakin.

To continue building justice through the arts by volunteering or contributing to ongoing art installations in Seminary Hall, contact Heather Murray Elkins.

Randy was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2012.

Robert was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2011.

Reverend Duncan was born in Paterson, NJ. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Upsala College (1955), East Orange, NJ, as well as a Bachelor of Divinity (1959), Master of Sacred Theology (1971), and Doctor of Ministry (2001) all from Drew Theological School. He did post graduate work at The New School for Social Research (1977) in New York, NY, and at Princeton Theological Seminary (1981) in Princeton, NJ. Bob was ordained a Deacon in 1956 and an Elder in 1959 in the Newark Conference (now Greater NJ Conference). He received the Staley Davis Award in 1954 for Youth Leadership from the Conference where he served as Youth Council President, and in 1959 the David P. Kidder Prize for the best record in the Department of Practical Theology from Drew Theological School.

Dr. Duncan was a church organist and choir director from 1950-1954, pastor of a student church in Congers, NY, from 1954-1961, and pastor of Grace United Methodist Church (formerly of Paterson) in Wyckoff, NJ. During his 34 years at Grace UMC, a new Church was built in five stages, as well as two parsonages. He received over 3,000 members and formed the Grace Korean UMC. Fourteen young people entered the Christian ministry under his pastorate, seven of whom came to Drew. He served for seven years in a half-time interim appointment in Lords Valley, PA, upon his first retirement in 1995, and later was the first liaison to students at Drew on the Dean’s staff from 2002-2005.

He has lectured at William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, Ramapo Regional High School, Franklin Lakes, NJ, Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ, and at the Christian Health Center, Wyckoff, NJ. He has been guest preacher at The Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ, as well as at The Bible Hour. Additionally, he has spoken at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL, various Conference churches and in six foreign countries. He has published an article in “Christian Ministry,” edited the 125th Edition of the History of the Conference, privately published two series of sermons that were given in Ocean Grove, and the book Holy Land Pilgrimage: A Doorway to Discipleship.

Dr. Duncan raised funds to inaugurate “The Shippey Lectureship,” secured funding from the Conference to air condition Baldwin Gymnasium, served on the Capital Fund Committee for Seminary Hall, and, with the help of his son, arranged for a major bequest of $750,000 to name the Atrium. The Duncan’s provided the seat cushions for the window seats in the Atrium. Dr. Duncan and his wife also endowed a prize for a Doctor of Ministry student whose project excelled, in honor of their son.

He currently is the President of Educational Opportunities, Inc., the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies, and is Vice President of Educational Opportunities Tours and the Executive Director of Travel Ministry. Dr. Duncan was married to Dorothy Schuler in 1955 and the couple has one son, Rev. Dr. Robert J. Duncan, Jr., who is the President of Oklahoma’s oldest college, Bacone College. He has two grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Beauty was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2010.

Beauty graduated from United Theological College in Zimbabwe in 1987.  From 1988 to 1992, she served as pastor at Zimbabwe United Methodist Church.  Beauty then came to Drew University receiving her Master of Divinity in 1997, Master of Sacred Theology in 1998, Master of Philosophy in Liturgical Studies in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies in 2004.

During her tenure at Drew, Beauty served as the alternate representative to the United Nations for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.  Since returning to Africa in 2004, Beauty has been a lecturer in theology at Africa University in Zimbabwe and Dean of the Faculty of Theology, and at present is also serving as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor.

Beauty’s research interests include the incorporation of some forms of the African Traditional Religion’s practices in the worship patterns of the African United Methodist Church. She has written a number of articles, and given lectures and presentations on this and similar subjects in Africa, Europe, and North America. This past October, Beauty, who described Drew Theological School as the place that “helped me find my voice,” returned to Seminary Hall to share that voice in a lecture, “Christianity in Zimbabwe: Context, Gifts, and Challenges.”  Approximately 50 students and faculty members came to hear her speak about her experiences of the spiritual and cultural struggle that her country of Zimbabwe is now facing.

Beauty continues to serve the global community by working with the Committee on Faith and Order of the United Methodist Church, as a Committee member of the World Methodist Historical Society, and on the United Methodist Church Global Praise Advisory Group.  Additionally, Beauty is an active member of Ecumenical Women 2000+, International Association on Black Religion, and United Methodist Women of Color Scholars, and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

Jeremiah was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2009.

Edward was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

Virginia was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2007.

Maxwell was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2006.

Patricia was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

Ernest was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2004.

Stanley was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2003.

Hae-Jong was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2002.

Robert was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2001.

Charles was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2000.

Calvin was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1999.

Robert was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1998.

William was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1997.

Henry was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1996.

John was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1995.

Robert was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1994.

William was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1993.

Edwin was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1992.

David was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1991.

William was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1990.

Jeffrey was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1989.

Emerson was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1988.

William was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1987.

Charles was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1986.

Maud was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1985.

Harry was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1984.

Henry was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1983.

James was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1982.

Alfred was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1980.

Lloyd was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1979.