Episcopal Diocese of Newark
31 Mulberry Street
Newark, NJ 07102
973-430-9976
Mark Beckwith was elected Bishop of Newark on September 23, 2006. He was consecrated as Bishop of Newark on January 27, 2007 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. Prior to his election, Mark Beckwith was Rector of All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts, in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts since 1993. He also served as Associate Rector of St. Peter’s, Morristown and Rector of Christ Church, Hackensack. Mark is a 1973 graduate of Amherst College, and a 1978 graduate of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. While in the Diocese of Newark, Mark was a co-founder of Morris Shelter, Inc. and a co-founder and first President of the Inter-Religious Fellowship of the Homeless in Bergen County.
Drew Theological School
Associate Chaplain
Director of the Chapel and Religious Life Council
Office: Seminary Hall 204 and the President's House Annex
(973) 408-3718
tbennett@drew.edu
Tanya Linn Bennett is the Director of the Chapel and Religious Life, and Associate Chaplain, at Drew University. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Tanya received her M.Div. summa cum laude from Drew Theological School in 2000. She has served various churches throughout the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, with particular emphasis on urban and youth ministry. Tanya has been an instructor at Drew Theological School in the areas of emerging worship, educational ministries, and sociology of religion. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the area of Sociology of Religion; her work focuses on the intersections of race and gender and their influence on the religious experience of Millennium Generation women.
Masjid Waarith ud Deen
Drew University Theological School
12 Campus Drive, Madison, NJ 07940
Phone: (973) 408-3848
Email: shalom@drew.edu
Dr. Michael J. Christensen (M.A., Yale, Ph.D., Drew), is the National Director of the Shalom Initiative and Affiliate Associate Professor of Spirituality at Drew University. An ordained United Methodist minister in the California-Nevada Annual Conference, he has published more than a dozen books and many articles. Dr. Christensen is a certified field traumatologist (International Traumatology Institute, University of South Florida) with expertise in urban ministry, disaster response, international community development, and community mental health. In recent years, he designed and implemented a psycho-social training program for Chernobyl victims in Belarus and Ukraine (World Vision and USAID), a train-the-trainer program for “Family Coping Skills” seminars in the aftermath of September 11 (Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church), and a pastoral and congregational care training program in response to HIV/AIDS in Malawi, Africa(CitiHope International).
Trinity & St. Phillips Cathedral
Summer Intern
Temple B'nai Jeshurun
1025 South Orange Ave.
Short Hills, NJ 07078
973-379-1555
Email: Mgewirtz@tbj.org
Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz began his tenure as the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in July 2006. Rabbi Gewirtz and his family have relocated to Maplewood from New York City where he served as Senior Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom. Rabbi Gewirtz has served Congregation Rodeph Sholom since his ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997. He is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and the Executive Board of the New York Association of Reform Rabbis. A regular contributor to numerous professional publications, his article about his child, “Dearest Jake: A Letter to My Son,” appeared in the 2005 High Holy Day issue of The American Rabbi.
President, Integrity House
Presbytery of Newark
Interweave
31 Woodland Ave.
Summit, NJ 07901
(908) 277-2120
Email: information@interweave.org
Robert Morris is Executive Director of Interweave, an interfaith community learning center for wellness, spirituality and the common good in Summit, New Jersey. An Episcopal priest and trained spiritual director, actively involved in interfaith dialog and cooperation for four decades, he is currently focusing on Interweave's Abrahamic Kinship Initiative, a project to foster deeper connections between Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders in New Jersey. He is the author of three books: Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life (Upper Room, 2003), Suffering and the Courage of God (Paraclete, 2005) and Provocative Grace: The Challenge in Jesus' Words (Upper Room, 2006).
Michael Oliver is a third year Master of Divinity Student at Drew Theological School. He first began to work with the Newark Interfaith Coalition in the summer of 2008 as an intern with Communities of Shalom. Michael brings experience working within a missional community, a desire to see people experience God’s goodness and grace in tangible ways, and a heart for enacting change. Michael is interested in the interaction of missional theology with practical living and ministry. He believes that God’s love and grace abounds to all humans, and sees his mission as proclaiming this love, mercy, reconciliation, caring, assistance and empowering.
Bethel World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
63-65 Pierce Street
Newark, NJ 07103
Toll Free: 877-218-8777
Phone: 973-643-6565
reginaldosborne@comcast.net
Pastor Reginald C. Osborne Jr, has a lifelong commitment to the welfare of our youth and adults struggling with drug addiction and imprisonment. He has always been conscious of the social problems that plague our communities, and at a very young age he made a commitment to work toward restoring people towards their usefulness in society. Pastor Osborne and his staff of volunteers provides mentorship for men and women returning from incarceration. As a certified criminal justice specialist, certified doctoral addiction counselor, certified relapse prevention specialist, certified HIV counselor, parent anonymous facilitator, and a pastor of a congregation of recovering addicts, he extends a compassionate hand to all he meets. He has received various recognitions for his effectiveness dealing with the recovering community. He is actively involved in his community as he serves as the lead agency for Newark Cease Fire.
Renaissance Church of Newark
Masjid Waarith ud Deen
Summer Intern, Temple B'nai Jeshurun
Newark Presbytery
192 Broad St.
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
973-429-2500
kevin@newarkpresbytery.org
As General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Newark, Presbyterian Church (USA), Kevin serves as the administrative head of staff for 42 churches serving urban, suburban, inner city and academic communities. The Presbytery is home to 12 different ethnic populations, strives to minister in a diversity of settings, and partners with those who may worship and serve in ways that are new to many. Newark Presbytery is committed to transformational ministry within and outside our Presbytery. This capacity-building responsibility brings a whole new level to Kevin's work with congregations.
