FOOD and FAITH
Spiritual Growth Study Leaders
FOOD and FAITH
Spiritual Growth Study Leaders
Kae Lewis
Kae has worked as a layperson in the United Methodist Church for 21 years, most recently as Executive Director of Mary Elizabeth Inn, a national mission agency related to the Women’s Division, She served as a missionary in Brazil and as a staff person at the General Board of Global Ministries. Kae desires to teach this course because “together we will look at making connections between faith and food that allow us to feel both whole and nourished. We will consider our connectedness to God, the environment, and each other.”
Rev. Linda Ford
Born and raised in California and the youngest of seven children, Linda is the daughter of a Methodist pastor and her mother was engaged in her own extensive ministry in the family and in the church. “I am now a United Methodist pastor and proudly include ‘Martha” as well as ‘Mary” in the way I proceed. I enjoy cooking and am interested in recipes—collected well over 200 church, school, grange, etc. cookbooks from around the country.”
Sookie Song
Sookie was born as Sookja Kim. Her early childhood was spent in the San Joaquin Valley. At age twelve she moved to Los Angeles where she earned her BA and MA degrees. She was commissioned by the Southern Baptists to serve as their missionary to South Korea and the Philippines. The South Korean government asked Sookie to establish a junior high school. As a lay missionary she was hired by the Korean C.I.A. to teach English. Sookie traveled throughout Asia, India, Africa, Indonesia and Australia. Sookie will teach the Korean study where she writes: “I am especially interested in teaching the Korean women; this is a transition class. Can Methodist Women of different backgrounds study and work together, sharing their cultures, all inclusive, for missions as we are projected into God’s global calling?”
Rev. Corazon Moran-Escarzaga
Rev. Moran was born in Durango, Mexico. In ministry for more than fifteen years, she has participated in four projects planting new churches and as a pastor in three churches in Durango, Ciudad Juarez, and Chihuahua. She came to the USA in 2004 to work in Hispanic Ministries for the California-Nevada Conference. Corazon serves in the Fresno district.
NATIVE AMERICAN STUDY
Leader
Derrick Rainbow
Derrick is a Quechan from the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation (Winterhaven, CA). Attending San Pasqual High School, a school located in the agricultural area of Winterhaven, he moved to the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas majoring in Business. Derrick moved to the Bay Area to seek a new life. He has served in many organizations including the American Indian Staff Forum, American Indian Center of Santa Clara Valley, and the Alum Rock United Methodist Church.
SUDAN GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY
Leaders
Rev. Alan Jones
Currently serving as pastor o the Campbell United Methodist Church, Alan has served many United Methodist churches in the Bay Area, southern California, Sierra Leone and Britain. Alan also worked at the Makerere University in Kampala Uganda and later as a missionary in Sierra Leone. Much of his life has been spent living and working in cross-racial/cross-cultural situations. Alan has been active in interfaith networks and has been active in building bridges between Christianity and Islam. He is currently adjunct faculty at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, teaching Buddist/Christian dialogue. “I am interested in leading the Sudan study to build a stronger sense of community and solidarity with Muslims and Christians in Sudan and in Africa as a whole.”
Nicole Kelly
Nicole graduated from Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Nicole is an Office Specialist for Health & Human Services Department. She is an Office Coordinator for ERS Group, an economic consulting firm. Her hobbies include watching movies, good food, reading books and traveling to tropical places. “I enjoy enlightening conversations about the Bible and its main character, Jesus. I am interested in leading the study on Sudan because I have a love for the continent and every country in it. I am excited about Africa and the more I learn about the residents of Sudan, the more respect I gain for their faith and resilience.”
Rev. Youngrae Kim
Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, he came to the USA in 2000. He graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and has been serving as associate pastor at Korean UMC of Santa Clara Valley in San Jose. Last year Youngrae served as the study leader on Native American Survival. “I heard that there are many areas where people are suffering poverty, dictatorship and war in the world. I knew that Sudan is one of the areas and became interested in becoming a study leader to know more about the problems of Sudan and to share what I study with UMW members.”