Speaker(s): Rev. Irene Monroe

The Reverend Monroe is an ordained minister and motivational speaker who speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. She does a weekly Monday segment, now a podcast called “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), a Boston member station of National Public Radio (NPR). She is also a weekly Friday commentator on New England Channel NEWS (NECN), and is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, the Guided Walking Tour of Beacon Hill: Boston’s Black Women Abolitionists.

A Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist, Rev. Monroe’s columns appear in 23 cities across the country and in the U.K, Ireland, and Canada. She also writes a weekly column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows, Cambridge Chronicle, and Opinion pieces for the Boston Globe. She states that her "columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer, and religious studies,” while also focusing on sexism, classism, and anti-Semitism.  She has spoken on these issues at the United Nations International School.

Rev. Monroe, a founder and now member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), is also a founder of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM), and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT). Chosen in October 2009 by MSNBC as one of "10 Black Women You Should Know," Monroe has been profiled in O, the Oprah Magazine, and also in the Gay Pride Episode of "In the Life TV," a segment nominated for an educational Emmy. 

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Harvard Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church.

Featured in the film, "For the Bible Tells Me So," an exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S., her coming out story is profiled in "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America," as well as in "Youth in Crisis."  Profiled twice in the Boston Globe for her LGBT activism, in 1997 Boston Magazine cited her as one of Boston's 50 Most Intriguing Women, and in 1998 Monroe was the first African American lesbian to be bestowed the honor of being Grand Marshall in the Boston Pride Celebration. For her activism, she has received numerous awards, and her papers are in the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College's research library on the history of women in America.

Speaker(s): Rev. Irene Monroe

The Reverend Monroe is an ordained minister and motivational speaker who speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. She does a weekly Monday segment, now a podcast called “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), a Boston member station of National Public Radio (NPR). She is also a weekly Friday commentator on New England Channel NEWS (NECN), and is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, the Guided Walking Tour of Beacon Hill: Boston’s Black Women Abolitionists.

A Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist, Rev. Monroe’s columns appear in 23 cities across the country and in the U.K, Ireland, and Canada. She also writes a weekly column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows, Cambridge Chronicle, and Opinion pieces for the Boston Globe. She states that her "columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer, and religious studies,” while also focusing on sexism, classism, and anti-Semitism.  She has spoken on these issues at the United Nations International School.

Rev. Monroe, a founder and now member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), is also a founder of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM), and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT). Chosen in October 2009 by MSNBC as one of "10 Black Women You Should Know," Monroe has been profiled in O, the Oprah Magazine, and also in the Gay Pride Episode of "In the Life TV," a segment nominated for an educational Emmy. 

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Harvard Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church.

Featured in the film, "For the Bible Tells Me So," an exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S., her coming out story is profiled in "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America," as well as in "Youth in Crisis."  Profiled twice in the Boston Globe for her LGBT activism, in 1997 Boston Magazine cited her as one of Boston's 50 Most Intriguing Women, and in 1998 Monroe was the first African American lesbian to be bestowed the honor of being Grand Marshall in the Boston Pride Celebration. For her activism, she has received numerous awards, and her papers are in the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College's research library on the history of women in America.

Speaker(s): Rev. Irene Monroe

The Reverend Monroe is an ordained minister and motivational speaker who speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. She does a weekly Monday segment, now a podcast called “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), a Boston member station of National Public Radio (NPR). She is also a weekly Friday commentator on New England Channel NEWS (NECN), and is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, the Guided Walking Tour of Beacon Hill: Boston’s Black Women Abolitionists.

A Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist, Rev. Monroe’s columns appear in 23 cities across the country and in the U.K, Ireland, and Canada. She also writes a weekly column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows, Cambridge Chronicle, and Opinion pieces for the Boston Globe. She states that her "columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer, and religious studies,” while also focusing on sexism, classism, and anti-Semitism.  She has spoken on these issues at the United Nations International School.

Rev. Monroe, a founder and now member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), is also a founder of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM), and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT). Chosen in October 2009 by MSNBC as one of "10 Black Women You Should Know," Monroe has been profiled in O, the Oprah Magazine, and also in the Gay Pride Episode of "In the Life TV," a segment nominated for an educational Emmy. 

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Harvard Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church.

Featured in the film, "For the Bible Tells Me So," an exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S., her coming out story is profiled in "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America," as well as in "Youth in Crisis."  Profiled twice in the Boston Globe for her LGBT activism, in 1997 Boston Magazine cited her as one of Boston's 50 Most Intriguing Women, and in 1998 Monroe was the first African American lesbian to be bestowed the honor of being Grand Marshall in the Boston Pride Celebration. For her activism, she has received numerous awards, and her papers are in the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College's research library on the history of women in America.

Speaker(s): Rev. Irene Monroe

The Reverend Monroe is an ordained minister and motivational speaker who speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. She does a weekly Monday segment, now a podcast called “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), a Boston member station of National Public Radio (NPR). She is also a weekly Friday commentator on New England Channel NEWS (NECN), and is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, the Guided Walking Tour of Beacon Hill: Boston’s Black Women Abolitionists.

A Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist, Rev. Monroe’s columns appear in 23 cities across the country and in the U.K, Ireland, and Canada. She also writes a weekly column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows, Cambridge Chronicle, and Opinion pieces for the Boston Globe. She states that her "columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer, and religious studies,” while also focusing on sexism, classism, and anti-Semitism.  She has spoken on these issues at the United Nations International School.

Rev. Monroe, a founder and now member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), is also a founder of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM), and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT). Chosen in October 2009 by MSNBC as one of "10 Black Women You Should Know," Monroe has been profiled in O, the Oprah Magazine, and also in the Gay Pride Episode of "In the Life TV," a segment nominated for an educational Emmy. 

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Harvard Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church.

Featured in the film, "For the Bible Tells Me So," an exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S., her coming out story is profiled in "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America," as well as in "Youth in Crisis."  Profiled twice in the Boston Globe for her LGBT activism, in 1997 Boston Magazine cited her as one of Boston's 50 Most Intriguing Women, and in 1998 Monroe was the first African American lesbian to be bestowed the honor of being Grand Marshall in the Boston Pride Celebration. For her activism, she has received numerous awards, and her papers are in the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College's research library on the history of women in America.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.

Speaker(s): Rev. David Shirey

David Shirey has served as Senior Minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, KY, since 2014. He is a native of Warren, OH, with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University and a M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. For the past 35 years, David has served churches in Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arizona. His congregations have each been characterized by vibrant worship, a deepening commitment to Christian education and spiritual growth, and service to the community.

Throughout his ministry Rev. Shirey has been actively involved in community service, including serving on the boards of the Foothills (AZ) Food Bank, the United Way of Bartholomew County, Columbus, IN, Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter, Columbus, IN, the Good Shepherd House (Homeless Shelter), Hospice of the Cape Fear, and the Five Church Association (social services outreach ministry in inner-city St. Louis).

In Lexington Rev. Shirey supports the many ministries engaged in by Central Christian Church, including a satellite of God’s Pantry, a Thrift Store, Helping Hands (a ministry to the homeless and near-homeless in the northeast downtown area), Room in the Inn (providing overnight lodging to homeless men from November through March), the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, and the Black Church Coalition. Since 2007, he has served on the leadership team of the Bethany Fellowships, a mentoring and spiritual leadership ministry that has accompanied over 100 newly ordained pastors in their transition from seminary to sustained congregational ministry with a strengthened, healthy pastoral identity.

David is married to Jennie Taylor Shirey, a musician, Christian Educator, and elementary school teacher. They have three children: Will (Kassie), Betsy (Travis), and Laura, and two grandchildren, Hayden and Blair.