Installation of Rev. Shana Johnson
Conference Minister
Highland Evangelical UCC, 2520 Poplar, Highland, Illinois 62249
Honored Guests:
Rev. John Dorhauer
The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, author and theologian, currently serves as ninth General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. Previously, John served as the Conference Minister of the Southwest Conference of the UCC. Prior to his role at the Southwest Conference, Dorhauer served as Associate Conference Minister in the Missouri Mid-South Conference, and also served First Congregational United Church of Christ and Zion United Church of Christ, in rural Missouri.
Dorhauer received a B.A. in Philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College (1983), and has a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary (1988), the same year he was ordained in the United Church of Christ. He received a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary (2004), where he studied white privilege and its effects on the church.
John is passionate about justice. Two statements that shape his theology are: "God is love. God is just."
Rev. Deb Blood
Rev. Deborah J. Blood is Conference Minister for The Maine Conference, UCC, and Chair of the Council of Conference Ministers. She was ordained to Christian ministry in 2005 and served as Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Bloomfield, CT for 10 years. She has also served as a Chair of the Wider Church Ministries/Global Ministries Boards of the UCC and has significant experience across National and Conference settings. Before entering the ministry, Deborah was a practicing attorney for 15 years, focused on litigation, mediation and family law. She says that one of the delights of Conference Ministry is having such remarkable colleagues as Rev. Shana Johnson, and that it is a great joy to share in this service of Installation!
Honored Guests:
Rev. Sue Artt
Rev. Sue Artt is the Conference Minister of the Rocky Mountain Conference. She came to ministry as a third-career pastor after nearly two decades in executive leadership with Mobil Oil Corporation and running her own private consulting practice – The Change Agency. Sue was called to ministry in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, and attended Eden Theological Seminary (2003-06) prior to serving her first call as solo pastor for 500-member St. Paul UCC in Nashville, Illinois, in the Illinois South Conference (2006-2013). She was ordained on September 24, 2006.
In July 2013, Sue left her pastoral role in Illinois and relocated with her daughter Meghan to the mountains of Colorado, the native land of her paternal ancestry. Landing in Denver without a job or place to live, she was called to serve the Rocky Mountain Conference starting September 1, 2013. Sue’s ministry continues to include extensive travel to local churches across the Conference, focusing on expressing the ministry of Christ in our place and time.
Sue served as Moderator of General Synod 31 this past summer in Baltimore, and has served on the United Church of Christ Board of Directors, its Executive Committee, and the UCCB Board Leadership Team. She currently serves on the three-seminary CUE (Chicago - United - Eden) Board of Directors, and as a trustee for Eden Theological Seminary.
Rev. Shari Prestmon
The Rev. Shari Prestemon has served as Conference Minister of the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ since October 2013. She previously served as pastor to local congregations in Illinois and Wisconsin, and was the Executive Director of the UCC’s Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi from 2000 to 2013.
Rev. Prestemon serves on several Boards of Directors in the life of the wider United Church of Christ, including United Theological Seminary, Cornerstone Fund, and our Common Global Ministries. In the Twin Cities, she also serves on the Board of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaboration, an organization dedicated to ensuring that “everyone has a home”.