PRESENTERS

GLENN PACKIAM
ASSOCIATE SENIOR PASTOR, NEW LIFE CHURCH

Glenn Packiam is the Associate Senior Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Lead Pastor of New Life Downtown, a congregation of New Life Church. He is the author of several books—including “Blessed Broken Given: How Your Story Becomes Sacred in the Hands of Jesus” and “Discover the Mystery of Faith”— and has written over 65 worship songs published with Integrity Music, including “Your Name" and "My Savior Lives." Glenn earned a Doctorate in Theology and Ministry from Durham University, and is a Visiting Fellow at St. John’s College at Durham.

Listen to our conversation with Glenn Packiam here.

JOY MOORE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL TEACHING

Joy J. Moore is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church (UMC) and received her Ph.D. from the Brunel University London School of Theology. Moore came to Luther Seminary in 2019 as an Associate Professor of Biblical Preaching. Previously, she served Fuller Theological Seminary, providing the vision to establish the William E. Pannell Center for African-American Church Studies. She also worked at Duke University Divinity School, Asbury Theological Seminary and Adrian College. She held pastorates in the Michigan area of the UMC. Moore contributed a chapter to Andrew C. Thompson’s “Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church” as well as to the books, “Essential Truths” and “Unity, Liberty, and Charity.” She also wrote for Sojourners magazine, Christian Century, WorkingPreacher.org and Good News magazine. She belongs to a number of organizations, including the Academy of Homiletics, the Society for Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion. She also serves on the board
of directors for ZOE Ministries.

OMAR HAMID AL-RIKABI
STORY TELLER

Omar Hamid Al-Rikabi was born in Houston, Texas to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, and was raised Christian in a suburban Dallas Methodist church. With a foot in two different cultures and religions, Omar grew to love teaching and telling stories. Omar received his undergraduate degree in English with a minor in history from Texas A&M University, and his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. He has worked as a grocery bagger, a waiter, a data-entry temp, a bookstore cashier, and a high school teacher. After twelve years in student and campus ministry, Omar currently serves as a Methodist pastor to a small church in North Texas. When not telling stories, Omar likes to watch movies with his wife Jennifer, read books with his two daughters, Sadie and Norah, and work in the kitchen cooking and grilling for
family and friends.

Listen to our conversation with Omar Hamid Al-Rikabi here.

DAVID M. BAILEY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ARRABON, AUTHOR

David M. Bailey is a public theologian and culture maker who believes the church should lead by example in effective cross-cultural engagement and practices in reconciliation. He’s the founder and executive director of Arrabon; an organization that equips foundations, nonprofits, and worshipping communities with the tools to become reconciling communities. David is an active speaker, consultant and strategist for many national organizations about cultural intelligence and culture-making. He is the co-author of the Race, Class, and the Kingdom of God Study Series. David is the executive producer of documentary 11am: Hope for America’s Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. He's rooted at East End Fellowship and serves as a teaching elder. David's greatest honor in life is to be married to his wonderful and beautiful wife, Joy.

Listen to our conversation with David Bailey here.

SHANNON SIGLER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BREHM CASCADIA, VISUAL ARTIST

Shannon Sigler is the Executive Director of Fuller Seminary’s Brehm Center for Worship, Theology and The Arts. A visual artist and theologian with a passion for pastoring artists and building bridges between art and church communities. She studied at Asbury Theological Seminary, Boston University, and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Manchester.

STEPHEN MICHAEL NEWBY
PROFESSOR OF MUSIC, DIRECTOR OF COMPOSITION AND THE CENTER FOR WORSHIP, COMPOSER

Stephen Newby is a Professor of Music, Director of Composition and the Director of the Center for Worship at Seattle Pacific University. A composer, conductor, gospel/jazz vocalist, and pianist, he is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and received his Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music Education and Flute Performance from Madonna College in Livonia, Michigan. He received a Master of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition degree at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Listen to our conversation with Stephen Newby here.

WENDELL KIMBROUGH
SONGWRITER

Wendell Kimbrough is a songwriter reimagining the Psalms for emotionally honest modern worship. His songs are marked by strong singable melodies, steeped in the sounds of folk, gospel, and soul music. Wendell serves as artist-in-residence and worship leader at Church of the Apostles in Fairhope, Alabama.    Wendell’s 2018 release, Come to Me, gathers together psalms of lament, cries for justice, and shouts of deliverance. “It’s the soundtrack I needed in 2017, a year in which I found myself leading people in worship after terror attacks, white supremacist rallies, and church shootings,” Wendell says. “The Psalms invite us to be honest with God about the crazy highs and lows we experience. ‘Come to me,’ Jesus says, ‘bring your burdens, bring your heaviness.’” And with this new record, Wendell invites listeners to do just that - sing out to the God who cares about their whole lives, the beautiful and the broken parts.   Wendell was a 2017 Hearn Innovator in Christian Music at Baylor University, a guest performer and speaker at Calvin College, Covenant Seminary, and dozens of churches across the country. His music has been featured in Worship Leader Magazine and World Magazine; and Under the Radar Media selected his 2016 album, Psalms We Sing Together, as an honorable mention for top albums of the year.

Listen to our conversation with Wendell Kimbrough here.

ZAWADI MORROW
ASSOCIATE WORSHIP DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Zawadi currently serves as the Associate Director of Worship for University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA. Previously, he has served as the Director of Worship at A Seattle Church, and before that, he was Minister of Worship and Production at Seattle Pacific University. For the past five years, he has also been a member of the Seattle-based group Kings Kaleidoscope. Zawadi has a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Arts in Worship Studies and is a talented multi-instrumentalist. Even more important than his impressive qualifications, Zawadi loves Jesus with all his heart. He has a passion for leading God’s people in meaningful worship and he is called to building relationships and caring for people in a pastoral way. Zawadi’s life experiences give him a unique perspective and have prepared him for ministry in our culturally diverse neighborhood. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and adopted by European missionary parents, Zawadi was raised internationally, living in both Africa and Europe before his family settled in the United States when Zawadi was a teenager. Zawadi, lives in the Seattle area with his wife Erin, and their son and daughter.

Listen to our conversation with Zawadi Morrow here.

SILAS SHAM
ASSOCIATE PASTOR, BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH NORTHEAST

Silas Sham is originally from Toronto, Canada, and is currently an Associate Pastor at Bethany Community Church Northeast in Seattle, Washington. Before his time at Bethany, Silas earned his Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and pastored a Sacramental Pentecostal church in Cleveland, Tennessee. Silas loves Jesus, theology, and inviting people to encounter God in contextualized ways. Be it in the classroom as a professor, at church as a pastor, on the soccer field as a coach, or in any other context he finds himself in, Silas strives to invite others to discover the work of God, happening amongst the people of God. 

CHRISTINE PARTON BURKETT
LECTURING FELLOW, DUKE DIVINITY SCHOOL

Christine Parton Burkett has served as the lecturing fellow in speech at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., since 1991.  In this role, she has worked with seminary students across Christian traditions to encourage their strengths and identify areas for growth, focusing especially –but not exclusively – on excellence in full-bodied delivery. She has been a featured presenter at more than one hundred retreats, workshops and conferences for clergy around the United States and in Canada, and she regularly coaches clergy and lay worship leaders of all ages using tools that she has created including reader’s theater, choric readings, and biblical story-telling. Her writing on preaching, scripture reading, and other forms of public proclamation has been featured in publications such as Faith & Leadership and “The Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching” (1994). She has degrees in theater and speech language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

PRISCILLA OZODO-ACEVEDO
VOCAL COACH, WORSHIP MINISTER, MENTOR

Priscilla Ozodo-Acevedo is a vocal coach who previously served as the Minister of Worship and Production at Seattle Pacific University. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Music and Communications, and an MA in Transformational Leadership. She recorded her debut music album, Way Out, in 2010 and is currently working on her newest album. As an actor, she was featured in The Unveiled Truth, a Nigerian TV series and was recently in her first feature movie, Sincerely Yours, which will be released soon.

CANDACE VANCE
HEAD OF PERFORMANCE, SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Ms. Vance serves as the Head of Performance at Seattle Pacific University.  She holds a BA in Theatre and Spanish from Seattle Pacific University, and an MA (foreign equivalent of an MFA) in Theatre and Performance from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in London.  Ms. Vance is a former member of Actors’ Equity Association, and a current member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers, as well as The Barrow Group in NYC and The Arts in Society Research Network. Ms. Vance has received numerous distinctions, the latest of which is inclusion in the 2009 edition of Who’s Who Among American Women, the 2012 edition of Who’s Who Among Professionals, and
several Footlight Awards.  Her favorite distinction remains wife of Sam Vance, and proud Mommy of Max, Echo, and Zoe.

JON BENTALL
INSTRUCTOR AND THEOLOGIAN IN RESIDENCE

Jon Bentall is a teacher, theologian, and worship leader based in the Greater Seattle Area, with a passion for the ways that theology might serve and inform Christian communities in the most practical areas of worship and discipleship. He currently holds the position of Instructor of University Foundations at Seattle Pacific University, while also teaching as an adjunct professor at Northwest University. In addition, Jon serves as a theologian-in-residence at Mill Creek Foursquare Church, a role
that includes the coaching and development of youth worship teams. Originally from Vancouver, B.C., Jon holds academic degrees from Northwest University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Durham University in the U.K. He has been married to Kelsie since 2006, and together they have three children: Ella, Harper, and Wesley.

ANNA PETRIN
PROFESSOR, WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Anna Adams Petrin holds a PhD in Theology (Liturgical Studies) from the University of Notre Dame and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She is a professor at Wesley Theological Seminary and is a scholar who specializes in the history and practice of Christian worship. Rev. Dr. Petrin’s research and teaching interests include liturgical studies (liturgical history and sacramental theology), spirituality, and ecumenism. Her research especially focuses on the early liturgy of the church and how it can help us better understand the liturgies we celebrate today.

In addition to teaching courses in worship, she serves as Chapel Elder, a role focused on nourishing the seminary community through regular gatherings of prayer and praise.

EMILY VERMILYA
PROFESSOR, INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Emily Vermilya, D.W.S,  serves as Professor of Christian Worship at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, IN. Having served in local church ministry for
over 20 years, Emily is excited about training and equipping the next generation of servant-leadership for the church. She lives in Marion, IN, with her husband Jim and two children.

EMILIO ALVAREZ
PASTOR, THE GATHERING PLACE

Bishop Emilio Alvarez is the founding director of the
Institute for Paleo-Orthodox Christian Studies (formerly the certificate in Convergence Studies Program at New York Theological Seminary), a program which trains clergy and laity alike in Christian classical consensual faith and practice. He was consecrated a Bishop in the Lord’s Church in 2011 and is currently a member of the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches—a Christian union which reverences the historic Christian faith and practice of the early church while striving to become relevant within postmodernism.

His two-decades of experience within the global
Church has positioned him as a prophetic voice, especially within Afro/Latino communities of faith. Bishop Alvarez is currently the founding pastor and rector of The Gathering Place: Where Love Meets in the city of Rochester, New York.

WHITNEY WALKER & MARY PAT SMISSEN
WORSHIP LEADERS, WATER WITHIN

Water Within travels the country leading worship in churches of all sizes and denominations. The mission and vision of our hearts is fixated on equipping people to live lives in the presence of God. The songs we write and the music we make are an outpouring of our own journeys with Jesus. It is our sincerest hope that the honest expression of our experiences can be one more avenue by which others might sense God's nearness.

RYAN BROTHERTON
RECTOR, HOLY TRINITY EDMONDS

Ryan Brotherton is the rector of Holy Trinity Edmonds, where he has served for over five years. He worked to plant the church in 2014, partnering with North Sound Church in Edmonds, Bishop Todd Hunter and Bishop Kevin Allen of the Anglican Church in North America. Ryan was ordained an Anglican Priest in January 2015. He earned his B.A. in Ministry Leadership from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington and is completing a M.A. in Leadership Theology and Society at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Additionally, he is the Canon for Church Planting in the Diocese of Cascadia, ACNA. Ryan and his wife Emily were married in 2005 and they have three daughters: Evelyn, Eleanor, and Elizabeth.

STEPHANIE MOSS
DANCER, ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH

Stephanie moved to Orcas in 2015 with her husband, Brian, and their five wonderful children. Originally from Maryland, she has spent much of her life training, performing, and teaching classical ballet and other styles of dance. Stephanie enjoys gardening and has a heart for serving others. She is grateful to be a part of Orcas Island Community Church.

BRIAN MOSS
SENIOR PASTOR, ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH

Brian began serving on the pastoral staff in August of 2015. He is a graduate of Belmont University and Regent College. Prior to OICC, Brian was the Associate Pastor at Maple Valley Presbyterian Church in Maple Valley, WA. He has served on the board of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts) and directed artist residencies as the Creative Director of By/For. Brian is a songwriter and worship leader and has released several CDs. One of his ongoing projects involves writing new songs inspired by the Psalms (check it out at www.prayerbookproject.com). Brian is married to Stephanie and has five children: Haley, Levi, Ethan, Isaac, and Ezra.

PATRICK BOURCKEL
WORSHIP DIRECTOR / PARISH ADMINISTRATOR, ST. LUKE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH

Patrick is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and then attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to complete a Master of Arts degree in religion, with a concentration in worship and liturgy. He now serves as Director of Worship at Saint Luke’s Anglican Church in Glendale, California (a suburb of Los Angeles). His wife, Jenette, was a vocal performance major at Wheaton, where they two met while singing in choir together. They have three children.

LO ALAMAN
COMMUNITY LIFE DIRECTOR, THE WOODLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Lo Alaman is an artist, author, and speaker from Columbia Mississippi. As a minister and creative, he seeks to encourage listeners to accept the grace the invites them to be who they are, while inspiring them  with the grace that invites them to be who God calls them to be. Lo currently serves as a minister at Harvest TWUMC. Easily his coolest distinctions are being Erika’s husband and Emmy’s dad. 

JIMMY CREEK
WORSHIP DIRECTOR, CORNERSTONE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Jimmy is a math teacher during the week and one of the phenomenal Worship Directors at Cornerstone UMC on the weekend. Jimmy brings great energy and a connection to the talented Youth Worship Team in particular. Jimmy is a talented guitarist and passionate worship leader who loves to engage the congregation in meaningful music in worship each week. Jimmy is married to Ashley who serves as the Interim Pastor at Cornerstone and the Assistant Director for the Leitourgia Project.

ABBY SHAM
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Abby Sham holds theological degrees from Lee University, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and Seattle Pacific Seminary. Most recently, Abby worked as a chaplain at Harborview Medical Center, providing spiritual care to patients on intensive care and psychiatric units and patients experiencing acute and complex pain. Currently, Abby is an adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific University and spends most of her time with her baby, Rowan.