Virtual Pulpit Supply

Tyler Heston (he/him) is a minister, writer, and human being. Tyler works with the Christian wisdom tradition to steward spiritual and significant moments and create space for meaning-making. Tyler’s based in Kansas City, MO, where he works as Minister for Youth & Young Adults at Country Club Christian Church and lives with his husband and two rascal pets.

About Rev. Yvonne Gilmore

Rev. Yvonne T. Gilmore currently serves as Interim Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation and Associate General Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. Ever committed to the cultivation of thought leadership and community formation, she co-directs “Living Justice: An Anti-Racist Practicum,” a justice learning and innovation lab that seeks to test out new approaches for connecting transformative leaders and ideas at Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago, and is also a core trainer with Reconciliation Ministries. She also serves as adjunct faculty in the Certificate of African American Ministry (CAAM) program at Lexington Theological Seminary. From 2013-2020, she served as Associate Dean of Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago (DDH), and as a co-teacher in the MDiv Arts of Ministry sequence at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. Rev. Gilmore is also a former member of the Board of Directors of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM), and the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and a former new church pastor, and chaplain. She holds a BA in International Relations from The American University, and an MDiv from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

About Rev. Dr. Caitlin Simpson

Rev. Dr. Caitlin Simpson works as the Director of Crisis Response with the Center for Women and Families in Louisville, KY serving survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.

Caitlin was ordained in 2015 as the first openly gay clergy member in the Kentucky Region for DOC. She holds a PhD in Education and Social Change with a focus on trauma informed care and intersectionality education for pastoral care providers. She is a Master Trainer for suicide intervention model Question.Persuade.Refer (QPR) and a trainer for the Kentucky Region Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Clergy Training.

Caitlin lives in Goshen, KY with her wife Courtney, and their two children. 

About Rev. Dr. Kim Leon

Rev. Dr. Kim Leon (she/her) serves as Chaplain at Boone Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. She is a commissioned minister in the Mid-America region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Kim earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a student in the MDiv program at Phillips Theological Seminary.

She is a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbia, Missouri, where she serves as an Elder and as Chair of the Open and Affirming Team. 

About Rev. Melissa Guthrie (she/her):

Melissa is the Executive Director + Minister with AllianceQ—the Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance and the founding director of Salvage Garden.

She created “The Banquet: A Sensory Worship Experience,” centering disabled individuals. Melissa is trained in faith-based nonprofit leadership through Wake Forest University Divinity and Law Schools. A lecturer on theology and disability, she is passionate about the many intersections of our identities.

About Rev. RJ Robles (he/they/elle): RJ is an Afro- Puerto Rican queer and trans community organizer, minister, movement chaplain, educator, and survivor living in the U.S. diaspora. RJ is among trans spiritual warriors as an ordained Disciples of Christ Christian minister and Puerto Rican spiritualist. They have also been trained as a movement chaplain and continue their training in movement trauma healing. As a mad psychiatric survivor, they currently support trans youth through healing justice-based projects with the National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network. RJ also spends their day providing social services to unaccompanied minors and autistic children within mental health agencies in Nashville, TN, where they currently reside. RJ believes a new world is possible when we center ancestral wisdom, practice radical love, and continue organizing.  

About Rev. Luther Young (he/him): Rev. Luther Young, Jr., is an artist, public theologian, and social justice advocate who focuses on racial equity and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Luther is a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School and a current Ph.D. candidate in sociology at The Ohio State University. His current research investigates the causes and effects of homophobia in predominantly black churches.

Melissa (she/her) is the Executive Director + Minister with AllianceQ and the founding director of Salvage Garden. She created “The Banquet: A Sensory Worship Experience,” centering disabled individuals. Melissa is trained in faith-based nonprofit leadership through Wake Forest University. A Wartburg College alumna (Waverly, Iowa), the Spirit moved Melissa to North Carolina to teach high school English as a corps member with Teach for America. She completed her M. Div. at Wake Forest University School of Divinity (Winston Salem, North Carolina) and is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Melissa and her wife Leah live in Greensboro, North Carolina, with their children and a small zoo.

Dr. Purnell (she/her) is a second-year Master of Divinity student with a concentration in UCC/DOC studies at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (UTS). With a  professional career in education she worked as a PK-12 teacher and college professor, as well as a higher education administrator. LaTayna is a Ministry Intern with AllianceQ through December 2021.

Rev. Laura Jean Allen (LJ) (she/her) is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She received her Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School, in Fort Worth, TX. She pastors First Christian Church, in Helena, MT, and is the secretary and pastoral care liaison for AllianceQ. She is happily married to her partner, Kit, and they are the parents of two fun and furry kids, Bradley and Nala. Laura Jean also serves on several boards within the General Church, and several committees within the Northern Lights Region.

Rev. April G. Johnson (she/her) serves as the Minister of Reconciliation for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. She brings to this work a deep passion for racial understanding, justice and compassion. As Minister of Reconciliation, Rev. Johnson facilitates the church-wide process of awareness, analysis and action toward healing the fractures in the body of Christ that are caused by systemic racism. She collaborates with organizer trainers, regional and congregational staff leadership, anti-racism teams and ecumenical partners in her efforts to guide this work. Rev. Johnson has added mediation to the toolbox of Anti-Racism skills and practices in the church’s pursuit to embody a Pro-Reconciling identity. In her capacity as both pastor and administrator, Rev. Johnson emphasizes the importance of relationship-building across differences as one of the critical ways that we actualize God’s plan for humanity and creation.

Co-Founder & Pastor – Rev. Amie Vanderford, MDiv (she/her)
Rev. Amie Vanderford obtained her Master of Divinity at the Christian Theological Seminary, along with numerous master level courses in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She and Thaddeus (spouse and co-founder) believe that mental and emotional health are as critical to a person’s overall well-being as spiritual and physical health, and they have incorporated trauma informed care and mental health services, with a particular focus on relational and community healing, into the mission, vision, and foundation of The LabOratory Church. She is also co-founder of Project LEAST. Amie has had a diverse career prior to taking up her call to prophetic and pastoral ministry. In addition to working in the corporate and non-profit fields, she is an accomplished photographer with a diverse multicultural and international background, having lived all over the world since childhood. She obtained an undergraduate degree in International Relations with a focus on Peace and Conflict Resolution, and she has a strong passion for addressing systemic racial and other social injustices.

Co-Founder & Minister of Mental Health – Thaddeus Shelton, Jr., MFT, CSAYC (he/him)
Thaddeus Shelton, Jr. obtained his Master of Marriage and Family Therapy at the Christian Theological Seminary, and has additionally received his CSAYC (Credentialed Sexually Abusive Youth Clinician) certification. He is currently providing therapy services through a local Indianapolis agency, Family & Community Partners, and he is the founder and facilitator of the Project LEAST (Love Everyone As Self Training) mentoring program which teaches evidence-based pro-social skills in order to equip youth to navigate the world in a healthy and more communal way. He understands the complicated dynamics of systemic oppression, and uses a narrative therapeutic approach to address and help dismantle those systems. Thaddeus has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, and has had a diverse career as an entrepreneur, project manager, and business owner, along with years of experience in the insurance industry, prior to answering his call to service.

About Dr. Steven Blinder (he/him):

Steven Blinder is the senior pastor at Royal Palm Christian Church (DOC) in Coral Springs, FL. However, being a father and grandfather are his most important life roles. He is a student at Phillips Theological Seminary (PTS) and has graduate degrees in human resource management, curriculum, and leadership. He has published reading curriculum, bully prevention programs, and time management materials. Dr. Blinder has presented national workshops on faith-based bias. He is the 2021 recipient of the Peggy and Richard Ziegler Award for Excellence in Christian Education from PTS. Additionally, he is a recipient of the Kathleen Cooper Wright Award for transformational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Blinder serves on the AllianceQ council, is an active member of his community, and serves the Florida Region as personnel chair. He believes that when we are authentically ourselves, the way we can love God and people will inevitably result in transformation!

About Judy Alston (she/her):

Dr. Judy Alston is a Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Ashland University. A southerner by birth, she hails from Charleston, SC. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Divinity degree from Methodist Theological School in Ohio, as well as a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration and a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education both from the University of South Carolina, and Bachelor of Arts in English from Winthrop College. She is the author of Herstories: Leading with the Lessons of the Lives of Black Women Activists. She is married to Dr. Cynthia A. Tyson.

About Allen V. Harris (he/him):

The Rev. Allen V. Harris was called to be the Regional Pastor and President of the Christian Church in Ohio, one of 32 Regions in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and began his ministry in April of 2021.  He most recently served as the Regional Minister for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Capital Area from June 2015 to October 2020.  Previously Allen served as Senior Pastor of Franklin Circle Christian Church in Cleveland, Ohio for 14 years where he helped to transform that congregation’s ministry within its richly diverse urban neighborhood just west of downtown Cleveland.  Prior to that he served as Associate Pastor/Transitional Senior Pastor of the Park Avenue Christian Church of New York City for a decade, the congregation in which he was ordained into ministry in 1991.

Allen has gifts and graces in many areas but is especially experienced in leading congregations and individuals through Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation, Open & Affirming, and Accessible Congregational processes.  He delights in and seeks to grow in transformational leadership for non-profit organizations as well as congregations and communities of faith, using social media for mission and advocacy, and in mentoring new clergy.  In 2021 he will launch a new coaching/mentoring/training practice!

About Caitlin Simpson (she/her): Rev. Dr. Caitlin Simpson serves as the Director of Crisis Response with the Center for Women and Families in Louisville, Kentucky. Caitlin’s doctorate focused on Education and Social Change specializing in Trauma and Intersectionality Informed Ministry in Pastoral Care. Caitlin was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Kentucky Region in 2015 as the first openly gay clergy member.

Caitlin specializes in trauma recovery and resilience for care providers as they seek to assist trauma survivors in healing and recovery. She serves on the Louisville Health Advisory Board – Behavioral Health Committee working to increase suicide prevention in the Louisville area. She is a trainer for Seeing the Face of God in Each Other, Kentucky’s Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation clergy training. Caitlin is a Gatekeeper Trainer working towards becoming a Master Trainer with Question.Persuade.Refer., an internationally recognized bystander suicide intervention program.

Caitlin is a PTSD survivor who works daily to overcome the impacts of trauma and seeks to live into her whole authentic self. Caitlin and her wife, Courtney, are proud foster parents and live in Goshen, Kentucky. In this TEDx Talk, Caitlin speaks about the art of humanization using critical theory and a theology of inclusion rooted in the work of theological giants such as Letty Russel, Katie Cannon, and Richard Niebuhr as well as sociology giants such as Brené Brown and Peter Block, to name a few. 

About Elijah Burton (he/him): Elijah is a seminary student at Phillips Theological Seminary, and he works as a Bookkeeper and Office Manager for an Episcopal Church. Eli and his family are members at First Christian Church of Lansing where he is an Elder, sings in the choir and is a member of the General Board. Eli and his wife Jessica are raising two kids, Lu who is non-binary and Alexis, and they are foster parents.

As a self-identified queer transman, Eli says he knows the struggle of finding an accepting and affirming church home. “I bounced between churches for years, all of which stated they were ‘open and affirming,’ but fell short of affirming me as I am. When I found the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and subsequently AllianceQ, I knew I had a found a place that was open, accepting and working to affirm me as a child of God.”

Eli was elected for the AllianceQ Council in October 2020 and serves as Treasurer.

About Rev. Erin Wathen (she/her): Erin joined the staff of Week of Compassion after 15 years of congregational ministry, having served churches in the Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas City Regions; and serving in multiple Regional and General Church leadership roles.

A graduate of Transylvania University and Lexington Theological Seminary, she recently earned a post-graduate certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Rockhurst University. In addition to working for Week of Compassion, Erin is also a writer and has published two books–one of which was a Publisher’s Weekly Book of the Year in 2018.

In her 2016 Patheos article “Get Off the Fence: Why ‘We Welcome Everyone’ Isn’t Enough,” Rev. Erin Wathen writes:

“We have to say it, because ‘come on in, it’ll be fine,’ does not cut it for marginalized communities that have been hurt by the church, repeatedly and systemically.”

​Erin lives in Louisville, KY with her family where they enjoy music, the outdoors, and just generally being in the Bluegrass state again.

About Rev. Luther Young (he/him): Rev. Luther Young, Jr., is an artist, public theologian, and social justice advocate who focuses on racial equity and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Luther is a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School and a current Ph.D. candidate in sociology at The Ohio State University. His current research investigates the causes and effects of homophobia in predominantly black churches.