The Rev. Inez E. Dover is on the ministerial team at the Historic Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton, and is the Minister of Worship and Arts, coordinating and facilitating the calendar of special events, liturgical services of worship, and Sunday morning worship services. Rev. Dover is a graduate of Boston University and Andover Newton Theological School. She is a retired educator, who taught English, Speech and Theater Arts for 37 years in the Department of English at Newton North High School, where the Dover Legacy Scholars Program is named to honor her “decades of work to inspire excellence and involvement among children of color in the Newton Public Schools.” For 14 years, Rev. Dover taught the senior and junior English classes for MIT/Wellesley Upward Bound Summer Program, receiving the Teacher of the Year Award for many years. Rev. Dover works with students on their thesis for undergraduate and graduate programs and edits Ph.D. candidate’s dissertations.

Rev. Dover is married to her husband of 48 years with three children and three grandchildren, most importantly she is a child of God, who gives Jesus Christ the Honor and the Glory.

The Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin, a Chicago native, serves as the First Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ. As the Chief Vision-Keeper, he is responsible for guiding the conference and its affiliates to have a positive and lasting impact in our world. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Theology from Boston College; a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from The University of Vermont; a Master of Arts in Transforming Spirituality from Seattle University; and is currently a doctoral candidate in San Francisco Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program where his dissertation topic is, ” Praying Through: Using group spiritual direction as a strategy for the retention of African American men in predominately white seminaries in the United Church of Christ (UCC).

The Rev. Alicia Marie Johnson proudly serves as the Assistant Pastor of the Historic Myrtle Baptist Church of West Newton, MA. As a spiritual leader, theologian, and educator, she is committed to finding sustainable, creative, and ethical ways to build healthy and thriving individuals and communities. Rev. Johnson’s mission to catalyze healing, justice, and reconciliation is not limited to the walls of Myrtle Baptist Church. In addition to her work in pastoral ministry, she works in the field of educational neuroscience, currently serving as the Assistant Director of the MIT/Wellesley Upward Bound Program. Rev. Johnson has earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Howard University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Sacred Theology from Boston University School of Theology, and a Master of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The Rev. Mariama White-Hammond is an advocate for ecological & social justice, youth engagement, and Spirit-filled organizing. Rev. Mariama is the founding pastor of New Roots AME Church in Dorchester. New Roots is a multi-racial, multi-class community that is innovating new ways of being a church.  Rev. Mariama is active in secular and interfaith justice efforts. In particular, she uses an intersectional lens in her ecological work, challenging folks to see the connections between immigration and climate change or the relationship between energy policy and economic justice. She is a fellow with the Green Justice Coalition which brings together 8 social/environmental justice groups from around Massachusetts. She speaks throughout the country and was the MC for both the 2017 Boston Women’s March and Boston People’s Climate Mobilization. As the former director of Project HIP-HOP, she used the arts as a tool to raise awareness for social issues. Rev. Mariama has received numerous awards including the Barr Fellowship, the Celtics Heroes Among Us, The Roxbury Founders Day Award, and the Boston NAACP Image award. She was selected as one of the Grist 50 Fixers for 2019 and Sojourners 11 Women Shaping the Church.