Welcome Shernell Edney, new Program Associate for Advocacy

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Shernell J. Edney as Program Associate for Advocacy and Education. Shernell was born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ….

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Shernell J. Edney as Program Associate for Advocacy and Education. Shernell was born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.  Her previous experiences include serving as an Associate Minister at First Congregational Christian Church in Chesterfield, Virginia, and as both a hospital and hospice chaplain in Petersburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Shernell has also served the national offices of the United Church of Christ in a number of ways.  From 2009 to 2011 she was a member of the Wider Church Ministries and Common Global Ministries Boards, and since 2009 she has continued to serve as a Justice Leaders Engaging and Developing (JLED) National Trainer. In addition, Shernell has been an Op-Ed contributor for the UCC News.

Shernell received her undergraduate degree from Drexel University in Corporate Communications and a Masters of Divinity from Virginia Union University, concentrating in Theology and Pastoral Care.   Academically, she has also served as Professor of Philosophy, teaching classes in the areas of: Religion, Logic & Reasoning, and Critical Analysis. She counts the time of her Professorship as one of her greatest honors and privileges.

Shernell believes that those engaging in advocacy need to be creative and not boxed into traditional ways of thinking. She notes that “people of faith should be on the frontline of advocacy issues, bringing a diversity of gifts to our work.” We welcome Shernell and are thankful for the talents, education, and experience she brings to this position.  Shernell began her ministry on May 6, 2013.