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Colgate Rochester Crozer May/June 2026 Newsletter Magazine

HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS PATHWAYS FOR PENTECOSTAL LEADERS		1
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING SERIES		1
TABLE OF CONTENTS		2
FROM THE PRESIDENT		2
CLASS OF 2026 COMMENCEMENT		2
ALUMNI/AE & FRIENDS REUNION HIGHLIGHTS		2
2026 ALUMNI/AE AWARDS		2
HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS PATHWAYS FOR PENTECOSTAL LEADERS		2
IN MEMORIAM		2
ALUMNI/AE NEWS		2
2025 - 2026 ACADEMIC YEAR THEME:		2
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, the Lord’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope.”		2
Lamentations 3: 21 - 24, NRSVUE		2
OUR MISSION:		3
TO FORM STUDENTS IN THEOLOGICAL AND MULTI-RELIGIOUS STUDIES TO SERVE, CARE, AND ADVOCATE FOR ALL PEOPLES AND THE EARTH.		3
OUR CORE VALUES		4
COMMUNITY		4
COLLABORATION		4
FLEXIBILITY		4
RESPECT		4
COMPASSION		4
CONGRATULATIONS		6
CLASS OF 2026!		6
Jonathan J. Dukes Jr.		6
Jessica Floissac		6
Kathleen Karhnak-Glasby		6
Delia L. Mitchell		6
Elaine M. Wilson Edwards		6
Nicole Ann-Marie Brown		6
Abijah Adams		6
Patrisha A. Blue		6
Aaron Z. Carlson		6
Mark D. Leary		6
Judy Lieber-Butler		6
Michael A. Marshall		6
Sharon L. Rayford		6
Suwan M. Steele		6
Erika Godfrey		6
Susan B. Luke (St. John)		6
Darius Moore		6
Jonathan Pemberton		6
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI/AE AWARD		9
The Distinguished Alumni/ae Award recognizes a graduate whose scholarship, teaching, leadership, and contributions to vocational formation for ministry reflect excellence in theological education. This year’s recipient is the Rev. Dr. Keith A. Russell, CRDS ’67. Dr. Russell’s ministry spans nearly six decades of faithful service in urban contexts across New York and beyond. Joining the faculty of New York Theological Seminary in 1978, he later served as its President from 1982 to 1992, guiding the institution in preparing leaders for ministry in complex and evolving communities. From 1997 to 2008, he served as President of the American Baptist Seminary of the West (now Berkeley School of Theology), where he also held the role of Professor of Pastoral Theology and was later named Professor Emeritus. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Russell has bridged academy and congregation, serving churches in the Bronx, Albany, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia while mentoring generations of clergy. Even in retirement, he continues to teach and preach, recently serving as a faculty affiliate in Colgate Rochester Crozer’s Doctor of Ministry program. His recently published memoir, The Witness of the Wounded: Reflections on a Life of Ministry, reflects a lifetime devoted to pastoral care, faithful witness, and theological leadership grounded in service.		9
PEACE, SERVICE, AND JUSTICE AWARD		9
The Peace, Service, and Justice Award honors an alumna whose leadership reflects a deep and sustained commitment to community transformation. This year’s recipient is the Rev. Dr. Melany J. Silas-Chandler, CRCDS ’06. A Rochester native, Dr. Silas-Chandler integrates faith, scholarship, and justice in every dimension of her work. She holds degrees from the University of Rochester, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, and Syracuse University. For more than 20 years, she has served as a Professor at Monroe Community College, shaping thousands of students through innovative and culturally responsive courses such as Death & Dying and Black Women’s Mental Health and Wellness. In recognition of her leadership and impact, she was named the College’s 2025 Commencement Keynote Speaker. Beyond the classroom, Dr. Silas-Chandler is Founder and Executive Director of BreatheDeep, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to mental health advocacy and trauma-informed community care. As Pastor of Trinity Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Rochester, she leads with theological depth and prophetic conviction, mobilizing congregants toward justice and spiritual renewal. Through writing, publishing, and cultural production—including Sacred Ground Collective and other works—she continues to create spaces where healing, scholarship, and faith converge. Her ministry reflects a dynamic embodiment of peace, service, and justice in action.		9
EMERGING LEADER AWARD		9
The Emerging Leader Award celebrates alumni/ae within the past decade whose ministry demonstrates exceptional dedication and promise in Church and society. The 2026 recipient is the Rev. Eileen O. Casey-Campbell, CRCDS ’17. A 2017 graduate of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rev. Casey-Campbell serves as Senior Minister of First Universalist Church of Rochester. Her leadership reflects a strong commitment to inclusive worship, LGBTQ+ advocacy, youth and young adult ministry, and innovative approaches to congregational vitality. She previously served the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua and has extensive experience in church growth and membership development across denominational contexts. Rev. Casey-Campbell brings a holistic approach to spiritual care. A certified yoga teacher and birth doula, she integrates embodied spirituality and community wellness into her pastoral leadership. Rooted in creativity, justice-centered faith, and courageous hope, her ministry represents a new generation of clergy leadership —grounded in tradition while boldly responsive to contemporary realities.		9
CRCDS ON-DEMAND		10
HONORING AND REMEMBERING THE REV. DR. SAMUEL B. MCKINNEY		11
ALUMNI/AE & FRIENDS REUNION HIGHLIGHTS		11
In the classrooms and community life of Colgate Rochester Divinity School, a young seminarian named Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney was being formed for a ministry that would reach far beyond the walls of the academy. Earning his Master of Divinity in 1952 and later his Doctor of Ministry in 1975 from Colgate Rochester Divinity School, during a time shaped by the enduring legacy of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., CTS ‘51, Dr. McKinney carried with him a deep conviction that faith must be lived publicly, shaped by peace, grounded in service, and driven by justice. Those years were not simply about study; they were about calling, preparing him to become both pastor and prophet in a world urgently in need of both.		11
His theological voice was further shaped through his engagement in the Martin Luther King Fellows in Black Religious Studies program, where he contributed to the emerging field of Black religious studies, including his thesis work Church Administration in the Black Perspective, co written with Rev. Dr. Floyd Massey Jr.		11
His ministry took root in Seattle, Washington, where Rev. Dr. McKinney served for decades as pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, becoming a prominent voice for faith based community engagement and racial equality. In the face of entrenched injustice, he stood alongside communities willing to act, leading boycotts of major downtown businesses with a clear and uncompromising message, “Do not shop where you cannot work.” These were not just words, but a strategy rooted in dignity and economic justice, one that helped open doors of employment and opportunity for African Americans. His ministry became a living testimony that the church could be both a spiritual home and a force for transformation in society.		11
Throughout his life, Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney embodied the sacred call to ministry as pastor, activist, community organizer, and visionary. From the halls of Colgate Rochester to the streets of Seattle and beyond, his witness carried the fire of a movement rooted in faith and fueled by courage. Now, in what would be his 100th birthday, his Centennial Year, we, alongside his family, friends, classmates, and the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School community, remember and honor Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney as a lasting legacy, a giant of the faith, whose life continues to call us to be agents of peace, servants of compassion, and seekers of justice, participating faithfully in God’s ongoing work of renewal in the world.		11
VOICES IN THE CITY LEADERSHIP CELEBRATION SPONSORS		11
We are grateful to the many sponsors who made this year’s event possible:		11
Signature Leadership Sponsor American Baptist Home Mission Societies		11
Visionary Partner Sponsor Alesco Advisors		11
Impact Partner Sponsors CMIT Solutions of Rochester Jerry E. Fisher, Ph.D. & Jonathan Rosenfeld Rev. Stuart J. Mitchell III, CRDS ‘70 & Martha Neubert Rev. Sue Forsyth, CRDS '95		11
Heritage Sponsors Mrs. Elizabeth Osta and Mr. David VanArsdale Rev. Lawrence Hargrave, CRCDS ‘00 and Ms. Brenda D. Lee Rev. Dr. Bonita L. Bates, CRCDS '05, '11, '24 Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA		11
Neighborhood Partner Sponsors American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/ Genesee Region Wegmans Keidel’s Janitorial Services Mr. Thomas A. Tupitza Mr. Peter H. Abdella Rev. Beverly Murrell-Frasier, CRCDS ‘20		11
Friend of Colgate Rochester Crozer Sponsors Rev. Angela D. Sims, Ph.D. and Mr. Terron D. Sims Rev. Dr. Michael J. Ford, CRCDS ‘12 and Mrs. Lara Ford Mark Arnold, Ph.D. Rev. Dr. Michael S. Laver, CRCDS ‘17 Young Prophets Collective		11
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS		12
HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS PATHWAYS FOR PENTECOSTAL LEADERS		13
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING SERIES		14
IN MEMORIAM		15
A SPACE TO REMEMBER AND HONOR ALUMNI/AE AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE PASSED		15
Since July 1, 2025		15
ALUMNI/AE NEWS & UPDATES		15
ALUMNI/AE NEWS & UPDATES CONTINUED		16
CONNECT		16
CRCDS ON THE ROAD		17
The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) Leadership Conference July 22 - 25, 2026 Charlotte, North Carolina		17
IF YOU ARE ATTENDING ONE OF THESE EVENTS, OR ARE IN THE AREA, LET US KNOW BY EMAILING ADVANCEMENT@CRCDS.EDU. WE WOULD LOVE TO CATCH UP WITH COLGATE ROCHESTER CROZER ALUMNI/AE AND FRIENDS!		17
YOU CAN EMPOWER FUTURE GENERATIONS		17
Do you have a passion for theological education and an appreciation for the value it can bring to one’s life?		17
20 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14604		18
585-271-1320		18
www.crcds.edu		18

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