News from the Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples Alliance

Contents: July-August 2007

Anita Bradshaw Selected as National Field Organizer

(ed note: don't miss the article from DisciplesWorld about Anita)

Anita L. Bradshaw, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been selected as National Field Organizer for a consortium of Christian denominational programs within the Welcoming Church Movement.

The religious programs participating in this faith-based organizing effort are the Association for Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests, the Gay and Lesbian Affirming Disciples and the Welcoming Community Network. The group members are part of The Institute for Welcoming Resources (IWR), a program of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, As part of the Welcoming Church Movement, IWR works for the full acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the congregations of their choice.

IWR worked with these church related programs to obtain funding from the Arcus Foundation, Kalamazoo, Michigan, to support the national field organizer position and its work.

Anita L. Bradshaw

In her new position, Rev. Dr. Bradshaw will utilize the tools of grassroots organizing and coalition building to increase the number of welcoming congregations in the Disciples, Baptist, Community of Christ, Church of the Brethren and Mennonite traditions.

Rev. Dr. Bradshaw is a trainer and consultant in non-profit leadership and development with a special interest in churches and faith-based organizations. She is an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ and is a Minister-in-Covenant with Mayflower Community Congregational Church, UCC in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rev. Dr. Bradshaw served as a faculty member of the theology department at The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in the 2006 – 2007 academic year. She served previously as director of supervised ministries and adjunct faculty at Yale University’s Divinity School, as well as professional staff in several non-profit and governmental organizations. She has also served as adjunct faculty for the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Augsburg College, and the University of Saint Francis.

Rev. Dr. Bradshaw holds two advanced degrees from Yale University in theology and holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has served as a parish pastor, an interim pastor and an interim denominational executive.

Previous clients for her training and consulting work include FaithTrust Institute (formerly The Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence); The Minnesota Council of Churches; The St. Paul Area and the Minneapolis Area Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; The Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ; Music Ministry Alive!; Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers; The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia; and the National Black Child Development Institute

In addition, Rev. Dr. Bradshaw has been an activist and educator in urban and social justice ministries. In 1999, she was awarded a Coffin-Forsberg Fellowship at Yale Divinity School in recognition of her work in those areas. Aside from her professional interests, she is actively involved in the arts. She was an incorporating board member of Opera Americana and currently sings in the Minneapolis-based One Voice Mixed Chorus.