Wiley College to celebrate Religious Emphasis Week February 7-11 With Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.
From The Wire
Wiley College will celebrate Religious Emphasis Week February 7-11, 2011, with a slate of community worship services and activities that will be led by three prominent clergypersons, Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Reverend Otis Moss, III, and Minister Vanessa Winbush Gatlin. Each speaker’s presentation will be inspired by the week’s scripture-focused theme, “The Cross- The Power and Purpose Behind our Praise and Worship.” This theme is based on the scripture 1 Corinthians 1:18, “The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” All events will take place in the Julius S. Scott, Jr. Chapel unless otherwise noted.
Religious Emphasis Week will open Monday night at 6:30 p.m. with a sermon by The Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., who is often called one of America’s most influential religious leaders. Theologian, pastor, and civic leader, Dr. Moss is also one of America’s most sought-after public speakers.
Dr. Moss earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1956, his Masters of Divinity degree from the Morehouse School of Religion and Interdenominational Theological Center in 1959, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Dr. Moss is Pastor Emeritus of Mt. Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he formerly served as pastor for 33 years. Prior to his tenure of service at Mt. Olivet, He served as pastor for churches in Georgia and Ohio before serving as co-pastor with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Moss’s ministry can be characterized by one thematic focus – hope, possibilities, and “giving God your best.” He has delivered sermons at numerous institutions of higher education, including Harvard Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, and Meharry Medical College.
Dr. Moss’s formidable intellectual presence and superlative sermons and writings have garnered world-wide attention and honors. He has served as a consultant to President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, and most recently provided the opening prayer for the 56th Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service for the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. He has had facilities named in his honor, one of which is the Otis Moss, Jr. University Hospitals Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Wiley College to celebrate Religious Emphasis Week
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The Reverend Otis Moss, III will speak Tuesday morning in the College’s chapel at 11 a.m. He and his father, Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., will deliver a “tag-team” sermon during the Tuesday morning worship service.
Reverend Moss was cited in Newsweek magazine as one of “God’s Foot Soldiers” committed to transforming the lives of youth. He serves as Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining the pastoral staff at Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Moss served as pastor of the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. After his arrival, the Tabernacle was its membership increase from 125 to over 2,100 members.
Rev. Moss received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy from Morehouse College. He went on to Yale University where he earned a master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Ethics and Theology. While at Yale, he was awarded the Fund for the Theological Education Benjamin Elijah Mays Scholarship in Religion, and the Yale University Magee Fellowship. Rev. Moss is recorded as one of the few African-Americans to ever receive this award in the school’s history.
Rev. Moss has been Adjunct Professor of Voorhees College, and a guest lecturer for Harvard University, Yale University, Dillard University, and Morehouse College. His passion for youth and intergenerational ministry led him to create the Issachar Movement, a consulting group designed to bridge the generation gap within churches and train a new generation of prophetic church leadership. His love for God and young people has led him to speak and preach in churches, seminaries, and colleges across the globe.
Minister Vanessa Winbush Gatlin will lead “Conversations Around the Cross” on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, at 6:30 p.m., in the Pemberton Mini-Auditorium, and she will deliver the sermon for the Thursday morning worship service at 11 a.m., in the College’s chapel. Minister Winbush is the Director of Women’s Ministries at Unity Church of God in Christ, in Eunice, Louisiana. She is the First Lady of Unity Church of God in Christ and she also serves as the First Lady for Unity Church of God in Christ in Crowley, Louisiana. She is the director of Victorious Women of God Ministries based in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Minister Gatlin is described as having an intensity in prayer that commands the blessings and the presence of the Lord. She possesses an uncanny boldness to powerfully declare the unadulterated Word of God.
All of the Religious Emphasis Week events are open to the public. Wiley College extends a special invitation to all local clergy to attend. For more information about any of these events, please contact the Office of the Chaplain at (903) 923-2455 or the Office of Public Relations at (903) 927-3384.
