Reverend Dr. Arthur Agnew started his ministry at the historic Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church in 1992. In his years of ministry with Bethesda, Rev. Agnew has continually emphasized the Word of God, preaching, and Christian Education. The congregation has experienced many great things under the leadership of pastor Agnew, and the general consensus is that there is yet much to come.

Rev. Elizabeth Beissel is Senior Pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church of Minneapolis and is heavily involved in Minneapolis’ emerging Elliot Park Neighborhood. Her ministry in the past was in Ohio and New York as a social studies teacher; a probation officer in Cleveland, Ohio; an administrator for Ramsey County Juvenile Court Group Home Program; a licensed day care provider; and Assistant Dean of Students at Luther-Northwestern Seminary where she attended seminary. The Journey in Faith was for her life-changing and a testimony to the fullness of God’s leadership in the midst of diversity.

Makram Nu’Man El-Amin, Resident Imam of Masjid An-Nur, Minneapolis, MN. Makram was born into an Islamic environment as his parents converted to Islam in 1958, 15 years before his birth. In September 1996, Makram was overwhelmingly ratified as the youngest resident Imam of Masjid An-Nur.

Makram was a delegate to an interfaith conference with Pope John Paul II (1999), met with The Dalai Lama (2000), completed 5th rite of Islamic Pillars of Faith – Hajj/Pilgrimage (2003), member of clergy delegation to the Holy Land (2006). Makram and his wife Sharon have 3 children: Raheema, Malik and Nasir.

Reverend Albert Gallmon, Jr. is Senior Pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in North Minneapolis. Reverend Gallmon attended St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and a Minor in Mathematics. He also has a Master of Divinity Degree from Howard University Divinity School in Washington, DC. Prior to moving to Minneapolis, Rev. Gallmon served as Senior Pastor at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and was working towards his Doctorate of Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Since arriving in the Twin Cities in 1996, Reverend Gallmon has become an active member of the Twin Cities community. Currently, Rev. Gallmon serves on numerous local boards including the Minnesota Council of Churches, the StairStep Foundation, the Council on Crime and Justice,and the Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Foundation for Education, Public Health and Social Justice. Rev. Gallmon also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the United

Theological Seminary in New Brighton, Minnesota. In addition, he served a three-year term (2000 to 2003) on the Minneapolis School Board, and as Chaplain for the Minnesota State Senate (2002-2004). Reverend Gallmon is married to Mrs. Wilma L. Gallmon and they have two children, Albert and JoAnna.

 The Rev. James Gertmenian, Senior Minister of Plymouth Congregational Church since 1996, is a graduate of Oberlin College and Union Theological Seminary in New York. He served pastorates in New York and Connecticut before coming to Minnesota. He has been active in efforts to combat homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Rev. Gertmenian is also a published hymn writer; his works appear in several denominational hymnals.He is married to Susan King, a poet, and the couple has twin 30-year old daughters, Emily and Enid.

Reverend Dr. Kendyl Gibbons is the ninth senior minister of the First aUnitarian Society of Minneapolis. A born Unitarian Universalist, she graduated from the College of William and Mary and the University of Chicago Divinity School, and received her Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School in Chicago. She was minister of the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church in Naperville, Illinois for 15 years before being called to the Minneapolis congregation in 1998. Kendyl is an adjunct faculty member at Meadville/Lombard and at the United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities, and has served as president of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association. She is a widely published author and hymnist. Kendyl and her husband Mark live in St. Louis Park.

The Rev. Dr. Timothy Hart-Andersen began as Westminster's Pastor and Head of Staff in November 1999, having served for the prior decade in San Francisco. Tim felt called to Westminster because of the church's commitment to the city and its strong worship tradition, as well as its capacity to show forth the love of God in ways that lead toward justice. Tim received the Doctor of Ministry degree, with honors for the outstanding dissertation, from San Francisco Theological Seminary in May 2000. He also has a Master of Divinity Degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, with special awards in Ministry and Theology. He holds a M.A. degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas. Tim's service to the larger church and community has been extensive and currently includes serving on the Board of Trustees of Macalester College and the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians.

Rev. Suzanne Mades, a native of MN, has been a United Methodist pastor since 1984. She served churches in Ely and Austin, MN before founding Disability Awareness Ministries, Inc. in 1991, an agency that works with faith communities on the full inclusion of people with disabilities in their congregational life. In 2002 she returned to parish ministry as the senior pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in downtown Minneapolis. As of July 2007 she is now the pastor of Portland Avenue United Methodist Church in Bloomington, MN.

Her undergraduate degree is in Music therapy. Prior to ordained ministry she worked as a music therapist in a number of organizations serving people with disabilities. Suzanne is an avid outdoor enthusiast, and also plays with The Jumpin' Jehosafats, a local Dixieland jazz band.

Fr. Michael J. O’Connell currently serves as the rector of The Basilica of Saint Mary, a position he has held since 1991.  He also is pastor of Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis.

Prior to that, Fr. O’Connell served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He also has served as pastor of Church of Saint Cecilia in Saint Paul; Archdiocesan director of vocations; Archdiocesan director of permanent diaconate program; and associate pastor of the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Minneapolis.  Fr. O’Connell was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1969.

Fr. O’Connell obtained a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Saint Paul Seminary and a Master’s Degree in pastoral studies from the University of Saint Thomas.

He also has served on a number of advisory boards, including: Abbott-Northwestern Hospital; Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Saint Paul/Minneapolis; College of Saint Benedict; Convent of the Visitation School; Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches; The Jeremiah Program; Minneapolis Downtown Council; Minneapolis Community and Technical College Advisory Board; Students With Children, Cathedral of Saint Mark's; United Way.

The Rev. Dr. Bruce W. Robbins has served as the Pastor at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church since 2004. For thirteen years before that he was the head of the ecumenical and interfaith office of The United Methodist Church. In that capacity he represented the denomination in various interfaith organizations, dialogues and encounters. Presently, he serves on the Board of Trustees of Hamline University and the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.

Dr. Robbins has served in numerous ecumenical and interreligious relationships, especially in organization like the World Council of Churches (WCC), the National Council of Churches and the World Methodist Council. He served on the international Methodist/Anglican dialogue, co-moderated the WCC’s International Pentecostal dialogue, and has specialized in Christian-Jewish relations.

His most recent book, A World Parish? Hopes and Challenges of The United Methodist Church in a Global Setting, was published by Abingdon Press in 2004.

Presently, Dr. Robbins teaches U.S. Religious History at United Theological Seminary in New Brighton, Minnesota. He is on the Board of Trustees of that seminary as well as a Trustee for Hamline University. Dr. Robbins is married to Carol Braswell Robbins who serves on the faculty of City University of New York. They have two, adult children, Adam and Casey.

The Very Reverend Dr. Spenser Simrill was born in 1948 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1972 he married Susan Stuart Davenport. The couple have four children: Spenser Jr., Helen, Stephen and Susan, deceased. Dean Simrill was educated at Hampden Sydney College (BA), University of Louisville (MAT), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Mdiv), General Theological Seminary (Anglican studies) and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Dmin). His first job was as a school teacher at Koinonia Partners, Americus, Georgia, the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. After answering God's call to the ministry and completing theological education, Dean Simrill served Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, Kentucky (1979-1986); Canon and Priest-in-Charge) Ascension and Holy Trinity Church, Wyoming, Ohio (1986-1992; Rector) and St. Luke's Church, Atlanta, Georgia (1992-2002; Rector). He began his ministry at St. Mark's on March 18, 2002.

Dean Simrill has recently been appointed as a member of the Advisory to the Anglican Observer of the United Nations.

Rabbi Marcia Ann Zimmerman has been the senior rabbi of Temple Israel since 2001, and was the first female rabbi to serve a congregation of Temple's size. She also served as an associate and assistant rabbi at Temple since joining us in July 1988. Rabbi Zimmerman earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Rabbi Zimmerman is the immediate past president of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association and is a member of the Executive Committee for the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP Foundation, and Chairperson of the Downtown Clergy Association. She is active in interfaith relations, serving on the Program Committee for the Phillips Jewish Christian Learning Center at the University of St. Thomas.

In addition to serving on the National Outreach Commission for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Zimmerman is a former member of the Board of the Jewish Family and Children's Service. A founding member of the Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights, she also received its Faith and Freedom Circle of Honor Award. She has also taught at Augsburg Weekend College and at Macalester College.

Rabbi Zimmerman is married to Minnesota State Representative Frank Hornstein and has three children.