Bishop Mary Ann Swenson

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson

Bishop Mary Ann McDonald Swenson is a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC). Having recently completed a 9-year term as vice moderator for the central committee of the World Council of Churches, Bishop Swenson has served as ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops (2012-2016), bishop of the California Pacific Conference and supervisor of the Western Jurisdiction Korean Mission (2000-2012), and bishop of Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain Conferences (1992-2000).  During those years she served as president of the church’s Board of Discipleship (1996-2000), president of the General Council on Finance and Administration (2004-2008), and president of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (2009-2012).

In her retirement, she has served on the board of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and the advisory council for the Guibord Center.  Currently, she is President of the International Foundation for Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. She is also a board member of the Ecumenical Trust.

Born in Arkansas and educated in Mississippi with a BA from Millsaps College (1969) (which also awarded her an honorary doctorate years later) and D.Min. from the School of Theology at Claremont, California (1975), she served as a pastor in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church for 25 years before being elected bishop in 1992.

         She and her husband Jeff were married for 53 years.  He died in 2021.  In their retirement years, they worshiped at Hollywood United Methodist Church where Bishop Swenson serves as bishop in residence.    She has led the church with passion toward becoming a more inclusive community, filled with grace, compassion, and justice, growing in more perfect love of God and neighbor.

Speaker: Inspiring Stories: Irreconcilable Differences

John Ishvaradas Abdallah

John Ishvaradas Abdallah

​John Ishvaradas Abdallah (meaning “servant of God” in Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim traditions) is the preferred pen name of Syed Riyaz Mahdi. A speaker and writer and an independent activist Sufi, he is the author of A Sufi’s Ruminations On One World Under God. In addition, he is the Founder and Executive Director of World Without Borders Interfaith Sufi Ashram, which is based on and draws inspiration from the book.

“Sufi John” is passionately involved in interfaith dialogue, conversation, and movement promoting a theology of love, peace, and freedom through active nonviolence. He currently serves on the boards of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group, Southern California Committee for a Parliament of World’s Religions, South Coast Interfaith Council, and Muslims for Progressive Values Los Angeles chapter.

Speaker: Inspiring Stories: Irreconcilable Differences

Stephen Rohde

Stephen Rohde

Stephen Rohde is a constitutional scholar, lecturer, writer, political activist, and retired civil rights lawyer.  He is a founder and Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, past President of the ACLU of Southern California, a Past Chair of Bend the Arc: a Jewish Partnership for Justice, and is on the board of Death Penalty Focus.  He has represented two inmates on California’s death row in post-conviction and clemency proceedings.  

He is the author of  American Words of Freedom: The Words That Define Our Nation and Freedom of Assembly and co-author of Foundations of Freedom: A Living History of Our Bill of Rights. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Truthout, American Prospect, and Ms. Magazine. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Review of Books and Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. His work has been recognized by the American Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the ACLU, and Bend the Arc.  

Mr. Rohde is a graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia Law School.  He recently moved from Los Angeles to Sonoma County to be closer to his kids and grandkids, who live in Sebastopol.  

Moderator: Inspiring Stories: Election 2022 – Where Do We Go From Here?

Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson

Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson

A third-generation educator, F. Willis Johnson is a spiritual entrepreneur, elder in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church and Chief Program Officer for Bridge Alliance. Johnson formerly served as senior minister of Wellspring Church in Ferguson, Missouri.

Johnson is respected for his leadership and strategies around social and racial justice issues. Recognized as a scholar-practitioner, Johnson the the author of Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community, a contributor to a number of commentaries and anthologies, and a sought after thought-leader who empowers individuals and communities towards prophetic response. 

With more than 20 years of professional ministry experience in Indiana, North Carolina, and Missouri, Johnson’s skills extend far beyond the pulpit. Trained in education and nonprofit management, he has served in volunteer and paid leadership positions for multiple nonprofit organizations. He counsels bishops, General Board agencies, annual conferences, and local churches across the country. 

In 2017, Johnson was the Vosburgh Visiting Professor of Ministry and Social Engagement at Drew University’s Theological School. Currently, he holds senior fellowship positions and is an adjunct faculty member at Methodist Theological School of Ohio. 

At a time when our nation is experiencing great upheaval on matters of race, policing, violence, and ecclesial and communal fragmentation, Johnson continues to prepare prophetic leaders who promote healing, justice and transformation.

Speaker: Inspiring Stories: Irreconcilable Differences

Pedro Silva

Pedro Silva

Pedro Silva brings a wealth of cross-sector experience to his current position as Director of Engagement with YOUnify.   A veteran of the United States Air Force, who served as both a Satellite Communications Technician and a Mandarin Chinese Language/Intelligence Analyst, he has cultivated the capacity to think missionally and practically–strategically and tactically–on a wide variety of concerns.

In his post military career, Pedro worked as a corporate recruiter for 8 years serving dozens of for profit, not for profit, and B Corporations in the areas of technology, biotech, and more. In 2009, he entered Andover Newton Theological Seminary and for 10 years served as a pastor in the socially active United Church of Christ.  In this role, Pedro built on his passion for civic engagement.

For 3 years he served as the State Representative for the Boulder Caucus of Together Colorado, an organization of the Faith In Action Network, where he worked on a variety of issues at the local to state levels from affordable housing, gun violence, and voting to living wage legislation and the Family Leave Act. He also served on several committees with the local NAACP chapter and worked with the Boulder Community Foundation as an advisor in the wake of the tragic shooting in Boulder.

In addition to these efforts, Pedro hosted numerous in person and online conversations on race in Boulder County, has been an advocate for the homeless community, and has made a mark on the bridging movement through his volunteer work with Living Room Conversations.  

Speaker: Inspiring Stories: Irreconcilable Differences