After a year and a half Study and Discernment process that involved voices from around our region, and six-month Search process with our Personnel Committee, CCIW Regional Church Council voted unanimously to welcome Angelique Byrd and the Rev. Eliezer Rolon to our Ministry Team.
Angelique Byrd “Angee” new Associate Regional Liaison for Communication
Angee has had a 20 year career in Marketing and Communications, most recently as a Senior Account Director. She has a Bachelor degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois, and MS in Marketing Communication from Roosevelt University.
According to her references, she has been an excellent partner and team player. She is well respected and professional. She gets things done. She has been promoted for her wonderful work and everyone who has had the chance to work with her has found her professional—-and become a friend. She is a communicator and is always thinking about her staff. She chose her clients—based on their service to people. She wants to make a difference in this world.
Angee took an idea our Communication Team/Personnel Committee gave her and created a proposal for “Join us at the Table” that gave us a step by step plan for learning to share our life-giving/life-changing stories. You will be hearing more about this very soon.
She works with people where they are and takes them to the next step, including congregations that may not know a thing about websites or social media, let alone snapchat.
Angee’s faith is deep and resonating. It is reflected in her whole life: in her relationship with co-workers; in her compassion for others—organizing fundraisers to help neighbors in need; in her church work. She has a deep love for Jesus, and wants to be an asset for God’s Kingdom.
As one person put it, she is “a woman of strong conviction and faith in God . . . She will take what she has learned from the world and use it wisely to help others.”
She is new to Disciples, and ready to sign on to our work. She will work toward a Commission over the next two years.
Angee lives in Bolingbrook, and is the mother of 3.
Angee will begin her work with us on May 1, 2018.
The Rev. Eliezer Rolon “Eli” new Associate Regional Minister for Children, Youth and Young Adults
Eli is a brilliant young man. He is currently working on his PhD with Claremont School of Theology in Religious Ethics. He has a BS in Computer Science from University of Illinois, Chicago; an MDiv from Vanderbilt Theological Seminary; and an MA in Ethics from Iliff Seminary. He is an ordained Disciple Minister.
Eli came to the Disciples in his younger adult years. He tells a story of walking across the campus at UIC, and watching people sharing faith in an aggressive and confrontive manner, and thinking their must be a better, more respectful way. His home congregation, Iglesia del Pueblo—now Hope Church in Hammond, IN formed him. In a Young Adult class, he was invited into a conversation about faith. He was asked for the first time what he thought. It was an opening, welcoming, encouraging experience—respectful of who he was and is.
While in seminary he served as a Youth Ministry Intern. He led Young Adult Ministry for our denominations North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD) congregations.
Most recently he has been Director of Program and Technology for Higher Education Leadership Ministry (HELM) for the Disciples, working with technology and Young adults. Eli has connections across the life of the church that will be an asset as he serves CCIW. Those connections bring with them a lot of love and respect.
By the way, multi-cultural is in his DNA. His mother is Korean. His father is Puerto Rican. Eli is bilingual Spanish/English.
Eli is creative, computer savvy, ethical and artistic. If he doesn’t already know how to do something, he will figure it out.
Eli will begin his work with us on June 11, 2018.
The Regional Church Council believed God has prepared the way for Angee and Eli to join us. And, we look forward to what God will accomplish with and through us. Let us continue to seek God’s call, set clear Jesus-like intentions, and be open and willing to go where the Spirit leads us
Thank you to Rev. Evan Williams, Personnel Chair; Rev. Ed Morris, Camille Taylor, Kate Webster, Anne Ingersoll, and Rev. Bryan Burris for your faithful discernment. And, to our Discernment Teams which included you in conversations around the region and our CCIW Regional Church Council, Ministry Leadership Team, and our Personnel Committee, plus Sandra Lienhop, Jim Bisch, John Huxtable, Joyce Snodgrass, Ale Rubio, Yvonne Gilmore, Clayton Summers, Colton Lott, Hannah Fitch, Bill Crowl, Cynthia Lindner, Bill Kerns, Arvil Bass, Marla McElroy, Sharon Patton, Jacqueline Myers, Christopher Schilling, Al Keeney, Priscilla and Brandon Price, Mike Dixon, Jeff Parker, Tim Akers, Anne Ingersoll, Cheryl Jackson, Kelly Ingersoll, Rex Kibler, Bruce Fowlkes, Kate Summers, Beth Rupe, Scott Woolridge, Teresa Dulyea-Parker. Grateful to all who took part in any level of the conversation.