MINNEAPOLIS (May 17, 2017) — The Rev. Curtiss DeYoung has been chosen to lead the Minnesota Council of Churches.
DeYoung is an author and editor of ten books on reconciliation, multiracial congregations, interfaith activist spirituality, racism and cultural diversity. He most recently served as the executive director of Community Renewal Society, a 135-year-old faith-based organization in Chicago working for racial and economic justice through the unique programmatic combination of church-based community organizing, policy advocacy, and investigative journalism.
DeYoung will replace Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin, who is retiring from leading the Council after 22 years. He will start work on July 17, 2017.
“I am eager to join the Minnesota Council of Churches in their important work of building the common good as agents of unity in the faith community and moral voices for a just society,” said Rev. Curtiss DeYoung, who was approved on May 16 by the MCC board to be the organization’s new CEO.
DeYoung was previously a professor of Reconciliation Studies and co-chair of the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Reconciliation Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. He was the executive director of the Twin Cities Urban Reconciliation Network (TURN) in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
DeYoung served on staff at congregations in Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He consults and speaks internationally with extensive relationships among activists and peacemakers in South Africa and the Holy Land.
DeYoung has earned degrees from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. and from Anderson University in Indiana.
The Minnesota Council of Churches’ mission is to manifest unity in the church and to build the common good in the world. The Minnesota Council of Churches programs align with three broad categories: welcoming refugees, mobilizing the faith community to engage in public policy, and strengthening communities through relationships and understanding. For more information, visit www.mnchurches.org.
