Theologian in Residence Biography
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The Rev. Joe Agne and Deaconess Dana Jones |
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Bio: Joe Agne, pastor of Memorial United Methodist Church (UMC) in White Plains, NY, for more than a decade, has spent his life championing human rights. He received a community service award from the Westchester County Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2002 in recognition of his long history working for racial and social justice. The American Muslim Women’s Association honored him in 2004 for building bridges in their diverse community and he has been arrested many times during non-violent protests on behalf of the disenfranchised. In May 2007, Agne received his doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary, in recognition of his thesis “A World House Project,” which detailed Memorial UMC’s decade-long journey to become an inclusive congregation honoring the global vision of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
Agne served as vice-president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Non-Violence of Westchester and has been a study leader in many conference and regional schools of mission. The former director of Racial Justice Program for the National Council of Churches also served on the Programme to Combat Racism of the World Council of Churches, and leads anti-racism workshops through the Racial Justice Connection, which he organized.
A former co-president of the national board of Methodist Federation for Social Action, Agne has served on the boards of the Center for Democratic Renewal in Atlanta, Political Research Associates of Boston, the Indian Treaty Rights Committee and the Coalition for a Just Chicago. As a director of the General Board of Global Ministries (1976-84), he chaired the Committee to Eliminate Institutional Racism.
Prior to 1997, he served churches in Aurora, University Park and Harvey, Illinois and was the Global Ministries staff person for the Northern Illinois Conference Council on Ministries.
He studied at North Central College, Evangelical Theological Seminary, Wesley Theological Seminary and New York Theological Seminary.
His life partner is Dana E. Jones, a United Methodist Church deaconess, and they have four children, two grandchildren, and a dog, Tayo.
Joe will be preaching several Sundays throughout the summer, and he will be leading the Adult Forum class, beginning on June 22. See the Adult Forum page in this newsletter for details. He wants to engage laypeople in his lectionary study that will be held the weeks prior to his preaching; watch for news in the bulletin for these dates and times.
In addition, Joe is interested in working with creative folks who can participate in shaping a new, dramatic, visual or other media expression of his dissertation on a World House Congregation. (Please refer to more information on this theme under Adult Forum news.) If you would like to interact with Joe, please contact him at: revagne@gmail.com.
Bio: Dana E. Jones, a United Methodist deaconess, is founder and coordinator of JustArts, a ministry with children, youth and adults that works on social justice through the arts. She is mission coordinator for social action for New York Conference United Methodist Women; co-chair of the National Association of Deaconesses, Home Missioners and Home Missionaries; and a member of the advisory board for the Sisters of Divine Compassion's spirituality center in White Plains, N.Y.
A member of Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains, N.Y., Ms. Jones coordinates programming for children and youth for the church's Wednesday evening program. She teaches quilting at several local quilt shops and is coordinating Quilt for Alma's, a program through which members and friends of United Methodist Women are making quilts for Alma Mathews House, a Women's Division-owned conference and retreat center in New York City.
Ms. Jones was editor of Response magazine from December 1992-August 2006 and director of communications for the Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries from August 2006-August 2007. Before that, she served as communication director for Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. She also has experience as a secular newspaper reporter and editor and in community-college public information.
Ms. Jones holds a journalism degree from the University of Illinois and has studied theology at McCormick Theological Seminary and business administration at Webster University.
In addition to quilting, Ms. Jones enjoys gardening, travel, cooking, camping and St. Louis Cardinal baseball games.