Clergy Days

Cole Arthur Riley

This year's event will feature guest speaker Cole Arthur Riley, bestselling author of Black Liturgies and This Here Flesh. Riley is a writer and poet whose writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Guernica, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. Cole is also the creator of Black Liturgies, a space that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body; and a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Curator. 

Dr. William “Bill” Wilson 

Dr. William “Bill” Wilson founded The Center for Healthy Churches in January of 2014 and served as its inaugural Director. This followed his service as President of the Center for Congregational Health at Wake Forest Baptist Health since 2009. Previously he was Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dalton, Georgia, where he served since 2003. He brings over 33 years of local church ministry experience to the Center, having served as pastor in two churches in Virginia and on a church staff in South Carolina.  Bill has led each of the churches he has served into a time of significant growth and expansion of ministry. He now serves as the Founding Director and Senior Advisor for The Center for Healthy Churches.

His denominational leadership has been extensive, he is a certified coach and facilitator, and has experience as a consultant in numerous settings and with a wide range of organizations, faith communities, and churches.

Dr. Wilson grew up in Greensboro NC and Brentwood TN, where his father pastored local congregations. He attended Belmont University and graduated from Murray State University and went on to receive his Master of Divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry at the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana.

Bill is a popular speaker and writer, and he brings to his role as the leader of the work of the Center a deep passion for the local church, as well as a commitment to the health and success of both clergy and congregations. He and Dr. Bob Dale co-authored Weaving Strong Leaders: How Leaders Grow Down, Grow Up and Grow Together. (2016)

He is married to Kathy and they have three children and ten grandchildren.

The Center for Healthy Churches is a nationwide network of 36 consultants and leaders who value and believe in the local church and are committed to its future. Deliberately trans-denominational, team members come from a wide range of denominational, geographic, theological and vocational backgrounds. The Center has worked with churches from approximately twenty different denominational groups that span the geographic and theological spectrum.

For more information, go to: www.CHChurches.org

Cely Chicurel

I am a native of Chapel Hill, and part of a very artistic family. As a child I loved animals and spent many wonderful hours exploring the woods, making up stories, and creating imaginary worlds. Along with my interest in nature came a growing love for science fiction and fantasy, mostly encouraged by my dad. But it was my mother who gave me space in our kitchen to be creative and encouraged me to see myself as an artist.

After High School, I was given a chance to take pottery classes at a local design school and began making animals and creatures out of clay. Eventually I bought my own Cone 6 oxidation kiln, purchased Standard 112 clay and chemicals for mixing glazes, and set up a small pottery shop in my parents basement. Friends and family encouraged me to show my clay creatures at Carolina Friends School and local art fairs and the response was so positive I applied to college as an art major.

My formal education includes art and design at VCU , UNC, and finally ETU where I majored in pottery and weaving. I also was able to take pottery classes at Penland and Arrowmont. 
More recently I have taken pottery classes at John C Campbell Folk School. Each formal and informal pottery class I take deepens my love of clay as my primary media of self expression.

For more than 30 years I was a production potter and made and sold my hand-built pottery creations, castles, dragons, wizards, and other fantasy creatures.

In 1999 I entered Duke Divinity seminary where I received a Master of Church Ministry. My degree from Duke adding a new dimension of spiritual reflection to my own life and I welcomed the opportunity to offer pottery centered spiritual retreats. When my husband retired we opened a home based arts afterschooI program. During my years as an artist I have taught classes in my pottery studio and offered a summer arts experience for children.

My love of nature and the created world is joined with my imagination and desire to create new magical worlds. I also have a passion to pass along that experience to a new generation of artists and nature lovers. Even after all these years I still have a passion for teaching and sharing my love of pottery as a means of self-expression and self-discovery

Angel Jeffery

Angel works in communications and digital strategies for the NC Lutheran office.  She graduated from UNCG in 2016, where she studied Religion and Communication. Prior to joining staff in 2022, she served as the Communications Specialist at St. John's, Salisbury. Angel is passionate about social justice, advocacy, and story-telling.

Donna Chase

Donna Chase is the Director of Christian Formation at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro and Moderator of the Salem Presbytery Equip Team.  She holds a BA in Education from UNC Chapel Hill and an MA from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education.

Zachary Trivett

Zachary is the Library Instructional Technologist at Catawba College's Corriher-Linn-Black Library.

John Morrison

John Morrison is the workshop leader and the Executive Director of NC Clean Future, an outreach arm of the Center for the Environment.  He is a 40+ year veteran of the clean energy industry with degrees in engineering and an MBA.  But more germane to this workshop for Clergy Days, he is a preacher’s kid (PCUSA), and a ruling elder at the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill.  

Kori Robins

Rev. Kori Robins is a certified health coach in Pfeiffer University’s Clergy Health Institute.

Rev. Robins is an ordained United Methodist who serves a church in Chapel Hill.

TBA

Robert Black

The Rev. Dr. Robert Black has served as the priest at St. Luke's Episcopal Church since 2014 after previously serving congregations in Greensboro, NC and Washington, DC. He holds degrees in religious studies from Wake Forest University, Virginia Theological Seminary, and The University of the South: Sewanee. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Homiletics at Hood Theological Seminary and a Steering Committee member of Racial Equity Rowan. 

TBA

Dr. Anthony J. Davis

Dr. Anthony J. Davis is the 13th president of Livingstone College. A 2001 magna cum laude graduate of Livingstone, he is the first alumnus in more than 50 years to serve as President.

Prior to becoming president, effective Oct. 1, 2022, Dr. Davis served as the Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for Livingstone. In that role, he was responsible for supervising and providing leadership for the entire fundraising enterprise. He also managed day-to-day operations and provided strategic oversight in key areas on campus to create synergy that promotes economic growth, revenue generation, and sustainability.   

Dr. Davis is a foster care survivor who emancipated himself from the foster care system at age 17. Before aging out, he joined the United States Air Force. He is a philanthropic practitioner who began his career over 28 years ago. His passion for education, community, and social justice has positioned him to provide visionary strategic leadership supporting several colleges, universities, and non-profit organizations. His work has resulted in procuring more than $500 million in gifts and grants, with a special emphasis on major gifts and planned giving.    

Dr. Davis is an ordained Elder in the life of the A.M.E. Zion Church and the first ordained elder to serve as president since Dr. Joseph Charles Price, the college’s first president. Dr. Davis has faithfully served the A.M.E. Zion Church as a laity leader, Pastor, Presiding Elder, and now President of the church’s flagship institution—our beloved Livingstone College. Davis also served on the National Steering Committee for the Young Adults in Christian Ministry (YACM).

Dr. Davis attended The Fundraising School of Indiana University – Bloomington’s Center of Philanthropy (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis); earned his master’s degree in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota; and completed his doctoral work at the United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, where he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree. 

Since his appointment as president, Dr. Davis has launched “The Miracle on Monroe Street,” a multi-million-dollar campus renovation project. He has secured over $17 million for campus infrastructure and upcoming capital investments. 

Dr. Davis is married to Dr. Jacqueline S. Davis, a pediatric nurse practitioner with a doctorate in nursing practice. They have three wonderful children: Brandon, Montrell, and Maya. Dr. Davis is a servant leader who leads by example and is inspired by this quote; “If service is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.”