UCCDM BOARD

The Board consists of at least seven members drawn from the diversity of the United Church of Christ—gender, ministers/lay persons, age group, geography, ethnic background—the majority of whom are persons with disabilities, members of families of persons with disabilities, or experts on disabilities.

The Chair of the UCC Mental Health Network (MHN) sits on the DM Board. Two Members of UCCDM Board of Directors currently sit on the Unified Board of the United Church of Christ.

The Board meets regularly by conference phone call and gathers in person for at least one meeting a year.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

The UCC Disabilities Ministries Board (UCCDM) is pleased to announce that we have begun accepting applications year-round. Click here for more information.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

BEKAH ANDERSON, Co-Chair

Bekah Anderson (she/her) is a seminarian, writer, and disability activist. Legally blind since the age of two, she began participating in disability community and activism during her time at Hampshire College. With other students with disabilities, she founded the Collective of Students Affected by Ableism (CoSAA), a student group dedicated to collective action and community support for and by students with disabilities.
 
Bekah is a lifelong member of the UCC, and has a particular passion for disability theology. She has lead workshops and presentations on disability theology, with the goal of improving attitudes toward disability by expanding understandings of God and community. This work began during her internship with the UCC’s office go Congregational Assessment, Support, and Advancement, where she first began to learn about and internalize disability theology. She continued this work during her service year with the Young Adult Service Community in Simsbury, CT, helping First Church of Christ Simsbury to start an Accessible to All Committee.
Bekah now studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she is deepening her connections to disability theology and justice movements and theologies more generally. She maintains her membership at First Church of Christ Simsbury, and can generally be found reading Braille while her cat attempts to sit on her hands.
 
REV. JESS L. CHANCEY, Co-Chair
Rev. Jess L. Chancey (they/them) originally hails from Atlanta, GA, where they earned their Masters of Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary. They completed their CPE residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and they currently serve as the trauma chaplain at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul, MN. Jess developed a passion for advocacy through their own experiences of struggling for acceptance and inclusion as a queer female minister with a disability. Along with their work with UCC Disability Ministries, they also serve as one of the founding members of the UCC Women’s Table, and they are involved with the LGBTQ+ business engagement network at their hospital. When Jess isn’t working, you’ll likely find them watching some sci fi show, reading Christopher Moore, or doing an Out of the Darkness walk with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, accompanied by their trusty pup Macy.

CHRISTOPHER FAULK, Treasurer

 
 
 KIM WILLIAMS, Secretary
Kim Williams (she/her) is something of a whirlwind. She realizes that’s as obnoxious as it sounds, but bear with her. She is a Member in Discernment (MID) of the Northern California Nevada Conference, is the authorized lay minister at Grace Community Church in North Fork, CA, and is an MDiv student at Pacific School of Religion. In addition to the UCCDM Board, she also serves on the Northern California Nevada Conference’s Committee on Ministry—Section B, which focuses on supporting authorized ministers. She is a co-parent in a delightfully blended family with four children, and their house is also home to seven chickens, three cats, two dogs, a rabbit, and a potbellied pig. She rollerskates, knits and crochets, and loves BBC period dramas. Diagnosed in her thirties with ADHD, she spends a whole lot of her time talking to anyone who will listen about correct diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders—even (and especially) for those who may have missed the school-days diagnosis window. She wants everyone to know that God’s love for all of us is bigger than her unfolded laundry pile—and that’s pretty huge.
 

Board of Directors

REV. LAURA CANNATA
 
Rev. Laura Cannata (She/Her) lives in Minnesota. She graduated from Untied Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities. She is a Justice Minister at Robbinsdale Parkway UCC. She has been ordained since 2019. Her ministry focuses on Disability and Mental Health Justice. In her free time she plays Dungeons and Dragons and writes prophetic poetry. She has multiple disabilities including but not limited to dwarfism, arthritis and anxiety.
 
EMILY CULP ASHBY

Emily Culp (she/her) grew up in the PC(USA) church and taught special education in Atlanta, Georgia, before following a call to seminary. She earned a Masters in Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where she found a heart calling in the field of disability ministry, which speaks personally to her as she lives with epilepsy.  After graduating from seminary, Emily lived in a L’Arche community, an international intentional community for adults with and without disabilities, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She found her way to Cleveland, where she served as Pastoral Leader for the L’Arche Cleveland Community. She is currently a Chaplain Resident at the Louis Stokes VA in Cleveland.

 
REV. JJ FLAG
JJ Flag (he/him/his) has committed his life and work to seeing the Church be a place of welcome to and for all. He is the pastor of Emmanuel Congregational Church, UCC in Watertown, NY. Before being called to Emmanuel, JJ was engaged in chaplaincy work on a university campus and within a multi-site hospital system. JJ earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Religion, minoring in Church Ministries before graduating with a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Born with a disability himself, advocating for those with disabilities is an integral part of living out his call. In pursuit of bringing greater awareness to the intersections of theology and disability and its impact on the Church’s mission and ministry, JJ earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University Theological School and is also an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ.
 

JACLYN SCHOFIELD

Jacky Schofield (she/her) is a resident of Greenwich, CT and member of the Second Congregational Church. She received her M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in 2007. Since 2008, she has worked as a Disability Inclusion Associate and team leader for the Disabilities Ministries Team of the Connecticut Conference. Previously she was the Chairperson for the First Selectman’s Advisory Committee on Disability in Greenwich. Currently, Jacky works as a Chaplain at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT.

 
 
HELEN WALSH
(photo description ) Woman with a smile wearing an Irish tweed flat cap a framed picture of a geometrically shaped tree of fall colors orange, yellow, rust brown and green in the background.
Helen Walsh (she/her), is a member of First Congregational Church of Berkeley (FCCB), in Berkeley California. She is part of her local church Disability Empowerment ministry and an At Large on FCCB Church Council. She is excited to serve on the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries (UCCDM). She looks forward to more UCC churches becoming Accessible to All (A2A). She wants to share the beauty of life through the light of inclusion with community. We are all created in Gods image.
Corinthians 12:12-27- For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
 

 

UCC National Staff Liaison 

Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice

Persons interested in being a part of the United Church of Christ Disabilities Ministries or serving on the board are invited to contact the UCCDM secretary, secretary@uccdm.org