By Pressley Peters
The Rev. W. (Will) H. Mebane Jr. ’06 M. Div. began studies at YDS at age 50. Born in Durham, N.C., Will was raised in Baptist and AME Zion churches and later joined the Episcopal church. He is now the Rector of St. Barnabas’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Falmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod. Will and his wife, Ilona Paulette (“Ronnie”), have two adult children. Interestingly, Will graduated from YDS in 2006 alongside his son Karreem Mebane M.A.R., and the pair are part of a rare group of parent/child co-graduates.
Will received his undergraduate degree in radio, television, and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and held positions with various broadcast outlets. He also founded and operated a management, media, and marketing consulting firm. He managed the 50th Anniversary celebrations around the U.S. commemorating the entry of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball; produced media for a Special Olympics World Games; and helped promote an Elton John world tour. Making the switch from a lucrative job to priesthood prompted a change of lifestyle, but Will’s wife was willing to be sole breadwinner while he studied at YDS.
While serving as dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y., Will was active in VOICE-Buffalo, a group of faith, labor, business, and community leaders working against injustices in their community. He is a faculty member of the Preaching Excellence Program of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation. He is also a founding board member of the nonprofit that built the Freedom Schooner Amistad.
How did you come to attend at YDS after a wide-ranging business career?
I heard the call to ordained ministry when I was 11 years old, yet I spent 40 years putting it off. My wife reminded me that on our first date I told her I planned to be an Episcopal priest, so after much discernment, I applied to YDS. I was delightfully surprised when I was accepted.
I was familiar with Yale and Berkeley Divinity School from my years in Connecticut. In fact, we still have a home in Hamden. I wanted an environment like YDS that opened opportunities to learn from and be engaged with individuals from varied backgrounds and faith traditions.
Rev. Will Mebane’s lifelong stand for racial equality: Read the article in USA Today
Coming to YDS caused me to reprioritize my life. I gave up some things that were important to me like refereeing high school basketball and football games. It was the right choice, and I am grateful for my time at YDS.
How and why did you become a class agent for your alumni class?
I enjoy staying connected to my classmates. YDS has a very compelling story to tell and sell.
My previous career was in development positions with the Jackie Robinson Foundation in New York and with Amistad. I have served on several non-profit boards. I have never been afraid to ask people for money.
What part of the Divinity School’s recent work most appeals to you and why? What inspires you about the future of YDS?
Greg Sterling is an inspiration to me. I am so grateful for the work he has done in his tenure as Dean including racially diversifying the student population, faculty, and staff. It is radically different from when my son and I were there. At YDS, I was VP of Yale Black Seminarians, and I encouraged the administration downtown and on the hill to do what Greg has now done. Being African American myself, I know how important it is for people of color to have opportunities to study at places like Yale.
When I think about YDS, I think about the distinguished racially diverse faculty like Willie Jennings, William Barber, Eboni Turman, Donyelle McCray, Almeda Wright and many others. I also appreciate the work being done with the Living Village in addressing the climate challenge. Last year, we hosted Dean Sterling with the Yale Club of Cape Cod to motivate people around the climate crisis and tell them about the Living Village. Greg is a visionary who can manifest visions like the Living Village into reality. He inspires me to stay connected to Yale’s future.
How do you imagine your generosity might impact YDS students, the divinity school, and our world?
My ideas around giving go back to my parents, neither of whom were fortunate enough to attend college even though my dad was the valedictorian of his high school. In my family, of the five of us, I am the only one to finish college. Our parents instilled in us a core principle that it’s better to give than to receive. My wife’s parents drilled that into her as well.
When you give it will be returned to you a hundred-fold, as the good book says. That has been true for me, and it is why I have spent much of my career raising money for good causes. What a gift it is for me to have the ability to help reduce and eliminate debt for students who matriculate at YDS.
We went into debt to pay for my time at YDS, but I can share that I have had my loan forgiven by the Biden-Harris administration, which provided tremendous relief. I love it when I read Notes from the Quad about how students today can attend and not have that financial burden. It brings a smile to my heart. It warms me that others are giving, and I am grateful to be part of that legacy.
How has giving has been joyful or personally significant to you?
Being raised by a Baptist father, I am reminded of scripture when I think of giving. He often quoted Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. … for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
And I also appreciate Hebrews 13:16: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
My father would be pleased with the commitment we have made to giving, and it would bring him joy, too.