Cheryl K. Cornish ’83 M.Div.

Rev. Cheryl K. Cornish has served as Senior Pastor of First Congregational Church in Memphis, Tenn., since 1988. Cheryl served Ebenezer UCC in Augusta, Missouri, for five years prior to being called to First Congregational. Active in the wider church, she served as Chair of the Board of Women’s Ministries for the Missouri-Midsouth Conference, was a member of the Board of Directors for the Board for World Ministries (UCC), and served on the St. Louis Association Committee on Ministry. She was a member of the Alumni Board of Yale Divinity School and has been a seminar participant and leader for the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s “Congregations Project.”

Pastor Cheryl has been an active community voice in Memphis. She has served as a Trustee of Lemoyne-Owen College, is a past President of the Memphis Ministers Association, and was Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. She was on the founding board of RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), served on the Board of Directors of MIFA, and was an officer of the Mid-South Workers Interfaith Network.

In 2004, she received the Women of Achievement award for “Courage” for her ministry of inclusion, diversity, peace, and social justice. In 2008, Yale Divinity School awarded her the alumni award for “Distinction in Congregational Ministry”.