Sharon Watkins ’84 M.Div.

Sharon Watkins currently serves as the Pastor of Bethany Memorial Church in Bethany, W.Va. Previously, she was General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. She is an inspirational preacher, teacher, and facilitator who devotes her considerable skills to the wholeness of the church, reconciling differences and helping the church retain its clarity of mission and identity in a variety of religious and ecumenical settings. Upon her election in 2005, she was the first female head of a mainline denomination. At the 2011 General Assembly, she was re-elected to a second six-year term. Watkins is the author of Whole: A Call for Unity in Our Fragmented World.

 

In 2017, she was the recipient of the Yale Divinity School Distinction in Congregational Ministry award.