- Presbyterian Welcome is composed of 20 Supporting Congregations, each of which strengthens us in our mission and work.
- Our Minister Director, the Rev. Mieke Vandersall, directs the activities of this multi-faceted organization. She coordinates the work of the Board and its fund raising, action initiatives, worship opportunities, and the LGBT and Queer Inquirers and Candidates Retreat. In addition, she regularly counsels candidates for ordination. Our ministry is far-reaching, which can be seen in the numerous churches where she often can be found preaching and administering the Sacraments.
- The Board of Directors is divided into a”Visionary Committee” and “Board of Trustees.” They meet separately several times a year and together once a year for our annual meeting.
Visionary Committee:
- Rev. Carmen Mason-Brown, Interim Pastor, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church
- Emily Scott, St. Lydia’s Pastoral Minister, Visionary Vice-President
- Rev. Chris Shelton, Pastor, Broadway Presbyterian Church
- Rev. Anna Taylor Sweringen, Presbytery of New York City, member-at-large, Visionary Secretary
- Patrick Evans, Associate Professor in the Practice of Sacred Music, Yale Divinity School
- Derrick W. McQueen, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, PhD Student in Homiletics and New Testament
Board of Trustees:
- Alice Alston, Member, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church
- Rev. Chris Shelton, Pastor, Broadway Presbyterian Church
- Rev. Anne Conroy, Stated Supply Associate Pastor, First Chinese Presbyterian Church of New York City
- Tim Palmer, Director of Communications, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
- Al Picallo, Member, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
- David Richardson, Member, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
- Rev. Takako Terino, Director, Special Ministry to the Japanese, Greater New York Area
Born and raised in the Midwest, Mieke Vandersall recieved her B.A. in Anthropology from The College of Wooster. She arrived in New York City in 1998 and began working with the international human rights organization, The National Labor Committee. Called back to serve the Presbyterian Church, she began her studies at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. Mieke began working for Presbyterian Welcome in 2003 and in August of 2004 her position as Minister Director was validated and she was ordained. She has since then served as Moderator of the Presbytery of New York City’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry, on the Presbytery of New York City’s Permanent Judicial Commission, and as the Moderator of Session for numerous Presbyterian Welcome Supporting Congregations. In her free time she plays with yarn and beads, practices her fiddle and studies karate.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:14)