Gospel Brunch

Featuring: Reverend Michael Williams Waters

Please be our guest
Sunday, August 30, 2009
11:00 – 1:00 p.m.
African American Museum

Please R.S.V.P. by August 22nd
Tel: 214-670-0987
Email: jacqueline.garner@dallaslibrary.org (please note Gospel Brunch in the subject line)

The event includes a lecture, entertainment and brunch for $15.00. Tickets may be purchased during the festival or at the door.

Reverend Michael Williams Waters, is the founder and Senior Pastor of Joy Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Dallas, Texas. Named among America’s top young leaders by Ebony Magazine (April 2009) and as “One-to-Watch” by SMU Magazine (Spring/Summer 2008), Pastor Waters’ diverse background and myriad of professional successes have garnered him wide recognition as a rising leader of today.

An honors graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, Pastor Waters earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and in religious studies (with a minor in history) and a Master of Divinity degree with Certificates in African American Church Studies and in Urban Ministry. He matriculated at the SMU Perkins School of Theology as a recipient of the Prothro Promise for Ministry Full Academic Merit Scholarship. Currently, Pastor Waters is matriculating as a Doctor of Ministry degree candidate in Urban Ministry at Perkins. Pastor Waters has served his alma mater as a member of the SMU Alumni Board of Directors and as a past president of the SMU African American Alumni Associates.

Pastor Waters is the founder of two nationally recognized programs: The Macedonian Project, an outreach ministry empowering adolescent males through education, spiritual development, life skills training, and mentoring; and the SMU Civil Rights Pilgrimage, a spiritual pilgrimage through the heart of the Deep South to cities and sites significant to the American Civil Rights Movement. The Fund for Theological Education, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia has lauded The Macedonian Project as a “national model” for community outreach, and the SMU Civil Rights Pilgrimage was featured in the Associated Press article “Traveling classroom uses landmark civil rights sites as teaching tool” (May 2007).

A sought-after preacher, lecturer, and workshop facilitator, Pastor Waters has made numerous presentations before civic, collegiate, congregational, and corporate bodies on topics of interest ranging from Fortune 500 diversity practices and ethical leadership principles to the intersections of religion and hip hop culture. Pastor Waters has also accepted invitations to national and international forums, including the World Methodist Council, Brighton, England, the State of the World Forum, Guanajuato, Mexico, and the National Leadership Conference, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

With a strong commitment to urban renewal and community transformation, Pastor Waters serves as the vice president of the Friends of MLK, Inc. (in association with the City of Dallas’ Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center). He also serves as a member of the Board of Management for the Park South Family Branch of the YMCA. Dedicated to issues of political, social, and economic justice, Pastor Waters is a former Coordinator of Outreach for the Dallas County Democratic Party.

An accomplished writer, Pastor Waters’ offerings have been featured in The African American Pulpit, The African American Lectionary, The A.M.E. Church Review, and Becoming Fire: Spiritual Writings from Rising Generations. Pastor Waters has also been featured on national broadcasts and in print and electronic media, including The NBC Nightly News, ESPN Live, The Associated Press, The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, and The Houston Chronicle, and Pastor Waters’ keen insights have been quoted by the likes of journalist Bill Moyers.

Pastor Waters is the recipient of numerous honors and award recognitions, including The White House’s Presidential Youth Service Award, the B’nai B’rith Harold M. Kaufman Memorial Award in Social Ethics, the William K. McElvaney Award in Peace and Justice, and The “M” Award, Southern Methodist University’s highest honor.

Pastor Waters is married to Attorney Yulise Reaves Waters, a founding member and partner of Cox Waters, PLLC. They are the proud parents of Michael Jeremiah (age 2). The couple is expecting their second child this fall.