Worship Leaders

Learn more about the pastors leading worship at General Synod 34.

The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne is the 44th Moderator of The United Church of Canada (UCC). She is the elected national spiritual leader and public representative of the United Church until 2025. As Moderator, Carmen chairs the governance bodies of the UCC. She also sits on the board of the Vancouver Foundation–Canada’s largest community foundation. She has previously held a number of important governance roles with the UCC, including supporting indigenous candidates for ministry. 

Prior to serving the national church, Moderator Carmen was the executive director of First United Church Community Ministry Society in Vancouver; she is on a three-year leave of absence while she serves the national church. Moderator Carmen joined First United in February 2017, led an organizational turnaround resulting in increased stability and capacity, and facilitated the redevelopment of their main site.

The Moderator leads with compassion, thoughtfulness, and creativity while maintaining academic interests, church ministry, indigenous ways of being, parenting, and partnering. She holds a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation. She is passionate about creating a life with great stories and amazing adventures with her family.

Jamar Doyle began his service as President and CEO of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries in March 2022.  Prior to joining CHHSM, Jamar worked for over 16 years in community development in Cleveland Ohio, leading organizations whose mission was to foster equitable and inclusive economic development and community engagement on Cleveland’s east side.  In 2019 Jamar was selected to the German Marshall Fund’s Marshall Memorial Fellowship, an experiential leadership program that networks leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to promote shared liberal democratic values.  He is also a graduate of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs; a national leadership development program designed to advance ethical leaders and build their capacity in order to create a more connected and inclusive communities.

Currently Jamar is a member of the United Church of Christ Board, the Cornerstone Fund Board, the National Benevolence Association Board, and serves on the board of the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA) in Cleveland. He is the former Vice President of the board of directors of the Ohio CDC (Community Development Corporation) Association and was a commissioner on the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Bond Accountability Commission.

Jamar holds a Master’s in Urban Planning, Design and Development from Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs and a dual B.A. in Political Science and Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. Jamar is a member of South Euclid United Church of Christ.

A proud native of Miami, Florida, JJ has committed his life and work to seeing the Church be a place of welcome to and for all. Motivated by the conviction that ministry is a lifestlye of service to others, he’s worked diligently to be well equipped in this work, both in skill and knowledge. JJ earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Religion, minoring in Church Ministries before graduating with a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. JJ is also an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ.

JJ’s spiritual journey has exposed him to various communities of faith and denominations. As a result, he has served in several ministerial capacities and in various ministry settings over the last decade and a half. JJ is currently the Associate Minister of Pastoral Care and Justice at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC.

Prior, JJ was Pastor of Emmanuel Congregational Church, UCC in Watertown, NY. JJ has also worked as a chaplain, both on a university campus and within a multi-site hospital system. This work has allowed him be present and journey with others as they celebrate the highs and navigate the lows of life. Each role, he believes, has strengthened his resolve to be an advocate for others.

Having been born with a disability, advocating for those with disabilities is an integral part of living out his call. In pursuit of bringing greater awareness to the intersections of theology and disability and its impact on the Church’s mission and ministry, JJ earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew University Theological School. There, JJ worked to expand the definition of radical inclusion to address and consider matters of Disability Theology and Disability Justice.

Beyond his call to the local church, he is a member of numerous local community and denominational boards including the United Church of Christ’s Disabilites Ministries Board of Directors as well as the Board of Directors for CHHSM. JJ often guest preaches, lectures, leads workshops, and contributes to podcasts centering matters of theology, faith, disability, and race; all of which will be a part of the book that he is set to publish with The Pilgrim Press.

When he is not wearing his “collar,” JJ’s greatest joy is spending time with his wife and children.

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