Staff Biographies and Contact Information
Rev. Johnny Wray
Director
jwray@woc.disciples.org
(317) 713.2450
Fax (317) 713.2588
Johnny has served as Director of Week of Compassion since October 1992. His responsibilities include overseeing the day to day operations of Week of Compassion, including promotion and management of the Week of Compassion offering, relating to and working with Week of Compassion's many partners, and strengthening Week of Compassion's ties with congregations, pastors and regions. He also works closely with the Christian Church Foundation to advance the Week of Compassion endowment program. He previously served First Christian Church, Paris, TN; First Christian Church, Oak Ridge, TN; Waddy (KY) Christian Church; and Cooper Road (now Covenant) Christian Church, Jackson, MS. He received his M.Div from Lexington Theological Seminary and a B.A. in political science from Millsaps College, Jackson, MS. Johnny and Deborrah have three children. When he's not on the road or in the Indy office, he enjoys time on their farm in Mississippi.
Rev. Amy Gopp
Associate Director
agopp@woc.disciples.org
(317) 590.3147
Serving as Week of Compassion’s Associate Director, Amy is continuing her ministry of mission, justice, and education. Her responsibilities include social and economic development as well as reaching out to youth, young adults, seminarians, women, and ethnic constituencies. She was raised in Kent, Ohio where she was baptized at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Amy received her BA in International Relations in 1994 at the American University School of International Service in Washington, DC. In 1995 Amy moved to the war-torn former Yugoslavia where she volunteered with Mennonite Central Committee and Global Ministries. From 1995-1999 she lived in Croatia and Bosnia working as a peace activist in the areas of refugee concerns, interfaith dialogue, and conflict resolution. While in Sarajevo, Amy coordinated the award-winning interfaith choir, Pontanima. She received her MA in Conflict Resolution from Antioch University in 1998. Amy served as the Intern Coordinator for the Disciples Peace Fellowship for four years as well as a member of the Week of Compassion Advisory Committee. In May of 2005 she graduated with her MDiv degree from Union Theological Seminary where she co-founded the Poverty Initiative, a program that trains future religious leaders to overcome the oppressive structures contributing to poverty and economic injustice in America. During her seminary career she served as Associate for Outreach Ministries at Park Avenue Christian Church in Manhattan as well as the United Nations Liaison for Wider Church Ministries (a common ministry of the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ). An ordained Disciples pastor, Amy resides in New York City.
Elaine Cleveland
Administrative Assistant
ecleveland@woc.disciples.org
(317) 713.2442
Fax (317) 713.2588
Elaine Cleveland has been Administrative Assistant for Week of Compassion since February 2002. She has a B.A. in Theology and English from Hanover College and an MSW from Indiana University. Elaine, her husband Stan, and son Tyler are members of Allisonville Christian Church in Indianapolis.
Tallu Schuyler
Week of Compassion Intern
woc.intern@gmail.com
(646) 924.8027
Tallu is serving as the Week of Compassion Intern for the academic year 2006-07. Tallu grew up in Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville, Tennessee and now holds membership at Vine Street Christian Church. Tallu has been active in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) all of her life, having served on the General Youth Council as a youth and on the Camp and Conference Commission of Tennessee for several years. In the summer of 2002, Tallu served as a Disciples Peace Fellowship Intern, which was one of the most challenging and life-giving experiences of her life.
In her second year of theological education at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, she is strongly committed to social justice ministry, anti-racism work and ending poverty. Tallu holds a B.F.A in fiber arts from the Appalachian Center for Craft. At Union, she has chosen a program focus of Arts and Theology, with a particular interest in arts in worship and education. She lives in New York City.
Megan Severns
Week of Compassion Intern
Megan Severns, currently serving as an intern for Week of Compassion, is exploring the Biblical mandate to work with and for the poor. She was inspired to become involved in peacemaking during her summer 2005 working as a Disciples Peace Fellowship intern and her travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 2006 coalition of seminarians. Megan spent summer 2006 working with her hometown congregation, First Christian Church, Lake Charles, Louisiana. There she served as a Disciples Disaster Response intern, helping the effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the devastated areas along the Texas-Louisiana border affected by Hurricane Rita.
Megan received her undergraduate degree in Religion from Texas Christian University and is now a third year Masters of Divinity student at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She enjoys living in the Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt and is seeking ordination upon graduation.
C. Douglas Smith
WebGuy
Doug is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has served as a pastor, church builder, coordinator of mission volunteers, and has been consultative staff, and at times Acting Director, with Week of Compassion since 1999. He is a graduate of James Madison University (B.S.) who recently named Doug a World Changer, and Lexington Theological Seminary (M.Div.) where he was a Beargrass Scholar. He was recently named a 2005 Sorensen Fellow by the University of Virginia where he is participating in the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, has been named a Richmond History Maker, and is on the 2007 list of Top 40 under 40 by Style Weekly. Doug has been involved with the Heifer International board since 1999 and presently serves as Vice Chair. When not also working with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Doug and his wife Cindy live in Mechanicsville, Virginia. They are members of Seventh Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Richmond.
Week of Compassion Advisory Committee 2008
Jimmy Mohler, Community Christian Church, Kansas City, MO
Bob Santiago, Iglesia Cristiana Sinai, Brooklyn, NY
Dwayne Bell, New Covenant Christian Church, Nashville, TN
John Richardson, Christian Church in North Carolina
Carolyn McLemore, Central Christian Church, Enid, OK
Michael Karunas, First Christian Church, Baton Rouge, LA
Rebecca Hale, The Northwest Regional Christian Church, Kent, WA
Courtney Richards, Geist Christian Church, Indianapolis, IN
General Unit Representatives:
David Brown, Council on Christian Unity, Lindenwood Christian Church, Memphis, TN
Sally Paulsell, Disciples Home Missions, Central Christian Church, Lexington, KY
David Vargas, Division of Overseas Ministries
Ex-Officio:
Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President
Johnny Wray, Director
Amy Gopp, Associate Director
