A note from Pastor Travis 5/29/25

This Sunday, we are celebrating Pride. As part of our celebration, we rejoice in the United Methodist Church’s move towards being a more inclusive and open congregation, and we honor the faithfulness of this congregation to become a Reconciling Congregation 13 years ago.

We have a special guest preacher this Sunday. Her biography is below. I hope to see you all on Sunday as we celebrate Pride. This is a great Sunday to invite family and friends!

The Rev. Dr. Adama Brown currently serves as the Director of Impact and Grants at the United Methodist Foundation of New England, where she brings more than twenty years of experience in research, data, and evaluation to the Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Adama directed research and data work at United Way of Rhode Island, where she utilized quantitative and qualitative analysis to better understand and reimagine social impact. Adama is particularly interested in the ways that data and narrative inform philanthropic work and can serve as a catalyst for change.

Adama has served in social justice ministries at the district and conference levels of the United Methodist Church. From 2015 to 2017, she served on the Amos Commission, the social justice arm of the Capital District of the Rio Texas Annual Conference, where she secured grant funding for Undoing Racism work. Beginning in 2010, The Rev. Dr. Brown became involved in the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), where she served as a board member and became a reconciling church consultant, helping churches, including her home church, First UMC of Austin, in their discernment to become a reconciling congregation. From 2019 to 2021, Adama co-chaired the Open Spirit Task Force, designed to facilitate discussion about whether or how the NEAC would engage or create new expressions of Methodism. Since 2019, Adama has been a member of the New England Annual Conference Commission on Religion and Race, where she has co-created anti-racism curriculum and co-facilitated anti-racism training for NEAC clergy. 

Adama is a sociologist by training and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in sociology from Iowa State University with an emphasis on mental health, research methods, statistics, and social policy. She also earned an MDiv from Iliff School of Theology with a specialization in pastoral counseling and spiritual care. Ordained in the New England Annual Conference, The Rev. Dr. Brown is a Deacon in Full Connection and the Deacon in Residence at Arnold Mills UMC in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

In her spare time, Adama is passionate about genealogy, jazz, justice, and joy.  

See you Sunday,

Pastor Travis