Praise the Lord!
On this past Sunday, November 6, 2011, we celebrated our 8th Life Church Anniversary. During this meeting members of the congregation took time to share publicly what they appreciate about one another. There was no formal message.
Please re-use the life group material from October 30, 2011:
http://blogs.lifechurchboston.org/community/2011/11/01/life-group-material-for-10302011-%E2%80%93-11052011/
Thank you and God bless you!
Bil Mooney-McCoy,
Worship Team
Bil Mooney-McCoy is a native of Boston, currently living in Dorchester, married for more than 30 years, the father of three, and incredulously, a grandfather. His undergraduate work was at Brandeis University and he has a Masters of Music from New England Conservatory in Jazz Piano. By day Bil is at TechMission, a Boston-based, Christian non-profit, where he helps manage a program that places interns in after-school and teen programs in the inner city. In addition, Bil is a freelance computer programmer and a professional musician.
In 2000, with his wife, Paulea, Bil co-founded a multi-ethnic house church, the Gathering Christian Fellowship, that meets in the Dorchester section of Boston. While still connected to the Gathering, Paulea and Bil recently were called to Life Church and are thrilled to be part of the leadership team there, along with leading the Worship Team.
An active member of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Boston, Bil is often involved in a number of city-wide activities. Currently, with Paulea, he’s on the team of a Living Waters program, which is a healing prayer and discipleship ministry dealing with relational and sexual brokenness.
Over the years, Bil has been a speaker or facilitator at workshops, church meetings and services, retreats, schools, and other venues, presenting on topics including sexual purity and addiction, online safety for children, marriage and relationships, worship and music ministry, cross-cultural communication, racial reconciliation, and workplace communication.
Bil’s passions include morning coffee, finding new guitar chords, creating killer PowerPoint presentations, and watching how fast his teenage daughter can text her friends.
Paulea Mooney-McCoy
Worship Team
Coming Soon!
Rev. Dr. Michael Dixon,
Youth Church
Michael was born in Chicago, IL, where he received the Lord in 1980. He was ordained as an American Baptist minister in 1998. He currently helps with Life Group 1, as well as Sunday school classes, as well as being part of the leadership team at Life Church. He also currently implements his accelerated math and science curriculum at Parkside Christian (PS-6th) /Cross Factor (7th-10th-going to 12th) Academies, a K-10 private school in Boston, MA. With over 21 years of teaching experience in math and science, he specializes in high academic achievement for minorities and inner-city youth in math and science. He loves the Lord as well as science fiction, especially Dr. Who and Star Trek, and spending time with his wife Crystal and 6 boys. They currently reside in Dedham, MA.
Crystal Dixon,
Sunday Service Coordination
Coming Soon!
Al Copeland,
Evangelism
Al Copeland has 15 years experience in the field of Human Services, with extensive knowledge of substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. He is a Licensed Alcohol Drug Clinician (LADC-II), a Certified Alcohol Drug Addiction Counselor (CADAC), and is licensed in batterers’ intervention counseling. Highly respected by his professional peers, he was honored by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts with the Provider Recognition Award for Outstanding and Dedicated Service to the Field of Substance Abuse in 2003. He has a Bachelor of Science in Human Services and a Master's of Science Degree in Organization, Management & Leadership, both from Springfield College. In 2010, Mr. Copeland received certification as an Offender Workforce Development Specialist from the National Institute of Corrections in San Antoine, Texas.
Since 2007, Al has worked at the Boston Ten Point Coalition as a reentry case manager of the BRI. The Boston Reentry Initiative (BRI) is a partnership between the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, the Boston Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. BRI creates a formal inter-agency support system for inmates before their release from the House of Correction.
As a reentry case manager, his responsibility is to assist male ex-offenders ages 17 to 33 years to navigate the criminal justice system, as well as life after incarceration. Al provides life coaching, mentoring and generates services that fit their individual needs. He attributes his dedication to serving this population to his faith in God, passion for community building, and his desire for a safe and prosperous community.
Because of his commitment to Social Justice and second chances, Mr. Copeland is actively involved with Boston Workers Alliance (BWA), an agency that addresses the issue of CORI reform.
Al lives at home with his wife Valerie Copeland.
William Baxter
Marriage Ministry
William Baxter was born on November 3, 1959 at Princess Ann County Naval Base in Portsmouth Va. In 1960 his loving parents William and Florita Baxter moved their family to Boston. William attended the Emmanuel House School for nursery and kindergarten, St Francis de Sales and St Johns Grammar schools in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and then The Holy Cross Cathedral High School in the South End of Boston where he excelled in the football and graduated in May of 1978.
In 1979 William began a career in Criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement. He worked for the Dare Family Service in conducting psycho-criminal screenings and transporting juveniles to various state facilities. In 1980, he worked as an Intake Counselor for the Judge John J. Connolly Detention Facility in Roslindale, Massachusetts. In 1983 he was appointed and sworn in by then Sheriff Dennis Kearney as Deputy Sheriff of Suffolk County, and attained the rank of Sergeant Deputy in 1986. In 1989, William became a Patrolman for the City of Boston Police Department and is currently assigned to the Community Service Office as a Youth Service Officer.
In 1990, William married Gayle Elaine Thomas.
In 1995, William began following Jesus and his life began to transform. He was baptized at Holy Tabernacle Church and eventually transitioned to New Covenant Christian Church (now Jubilee Christian Church). He likens his transformation process to the song: “As the deer panted for the water, so my soul thirsted after you”.
In 2005, William graduated Suma-Cum Laude from Newbury College with a Bachelor’s Degree, in Criminal Justice. In that same year he was contracted by the Federal Government as a National Trainer for the G.R.E.A.T. program.
In 2006 William and Gayle joined Life Church where he currently serves as a life group facilitator, pre-marital counselor, and as a member of the Life Church Leadership Team. He and Gayle currently lead the Life Church Marriage Ministry.
Awards:
Gayle Baxter,
Marriage Ministry
Gayle Baxter (née Thomas) was born on October 23, 1958 to George and Louise Thomas of Roxbury, Mass. She attended Boston Public grammar and middle schools and graduated from Boston Technical High in 1975. In 1978 She pursued a degree in Liberal Arts with a minor in Biology at Boston State College. Her strong desire to promote the physical and emotional healing of others led her to work in healthcare environments as a nursing assistant and mental health counselor, and ultimately to pursue a degree in Nursing at Laboure College.
Realizing that she wanted to specialize in Psychiatric Nursing, Gayle sought employment at Massachusetts Mental Health Center which (a Harvard-teaching hospital). In this setting that she was mentored by experienced mental health practitioners who provided a foundation for her to practice as a psychiatric nurse in both inpatient and outpatient settings (including community nursing).
Gayle has been happily married to William A. Baxter since 1990 and they enjoy growing together in Christ. She aggressively pursues opportunities to grow spiritually in Christ and maintains a healthy lifestyle via gym workouts, aerobic fitness, swimming, skiing, and good nutrition. Her fun pursuits include watching action, adventure, and Sci-fi movies, bowling, and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. She is eager to see how God will use the gifts He has given her to serve His people for the building of His Kingdom.
Gayle began following Christ in 1994 at Holy Tabernacle Church. She then attended New Covenant Christian Church (now Jubilee Christian Church) and found that Christ centered groups helped her to grow spiritually. She and her husband William joined Life Church in 2006 and she currently serves as a co-leader of a life group, a pre-marital counselor, and a member of the Life Church Leadership Team. She and her husband William currently lead the Life Church Marriage Ministry.
Valerie Copeland
Associate Pastor
Leadership and Administration
Check out Pastor Valerie's blog!
Valerie Copeland is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. She began her relationship with Jesus Christ in 1990 and has been actively involved in Kingdom work ever since. Over the years she discovered a passion for blessing adolescent girls and women to live healthy, whole and purposeful lives. In October of 2007, she was ordained as a pastor at Life Church Ministries. Valerie lives in Roxbury with her husband Al Copeland.
Rocklyn E. Clarke Sr.,
Senior Pastor & Founder
Follow me on: Pastor Rocklyn's Blog | Twitter
Pastor Rocklyn E. Clarke founded Life Church Ministries in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts together with his wife Eva, and currently serves as its Senior Pastor. He was ordained as a pastor under Church Without Walls International in October 2002 during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now known as Jubilee Christian Church).
Rocklyn was born in New York City in 1959. After graduating from The Bronx High School of Science in 1976, he left New York to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he majored in physics, met his future wife Eva, and eventually served as the Co-Chairman of the M.I.T. Black Student Union.
Rocklyn became a Christian in the Spring of 1979 and shortly thereafter joined the ministry of Pastor Gideon A. Thompson Sr. at the First Church of God in the South End section of Boston. Rocklyn and Eva married in 1980 and their son, Rocklyn Jr. was born the following year. In 1982 they became charter members of New Covenant Christian Center (now Jubilee Christian Church), the new ministry launched by Pastor Thompson and his wife Yvonne. After graduating from M.I.T. in 1983 with an S.B. in Physics, Rocklyn continued working there in the Information Systems Department, eventually becoming a Senior Project Manager.
In May 2002 Rocklyn left M.I.T. to serve as Administrative Pastor at New Covenant. This position gave him the opportunity to further develop New Covenant's infrastructure and to learn important lessons about church organization. It also prepared him to become a senior paster. On Sunday October 26, 2003 Bishop Thompson and the pastoral staff of New Covenant laid hands on Rocklyn and Eva to commission them in the launching of Life Church.
He is affiliated with the following organizations:
He is a former board member of Axiom Entertainment Group.
Eva L. Clarke
Pastor & Co-Founder
Children's Church Coordinator
Eva L. Clarke founded Life Church Ministries in Boston, Massachusetts together with her husband, Rocklyn, the Senior Pastor. She serves as Pastor. Eva was ordained under Church Without Walls International in October 2007 during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now known as Jubilee Christian Church).
Eva serves on the loan committee of the Boston Community Loan Fund, and she is a former member of the Urban Land Institute. She lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts with her husband. They have a son (born in 1981) and a daughter (born in 1985) and three grandchildren.
Congratulations to Parkside Christian Academy, which has been named a “Top School” for the state of Massachusetts in the 2009 Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY)Talent Search. CTY Talent Searches identify, assess, and recognize students with exceptional mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities. They looked at the top 100 schools by state to determine the number of student enrollments they received into their annual Talent Search, and Parkside was recognized for this honor. The honor signifies that Parkside has a solid core of very high achieving students.
Congratulations Parkside students, parents and staff!!
For more information about the CTY program and the honorees, please go to www.cty.jhu.edu/ts/topschools/MAtop.html.
January 25, 2010: Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC) is announcing the release of EGC President Doug Hall's long-awaited book!
The Cat and the Toaster: Living System Ministry in a Technological Age is now available! Learn what EGC has been learning about urban ministry. Order the book and check out the new Living System Ministry website.
Learn how you can help fight the genocide in Darfur:
http://blogs.lifechurchboston.org/community/save-darfur/
