wfn.org | White elected Exec. Minister of UCC's Wider Church Ministries

[powellb@ucc.org]

United Church of Christ
General Synod Newsroom
July 14, 2003
newsroom@ucc.org
http://www.ucc.org

By Micki Carter

      MINNEAPOLIS -- Olivia Masih White, a seasoned national and
international church volunteer, was  elected today (July 14) by the United
Church of Christ General Synod 24 to be Executive Minister of Wider Church
Ministries and a member of the UCC's five-member Collegium of Officers.
      She will succeed Dale Bishop, who decided not to run for a second
term after one successful term in office. White's four-year term begins
Oct. 1. UCC officers may serve for up to three four-year terms.
      White, 65, will retire from her position as an assistant professor of
biology and genetics at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, to
move to Cleveland, where the national offices of the UCC is located, with
her husband, Terry, also retired.
      "My personal hope is to see the vision of the UCC come to fruition,"
she says. "I hope that I will be able to bridge gaps and help people
communicate with one another so that we may indeed all be one."
      Olivia White was born in India as a third-generation Christian and is
fluent in both English and Hindi. Besides two bachelors degrees (in
education and biology) from Jabalpur University in India, she has earned
masters degrees in religious education from Perkins School of Theology in
Dallas and in biology from the University of North Texas, where she also
earned her Ph.D.
      As a member of Central Congregational UCC in Dallas, she has taught
Sunday school, played in the handbell choir, was president of the women's
fellowship and has served on the board of trustees, the board of deacons
and the board of mission. She also was active in the Greater Dallas
Community of Churches, the Dallas Family Gateway (a family shelter) and
Church Women United.
      White also has served on the boards of Back Bay Mission in Biloxi,
Miss., the UCC Coordinating Center for Women, the UCC Office for Church in
Society, and the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. She chaired
the Homeland Board's Division of Education and Publication, served as
vice-chair of the executive committee, and served on its Science and
Technology Task Force.
      She currently serves as vice-chair of the Justice and Witness
Ministries Board of Directors, on the Committee on Form, Frequency and
Function of General Synod, on the Board of Trustees of UCC-related
Huston-Tillotson College and the Board of Directors of UCC-related Eden
Seminary.
      She was a member of the National Council of Churches' Exploratory
Commission on Human Genetic Technology and is currently in the middle of a
seven-year term on the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) where she
serves as vice-president and moderator of the Department of Partnership of
Women and Men. As a WARC officer, she has traveled to countries from
Australia to Zambia, including Cuba, Czech Republic, Hungary, Indonesia,
Iraq, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico and Togo.
      "I'm grateful that I have been able to meet with church leaders in
many different countries," she says. "This gives me the experience and
outlook that I hope will be helpful to the UCC's global perspective."
      "I am really passionate about the UCC and very committed to its
ministry," she adds. "This position will give me the opportunity to devote
full time to this work, instead of all the volunteering I have done over
the years."
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For further information on the UCC or General Synod, please visit
www.UCC.org.