Edward Davis (Conference Minister, Class of 2023)
Rev. Dr. Edward Smith Davisserves as the Conference Minister for the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ, covering the state of North Carolina and Eastern Virginia. He previously served as Interim Associate Conference Minister of the Illinois Conference of the UCC. He was Senior Pastor of St. Mark UCC in Chicago Heights, where he was the first African American pastor in the church’s 50-year history. He was Chaplain for the Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department.
Rev. Davis holds a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary and received his Doctor of Ministry degree in “Collaborative Leadership” from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a MBA in Finance and Economics from Roosevelt University in Chicago and two Bachelor degrees in Business Administration. He received his Executive Education in Leadership from North Western University. He is a certified nonprofit manager. Also, a member of the National MBA Association of America, the National Black MBA Association, and the Man-Kind Project International.
Rev. Davis has served on the Board of Directors of the United Church Fund, the Board of Directors of the UCC, as co-chair of the Board of Directors of Global Ministries, the Board of Elon Homes and Schools and the Community Renewal Society of Chicago. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Lancaster Theological Seminary.
Dr. Dow Edgerton, former Dean of the Chicago Theological Seminary describes Rev. Davis as one who’s “humility and gentleness makes him a gift to our church and society.”