Keynote Speaker

Carol Howard Merritt, a pioneer in the effort of many denominations to revitalize their congregations by finding concrete ways to attract young adults in their 20s and 30s, was the keynote speaker at the 2011 Vineyard Guild annual retreat.

Merritt is the author of Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation (Alban, 2010) and Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation (Alban, 2007). In Reframing Hope, she begins with the "understanding that we are not creating from nothing the vital ministry of the next generation. Instead, we are working through what we have, sorting out the best parts, acknowledging and healing from the worst, and reframing it all."

Tribal Church, one of Christian Century's Top Ten Practical Theology Books of 2008, is described on the Tribal Church website as using "the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys. Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded."

Carol is a pastor of Western Presbyterian Church, an intergenerational congregation in Washington, D.C. that is deeply committed to serving the poor in the city. It has helped to initiate programs like Miriam's Kitchen, a social service program for the homeless that provides a hot, nutritious breakfast and dinner for over 200 men and women; Project Create, which teaches art to children in transitional housing; and HIPS, which stands for Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive.

She is also the co-host of God Complex Radio with Landon Whitsitt, and she blogs for the Huffington Post.

back to top