REV. DR. RONALD EDWARD PETERS

Ronald Edward Peters is the Henry L. Hillman Associate Professor of Urban Ministry and the first Director of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's Metro-Urban Institute, an interdisciplinary program of religious leadership development for urban society. Prior to joining the faculty of the Seminary, Dr. Peters served as a pastor for over eighteen years.

He teaches courses in the area of Church and Society, the sociology of religion, Christian Education, Black Church history, and Christian ethics. Some of his more popular courses include Church and Society (Local), The Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr., The Church and Economic Development, At-Risk Youth Ministry, Faith and Health in the African Urban Context, and Education for Survival and Success.

He is active with several community organizations in the Greater Pittsburgh region. In 2001, Dr. Peters was appointed Chair of the Allegheny County Human Services Faith-Based Advisory Committee. Also, he serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Allegheny County, the Urban League of Pittsburgh and the Urban League Charter School, the Advisory Committee for WQED (local public broadcasting), the African American Advisory Committee for Pittsburgh Presbytery, and on the Mayor's Commission on Public Education. His' work focuses on urban theological education both nationally and internationally with particular regard to social justice issues. One of his special interests is examining how African faith in God informs the theological heritage of the American church and its role in urban society.

Dr. Peters is an advisor on social witness policy, racial/ethnic ministry, and urban theological education for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). His international experience includes research on the role of religion and the development of urban civil society in Namibia and Botswana as a Fulbright Scholar. He has conducted workshops on urban leadership development in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa and observed urban theological education programs in Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, and the Republic of China. The "parish outside the walls of the church" has always been a primary focus in Dr. Peters' work and writings. He has written and lectured extensively on the role of the church in community ministry. Some of his writings include " Is This New Wine?" (a treatise which challenges Black churches toward greater community ministry), a study series for the Presbyterian Church USA entitled Christians Celebrating Kwanzaa , and and Christian Discipleship (a study of the Gospel of Mark especially designed to address men's issues). Currently, Dr. Peters, along with Marsha Snulligan Haney, is editing a new book scheduled for release in September, 2005 by University Press entitled Africentric Approaches to Christian Ministry . Additionally, he is working on a new textbook to be entitled Defining Urban Ministry scheduled for publication by Abingdon Press in 2006.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Peters received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern University ( Baton Rouge, Louisiana ), the Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary ( Hamilton , Massachusetts ), and his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst . Dr. Peters lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Mary Smith Peters.