J. Lee Hill Jr., was the first Missioner, now Canon, for Racial Justice and Healing for The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, appointed by the XIV Bishop of Virginia. He has served in ministry since 1999, and is an ordained minister with recognized standing in the

Alliance of Baptists The Alliance of Baptists is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The headquarters is in Raleigh, North Carolina. History The Alliance of Baptists was formed in 1987 as the Southern Baptist Alliance by liberal indi ...

and the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximate ...

Education

He attended

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

and graduated from

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was orig ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in integrative studies with a concentration in management and leadership. He earned a Master of Divinity from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

, a Master of Theology from

Columbia Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Geor ...

, and a Doctor of Ministry from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

. He received the

Bill J. Leonard Billy Jim Leonard (born 20 March 1946) is an American historian of religion. Bill Leonard was born on 20 March 1946 in Decatur, Texas to a salesman, Marvin R. Leonard, and his wife Lavelle, who worked as a secretary. After he turned ten, Leonard m ...

Distinguished Service Award Pro Fide et Humanitate for his work and advocacy as a public theologian, and holds diplomas and certificates from Morehouse, Princeton, University of San Diego, and the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. His research interests are in preaching, social justice, contemplative studies, afrofuturism, and emerging models of narrative leadership; he is a doctoral candidate for the PhD in Public Theology and Community Engagement at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...

Career

Hill grew up and was licensed to preach in 1999 at First Baptist Church of Bermuda Hundred in Chester, Virginia. He later served on the ministerial staff of Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he became the first African-American ordained to Christian Ministry through that Alliance/American Baptist congregation in 2005. Before joining the ministerial staff of The Riverside Church in the City of New York in 2007, he was a ministerial intern at Metro Baptist Church in Hells Kitchen, New York, and most recently served as the senior pastor of

Christian Fellowship Congregational Church (UCC) Christian Fellowship Congregational Church (Christian Fellowship UCC) is a United Church of Christ church located in southeast San Diego in the community of Emerald Hills. Since 1963 the church has been situated upon the former Emerald Hills Golf C ...

Personal life

Hill was born in the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, and is the father of two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, J. Lee Jr. Living people African-American Christian clergy American Christian clergy Baptist ministers from the United States Florida A&M University people George Mason University alumni Wake Forest University alumni Clergy from San Diego United Church of Christ United Church of Christ members Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people