Thoughtful meditations that help us apply God’s word to daily life.
Mary Lou Redding serves as managing editor of The Upper Room daily devotional guide, published in 64 editions and 44 languages. She has written numerous magazine articles and is the former president of the Associated Church Press.
2005: Amy Oden is Professor of History of Christianity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. She is the author of In Her Words: Women's Writings in the History of Christian Thought and And You Welcomed Me: Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity, both published by Abingdon Press.
Jan L. Richardson is a United Methodist minister, an author, and artist-in-residence at the San Pedro Spiritual Development Center in Orlando, FL. She served as coordinator of Women's Spirituality Groups at Candler School of Theology for two years.
Rev. Dr. Safiyah Fosua has roots in both Kansas and Oklahoma. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University of Evanston, Illinois; a Master of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary of Dayton, Ohio, in Afrocentric Pastoring and Preaching.
Safiyah writes weekly lectionary-based preaching helps and articles for the General Board of Discipleship’s worship web page and has written for Upper Room publications, Cokesbury’s Daily Bible Study, Urban Ministries, Inc., and contributed to the Women of Color Study Bible. Among her published works are Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women (1996), Jesus and Prayer (2002), and a tract titled Learning New Habits (2005). Safiyah also served as the associate editor of the Africana Worship Book, series (2006-2008) and the Companion to the Africana Worship Book (2008). Currently, Safiyah is a member of the Africana Hymnal Study Committee for the United Methodist Church and a writing coach for GBOD’s Open Source Liturgy Project empowering writers to produce ecumenically-grounded contextual, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic liturgies for use in local church worship.
Dr. Fosua is a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. Her pastoral experience includes ministry in the large downtown church, the unique ministry of the rural circuit, and the ministry challenges of the small inner-city congregation. Safiyah Fosua is married to Rev. Dr. Kwasi I. Kena. Prior to her current appointment as Director of Preaching Ministries for the General Board of Discipleship, Safiyah and her husband, Kwasi, spent a number of years as missionaries in Ghana, West Africa. The couple has two adult sons, and two grandchildren.
Lynne Deming has served as the Executive Director, Editorial Units division of the Upper Room, General Board of Discipleship, United Methodist Church.
