Sherry Cothran

Rev. Sherry Cothran, M.Div., has served as senior pastor in United Methodist congregations in Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, for a decade. Formerly a recording artist on Mercury Records, she is an award-winning singer/songwriter and author of two books. Sherry has released four solo CD's, her music has been featured in t.v. and film. She's shared stages with hit rock acts such as Goo Goo Dolls, Bare Naked Ladies, Spin Doctors and toured around the world as the lead singer of a popular rock band, The Evinrudes, before entering seminary and becoming an ordained, United Methodist minister. As a pastor of a multi-cultural, urban church, Sherry began to share stories on her blog of everyday sacred encounters with those who were labeled "refugee," "immigrant" and "homeless." She later shared them in a book that became beloved by readers, "Tending Angels: Stories From the Frontlines of Heaven and Earth." In this project, she began her unique combination of songs and stories and worked with award-winning indie film maker, Traci Facelli, on a music video, "Tending Angels." The video has been featured in film festivals in the U.S. and Italy and seeks to, in Sherry's words, "put a sacred face on homelessness." Sherry's writing has been featured in publications such as Abingdon Women, Interpreter Magazine and Ministry Matters. She was also a regular contributor to the homiletics journal, "Good Preacher". She was the artist in residence in 2015 at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and received two grants to develop her creative writing from the Louisville Institute for Pastoral Study. Her story has been featured in various publications including USA Today. Recently, she became the founder and president of the nonprofit, Beloved Woman, a ministry that helps women who are financially disadvantaged to become self-employed or find a pathway to a living wage. She tours regularly, performing, speaking and leading workshops.