Calvary Baptist Church is excited to welcome Elijah R. Zehyoue back as full-time Pastoral Resident at Calvary for another year, extending and building on his ministry which began here in 2014. Pastor Zehyoue was ordained at Calvary during his earlier stint as Pastoral Resident and he subsequently took a position as Director of Programs and Communications at the New Baptist Covenant.

Throughout the changes, Elijah continued to be active at Calvary–preaching and organizing programs on racial justice and human rights, and leading Theology on Draft. His stewardship of Theology on Draft reinvigorated the weekly evening discussion program and has attracted a growing number of young adults to Calvary.

Over the next twelve months, Elijah will support the work of Pastors Sally and Maria and share responsibilities for preaching in rotation, spiritual formation, and pastoral care. His particular focus will be on youth and young adult activities, developing deeper community engagement and social justice advocacy around racial justice and immigration, and developing liturgical experiences drawn from the richness of the black church tradition.

Having fled from Liberia with his family as a young child to emigrate to the US, Elijah describes himself as living in the world as West African, Black and American, and this experience helps him understand the many wounds people carry. His vision is to work through the church to heal those wounds and build bridges in our shared work for justice.