Dream Team Line-Up for "A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall" Jesus and Justice Camp

Things are gearing up for this year's Jesus and Justice Camp, "A HardRain is Gonna Fall!", August 12-15, 
6-9pm each day, at the church community center! 643 W. 31st Street. Following are bios of our featured leaders and facilitators. In addition to good food, songs, trust falls, and human knots, expect improvisation exercises, eye-opening stories, and important, life-giving, and challenging conversations. Faith, freedom, justice, struggle, love. Enjoy!

Tuesday: William Schmidt, Waters of Creation: Breathing Beauty into Chaos : And Improv Awesomeness

William Schmidt hails from the northwest side of Chicago (near O'Hare). He attended Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA) where he earned a B.A. in Theater Arts. In 2010, William earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from National-Louis University (Chicago, IL). He has taken improvisation classes at The Second City and IO Theater. William currently teaches language arts, drama, and public speaking at De LaSalle Institute (Lourdes Hall campus). He is a proud member of the Bridgeport community.

Wednesday: Rev. Liz Muñoz, Waters of the Flood: Seeking Abundance in Oblivion

Liz Muñoz was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the working-class Latino neighborhood of Boyle Heights in East L.A. Her parents emigrated from Mexico and bequeathed to their children a strong faith in God’s unconditional love, a duty to community, a commitment to peace and justice and a mischievous sense of humor. Liz attended Princeton University where she received a B.A. in English Literature. She earned credentials in Bilingual General and Special Education, and worked for eighteen years as a teacher for LAUSD in the inner city. In 2002, she left the teaching profession to attend the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, where she received her MDiv. In seminary, she was deeply influenced by liberation theology and its approach to Biblical interpretation.Ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in 2005, she served as Associate Rector at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Hollywood. In 2006, Liz was called as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Hollywood, a multicultural, bilingual parish on the edge of a variety of diverse neighborhoods. In the Diocese of Los Angeles, Liz served on the Program Group on AIDS Ministry and the Program Group on Christian Education and Formation. In addition she collaborated with other priests and lay leaders working in Latino ministry to form the Hispanic Leadership Institute. The aim of the institute was to provide formal training and skills to Latino leaders in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Liz currently serves as Associate Priest at Saint James Cathedral, and vicar at La Iglesia Episcopal de Nuestra Señora de las Américas. Liz is married to 

Dr. Ray Pickett, a Lutheran pastor and New Testament Professor at LSTC. They share their home in 

Little Village with two dogs and two cats that make certain that the Rev and the Prof don’t ever get an exaggerated sense of their importance.

Thursday: Kristina Tendillia, Waters of Deliverance: Following the Liberator / Finding a Way

Kristina Tendilla is a community organizer with SOUL- Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, a senior volunteer staff at Benton House, a founding member of Bridgeport Alliance, and a proud resident of the Bridgeport neighborhood. She is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia and was raised by two hardworking immigrant parents from the Philippines. In high school, she co-authored In Our Aunties’ Words, a community oral history book revealing the journey of 1960s Filipina immigrant women diaspora in her hometown. A queer Filipina American social justice leader, she has worked in public service for a number of Chicago community organizations, including the community activist theater group CIRCA-Pintig; the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), where she was organizing for immigrant rights and strengthening Asian American voter engagement; and Benton House, where she founded programs that 

serve hundreds of low-income and immigrant families. Kristina also represented the Filipino American community in the Mayoral Asian American Advisory Council. In Bridgeport Alliance, she worked with others to push for the closure of the dirty coal-fired Fisk and Crawford power plants, and moved the Chicago Transit Authority and other elected officials to offer more accessible public transportation on Chicago's Southside. Last year, she was honored with the 2013 SOUL (Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation) Leadership Award, and in 2014 with the Illinois Asian Pacific American Leadership Honor. Her current work is centered around ending mass incarceration and stopping the criminalization of the poor and people of color. She continually works to build a multi-racial, inter-faith movement, and is at the forefront of fighting for racial, economic, and environmental justice.

Friday, Professor Bill Host Waters of Baptism: Heirs of the Promise / Servants to All

With 30 years experience as a meeting professional, Bill joined the faculty of Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL in 2001. He was involved in teaching event and hospitality management courses and is responsible for the development of the event planning curriculum at RU. 1979-83, prior to his appointment at RU, he was an independent meeting consultant and also served as the director of meetings and conventions for the Automotive Service Industry Association, an international trade association. In 2006, Bill co-authored a book on Chicago hotel history titled “Early Chicago Hotels” based on his personal collection of over 850 hotel postcards and ephemera.

Awesome Lutheran Stuff: Bill became active in Lutheran Campus Ministry at Kutztown State College in PA, 1969-1974; and served as Secretary on the board of directors of Mid Atlantic Lutheran Student Movement from 1972-1974 .He Graduated from GSC with a BA in Humanities, his concentration in art history, minoring is speech and theater, and African American studies. 1974-1976, Bill served as field staff for the Lutheran Student Movement (LSM-USA). During that time, he traveled two-thirds of the United States via bus to local, private, and public colleges organizing people and planning conferences. 1976-1978 Bill served as Special Assistant for Student Affairs for the Lutheran Council USA, Division of Camps Ministry and Higher Education, and acted as Executive Director of LSM-USA. He was also LSM's representative to World Student Christian Federation, North America. Bill served as youth delegate of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) to the Lutheran World Federation in 1977 in Tanzania, and represented the Lutheran Student Movement, working with student movements in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia. He served as Director for LSM-USA conferences.

1974-1980 Bill was a founding member of Lutherans Concerned for Gay people. He served as a "Johnny Appleseed" of the organization to college campuses in the US. 1980-1982 Bill became administrative assistant to Lutherans Concerned/North America (LCNA), and served as a board member of the Chicago chapter through 1990, serving as Secretary, Co-chair, and at large. In 1999 Bill received a Masters of Science Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Roosevelt University. He is currently the owner of HOST Meetings and Events and Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at RU. Bill was tenured in 2008. Since 2008, Bill has served as a board member for Lutheran Campus Ministries of Illinois. He has served on the board of South Loop Campus Ministry since 2007. He has been a  member of Christ the Mediator, Christ the King in the Loop, and Augustana Lutheran Churches in Chicago.