Martin Luther King Jr. Day Service at Ben Hill United Methodist Church

Ben Hill United Methodist Church Invites The Public To Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Services Monday, January 16  

The public is invited to share in the annual Ben Hill United Methodist Church Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Services on Monday, January 16 at 10 a.m. Rev. Richard Winn is Senior Pastor of the church located at 2099 Fairburn Road in Southwest Atlanta. In addition to a keynote address by Rev. Aaron L. Parker, PhD, pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church, awards will be presented and a black art show will take place. A reception following the program is also open to the public. 

Honorees include:
PUBLIC SERVICE: Dr. Judy Greenlea Taylor 
MILITARY SERVICE: MAJ Jesse Flanigan 
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: Annie Laura Stephens 
COMMUNITY SERVICES: Jake Curtis OUTSTANDING YOUTH MALE: Phillip Walkins  
OUTSTANDING YOUTH FEMALE: Charmaine Green SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR DEDICATED SERVICES: Helen Carithers and Mae Stafford

Now, with a rapidly growing congregation of over 3,000 members at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Dr. Parker is leading the church to deepen its focus on service to the community through the church’s expansive outreach ministries and its support of the Zion Hill Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization devoted to spiritual, economic, and educational enhancement of those in need. Dr. Parker is the visionary and shepherd of Zion Hill’s “Rock Project,” a $20 million building program to relocate Zion Hill from the historical Southwest Atlanta community to a 43.5 acre site in South Fulton County at 6175 Campbellton Road.

In addition to serving as Pastor of Zion Hill, Dr. Parker is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Morehouse College, where he has spent over 30 years molding and shaping daring youth into Morehouse Men. He is the author of several articles including “African Religion in African American Religion,” “Revisiting the Concept of God in Light of the Thought of Henry Highland Garnet,” “The Joy of Molding Morehouse Men,” and “The African American Church: Major Role Player in the African American Struggle for Freedom.”

Prior to accepting the pastorate of Zion Hill, Dr. Parker served as Pastor of Butler Street Baptist Church, Adjunct Professor of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center, and Assistant to the Pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church. Doctor Parker is a member of the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta, the Society for the Study of Black Religion, the American Academy of Religion, the Advisory Board of Capitol City Bank, among other leadership positions.

He received the Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Philosophy and Religion at Morehouse College and was  inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. He earned  the Master of Arts Degree in Religion and the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Systematic Theology at Emory University..

 Dr, Parker is married to Shelia Smith Parker and they are the parents of two children, Aaron Larry Parker, Jr. and Asha Liana Parker.

Reverend Richard D. Winn, Sr.,  Senior Pastor of Ben Hill United Methodist Church was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  He received a B.A. in Sociology from Southern Illinois University. In 1976, Reverend Winn received the Master of Divinity from the Gammon Theological Seminary.

Reverend Winn’s practical approach to ministry began as he served the Maple Park United Methodist Church in Chicago, Illinois. In 1979, Bishop William Cannon invited Reverend Winn to serve in the North Georgia Conference. Since the transfer, he served the Bowen United Methodist Church, Clifton United Methodist Church, Hoosier Memorial United Methodist Church and Warren Memorial United Methodist Church.

Over the years Pastor Winn has served on the Committee of Episcopacy in the North Georgia Conference, Chairperson of the District Committee on Superintendency, Atlanta-College Park District, Secretary to the North Georgia Conference for over 25 years and Secretary of Religion and Race.

Rev. Winn is married to the former Vernita K. Dixon, a graduate of the University of Chicago and presently a social worker in the Atlanta Public School System. Their son Richard, Jr. is an Atlanta Public School teacher.