2021 AC Speaker Bios
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling is the episcopal leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and the Peninsula-Delaware Conference. She presides over the Annual Conference sessions and will preach at the Opening Worship Service Monday evening.
Bishop Easterling was elected to the episcopacy in 2016. Prior to becoming a bishop, she served as a district superintendent and a pastor in Boston, Mass.
A preacher, poet, teacher, spiritual leader, and fierce advocate for justice and social change, she is celebrated nation-wide for her work in creating Beloved Community; and offers a respected, inspiring, and sometimes challenging voice for change to ensure the wellbeing, and dignity of all people.
A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Bishop Easterling is a strong proponent of education. She graduated from law school and served as a human resources manager and prosecuting attorney before receiving a Master of Divinity form Boston University School of Theology. In 2020, she was named a Distinguished Alumna of that school for her leadership in The United Methodist Church.
She is married to the Rev. Marion Easterling, pastor of Locust UMC in Columbia. They have two adult sons.
The Right Rev. Marianne Edgar Budde
The Right Rev. Marianne Edgar Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, will preach at the Service of Ordination and Commissioning. Budde serves as spiritual leader for 88 Episcopal congregations and 10 Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. The first woman elected to this position, she also serves as the chair and president of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.
Bishop Budde was consecrated as the ninth bishop of Washington in November 2011, and served as Interim Dean of Washington National Cathedral from 2016-2017. Prior to her election, she served for 18 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.
She earned a B.A. in history at the University of Rochester, and both a Masters in Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary. Her sermons have been published in several books and journals and she is the author of two books, Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love and Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice.
Bishop Budde and her husband, Paul, have two adult sons.
Rev. HiRho Park
Rev. HiRho Park will preach at the Memorial Service of Remembrance.
She is the senior pastor of Bethesda UMC in Bethesda. Prior to that she served as vice president of International Relations and Advancement at Huree University, the only Methodist-related school in Mongolia and for 15 years as the executive director of Professional Development with the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry.
Park is the author of several books, including “Develop Intercultural Competence: How to Lead Cross-Racial and Cross-Cultural Churches.” She has a global reputation for her outstanding work in creating diversity, equality and inclusion. She holds a D. Min from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington and is an International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach.
Born and raised in Korea, she is married to the Rev. J.W. Park, pastor of St. Matthews UMC in Bowie. They have one grown daughter.
Throughout the denomination, she is known for her intelligence, compassion, faithfulness and the ability to connect people, institutions and ideas in ways that bring about hope and transformation.
David C. Teel
David C. Teel is the featured speaker at the Laity Session. The denomination’s Director of Laity and Spiritual Leadership, he is a writer, editor, and Christian educator in Nashville, Tenn. A graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, Teel served United Methodist churches for 15 years before joining Abingdon Press as the Covenant Bible Study project manager and senior academic book editor. Teel also served on the board of the Vanderbilt Wesley Foundation.
Enthusiastic about creatively equipping lay leaders for engaged ministry within and beyond the local church, Teel is driven by a passion for intentional and relational discipleship. His vocation as a Christian educator is expressed in a longing to help all people connect with sacred power by interpreting the significance of faith for everyday life. A fan of the Tennessee Titans, eclectic Spotify playlists, and indie filmmaking, he is married to Alecia Krisle Teel and has two daughters, Anastasia and Eliana.
Delilah Parham and Gregory Parham
Delilah Parham and Gregory Parham will give this year’s Laity Address. They have been members of Queens Chapel UMC in Beltsville for 38 years and are both are Certified Lay Ministers. They currently serve as co-directors of Lay Servant Ministries in the Washington East District.
Gregory is a native of Ohio and holds degrees from The Ohio State University (OSU) and Johns Hopkins University. Delilah is a native of North Carolina and holds degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and OSU. They met in graduate school at OSU, where they both trained as veterinarians. Both of them spent the majority of their professional careers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gregory’s favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Delilah’s favorite Bible verse is Psalm 103:1-2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” They have been married since 1978 and are the proud parents of two adult children, Philip and John Parham, and the proud grandparents of one grandson, Isaac.