Pastor Jay became Union’s lead minister in September 2012. He is also a PhD candidate in the Study of Religion at Harvard University. He is writing his dissertation on spirit, ecstasy, and identity in African-American thought at the intersections of class, gender, and sexuality. Currently, he’s writing a paper entitled “Sin, Sexuality, Pseudonymity and the Mis-taken identities of Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé.”

Jay is a leader in the United Methodist Church, having served widely on a number of denominational and ecumenical agencies; he currently serves on the denomination’s Ministry Study Committee. Jay is a preacher and teacher on issues ranging from genocide in Sudan, where he twice traveled to help liberate modern-day slaves. Jay loves to read (which is good, considering he’s a doctoral student) and working out. He is also a Facebook aficionado (not Twitter) and lifelong fan of the 1980s cartoon “Thundercats”, which has changed his life. And although he proudly hails from Buffalo, New York, Jay despises the snow.