Throughout the month of February, distinguished Martin University Alums will be spotlighted providing us with an opportunity to honor these great individuals by learning more about their lives and their contributions to black history.
Rev. Dr. Elaine P. Gordon is the Presiding Elder of the Sacred Soaring South District Indiana Conference African Methodist Episcopal Church. As a member of the 1993 class of Martin University, Rev. Dr. Gordon began her history-making moments by being a part of the first graduate class of Martin's Religious Studies program and the only female.
In 1992 she became the first woman to preach services for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in Anderson, Indiana, and the first woman to pastor a Class A Church in the Illinois Annual Conference in 2011. At the age of 74, she is now the oldest member of her doctoral cohort, Payne Theological Seminary 2018-2021.
When asked about her take on the importance of making history today, Rev. Dr. Gordon said, "Good leadership is grounded in focused energy and effort in educating, empowering, edifying others, and finding satisfaction in watching those you pour into, pour out into the world."