Food For Thought: Faith Communities Creating Affordable Housing

Join Mecklenburg County's Faith leaders share their experiences in creating affordable housing for our Charlotte neighbors.

Bobbi Hague

Bobbi is the eldest of three children born to the late Geraldine and Herman Hague, Sr.  She was educated in the Maryland School system including Morgan State University where she majored in English.

Her career in the Information Technology field led her to work for large companies like Exxon, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maryland, the Marriott Corporation and United Van Lines.

She moved to Charlotte in March of 1990 and secured an IT position with First Union National Bank (later Wachovia, now Wells Fargo) where she was employed for over 19 years.

Bobbi's involvements include: the Boys Scouts (over 25 years); Former Secretary for the Police Advisory Council of the Adam Three District in Charlotte; Former President of the Concord-Logan Optimist Club in Concord, NC; Currently with the Carolina Cardinals Optimist Club and the Governor for the North Carolina West District of Optimist International. Former Secretary and County Party Chairperson of the Cabarrus County Democratic Party. 

She resides in Kannapolis, but her church is Greater Bethel AME Church on The Plaza in East Charlotte where her Pastor is Dr. Abdue Knox. She has been involved with MeckMIN for over 20 years. 

She has 13 grandchildren and 13 great grands.

Bobbi currently works to find money for youth to attend college and grants for non-profits.

Dr. Robert W. Henderson

("Bob") is senior minister and head of staff of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Furman University (BA, economics and religion, 1984), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1989), and Columbia Theological Seminary (D.Min., 1996). Bob has served congregations in Stone Mountain, GA, and Greensboro, NC. Since joining Covenant Presbyterian in 2008, Bob has led endeavors to create and lead dynamic worship faithful to Reformed Theology. In 2017, Charlotte Magazine selected Bob as "Charlottean of the Year" for his leadership creating affordable housing in Charlotte. Bob is married to Dr. Suzanne W. Henderson, Professor of Religion and Dean of the Belk Chapel at Queens University. Bob and Suzanne have two daughters, Hannah and Abbie, and a son, Will.

Rev. John Cleghorn

Rev. Cleghorn is Pastor of Caldwell Presbyterian Church in the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte, a diverse, missional and justice-focused congregation dating back to 1912.

He earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Union Presbyterian Seminary-Charlotte and later a Doctorate in Ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Before entering ministry in 2008, he held executive roles at Bank of America, including head of Corporate Affairs for Consumer, Commercial and Small Business Banking, Director of Issues Management and Chief Speechwriter.

In his first career, John was a reporter for The Charlotte Observer. His first book, Resurrecting Church: Where Justice and Diversity Meet Radical Welcome and Healing Hope, was published by Fortress Press in 2021. 

He is married and has two adult daughters.

Rev. Dr. Peter M. Wherry 

A 43-year veteran pastor, community leader, social activist and scholar. Senior Pastor of the Mayfield Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC since January 2007. Through his work as Founding Moderator of the United Missionary Baptist Association, Dr. Wherry provided leadership to 70 mostly Baptist churches in Charlotte and its surrounding counties, having a constituency of over 40,000 persons. He is one of the pioneer foot soldiers of the ForwardTogether Moral Movement, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. William Barber, having been among the first two groups of people who submitted themselves for arrest while petitioning the North Carolina General Assembly for

economic, and social justice, including the fight against voter suppression. Dr. Wherryhas preached from cost-to-cost in the U.S, and internationally in Greece, Haiti, El Salvador, South Africa, Burundi and Zambia. Dr. Wherry is the author of a number of published works as well as other articles and scholarly papers. Along with his wife, Dr. Wanda H. Wherry, he co-wrote a unique devotional book, ADoor of Hope: A Devotional with Sermons and Songs of Hope. This first-of-its-kind book included a CD ofmusic, produced by Dr. Wherry and sung by Dr. Wanda. He collaborated with Dr. Rodney S. Sadler, Jr. (Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte) and Dr. William Turner (Duke University) in writing The ForwardTogether Lectionary (Attribution, p.3) for the NCNAACP. It is a unique resource to assist preachers in the task of incorporating Social Justice into the pulpit ministries of houses of faith. His latest book, publishedby Judson Press, is entitled Preaching Funerals in the Black Church: Bringing Perspective to Pain, Dr. Wherry has been happily married for 41 years to Dr. Wanda H. Wherry. The Wherrys are the grateful parents of two adult children Justin (Amy) and Bethany and the excited grandparents of three (Amari, Amaya and Michael).

Rev. Dr. Dwayne Anthony Walker 

Rev. Dr. Walker was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He moved later with his family to Chicago, Illinois, where he received his early education in the Chicago Public Schools. He is a graduate of Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina where he received the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. After accepting the call to preach, he enrolled at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. where he received the Master of Divinity Degree in 1989.

In 2004, Dr. Walker received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C. 

In September 2005, Bishop George W.C. Walker, Sr., Piedmont Episcopal District, appointed him as pastor of Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dr. Walker currently serves as a member of The Board of Trustees of Livingstone College, The Board of Dorothy Walls Conference and Retreat Center, member of The Black Political Caucus, The NAACP, and Chairman of the Little Rock Community Development Corporation, former member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission and the Community Relations Committee.

Dr. Walker is the son of Retired Bishop and Mrs. George W.C. Walker, Sr. He was married to the late Geneva T. Moore Walker, who God welcomed home in July 2012. He is the proud father of four beautiful daughters: DeAndra, Dana, Daivene and Deborah. Dr. Walker has one grandson Dylan Amir, and one granddaughter, Meliya Geneva.

Eddy Capote 

Eddy is an IT Professional working for an International Manufacturing Organization based in the Charlotte area.  He earned his Master's Degree in International Business from the University of Miami.  A native South Floridian, Eddy moved to Charlotte in 2012.  He is a member and elder at Caldwell Presbyterian Church where he has led a variety of ambitious efforts.  He is passionate about providing affordable housing solutions to marginalized communities. Currently, he is the co-chair of Easter's HOME at Caldwell, a 21-unit affordable housing project located on Caldwell's campus. A father to two adult children, Eddy enjoys traveling to unique destinations as often as possible.

*Given the continued presence of Covid-19 in our community and our desire to protect one another, this will be a virtual event.

MeckMIN promotes interfaith collaboration to foster understanding, compassion and justice. We envision a community that lives by the highest values and core virtues of its rich faith traditions and respects the dignity of every person. We live out these values by bringing together people from different faith perspectives and promoting congregational engagement through dialogue and fellowship. 

 

CLICK HERE to register.  Please feel free to contact LeDayne Mcleese Polaski, Executive Director of MeckMIN, with any additional questions.