Minister Lois Carrigan

Minister of Outreach

Focus & Background: In addition to serving as New Covenant’s Outreach Minister, Lois serves as the President of the Community of St. Dysmas, a Prison Ministry within the Maryland Correctional System. She leads weekly worship services and bible studies at both the men’s and women’s facilities in Jessup. Lois has served in Outreach Ministry within the United Church of Christ for more than three decades and is committed to serving God through outreach.

carriganlois@gmail.com

Professor Benny Russell

Minster of Music

Areas of Focus: Professor Benny Russell is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. An accomplished saxophone and clarinet player, Benny is a graduate of Morgan State University. His professional experience includes playing for R&B groups like The Manhattans and The Four Tops, chair of the jazz divisions of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Maryland Conservatory of Music, performing in off-Broadway shows, and the saxophonist on the Bill Cosby Show and A Different World. An accomplished musician and arranger, “The Professor” is the architect of The New Covenant Ensemble, which combines sacred music with both contemporary and jazz arrangements. Benny also has his own group that performs jazz gigs throughout the state of Maryland. He and his wife Cynthia live in Harford County, where he still teaches music to the very lucky students of Harford Community College.

Assistant Pastor, Rev. Antoinette Sykes

Assistant Pastor

Focus & Background: Reverend Antoinette Gatewood-Sykes is the Assistant Pastor of New Covenant Community United Church of Christ in Baltimore, Maryland and serves under the leadership of her Pastor and friend, Rev. Brian Murray. Along with being the Assistant Pastor, she assists with the leadership of the women’s ministry and is the fellowship’s social media director. She is the only child of Otho and B. Christine Coleman; co-laborer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her husband and best friend, Min. Steven B. Sykes; mother to their beloved daughter, Christine F. Sykes. She is a member of the executive council for Sisters in Ministry (under the leadership of Dr. Leah E. White) and was included in the first group of inductees into the Female Clergy Support Group (under the leadership of Apostle Karen Bethea). Her formal education has culminated in the following: a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies from Hampton University; dual Masters Degrees in Theology and Church Ministries from the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, MD. While attending St. Mary’s, she was awarded the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Study and Practice of Ministry and the Olin P. Moyd Scholarship for African American Students. Currently, she is enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry Program, concentrating on Transformational Leadership, at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Her life Scripture is Luke 1:49, “He who is Mighty has done unto me great things and Holy is His Name”.