Staff
Amy Gopp
Executive Director
Week of Compassion
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Email Amy
317.713.2450
The Rev. Amy Gopp responds to her calling to the work of Christ by serving as a global activist and peacemaker—one who through dynamic preaching and creative teaching urges God’s people to engage in compassionate service that imbues hope and empowerment for all.
An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Gopp currently serves as the Executive Director for Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee, and development ministry fund of the Disciples church. On behalf of its network of more than 3,200 congregations worldwide, Week of Compassion distributes annually more than $2.5 million toward global sustainable development and humanitarian relief.
Gopp spent her formative years in Kent, Ohio. Nurtured by First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and inspired by Camp Christian, a youth-oriented, spiritual development program of the Disciples’ Ohio region, Amy discovered readily her calling to Christian ministry. Her movement toward church work was boosted after Amy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations at the American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. (1994). Commissioned as a missionary in 1995, Gopp moved from the States to the war-torn former Yugoslavia as a volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee and Global Ministries. For four years Gopp lived in Croatia and Bosnia serving as a peace activist aiming to relieve refugee concerns; to promote interfaith dialogue; and to provide education toward conflict resolution. Additionally, Gopp coordinated the award-winning Pontanima, an inter-religious choir based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. For more than a dozen years, the choir has been acclaimed as an innovative peacemaking project, a shining ambassador of reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and a major contributor to the cultural life of the region.
Influenced by her experiences in the Bosnian and Croatian war zones, Gopp pursued and completed in 1998 a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution at Antioch University. She subsequently served for four years as the Intern Coordinator for the Disciples Peace Fellowship of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). DPF promotes peace and justice matters by providing educational resources and opportunities to congregations and youth camps toward increased global awareness. It was during this season that Gopp also served on the Week of Compassion’s advisory committee.
Gopp’s academic pursuits were once again influenced by her experiences as a witness to human suffering when she enrolled at the renowned Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. As a graduate student, Gopp served as associate minister for outreach ministries at Manhattan’s Park Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and she worked as a United Nations liaison for Wider Church Ministries, a common ministry of the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ. Her work led Gopp to co-found the Poverty Initiative, a program equipping religious leaders to overcome oppressive economic structures that contribute to poverty in America. The program’s work continues today, supported by the Seminary. Gopp graduated in 2005 with her Master of Divinity from Union and was ordained as a Disciples of Christ minister that same year.
When she finds a precious free moment—Rev. Gopp loves to read poetry, write, sing, cook and spend time with her nieces and nephew.
Brandon Gilvin
Associate Director
Email Brandon
317.835.1275
Brandon studied Religious Studies and Creative Writing at Hiram College in Hiram, OH, and received his Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University in 2002. In both his undergraduate and graduate work, he sought to find intersection points between human creativity, a life of faith, and working for justice. In doing so, Brandon found passions for innovative, imaginative ministry and working to ask (and occasionally answer) difficult questions about globalization, human rights, and engagement with grassroots issues. While a student at Vanderbilt, Brandon interned at the Quaker Peace Centre in Cape Town, South Africa as a Peace Educator, an experience that further helped him develop his sense of vocation. Following graduation, Brandon served as a Pastoral Resident at Central Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. While there, he was deeply involved in the life of the church - teaching, leading worship, providing pastoral care and developing programs. In 2004, he returned to Africa through Global Ministries, serving the All Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya, as the Programme Executive for Communication, leading communication efforts for the network of more than 190 churches, denominations and ecumenical councils. He then served a year as the North American Regional Secretary of the World Student Christian Foundation in Toronto, Ontario, where he worked with students interested in faith-based social activism.
Brandon joins Week of Compassion after serving for two years as the Associate Pastor at Saint Andrew Christian Church in Olathe, KS, where he focused on adult education, social justice programming, and mission.
Brandon is also the author of Solving the Da Vinci Code Mystery, co-author ofWisdom from The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is co-editor, with Christian Piatt, of the WTF? (Where’s the Faith?) series, which will be available in 2010 from Chalice Press.
Elaine Cleveland
Administrative Assistant
Email Elaine
317.713.2442
(Fax) 317.713.2588
Elaine Cleveland has been Administrative Assistant for Week of Compassion since February 2002. She has a B.A. in Theology and English from Hanover College and an MSW from Indiana University. Elaine and her husband Stan are members of Allisonville Christian Church in Indianapolis. They have a son, Tyler, age 25, and also a dog named Bistro. Elaine enjoys reading, music, sports, solving sudoku puzzles, and spending time with friends and family.
Stephen Moseley
Communications
Email Stephen
Stephen Moseley is owner of four28 and the co-founder and vice president of Cool People Care, Inc.
As a communications consultant and design professional focusing on the work of nonprofits, Stephen has worked to build brands through meaningful connections while empowering hard-working organizations to control their message and mission through the creative and efficient use of technology.
Stephen is married to Malinda and they have two amazing children, Kyla who is four and Quinn the newborn. They are members at Vine Street Christian Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
