Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes will be the guest speaker at the September meeting of Disciples Women’s Ministry at Central Christian Church in Dallas.

Deborah is the Senior Pastor at East Dallas Christian Church.  She is a native Dallasite with many ties to East Dallas.

Deborah graduated from Bryan Adams High School in 1980.  She attended Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth where she received her Bachelor of Science in Education.  After graduation, she spent three years teaching public school at L. G. Pinkston High School in West Dallas.

During her time as teacher, Deborah acknowledged her call to ministry and made her way to Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee where she completed her Masters of Divinity degree. 

Deborah was ordained in 1990 and served at First Christian Church of Waynesboro, Tennessee and at Saguaro Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona.

She began her ministry at East Dallas Christian Church in 2006 and loves her work with the historic “congregation-in-transformation,” and the call that brought her back home to Dallas.

She currently serves on the boards of Lakewood’s Juliette Fowler Communities and Literacy Archives.

Seven years ago, Deborah married Don Stokes.  The union brought together a blended family of four cats. Deborah is an avid reader of fiction and when time permits, she loves to travel.  She especially loves to hike the desert southwest, which she fondly refers as “my heart-home.”

The 2018/19 Disciples Women’s study program topic is “Called for God’s Purpose” and Deborah chose the lesson: Positioned for Purpose, the story of Lydia.

“I chose Lydia because she was a rarity in her time—a woman who was a successful merchant during a period when women rarely had access to economic power,” Deborah said. “She made her money by excreting the color ‘purple’ from shells which she sold to Rome’s elite.”

“As a TCU alum, the color purple is important to me,” Deborah quips. “But not only did Lydia make money—she was generous with her earnings, sharing with the first Christian Church, supporting the apostle Paul,” Deborah said.

The lesson states that because Lydia took time away from the busyness of her life to worship God, she was positioned to hear the gospel, become a believer in Christ, transform her entire household and offer hospitality to Paul and his traveling companions. She was positioned for purpose, just as women can be today.

The Disciples Women of Central are excited to welcome Rev. Stokes as the first speaker in the “Spectacular Fall Line-Up” of exciting programs for the coming year.

Following the presentation, as always, lunch will be served in fellowship hall.  The cost for lunch is $5.00 per person and lunch requires a reservation.  Call the church office at 214-526-7291 or email shelia0806@sbcglobal.net. Central is located at 4711 Westside Dr. between Lemmon Avenue and Mockingbird Lane.

The meetings are open to the public (you do not have to be a member of Central or any church for that matter) and all are welcome.