JOSEPH W.DANIELS, JR.

Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. Senior Pastor of Emory United Methodist Church has served in this capacity for the past 13 years.  During his leadership at Emory, the church has been awarded the "Kim Jefferson Northeast Jurisdictional Award" for effective urban ministry representing the United Methodist Church and has been selected as one of the 25 initiative churches in the "Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century" effort of the United Methodist Church.  In addition, the Emory congregation has grown from an average of 70 people in weekly worship attendance to over 300 every Sunday.

Pastor Daniels holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary(2000) in Washington, D.C.  He is also a 1991 graduate of the Howard University School of Divinity, and has earned Bachelor and Master degrees in the areas of Public Communication, Psychology, and Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University(1982,1984), also in Washington, D.C.  He is very active in community affairs, serving as a Co-chair of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) as well as on the Board of Directors of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington.  He also teaches at Wesley Theological Seminary in the Urban Ministry and Practice of Ministry and Missions programs.

For the past five years, Pastor Daniels has served as a delegate in mission service to churches in Zimbabwe and South Africa, providing training for pastors and laity in the area of community development.  Instructing groups on establishing neighborhood "Communities of Shalom,"  Pastor Daniels' commitment to a spirit of "peace on earth" is not confined to the "Brightwood Community," the city of Washington DC, or the United States of America.  He fully believes that there can be healthy, wholesome, economically stable families and communities all over the world.

Pastor Daniels has been happily married to his wife Madelyn for the past eighteen (20) years.  They are the proud parents of two children ages 17 and 15.