Moving People of Faith from the Pulpit and Pew to the Pavement
Moving People of Faith from the Pulpit and Pew to the Pavement
Team Biographies
Team Biographies
Minister Cheryl L. Cook, Founder & Chief Servant
Rev. Cheryl Cook-Posley accepted her call to ministerial preparation in 2004. Dr. Cook served as an associate minister at First Mount Olive Baptist Church [FMOBC] in Leesburg, Virginia. Prior to serving at FMOBC, she served and developed spiritually as a lay leader at the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia under the tutelage of her parents Rev. Dr. Wallace Jeffery Cook, Pastor Emeritus and Rev. Dr. Martha Louise Charles Cook.
Rev. Cook-Posley has over Twenty-five years of experience supporting vulnerable populations achieve self-sufficiency; forgotten communities build capacity, and governance re-evaluate policy to be more supportive to those with the greatest need.is considered a national expert in Youth and Family Policy, Poverty, Social Justice, and Performance Measurement. In 2010, Minister Cook founded Hamlets of Hope to serve as a Christian framework for doing ministry and a collaborative Community of Ministerial Practice [COMP] for pastors, ministers, lay people and community committed to creating Beloved Shalom Communities throughout the world.
Educationally, Cheryl received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, a Masters degree in Public Policy & Administration from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and a Master of Divinity from Howard University's School of Divinity in Washington, DC. In 2009, she was awarded the Vernon Johns Preaching Prize at Howard University-School of Divinity's Honors Day ceremony. This award is given to the student whose preaching exemplifies the prophetic passion of Rev. Vernon Johns and his commitment to social justice.In May 2013, she earned a Doctorate in Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.
Dr. C. Cook-Posley resides in Ashburn, Virginia with her beloved husband and life partner of 2 years, Andre Pierre Posley. Together, the newleyweds serve the broken, invisible and silenced who reside in the shadows of the DMV.
Currently she works as an Independent Consultant for various non-profits, private firms and government agencies. Cheryl is a Matthew 25 & 28 Disciple who is committed to Living, Proclaiming, Serving, and Being the Word to the "Least, the Lost, the Disinherited and the Silenced" in order to create The Beloved-Shalom Community for all people throughout the world.
Presently serving as interim Co-Pastors at Guildfield Baptist Church in Midlothian, Virginia. Collectively the Cook's have been in ministry for over 50 years. Dr. Wallace J. Cook is Pastor Emeritus of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia where he served as pastor for thirty years. Rev. Dr. Martha Cook served alongside her husband as the Minister of Church Growth and Membership Development. Dr. Wallace received his Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University, a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Howard University, a Master of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary [now Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School] and a Doctor of Ministry from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Martha is a retired educator from Richmond Public Schools and received her Bachelor of Science from Wiley College in Marshall Texas, a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology. The Cook's have been married 54 years and are the parents of three adult children. Working with Hamlets of Hope affords them the opportunity to work with diverse groups of people, faith institutions and pastors who desire to 'be' and 'do' God in community and throughout the world. Though retired, God has seen fit to use their expertise as seasoned educators, ministers, lecturers, counselors and pastors to mentor, teach, preach, shepherd and develop thinking and serving people of God!