Rev. Dereca Blackmon, Sr. Minister Candidate

Rev. Dereca Blackmon

Rev. Dereca Blackmon is a licensed minister in the Centers for Spiritual Living where she has dedicated over 25 years of service to the spiritual transformation of the entire planet.

Her sermons, lectures and workshops have provided over 100,000 participants in 20 countries with opportunities to expand their consciousness around issues of inclusion, forgiveness, self-love and radical healing. She has taught the Science of Mind philosophy in a wide variety of settings ranging from teen church to Holmes Insitute. She has delivered over 75 talks at spiritual centers in Oakland, Sacramento, Dallas, Detroit and many others, including serving as the Fall Opening Lecture at Stanford University’s Memorial Church.

Her work is rooted in a tradition of spiritual activism that seamlessly blends spiritual and cultural principles that foster personal and social liberation. Whether her ministry is in juvenile hall or corporate conference rooms, she is committed to providing loving comfort to those facing oppression and “constructive discomfort” to those resting in their societal privilege.

Rev. Dereca served as a lead architect in the effort to organize the Bay Area community response to the murder of Oscar Grant III. After working with the community to mobilize thousands of protestors and holding countless meetings and rallies she began to question the strategy of organizing “against” rather than “for” She entered ministerial school and has never looked back, becoming one of the nation’s leading speakers on spiritual activism.

She served as a nonprofit executive for 20 years, developing nationally-adopted experiential curriculum and raising over $5 million dollars for Bay Area youth. She also served for six years as the Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Diversity and First-Generation Office at her alma mater, Stanford University, where she introduced groundbreaking work allowing participants to engage in deep, authentic and meaningful dialogues.

She currently serves as President and Co-Founder of Inclusion Design Group, where she has consulted with a wide variety of corporate, educational, nonprofit and community-based groups to facilitate “uncommon conversations” on issues of race, gender, class and social justice. She and her team have supported industry leaders, including LinkedIn, Harvard University, YouTube and many others in activating their vision for diversity and inclusion in their organizations and in the world.

She is the mother of four bold and beautiful daughters who she raised in the spiritual principles of New Thought and who continue to be her life’s best teachers.

Meet Candidating Senior Minister Rev. Dereca Blackmon

Candidating Weekend Schedule

Use our Zoom link below for Friday evening’s Q&A Session

Friday April 14Saturday April 15Sunday April 16
6 to 8pm Congregation Meet and Greet and Q&A Session9 to 10:30am Ministers’ Session10:30 to 11:45am Service Talk
11am to 12:30pm Practitioners’ Session1:15 to 3:15pm Workshop (time may adjust slightly)
1 to 2:30pm Board Session

Rev. Dereca’s Candidating Workshop is Titled:

“How To Forgive Anyone”

Sunday April 16, 2023

From 1:15pm to 3:15pm

At the East Bay Church
of Religious Science

Download a PDF Flyer for the Workshop below

How many times have you felt stuck by events of your past?

How long are you willing to hold on to grief and anger that continues to negatively impact the life you live today?

If you are ready to let something go that no longer serves you — this workshop is for you!

This two hour interactive workshop will guide participants through a recognition, realization and release process to manifest the freedom of forgiveness. We will practice meditation, visualization and prayer as well as create personalized tools for you to use after the workshop anytime old or new resentments appear. A brand new life is waiting for you. All you have to do is let go of the old one. Come join us and experience the power of collective liberation.

Let Freedom Ring!

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