Rallies

Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson joined Acadia Divinity College as Associate Professor in the John Gladstone Chair of Preaching and Worship and Dean of the Sarah Daley Nickerson Chapel effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Jefferson brings academic, pastoral, and public ministry experience that reflects a powerful voice for contemporary proclamation and theological formation. He has served at Alfred Street Baptist Church (Alexandria, VA), Friendship Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), and House of Hope Atlanta. A dynamic homiletician, educator, and church leader, Dr. Jefferson most recently served on the faculty of Virginia Theological Seminary, developing innovative courses in prophetic proclamation, homiletics, and leadership formation. He has also taught at Howard University School of Divinity, Sewanee School of Theology, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and Candler School of Theology.

An alumnus of Norfolk State University (B.A.), Candler School of Theology (M.Div.), and Emory University (Ph.D.), his work explores the confluence of race, class, technology, contemporary cultural expressions and preaching. His forthcoming book, I, Too, Preach America: Race, Class, and the Future of Christian Proclamation (Wipf & Stock, 2025) reexamines Black preaching through the perspectives of the Hip-Hop emcee and the folk preacher. His next project, The Algorithm and the Anointing: Proclamation at the Edge of Surveillance and Spirit investigates the theological ramifications of preaching in an era dominated by digital algorithms. He is also interested in the rich history and preaching traditions of Black Nova Scotians.

Dr. Jefferson has preached around the globe—in South Africa, Israel, the Caribbean, and throughout the United States. He has appeared on prominent platforms, including the Washington National Cathedral and the Festival of Homiletics. A member of the Academy of Homiletics and the American Academy of Religion, he is also the Bicentennial Preacher at Virginia Theological Seminary and a member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.

In addition to his teaching and preaching, Dr. Jefferson has contributed to several national initiatives, such as the Lilly Endowment-funded Deep Calls to Deep preaching program. He also initiated a global preaching project to make homiletic training accessible to emerging, bivocational, and lay preachers.

Whether in pulpits, classrooms, or digital platforms, Dr. Jefferson brings a theologically rigorous and culturally resonant vision for Gospel witness. He lives with his wife Chanel, and their daughter Ella.

Rev. Renée MacVicar ran into God’s grace as a young adult and continues to be changed by that grace every day. Renée has a passion to see everyone join God in their neighbourhoods. She truly believes God is transforming our world one person and one neighbourhood at a time. Renée currently serves as the Executive Minister for the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada, a family of over 400 churches seeking to overflow with the hope of Jesus across Atlantic Canada. Renée has previously served in churches in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Scotland. She has a degree in Kinesiology from the West Coast (Simon Fraser University) and theological degrees from the East Coast (Acadia Divinity College.) Renée enjoys hiking, running and board games. Renée lives with her family – Joe, Emma, and Isabell – in Salisbury, NB.