Ianther Mills photo, 2022-06-22
Scope and Contents
D.C. Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) is a citywide initiative to train community members in oral history skills, fund new and ongoing oral history projects, connect volunteers with oral history projects, and publicize existing oral history collections. DCOHC is a project of DC Public Library, HumanitiesDC, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. This collection contains oral history interviews, transcripts, and indexes produced by DCOHC grantees.
Dates
- Creation: 2022-06-22
Creator
- Banks, Adelle (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, a United Methodist minister for 25 years, was born in Washington and spent her earlier childhood years in Southern Maryland before moving to the District of Columbia when she was in third grade. After attending D.C. public schools, she studied at Georgetown University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before starting a career as a software engineer. Already involved in lay ministry, she felt a call to full-time ministry and graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary. She was appointed to Maryland churches in Catonsville and Silver Spring, and served as a district superintendent in that state before becoming the first female senior pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., in 2013. She has served on the board of directors for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and as a delegate to the denomination’s General Conference.
Extent
From the Collection: 1.13 Terabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills describes spending her early childhood in Southern Maryland before moving to Washington, D.C. and attending D.C. public schools and A.P. Shaw United Methodist Church. She recalls hearing a James Brown concert in 1968 from inside her home. Having shifted from a career as a software engineer, she recalls completing seminary and receiving a cross-racial appointment to a Catonsville church, becoming lead pastor at Good Hope Union United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, and serving as a district superintendent. She describes new and established ministries at Asbury United Methodist Church after arriving there in 2013, including the development of The Bridge contemporary service. Mills recalls pastoring at the time when her church’s Black Lives Matter sign was destroyed and replaced. She explains her sense that Asbury isn't going to leave the United Methodist Church, from which others have split after debates about full inclusion of LGBTQ people. She recalls attending the Women’s March. She describes times of spiritual renewal and mission trips to Zimbabwe and the American South.
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository