Rev. Jimmie Ray Hawkins will preach for Mt. Vernon’s 156th Year Homecoming Celebration, at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Hawkins serves as mission director of the five advocacy offices of the Presbyterian Church (USA): Washington Office of Public Witness, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (NYC), Immigration and Advocacy, Mission Responsibility Through Investigations, and Race and Gender Justice.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies from North Carolina Central University; a master’s in Christian education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education; and a master’s of divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center/Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary.
For 20 years he served as the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Durham. Between 1992-1996, he served as the senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian, Holmes Memorial and Trinity Presbyterian churches in Virginia.
He served on the boards of Church World Service, the National Council of Churches and Union Presbyterian Seminary. He has chaired several interfaith /ecumenical and non-profit boards: NC NAACP Executive Committee, Durham Congregations in Action, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the Religious Coalition for a Non-Violent Durham, Housing for New Hope (homeless advocacy), End Poverty Now, and others. He served as a tri-chair for the Washington Interfaith Staff Committee (WISC) and the Heads of Washington Office (HOWO). Serving the church, he has traveled to Haiti, Cuba, and Israel/Palestine.
His community ministry includes being a leader for the Moral Monday Movement since its onset in 2013, as well as with the Poor People’s Campaign since 2017. He has engaged in four acts of civil disobedience protesting voter suppression, lack of healthcare and for a living wage.
Hawkins is the author of two books, “Unbroken and Unbowed” (2022) and “The Shaping of Black Identities” (2025), both published by Westminster John Knox Press.
