Preaching in the Key of Life - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

William A. Ritter retired on June 30, 2005 after 40 years as a United Methodist minister and 12 years as senior minister of the 3200 member First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, Michigan. Pastoral assignments also included Nardin Park UMC, Farmington Hills, MI, Newburg UMC in Livonia, MI and Dearborn, First UMC, Dearborn, MI A Detroit native, Bill graduated from Albion College, Albion, MI (BA, 1962) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div., 1965). Albion College awarded him an honorary DD in 1981. Bill is married to the former Kristine Larson. As a couple, they have traveled widely including trips to Europe, China, the Middle East and Africa. A recent trip to Zambia, Botswana and South Africa resulted in the establishment of a scholarship fund for impoverished children in Cape Town in memory of their son. Their daughter, Julie Ritter Hopkins, her husband Jared Hopkins and their children Jacob and Georgia now live in Michigan. Their son, Bill Ritter, Jr., died in 1994. Bill has served on a number of denominational boards and community agencies, and was a Trustee of Albion College for 33 years. In addition to authoring a book of prayers (Prayers for Albion College), his book of sermons, Take the Dimness of My Soul Away: Healing After a Loved One’s Suicide, was released in 2004. After retirement, Bill held the title of Visiting Faculty in Preaching at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina, where he also taught a course in church stewardship, fundraising and financial management. He was designated Visiting Scholar in the Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy and the Carl Gerstacker Institute of Professional Management at Albion College (winter/spring, 2006) and has taught at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, MI.