The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches has announced the hiring of The Rev. Dai Morgan as its Interim Executive Director, effective July 1, 2020.

Rev. Morgan, who has been a member of the Council’s Commission on Public Witness since 2010 and Vice President since 2017, is a clergy member of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2015 he was appointed as Coordinator of United Methodist Advocacy in Pennsylvania—an advocacy mission of Pennsylvania’s three United Methodist Conferences. Prior to this position he was Pastor of Swissvale United Methodist Church, a multicultural congregation near Pittsburgh, from 2006-2016.

As he takes on this position, Rev. Morgan says he has four basic goals for the Council. Most immediate is responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic. He says, “Like any business or organization, we need to figure out how to operate under these difficult conditions. The second part is to discover our role, as part of the Church, in how to respond both now and with the future ramifications of this pandemic.”

Rev. Morgan is also looking to ensure the Council’s financial stability for the future, seek approaches to better lead in promoting the relevancy and value of the Church, and build staffing and resources to engage in focused ecumenical activities and expand the Council’s programming. He adds, “Addressing these (four) goals will require creativity and foresight,” and says, “I have an advantage in that the Council has a superb staff on which to rely. The Board of Directors is active and involved. And, ultimately, I will prayerfully depend on the providence of God.”

Among Rev. Morgan’s many interests and gifts, his special interests include: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relationships, Faith and Politics, and Faith and the Fine Arts. A long-time resident of the Pittsburgh area, Rev. Morgan has been an active community presence. He is a Rotarian, was involved in establishing a Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank pantry at his church, and was Artist-in-Residence at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary from 1987-90. As United Methodist clergy, he serves as a member of the Christian Unity Commission, Poverty Team and Committee on Church and Society in his Conference, and between 2012-18, he was an active participant in the denominational-level United Methodist Ecumenical and Interreligious Training (UMEIT) program.

Rev. Morgan will reside in Harrisburg during the period of his position.