Our Pastor

The Reverend Dr. Newsome-Camara is the daughter of the late civil rights attorney Clarence W. Newsome and Evangelist Dr. Cora F. Duncan, and the stepdaughter of the late Deacon Alfonso Duncan. Her grandparents, Evangelist Effie Jeffries and The Reverend Henry Jeffries, who founded Bethel Church of God in Christ during the Pentecostal second awakening, played a significant role in shaping her spiritual journey. Surrounded by a lineage of pastors and evangelists, she was nurtured in faith and service, taking on roles such as Sunday school teacher, youth minister, choir director, usher, and Christian education director.

Dr. Newsome-Camara earned degrees in Education from Virginia Union University and the University of Vermont. While serving as an Assistant Professor of Education at Simmons College in Boston, she answered her call to Christian ministry, delivering her trial sermon on October 3, 1983, at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge, with her mother and grandmother by her side. She pursued theological studies at Boston University School of Theology, where she obtained both a Master of Divinity and a Doctorate in Church History, focusing on Black Clergy Leadership Education. She was ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and received mentorship from The Reverend Dr. Leroy Attles, pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, and her father in ministry. She now serves as a United Methodist Elder.

In 1988, Dr. Newsome-Camara became the Associate Dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, and in 1990, she was appointed Dean for Student Affairs at the School of Theology, becoming the first African American to hold this position. As an Assistant Professor of Church History, she taught courses in Preaching, Church History, Spiritual Formation, and Black Church Studies, including Womanist Theology and Black Clergy Leadership Education. Her scholarly work has explored the development of the African American church within the African Diaspora and the dialogue between African American Christianity and African culture. Additionally, she is a trained liturgical dancer through the Eagles International Training Institute and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Dr. Newsome-Camara is married to Mr. Kantigi Kwabena Camara, a historian, librarian, and author who served as the Director of the Library of the John D. O'Bryant African American Institute at Northeastern University. Together, they lovingly guide their child, Mariama-Alexis Akosua Camara.

Alongside her sister, The Reverend Dr. Clarencia Shade, Dr. Newsome-Camara continues to uphold their family's ministry legacy. She brings her extensive experience, deep faith, and unique gifts to her role as Pastor-Teacher at Greenwood Memorial and as a Regional Leader in the Commonwealth East District of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church.