Marsha Brown-Woodward
The Reverend Dr. Marsha Brown Woodard is a graduate of Ottawa University (Ottawa, Kansas), Eden Theological Seminary (Webster Groves, Missouri), and Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), from which she
received the Doctor of Ministry degree. She is a Senior Lecturer in Christian Ministry, Director of Supervised Ministries, and an Academic Advisor at Palmer Theological Seminary, the Seminary of Eastern University, in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Her teaching has been extensive; among the courses she has taught are African American Women in Church History—1800 to the Present, Preaching Practicum, Personal Growth & Transformation through Movies, and Seminar in Prophetic Preaching and Teaching.
Dr. Woodard has also served as a guest lecturer or adjunct professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary, United Lutheran Seminary of Philadelphia, and Missio Seminary. She was the Lecturer for the 45th Annual Urban Theological Institute (UTI) at United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, in the fall of 2025.
Dr. Woodard and the Rev. Dr. Phaedra Blocker are founders of Daughters of Thunder, a collaborative endeavor whose mission is to support, nurture, and empower female clergy of African descent. She is heard each Thursday on Moments of Meditation, a broadcast aired on mygospelhighway11.com.
Dr. Woodard currently serves as Assistant Pastor of Saints Memorial Baptist Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She has served as Pastor or as a member of the Pastoral Staffs of congregations in Missouri and Pennsylvania. She has also served on the staffs of the Philadelphia Baptist Association (PBA), the American Baptist Churches of the South (ABCOTS), and the Board of Educational Ministry for American Baptist Churches, USA. For many years she served as the “Resident Chaplain” for the Biblical Institute of the Zion Baptist Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Woodard has preached and conducted workshops, seminars, and retreats throughout the United States as well as in Africa. She is the author of I Was Tired Today and I Choose to Thrive. She is the editor of Making Sense of Your Faith and
has written articles, Bible studies, church school and vacation Bible school curriculum, as well as conference and retreat resources. Her sermons and meditations have been included in Christian Citizen Magazine, Those Preaching Women, Volume 2, Abingdon African American Preaching Library, Volume 1, Oh Lord, Why Me?, and other publications.
Rev. Woodard is the immediate former President of the Baptist Pastors and Ministers Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity. She currently serves as the Director of Christian Education for the Pennsylvania Eastern Keystone Baptist
Association (PEKBA), is the 1st Vice Moderator of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Pennsylvania, Secretary for the Main Line Black Interdenominational Ministers Alliance. She also serves as Vice President of NewCORE (New
Conversations on Race and Ethnicity) is a member of the Board of Directors of Bridge of Hope National. and continues to serve on various boards and committees both locally and nationally.
She was the 2025 recipient of the Waymaker Award from WomanPreach!, Inc., as well as the 2025 recipient of the J.A. Younger Award from the Saints Memorial Baptist Church at its 122nd Church Anniversary. She also received the Moderator
Trailblazer Award from the Pennsylvania Baptist Keystone Association during its 2025 Annual Session. In May of 2026, she received the Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from United Lutheran Seminary.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Woodard was licensed and ordained by the Antioch Baptist Church. In addition to her ministerial standing with American Baptist Churches USA and the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., she also holds ministerial standing with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).