At the age of eight, Rev. Marcia Dinkins began seeking the face of God. This would not seem a likely journey for her as her mother was an Atheist. At the age 17 Rev. Marcia received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and celebrated a renewed life with her mother as her mother gave her life to Christ. At the age of 22, Rev. Marcia was commissioned by Bishop Andrew Merritt to go forth and let her ministry prove her as God was calling her to preach and teach the gospel. Before stepping out Reverend Marcia attended the School of Ministry at Straight Gate Church under the guise and leadership of Bishop Merritt and received various ministerial certificates. In April 2003 Marcia was ordained.
In 2001 Rev. Marcia founded Women’s Institute for Change a not-for profit organization which ministered to the needs of women. In 2001 she also opened Metro Health Care and Family Services a medical clinic for the un-served and under-served. In May 2003 she was appointed by the Wayne County Circuit Court as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) representing the best interest of children placed in foster care. Pastor Marcia has served on the Foster Care Review Board and was a community team member for Strong Families and Safe Children assisting families whose children were at risk of being placed in foster care.
Rev. Marcia has developed and implemented various programs such as Grandparents Raising Adolescents with Care and Encouragement (G.R.A.C.E.) a program for grandparent caregivers. Characteristics Helping Adolescents Grow Nurture and Excel (C.H.A.N.G.E.) a teen group for girls that provided an open forum for teens to address challenges they were facing. Rev. Marcia is currently the Executive Director for the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, a broad based social justice grassroots organization in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbia County in northeast Ohio. Rev. Marcia has started a women’s group - - Sisters Who Will . . . a ministry where women proclaim their destiny as they learn how to own who they are and being true to themselves. Reverend Dinkins has conducted various workshops and seminars on the Self-Respect of Women while living in a Society with Blurred Lines, the Political Allegory of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in the face of Social Justice, The Impact on Domestic Violence.
Pastor Marcia received an Associates of Arts in Liberal Arts from Oakland Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Religious and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toledo. Pastor Dinkins has been nominated and listed in Who’s Who. Reverend Dinkins has received honors from Phi Theta Kappa and NSCS Honors Society for her scholarly achievements. In addition, she also served as President of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Society.
In June of 2016, Reverend Dinkins relocated to Warren, Ohio from Toledo, Ohio with her two sons. She is a single parent, has six children and seven grandchildren. Rev. Marcia is committed to serving the Lord and to utilizing her God-given gifts to be an instrument of change in the lives of others.
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Who Will Speak — and Vote — for the Least of These?
We must remove the veil that separates the least of these and count it not robbery to give them their legal, spiritual, and constitutional right to move beyond acts of mercy, but to build power for social change. As we begin to build prudent bridges, we break the sacred-secular divide and crippling covenants the silence us. We must renounce the manifesto placed upon our communities, schools, neighborhoods that allows the rich to reap where they have not sown. We must embrace our right to vote not only as a civil right, but a Godly right. We can no longer impose predatory measures upon ourselves; we have to remove the cloak of suppression.