Who we are

The Church AI Toolkit was shaped by participants in the Pastoral Toolkit for the Age of AI design sprint at Virginia Theological Seminary, July 20–24, 2026.

Practitioners at a glance

Name	Tradition / role
Tim Bull	Church of England · Diocesan clergy
Winterbourne LaPucelle Harrison-Jones	PC(USA) · Front line clergy
Scott Hughes	UMC · AI practitioner
Michael Jannett	ELCA · Front line clergy
Olivia Lane	PC(USA) · Front line clergy
Lorenzo Lebrija	TEC · TryTank Research Institute
Lindsey Dawn Lewis	TEC · TryTank Research Institute
MaryAnn McKibben Dana	PC(USA) · Theologian / ethicist
Jana Milhon-Martin	TEC · Front line clergy
Andy Morgan	PC(USA) · AI practitioner
Tay Moss	TEC / Anglican Church of Canada · AI practitioner
Rob Rose	ELCA · Front line clergy
Jeremy Scott	UMC · Front line clergy and software engineer / builder
Channing Smith	TEC · Front line clergy
Samuel Son	PC(USA) · Theologian / AI practitioner
Adam Stockton	ELCA · Front line clergy · Leadership consultant
John R. Unger II	ELCA/UMC/TEC · Theologian and public leader · AI, robotics, drones, and ethics

Biographies

The Rev. Canon Dr. Tim Bull

Church of England · Diocesan clergy

Tim Bull is a Church of England priest based in the Diocese of St Albans, where he serves as Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) and as a residentiary canon of St Albans Cathedral. He has degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities in mathematics and theology, respectively. He gained a PhD from Durham University in software engineering and a second PhD from King’s College London in theology and genetics. Before ordination, he worked as a chartered software engineer and a university lecturer. He serves on the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council and is a founder member of the AI Christian Partnership. He speaks regularly on Christian responses to AI.

The Rev. Dr. Winterbourne LaPucelle Harrison-Jones

PC(USA) · Front line clergy

Winterbourne Harrison-Jones is pastor of Witherspoon Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, a historically Black PC(USA) congregation. A fifth-generation minister, he is a graduate of Fisk University and has studied at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, the Hertie School in Berlin, and the Universidad de Salamanca. He led Witherspoon through a significant merger with Immanuel Presbyterian Church, uniting the city’s two historically Black Presbyterian congregations, and is a sought-after preacher and workshop facilitator.

The Rev. Dr. Scott Hughes

UMC · AI practitioner

Scott Hughes is a clergy leader at Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, serving as Associate General Secretary after leading the agency’s Congregational Vitality and Intentional Discipleship work. An ordained elder since 2007, he holds an M.Div. from Asbury and a D.Min. from Southern Methodist University. He is a leading UMC voice on AI in ministry: he has written practical guidance for clergy on using AI tools, co-leads “Harnessing AI for Church Excellence” trainings, and took part in the ecumenical “Faithful Futures” AI summit in 2025.

The Rev. Michael Jannett

ELCA · Front line clergy

Michael Jannett is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving Community of Grace Lutheran Church in Grayson, Georgia. His formation took place largely in the ELCA’s Southeastern Synod, where he grew up at All Saints Lutheran Church in Lilburn, was active in campus ministry at Georgia Tech, and served as a youth director before ordination. From 2019 to 2025, he served the Southeastern Synod as Assistant to the Bishop for Formation and Communication, overseeing youth, young adult, and campus ministries, before moving into his current parish call. He is married to Kelly, and they have three children.

The Rev. Olivia Lane

PC(USA) · Front line clergy

Olivia Lane is Senior Minister and Head of Staff at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Tulsa’s historic Brookside neighborhood. Her leadership focuses on integrating spiritual formation, sustainable leadership, and strategic stewardship to strengthen the church’s mission and long-term vitality. She brings more than a decade of pastoral and chaplaincy experience, including service in neurosciences and psychiatric hospital chaplaincy and as Chaplain for Spiritual Formation at Georgetown University, where she also co-pastored the Protestant Church. Rev. Lane is a trained Ignatian spiritual director, holds degrees from the University of Tulsa and Princeton Theological Seminary, and is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, DMin, MBA

TEC · Practical theologian / AI practitioner

The Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Lebrija is chief innovation officer of Virginia Theological Seminary and executive director of the TryTank Research Institute, which advances research to meet the evolving needs of the church in the modern world. Before launching TryTank, he was Chief Development Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and served congregations in San Bernardino and Los Angeles. His pre-seminary career spanned arts leadership, philanthropy, and media, including serving as president and CEO of Seraphic Fire and as Miami Program Director for the Knight Foundation. He holds an M.Div. from General Theological Seminary, a D.Min. from Virginia Theological Seminary, and an MBA from Florida International University. He is a Certified Foresight Practitioner, trained in design thinking at IDEO, and an ICF-trained coach.

Lindsey Dawn Lewis

TEC · Spiritual director

Lindsey Dawn Lewis, MPhil, is the Lifelong Learning Grants & TryTank Manager at Virginia Theological Seminary. She is a spiritual director and formation companion, trained in the tradition of Justice-Informed Spiritual Direction through Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She holds a Master’s in Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation from Trinity College Dublin, with a professional focus on trauma healing, reconciliation, and community restoration. Her career has spanned nonprofit leadership, clergy support, disaster relief, and public policy, with a consistent focus on streamlining processes and procedures to bring clarity and structure to complex organizational work. She is also a carpenter, drawing on the practices of building and repair as a complement to her work in spiritual formation.

The Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana

PC(USA) · Theologian / ethicist and front line clergy

The Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana is a writer, pastor, speaker, and ICF-trained ministry coach. She is author of four books, most recently Better Than Normal: Virtues for an Off-Script Life and Hope: A User’s Manual. She writes a weekly newsletter called The Blue Room, and her writing has also appeared in multiple outlets including TIME.com and The Washington Post. MaryAnn currently serves as a pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, VA. She is a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas and received her M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

The Rev. Jana Milhon-Martin

TEC · Front line clergy

The Rev. Jana Milhon-Martin is the founding Director of the Center for Lay Chaplaincy, which she has led since 2021. An Episcopal priest ordained in 2017, she holds an M.Div. in chaplaincy from Claremont School of Theology and trained as a CPE Supervisor at PIH Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. At the Center — supported by Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies and the Iona Collaborative at Seminary of the Southwest — she is developing and field-testing an adapted CPE curriculum that trains and places lay chaplains in settings that rarely have them: food banks, county jails, and community service centers.

The Rev. Dr. Andy Morgan

PC(USA) · AI practitioner

The Rev. Dr. Andy Morgan is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) whose ministry has spanned campus, congregational ministry, and Christian formation. Andy holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. in Religion, with highest honors); Union Presbyterian Seminary (M.Div. and M.A.C.E.); and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (D.Min. in Homiletics and Biblical Interpretation). He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Youth Ministry and Theology from the Princeton Youth Forum and is an alumnus and facilitator of the highly selective Zick Preaching Scholars program.

In addition to his work in the Church, Andy serves as the Director of Faith Formation at Solace AI, where he develops resources at the intersection of artificial intelligence and Christian formation. He has published on AI fluency and ethics, including in the Journal for Preachers, and has led webinars and seminars across the United States, including with professional guilds such as APCE, POAMN, UKirk, and the Office of Faith Formation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Andy is also part of AI and the Church, an interdenominational endeavor to promote conversations and exploration of AI and how the Church may respond.

The Rev. Tay Moss

TEC / Anglican Church of Canada · AI practitioner

Tay Moss is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Toronto and Director of the Innovative Ministry Centre at the Toronto United Church Council. He holds an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and has spent years in digital and creative ministry, including running the CHURCHx online learning platform. He is a leading church AI practitioner and co-creator of AskCathy.ai, an Episcopal Church AI chatbot built with the TryTank Research Institute and trained on more than 1,000 pages of church policy and theology. He frames such tools as companions to clergy rather than replacements for them.

The Rev. Rob Rose

ELCA · Front line clergy

Rob Rose serves as Assistant to the Bishop for Administration — effectively Chief Operating Officer — for the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the ELCA, based in Tampa. He handles the synod’s administrative, legal, constitutional, and strategic matters, along with Synod Assembly coordination and crisis management. A parish pastor before joining the synod office around 2020, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and has represented the synod in ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response work.

The Rev. Jeremy Scott

UMC · Front line clergy and software engineer / builder

Jeremy Scott is a former software engineer turned United Methodist pastor who uniquely embodies both the clergy and builder roles. He earned a computer science degree from Montana State University and worked for startups in HR and public-health software before discerning a call to ministry and earning his M.Div. from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. Now pastor of the United Methodist Church of Johnstown, Colorado, he led the congregation’s

technology modernization — building a custom church app and livestreaming setup that let it pivot fully online within days during COVID-19. He is also a published author.

The Rev. Channing Smith

TEC · Front line clergy

Channing Smith is the ninth rector of All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Montecito, California, a role he began in January 2024. Raised in Cincinnati, he studied at Kenyon College and earned his theological degree at General Theological Seminary in New York. Before Santa Barbara he served as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, St. Andrew’s in Saratoga, and the Church of the Transfiguration in San Mateo. Channing created 5 conferences around faith and innovation and is passionate about the impact of emerging technologies on human flourishing.

The Rev. Samuel Son

PC(USA) · Theologian / AI practitioner

Samuel Son is a coach, facilitator, and innovation leader in the Presbyterian Life & Witness, a national agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He equips pastors and ministry leaders to engage emerging technologies thoughtfully and faithfully. His work focuses on helping churches innovate fresh expressions and cultivate wisdom, compassion, and human connection in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. He is also a spoken word artist with a book of poems.

The Rev. Dr. Adam Stockton

ELCA · Front line clergy · Leadership consultant

Adam Stockton is a pastor tied to Trinity Lutheran Church in Sherman, Texas, and serves as Mission Developer for “Gathering at the Table” in Frisco, with synod records also listing him in family ministry and digital outreach at Rejoice Lutheran Church. Ordained in 2020, he holds an M.Div. from TCU’s Brite Divinity School with specializations in pastoral care, military chaplaincy, and ethics, plus certification in youth and family ministry. He served as a trauma chaplain at Baylor University Medical Center and is active as a synod coach and assistant conference dean.

The Hon. Rev. Dr. John R. Unger II

ELCA/UMC/TEC · Theologian and public leader · AI, robotics, drones, and ethics

The Rev. Dr. John R. Unger II is a pastor, theologian, professor, former State Senator and White House Special Senior Advisor, and faith-based diplomacy public leader whose work bridges artificial intelligence, theology, ethics, addiction psychology, robotics, drones, and human flourishing. A Rhodes Scholar (Oxford) and ordained minister, he teaches and develops courses on responsible AI, robotics, cybersecurity ethics, and the psychology of addiction. His current work focuses on how the Church can prepare and support leaders to become early discerners of technology’s spiritual consequences, better decision makers, and faithful witnesses to human dignity. His current research and policy work examines responsible AI governance, child and youth safety, human agency, cybersecurity ethics, robotics and drones, and the implications of advanced technologies for democratic institutions, religious communities, and vulnerable populations. This includes state-level AI policy, legislative engagement, and the development of practical resources concerning human-centered governance and technological risk. His central concern is how artificial intelligence and related technologies can be developed and governed in ways that preserve human dignity, protect children and vulnerable communities, strengthen democratic and civic life, and advance human flourishing in the Digital AI Age.