Council of Churches of the City of New York
Executive Officers
G. Morris Gurley, Esq.
President
Morris Gurley is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School. He was in the banking and investment field in New York City with Chemical/Chase Bank from 1962 to 1987. He specialized in the field of Trusts and Estates and headed the Personal Trust Department at the time of his retirement in 1987.
In 1985, he co-founded the National Center for Victims of Crime which works to aid and to protect the rights of victims of violent crime. He has been involved in the passage of major legislation such as the Son-of-Sam Law and the Anti-Stalking Laws. Under his leadership, this coalition grew to include not only victims groups and agencies, but also city government, law enforcement, the religious community, and labor unions.
From 1984-2000, he was Chairman of the Distribution Committee of the Annie Laurie Aitken Charitable Trust which supported many of the major institutions in New York City. In 1986, he co-founded the Brain Trauma Foundation/Institute of Neurosciences which specializes in the field of neurological research and treatment.
He sits on numerous Boards of Directors including the Metropolitan Opera, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Lay Advisory Board of the New York Board of Rabbis. He was involved in the formation of the Commission of Religious Leaders of the City of New York in 1999. A United Methodist, he has been active in the New York Annual Conference serving on the Board of Trustees, the Bishop's Fund and other committees.
The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Dudley
Vice President
Cheryl Dudley is Regional Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York. A resident of New York City for almost 10 years, Dudley is an ordained American Baptist minister and member of Madison Avenue Baptist Church. She holds degrees from Pomona College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary of Chicago, Illinois where she earned a Doctor of Ministry in Executive Leadership.Dr. Dudley has served as Global Religions Director of the Arcus Foundation; Senior Partner of the ARC Group; Senior Advisor to the President of Church World Service; Associate Executive Director of Church in Community Transformation, American Baptist Home Mission Societies; Acting Director of African American Studies at Bradley University; and Executive Director of Peoria Friendship House.
She has also served on several boards and committees, including the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Faith Hope and Love Global Ministries, and the Ecumenism in the 21st Century Group of the World Council of Churches.
The Rev. Derek G. Lecakes
Secretary
Derek Lecakes is the son of a New York state trooper, born in Albany, raised in West Albany and a graduate of Colonie High School. (His surname, which is pronounced Lee Cakes, was Lekakis until his Greek grandfather came through Ellis Island and chose to be “Americanized.”) He graduated from Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn., with a director of Christian education certification. He earned a master of divinity degree from Concordia College in St. Louis.
He 2015, he was elected president/bishop of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod which stretches from the tip of Long Island, through New York City, up the Hudson Valley north to the Canadian border. It includes over 100 congregations, about 30 preschools, four high schools, and Concordia College in Bronxville.
As district president/bishop, he serves as the ecclesiastical supervisor and administrator to support and encourage the many ministries as they reach out to the communities with the Gospel of Hope.
The Rev. William S. Shillady
Treasurer
Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady has served as Executive Director of the United Methodist City Society since September 2008. Before taking this position, he served as a pastor for 29 years.
A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Rev. Shillady received his undergraduate degree in Religion and Business Administration from Lebanon Valley College where he serves as a member of its Board of Trustees. In 1981, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School and served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Divinity School from 2007 to 2013 and is now an emeritus member.
After seminary, Rev. Shillady served one year in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference at Hawes Avenue United Methodist Church in Norristown, PA. In 1982 he transferred to the New York Conference and served 6 years as associate pastor of Asbury-Crestwood United Methodist Church in Yonkers, New York. He subsequently served 11 years as pastor of the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church and 9 years as pastor of the Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Manhattan.
Over the years, Rev. Shillady has served on a variety of boards and committees of the New York Annual Conference, as well as community based programs and boards and represented the NYAC at the General Conference in 2012 and 2016.
Shillady also co-officiated with Rabbi James Ponet at the Chelsea Clinton-Marc Mesvinsky wedding in July 2010. He led the memorial service of Dorothy Rodham, the mother of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He maintains a pastoral relationship with the Clinton family.
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