Maplewood Church's New Senior Pastor Has History Of Building Inclusive Communities

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church in Maplewood recently announced the appointment of a new senior pastor: the Rev. Danny Yang.

Yang brings nearly two decades of pastoral leadership, a “gift for preaching” and a “deep commitment to building inclusive, purpose-driven communities” to his new post, according to a news release.

The church’s new senior pastor is settling into Maplewood with his family.

“We need community – I need community,” he said. “And I’m thankful to have found it here in South Orange/Maplewood, literal sanctuary cities, and in the sanctuary that is Morrow Church.”

Yang joins the Greater New Jersey Conference from the Texas Annual Conference, where he most recently served as senior pastor of Westbury United Methodist Church in Houston – the most diverse church in that conference. Under his leadership, Westbury UMC became a reconciling congregation, actively welcoming and affirming LGBTQ+ people (only the second in the Texas Conference to do so), helped rebuild its community after Hurricane Harvey, sustained growth through the COVID-19 pandemic, reversed years of deficit spending and completed a major capital campaign.

Yang is a graduate of the University of Texas and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

Prior to his appointment within the Greater New Jersey Conference, Yang served locally as a lay minister at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chatham.

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