Evanston, Illinois, United States
Leading with Ethics, Listening Across Faiths, Serving with Distinction The Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf (he/him) holds Doctor of Theology (ThD) and Master of Divinity (MDIV) degrees from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Religious Studies from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, where he graduated summa cum laude. As an ordained American Baptist Churches USA and Alliance of Baptists pastor, he serves as the Senior Minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston in Evanston, IL, a progressive congregation with a commitment to social justice and interfaith dialogue. He also serves as Co-Associate Regional Minister for White and Multicultural Churches with the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago region. Before that, he served rural and suburban churches in Massachusetts. Michael rose to national prominence for his leadership in the campaign to shut down the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, including a widely circulated photograph, Religion News Service profile, and documentary about his arrest during a protest there. He continues to be a leading voice in faith-based resistance to authoritarianism and is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and preacher on immigration justice, reparations, and Islamophobia. Michael's ministry has won numerous awards, including the Edwin T. Dahlberg Peace and Justice Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Baptist Churches USA and American Baptist Home Mission Societies. First awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964, the award honors outstanding work for peace and justice. In 2025, he was named the Distinguished Fellow in Ethical Leadership by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. In 2026, he received The Peter J. Gomes, STB ’68, Alumni Honors from Harvard Divinity School for "embodying a theology that speaks boldly, listens deeply, and calls us toward justice rooted in sacred traditions." Michael's first book, Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically About Whiteness in Sanctuary Movements, is part of T&T Clark's Studies in Social Ethics, Ethnography and Theologies series. His second book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice, is available from Judson Press in January 2026. He is an opinion columnist for The Christian Century and Sojourners, and his writing often appears in The Christian Citizen. His activism for immigration justice and sanctuary has been featured on CNN, MSNOW, and The Wall Street Journal.
Together with my spouse, Rev. Dr. Anna Piela, I will be developing tools for white and multicultural congregations to dismantle white supremacy, building community, and working hard to place racial justice front and center in our region.
Teaching "Religion and Abortion - A Complicated Relationship" for Fall 2022