Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón, D.Min.
Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón is an ordained Elder pastoring in the Baltimore Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. Most recently, he was the Associate General Secretary for the South Central Jurisdiction, at the General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church. Prior to coming to the General Commission, he was the Director of Civil and Human Rights at the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church. Among his responsibilities with GBCS Dr. Valentín-Castañón, worked on issues of Public Education, Immigration Policy, Welfare Reform, Affirmative Action, Restorative Justice, Capital Punishment, and Minimum Sentencing, Separation of Church and State, and others. He has worked in Washington for 10 years bringing the witness of The United Methodist Church to the heart of Capitol Hill. In 1987, he entered Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey where he obtained his Master of Divinities degree in 1990. In 2002, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. In 1989, he was ordained deacon and in 1990 he was appointed to the First United Methodist Church of East Hampton, N.Y., where he served for 4 years. In 1994, he was appointed to the Quakertown, U.M.C. in The Greater New Jersey Conference (then known as the Northern NJ Annual Conference), and then appointed to the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, where he served for 10 years.
Eliezer is married to Magda E. Morales and together with their children, Daniel (13) and Eduardo (9), they attend Calvary United Methodist Church in Frederick, MD. They have been happily married for over 20 years.