Mr. Darryl Harris
LAY LEADER
Mr. Darryl D. Harris is the Lay Leader of Gorham United Methodist Church. Darryl is a life-time, third-generation member of Gorham United Methodist Church, where his grandmother started attending in 1934. He has served Gorham in several capacities, from Education Committee chair to chair of the Council of Ministries to chair of Church Council.
He currently serves on the Pastor-Parish Committee and the Trustee Committee. He is a Certified Lay Servant. In addition, Darryl currently serves as the Vice-President of the Chicago Black Methodist for Church Renewal (BMCR)
Darryl has worked at Illinois Bell Telephone as a supervisor of directory assistance operators, and at the University of Illinois – Chicago, where he started a federally-funded TRIO program (Student Support Services). He has spent over 40 years working at Chicago State, where he has had numerous positions.
His most recent position was with another TRIO program, the Educational Opportunity Center, which he started in 1991 and worked as a counselor. Darryl retired in 2012; however he still works there part-time. He visits selected Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) centers, encouraging soon-to-be released individuals on changing their lives through education.
He is a member of Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges (1977), as well as a recipient of the Outstanding Young Man of America award (1980). He is an avid Dodgers, Packers and Lakers fan. He believes in a quote used by Jack Roosevelt Robinson- “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” and Micah 6:8: And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Darryl graduated from Chicago State in 1980 with a B.A. degree in Psychology. He was the first in his family to graduate from college. He was also the first in his family to earn a Master’s degree; he received a Master’s of Science in Education – School Guidance and Counseling in 1985.