Pastor Ray Hammond, MD was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, the eldest son of a Baptist preacher and a schoolteacher. He was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia and went on to graduate from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. He completed his surgical residency at the New England Deaconess Hospital (Boston, MA) and joined the Emergency Medicine staff at the Cape Cod Hospital (Hyannis, MA).

Pastor Hammond accepted the call to the preaching ministry in 1976 and completed his Master of Arts degree in the Study of Religion (Christian and Medical Ethics) at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1982. In 1988, he was called to be the founder and pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston. Pastor Hammond has a long history of involvement with youth and community activities. He is:

1. Chairman and one of the Co-Founders of the Boston Ten Point Coalition—an ecumenical group of Christian clergy and lay leaders working to mobilize the greater Boston community around issues affecting black youth;
   Executive Director, Bethel's Generation Excel program;
   Chairman, The Boston Foundation;
2. Vice President for Membership, Boy Scouts Minuteman Council (Boston, MA);
3. Executive Committee Member, Black Ministerial Alliance;
4. Trustee of Catholic Charities of Boston, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Yawkey Foundation, and other religious, community, academic and policy organizations;
5. He is also a Director for the Boston Globe and Citizens Bank of MA; and
6. He continues to work in local and district youth activities in the AME Church.
   

Pastor Hammond is the author of several papers and articles on a range of issues including abortion, academic achievement, diversity, violence prevention and the ethics of reproductive technology. He is also the recipient of numerous honors including honorary doctorates from Boston University, Cambridge College, University of Massachusetts – Boston, and Lesley College.