We are excited that our conference in Chicagoland will be starting soon! Below is important information to help you get the most out of the conference.
Location: Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, 149 West Brush Hill Road, Elmhurst, IL 60126. Phone: 630-600-5100
Registration and 1-on-1 Meeting Sign-up: Onsite registration for the main conference opens at 1:30 PM on Thursday Nov. 8. Refreshments will be available. Arrive promptly in order to have the best selection of the limited 1-on-1 meetings available. Please remember that 1-on-1 meetings are simply informal chats; they are not intended to be manuscript review sessions, and speakers are not obligated to follow up after the meeting.
In addition to our speakers, three additional Acquisitions Editors will be joining us for 1-on-1 meetings:
Ethan McCarthy – InterVarsity Press Patnacia Goodman – Bethany House Publishers Andy McGuire – Bethany House Publishers
If you know anyone else who would like to attend, there are plenty of slots still available.
Also, seats are still available for the DigDeeper Retreat on Tuesday Nov. 6 – learn more and register.
Food: Our Networking Event with appetizers takes place Thursday at 7:00 PM. Lunch will be provided on Friday. There will also be refreshments provided Friday morning. Dinner is on your own. Here are recommended nearby restaurants.
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:
The path to reducing rates of hypertension in black communities may start in the church pews, according to a new study by New York City researchers. Specially trained community health workers operating within faith communities in New York City were able to significantly reduce and manage hypertension in black communities, compared with health education alone, according to researchers at the NYU School of Medicine.
Roland Martin and Mark Thompson, host of SiriusXM’s “Make It Plain” discussed the lack of voter mobilization programs that specifically target African American men after the success of the push to mobilize Black women voters in Alabama.
The Rev. James Cone, founder of black liberation theology, died Saturday morning, according to Union Theological Seminary.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Cone, an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was the Bill and Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Seminary in New York City. His groundbreaking 1969 book, Black Theology and Black Power, revolutionized the way the public understood the unique qualities of the black church.
Cone was a native of Fordyce, Ark., and received master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University.
We would like to hear how Cone influenced you. We invite you to share 200- to 250-word tributes on UrbanFaith.com. Send your tribute with your first and last names, city, state, and church affiliation (if desired) to [email protected]
(RNS) A coalition of African-American clergy is calling on churches to serve as sacred spaces for healing in the aftermath of violence in Charlottesville, Va., and as the nation grapples with racism and other bigotry.
“We urge churches across the country to create safe and sacred spaces for prayer, healing, dialogue and honest conversations about the history and reality of racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism and white supremacy in this nation,” the black clergy said in a Friday (Aug. 18) statement.
“Our youth and young adults especially need a place to process this assault on their being and the very soul of this nation.”
The group, which spearheaded the first-ever “African American Clergy Advocacy Day” on Capitol Hill a month ago, also denounced the hatred displayed recently in Charlottesville and the “subsequent inflammatory and detestable words of President Donald Trump supporting the hateful actions of the KKK, Nazis and white supremacist groups.”
The 10 initial signatories include leaders of the National African American Clergy Network, the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative and the National Council of Churches, as well as officials of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ.
The black clergy called on Congress, denominational leaders, and particularly white evangelical church leaders to speak out against the “evil” of white supremacy.
They also took issue with President Trump’s assertion that “many sides” were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville.
Declaring, “No, Mr. President. There are not many sides,” the group questioned his contention that “fine people” were among both sides in the protests that turned violent and left three people dead.
“These ‘fine’ people intimidated churchgoers, attacked clergy and threw bottles from the tops of steps into the crowd of counter protesters — those who were standing against their hatred, bigotry and white supremacist values,” the online statement said.
On July 18, members of the clergy group protested the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts affecting programs including food stamps and Meals on Wheels; 16 people were arrested. A week later they joined others in a protest of the Senate’s unsuccessful efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act; 31 people were arrested.
The Rev. Leslie Copeland-Tune who drafted the statement, said the group plans to return to Capitol Hill in September to urge members of Congress to be more outspoken against white supremacy. The clergy also plan to visit five states represented by Congress members who hold key roles in considering the proposed budget.
