‘Reclaiming Social Holiness’

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Tex Sample, Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society at Saint Paul School of Theology, will be keynote speaker at “Living Faith, Seeking Justice: Reclaiming Social Holiness for United Methodists.” The two-day event will be Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, at First United Methodist Church, 57 Peters St., here.

Sample

The event will include workshops on a wide range of social justice issues and worship featuring New England Conference’s bishop, Peter Weaver.

The conference is intended to connect persons passionate about moving the church into the ministry of peace and justice. It will provide resources to help individuals and congregations move toward a ministry of social justice in their specific context.

Sample, Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church & Society at Saint Paul School of Theology, will present two addresses on social holiness: “A Justice of the Common Good” and “The Craft of Justice.”

An ordained United Methodist clergyman, Sample works and teaches in the areas of U.S. culture, social theory and social change, power, social class and theological ethics. He has authored nine books.

Other presenters

Other featured presenters include the Rev. Neal Christie, assistant general secretary for Education and Leadership Formation at the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS); the Rev. Clayton Childers, the board’s director of Annual Conference Relations; Panravee Vongjaroenrat, national director of General Board of Global Ministries’ Justice for our Neighbors; the Rev. Kathryn Johnson, national director of Methodist Federation for Social Action; Valerie Bell, New England Conference Environmental Justice Coordinator; and Phil McClintock, leader of the conference’s Addiction and Recovery Team.

Tentative workshops are the following: “Faith-based Community Organizing,” “Green Church: Doing Environmental Justice in Local Churches,” “Justice in Rural Communities/Migrant Worker Justice,” “Addiction and Prevention Ministry,” “Introduction to the Social Principles and Use in the Local Church,” “Connecting with GBCS,” “Just Faith — an ecumenical curriculum for faith, spirituality, and social justice in a world wounded by poverty,” and “Starting a Social Justice Ministry in your Congregation.”

Other topics are “Homeless/Mental Illness: Housing First Model,” “Justice for Our Neighbors,” Middle East justice, racism, and the ministry of Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA).

JFON is a network in mission of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), annual conferences, local congregations and ecumenical partners. The General Board of Global Ministries initiated JFON in 1999 as a response to increasingly complex immigration regulations stemming from the far-reaching immigration law of 1996.

4 sponsors

“Living Faith, Seeking Justice” is being sponsored by The Church and Society Committees of New England and Troy Conferences, MFSA (New England Chapter), and GBCS.

The conference will start Friday afternoon with a roundtable discussion with Sample. He will deliver his first keynote address after dinner and worship.

Saturday will have workshops in both the morning and afternoon. Sample will deliver his second keynote on Saturday morning. Worship with Bishop Weaver will conclude the conference that afternoon.

Registration fee of $40 per person includes all sessions and meals; Saturday-only fee is $30 per person.

Registrar is Willard Robinson, 191 Summer St., Andover, MA 01810-1825. He can also be reached via e-mail at Willard Robinson. Checks should be made out to NEUMC — church and society.

A brochure providing more details, such as housing information, is available in either Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Word (.doc) format.