HOUGHTON, NY - Houghton College will host its seventh-annual Faith and Justice Symposium from January 24-26. This year’s topic, “Racial Justice: Called to Love,” will focus on ways to achieve racial justice from a perspective of love and unity and highlight the benefits of diverse, multicultural communities. Events are free and open to the public.
This year’s featured speakers include Mark Charles and Mickey ScottBey Jones. Charles is a public speaker and writer for Native News Online, a news source that seeks to provide a Native American voice in media and report current events in the Native American community. Jones directs the Healing Justice with Faith Matters Network, a “people of color led collective that trains, connects, convenes, and amplifies marginalized people of faith to chart a new moral horizon,” according to the organization’s website.
“The Faith and Justice Symposium provides an opportunity for students to engage with critical issues of justice in our modern society,” says Brian Webb, sustainability coordinator at Houghton. “Students learn how to approach these complex issues within the context of our Christian faith, while exploring what it looks like to have an authentic Christian response to injustice in the world today.”
Workshops will focus on diversity and racial justice, with topics such as:
* “Brave Space: Co-Creating Beloved Community”
* “What Happened to the Rest of the Gospel,” examining anti-racism and its Gospel role
* “The Good News of Ethnic Diversity,” discussing the importance of having and celebrating diversity
* “The Beauty of Multicultural Ministry,” a view of the experiences and challenges that come with pastoring a multicultural church
* “Where Do We Go From Here? Practical Tips for White People Who Seek Racial Justice,” discussing how white Christians seeking anti-racism and racial justice might respond
A highlight of the symposium will be the showing and post-event discussion of the award-winning movie “Hidden Figures.” This critically acclaimed story follows the triumphs and challenges faced by the African-American female mathematicians who were integral to NASA’s operation to launch astronaut John Glenn into space.
