Church leaders and scholars to discuss the role of black churches during austerity
(PRWEB UK) 22 July 2013 -- The impact of black churches upon their communities affected by economic crisis will be analysed and discussed at a conference at Birkbeck, University of London.
Church ministers, including Barack Obama’s former pastor Dr Jeremiah Wright, and academics, such as Dr R. Drew Smith, Professor of Urban Ministry at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and Dr William Ackah (pictured, right), Lecturer in Community and Voluntary Sector Studies at Birkbeck, will speak about how black churches in the US and UK have responded to the economic downturn.
During the conference on Thursday 25 July, church social outreach and community development ministries will be explored, as will church involvement in broader policy discussions and practices related to austerity. The event, entitled Racial injury, diaspora ministry and contemporary ‘Jericho Roads’: the Church’s community role in times of austerity, is being convened by The Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race (TRRR), in partnership with Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs (MECA) of Churches Together in England (CTE).
Dr Ackah said: “We are especially mindful at the present time of increasing poverty and unemployment in black communities and how this impacts families, communities, and congregations. This current period of austerity means that many in black and minority ethnic communities find themselves travelling along difficult and dangerous ‘Jericho Roads’, with Christian ministries struggling with how best to minister to those injured along these roads.”
He added: “This conference will explore challenges and best practices, and compare experiences between the US and UK. When compared with their counterparts in the US, black churches in the UK tend to be reactive, rather than proactive, when addressing problems in the community.”
The mission of TRRR, an organisation in which Dr Ackah and Dr Smith serve as co-conveners, is to bring together scholars, religious leaders, and community leaders for socially progressive transatlantic religious partnerships across geographic, racial, ethnic, and religious boundaries. The Birkbeck event on Thursday 25 July builds on TRRR’s well-attended May 2012 London conference, entitled Black church activism and contested multiculturalism in Europe, North America and Africa.
• To reserve a place at the conference please contact Dr William Ackah - w.ackah(at)bbk(dot)ac.uk, 020 3073 8354 - Lecturer in Community and Voluntary Sector Studies at Birkbeck.
• For more information about The Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race please contact Dr William Ackah -w.ackah(at)bbk(dot)ac.uk, 020 3073 8354.
• Birkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London’s only specialist provider of evening higher education.
• Birkbeck is ranked among the top one per cent of universities in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012.
• Birkbeck encourages applications from students without traditional qualifications and we have a wide range of programmes to suit every entry level.
• For more information about Birkbeck please contact Guy Collender - g.collender(at)bbk(dot)ac.uk, 0207 380 3108 - or visit http://www.bbk.ac.uk .
Guy Collender, Birkbeck, University of London, http://www.bbk.ac.uk, 02073803108 3108, [email protected]
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