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070010
January 4, 2007
Social Justice biennial conference nears
Jan. 11-14 gathering will be in New Orleans
LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 2007 social justice biennial conference will focus on the issues of race, class and economic disparity that were exposed in New Orleans by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 18 months ago.
Built around Isaiah 58:12 — You shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of streets to live in — the conference, to be held in New Orleans, will combine reflections on the tragedy with concrete action to aid the rebuilding of the city and the restoration of communities wiped out by the catastrophe.
“The devastation for New Orleans and the whole gulf coast has become a challenging symbol of the issues facing us as a nation today,” wrote the Rev. Bob Brashear, president of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA), in a welcome letter to participants. “From the abuse of the natural environment and the unpreparedness for disaster, to the racial divide and economic class issues, there is much that confronts us a people of faith seeking to build a more just and caring community.”
PHEWA is sponsoring the conference in partnership with the Office of Women’s Advocacy, the Child Advocacy Office, the Black Congregational Enhancement Office, the Racial Justice Advocacy Office, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Immigration Issues Office, the Small Church and Community Office and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
PDA has organized work groups in New Orleans for conference participants who wish to stay on for an extra day after the formal conference program concludes. The work day will be Jan. 15.
Keynote speakers for the conference include Bill Quigley, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans and an anti-poverty activist; the Rev. Margaret Aymer Oget, a professor of New Testament at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta who is also active in the PC(USA)’s anti-racism efforts; and the Rev. Robert Linthicum, a renowned educator and president of Partners in Urban Transformation, a Christian ministry equipping the church for engagement in public life.
Conference workshops will focus on issues and responses related to the hurricane disasters, including programs addressing the needs of children in Katrina’s aftermath; first-person accounts of a number of volunteer efforts along the gulf coast; immigration issues; how churches and denominations have partnered in relief and rebuilding efforts; coping with stress and trauma; long term recovery; reestablishing food security in the gulf coast region; faith-based community organizing; race, poverty and gender issues raised by the disaster; and resources for the particularly vulnerable, such as those with substance abuse problems, mental illness, disabilities and acute health problems. |
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