JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 10, 2013 — Two nationally known speakers will lead 51社区 in a conversation Oct. 8 on helping a community flourish.
Sponsored by the Union鈥檚 Center for Politics and Religion and the Heritage Foundation, 鈥淪eek the Welfare of the City鈥� will feature Robert Woodson, founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, and Jay W. Richards, director of the Discovery Institute鈥檚 Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality. It will be held at the Carl Grant Events Center from 7-9 p.m.
The event will focus on how to effectively partner with those struggling with poverty, broken homes and violent neighborhoods.
鈥淕od has called us to learn and live and love in the city of Jackson, and we do well to think about how we can love our neighbors as we love ourselves,鈥� said Micah Watson, assistant professor of political science and director of Union鈥檚 Center for Politics and Religion. 鈥淭his is an important conversation for Union to have, because we are called to be more than a learning community restricted to the physical boundaries of our campus.鈥�
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank based in Washington, D.C., has sponsored similar events at a number of Christian universities across the country. All of the events focused on serving community members in need.
Sean Evans, chair of the political science department, believes the conference is a 鈥済ood opportunity for Christians and those concerned about the poor to engage in a discussion to see how we can better coordinate our efforts and to maybe consider more effective ways to help the disadvantaged.鈥�
Woodson has been a social activist since the early 1960s. He has directed community development programs and overseen neighborhood-based organizations. His own organization, the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, provides training and capacity-building technical assistance to more than 2,600 leaders of community-based groups in 39 states.
Richards is the co-author of the best-selling book 鈥淚ndivisible: Restoring Faith, Family and Freedom Before It鈥檚 Too Late.鈥� His articles, which focus on how Christianity and capitalism relate to one another, have been published in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared on a variety of national TV and radio programs. Watson hopes the event will bring 鈥渋ncreased awareness of the good things that are already going on and the beginning of a conversation about how the initiatives championed by our speakers can bear fruit in the Jackson area.鈥�
Admission is free. For more information, contact Watson at (731) 661-5411 or mwatson@uu.edu.