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January 2016 / Upcoming Events
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Who Will Care For The Orphan?
Monday, January 11 l 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Boyd Dining Center, Shafer Room
Sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain's Office
One of the most significant human rights problems around the globe today has to do with the ever increasing numbers of orphans and the horrors they experience. The Rev. Wayne Lavender, Ph.D., a United Methodist pastor, Virginia Wesleyan adjunct faculty member, and executive director of the Foundation 4 Orphans, began a cross-country trek on January 1 at Virginia Beach United Methodist Church at the oceanfront. He is headed to Portland Oregon in order to rally support for a petition that he and Virginia Wesleyan Chaplain, Rev. Greg West, have submitted to the General Conference of the United Methodist denomination. Wayne will be stopping at the College on January 11 to share his vision and discuss his cross-country trip. Please feel free to bring a bag lunch or purchase lunch in the Boyd Dining Center and join us to help get Wayne off to a good start. For more information visit the Foundation 4 Orphans at www.f4o.org.
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Day for All People
Wednesday, January 20 l 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Virginia Union University, Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center, 1500 N. Lombardy Street, Richmond, VA 23220
Sponsored by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
The "Day for All People," a day-long advocacy event organized by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), offers participants the opportunity to talk with their delegates and senators about important issues at the start of the General Assembly's 2016 session. The theme of the day, "Racism Beyond the Confederate Flag," considers what racism means to various groups today and how policies are viewed through the lens of racism. Keynote speaker, The Rev. Dr. James Forbes, was named one of the 12 "most effective preachers" in the English-speaking world by Newsweek magazine. During the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, Forbes participated in the sit-ins at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has said that one of his callings was to "build a world in which our racial differences would not tear us apart." Virginia Wesleyan junior, Jasmine Burrell, is participating in a panel discussion following Dr. Forbes' presentation. For more than 30 years the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy has been a way for persons of all faiths to be advocates through the legislative process on issues that are important to them. The "Day for All People" includes breakfast, lunch, and transportation between Virginia Union and the Capitol.
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"Standing Together" Community Gathering
Sunday, January 24 l 2:00-3:30 p.m.
In response to increasing Islamophobia, xenophobia, and divisive rhetoric, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, and community partners invite the public to a "Standing Together" gathering to explore themes of interfaith understanding, solidarity, and community. The program will feature a clergy press conference and interfaith panel discussion. Please join us to demonstrate support for the Muslim community and to stand together against divisive and bigoted rhetoric. Visit
www.inclusiveva.org/standing-together-hr
to learn more about the "Standing Together" initiative. Registration is appreciated, but not required.
Click here to let us know you are coming!
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Ethics & Civic Responsibility: When Religious Rights Feel Wrong
Thursday, January 28 l 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Monumental Chapel, Virginia Wesleyan College
As the VWC Ethics Bowl team prepares to compete in the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges' 2016 Ethics Bowl, this program will highlight some of the issues that they may debate, specifically those relating to ethics, civic responsibility, and religious freedom in America. The team will respond to a specific case, and the audience will interact, critique, and discuss.
The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) brings together student teams from each of the 15 VFIC member institutions for an annual competition that discusses the importance of applied ethics through a specific topic, ranging from war to sports, and from education to social media. The 2016 Ethics Bowl, hosted this year by Hollins University, will focus on ethics and civic responsibility. Student teams will prepare to respond to ethical issues relating to civic duty and present on cases that call into question an individual's rights and responsibilities to family, to the greater community, and to governing bodies.
Coordinated by Dr. Kathy Merlock Jackson, VWC Professor of Communication, the students representing Virginia Wesleyan for the 2016 Ethics Bowl are seniors William Edmundson (criminal justice, pictured), Marlan Hare (biology), Michelle Sanderson (political science), Amberlea Villafane (psychology), and sophomore Riley Conrad (religious studies).
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"We the People"? Race and Politics in America
Another View Radio Program
"Race: Let's Talk About It" Initiative
Friday, January 29 l 12-1 p.m. on WHRV 89.5 FM
Deportation of illegal immigrants, prevention of Syrian refugees in our country, and the closing our borders to Muslims are among the issues dominating the debate among those who are seeking the Republican nomination for President. Race, religion, and ethnicity have always been a part of the American political system, but they are issues that loom very large in the 2016 presidential race. Sponsored in partnership with WHRO Public Media and the Fort Monroe Authority, the "Race: Let's Talk About It" initiative offers a safe space for civil and thoughtful discussions about race and its impact on society from a historical, academic, and sociological perspective. Topical discussions begin on WHRV's Another View radio program and continue during town hall events. The politics and race town hall discussion is Thursday, February 4 from 6-8 p.m. at the Fort Monroe Theater in Hampton.
Please click here to register to attend the town hall
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Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
Dr. Craig Wansink, Professor of Religious Studies and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
Kelly Jackson, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
Dr.
Eric Mazur, Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies and Center for the Study of Religious Freedom Fellow
for Religion, Law, and Politics
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