Upcoming Events

January 2020 l HUBB Building Bridges Week

January 13-20: HUBB Building Bridges Week

January 18: Race Relations in Islam

January 19: A Concert for Justice

January 20: Strange Fruit Film Screening & Panel Discussion

March 23 & 24: Rev. Olu Brown: Embracing the Church of Tomorrow Today

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the VWU Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at 757.455.3129 or csrf@vwu.edu .
HUBB’s Annual Building Bridges Week
January 13 – 20

Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB) – a CSRF partner for the Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series – is an interfaith, interracial network of clergy, congregations, and community leaders who work together to build bridges of hope for racial healing and interfaith understanding in our community. For the past several years in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., HUBB has sponsored a “Building Bridges Week” during the month of January. A series of interfaith and interracial events include speakers, film, dialogue, and music.

Please see the articles below for details about the events scheduled during HUBB’s 2020 Building Bridges Week.
Race Relations in Islam
Saturday, January 18
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Islamic Center of Tidewater
1442 W. 49 th Street, Norfolk

Join Dr. Mehdi Rahoui to learn about Muslim beliefs on race relations. Dr. Rahoui is a professor at Old Dominion University and is an active member of the Muslim Community of Tidewater. He regularly volunteers at the Islamic Center, and occasionally leads Friday Prayers and delivers the sermon.
A Concert for Justice
Sunday, January 19
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Ohef Sholom Temple
530 Raleigh Avenue, Norfolk

Come hear choirs from Faith Deliverance Christian Center in Norfolk and Ohef Sholom Temple for a concert that highlights the importance of justice in different faith traditions.
Strange Fruit: Film & Panel Discussion
Monday, January 20
6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Virginia Wesleyan University
Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center

Masterfully crafted, Strange Fruit explores the legacy and the history of the eerie, controversial jazz classic. Best known from Billie Holiday’s haunting 1939 rendition, the song is a harrowing portrayal of the lynching of a black man in the American South.

The film tells a dramatic story of America’s past by using one of the most influential protest songs ever written as its epicenter. It brings us face-to-face with the terror of lynching and shines a light on the courage and heroism of those who fought for racial justice.

Following the screening, please stay for a discussion with:
·          Michael E. Hucles, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History Emeritus, Old Dominion University
·          Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Ph.D., Professor of History, Norfolk State University
·          Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg, Ohef Sholom Temple, Norfolk
·          Ted Roese, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI

FREE and open to the community. Limited Seating. RSVP Required.
Call 757-965-6107 or visit: jewishhva.org/FilmFestival to register

Presented by Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, in partnership with Hands United Building Bridges, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Community Relations Council, and the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Rev. Olu Brown and Embracing the Church of Tomorrow Today
A 2-Day seminar on leadership in the church,
March 23 and 24
Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center at VWU
(Please note that this seminar does involve a set cost.)

How to lead change? How to look at technology, hospitality, worship, and church systems in the 21st century? This two-day seminar focuses on how to anticipate and embrace change, particularly in an institution—the church—that frequently is reluctant to do so. 

Rev. Olu Brown is the lead pastor of Impact Church near Atlanta, GA. In 2016, Impact Church was listed as one of the top 100 fastest growing churches in America (and the fifth fastest growing United Methodist congregation). Brown is well-known as the author of  Zero to 80: Innovative Ideas for Planting and Accelerating Church Growth ,  Leadership Directions from Moses , and  4D Impact: Smash Barriers Like a Smart Church .
 
This seminar, which includes lunch on Monday and light breakfast on Monday and Tuesday, is on Monday, March 23, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. This $75 seminar is open to all, but also awards one continuing education credit for clergy from the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. If you are interested in registering for the 2020 Boyd Institute, please contact Kelly Jackson ( kjackson@vwu.edu ) at the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom.
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

757.455.3129 |  csrf@vwu.edu  |  www.vwu.edu/csrf