Dr. Joseph T. Reiff, Shelton Professor of Religion at Emory & Henry College in Abingdon, VA, will be presenting the Lowrie and Ingram Lectures on October 11-12. His lectures will revolve around his new book, Born of Conviction: White Methodists in Mississippi’s Closed Society, which is the first study of the “Born of Conviction” statement which was signed by twenty-eight white Methodist pastors and published in the Mississippi Methodist Advocate on January 2, 1963. The statement condemned segregation and reminded readers of the Methodist Book of Discipline claim that the teachings of Jesus permit “no discrimination because of race, color, or creed.” Dr. Reiff is a graduate of Millsaps College and Emory University, and is an ordained elder in the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Schedule:
T October 11, 11 a.m.: “Born of Conviction: A Story of White Methodists in 1960s Mississippi”
T October 11, 7:30 p.m.: “Pastoral Theology, Christian Ethics, and Memory: Reflections on Born of Conviction”
W October 12, 11 a.m. “Panel and Response: The Church and Race Relations in the 21st Century”
- Dr. Andre Johnson – University of Memphis
- Rev. Autura Eason-Williams – Capleville United Methodist Church
- Rev. Maxie Dunnam – Senior Pastor Emeritus, Christ UMC; Former President, Asbury Theological Seminary