CHARLOTTE — The Rev. William Barber II, the well-known North Carolina-based progressive faith leader and founder of the Moral Mondays Movement, will speak at a one-day conference hosted in the Queen City on Oct. 6.
Barber has taken a frontline position in the progressive faith movement, beginning as a Disciples of Christ pastor, then moving into activism through the local and state chapters of the NAACP. After founding the popular statewide Moral Mondays Movement, Barber announced in May 2017 that he would step down from his state NAACP presidency in order to lead the national Poor People’s Campaign. He’s since led several national rallies and gatherings in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere across the nation.
The Liberating Theologies Conference is presented by The Freedom Center for Social Justice. The group says it will be a full-day experience exploring varying theologies with an emphasis on liberation and inclusion for the oppressed and marginalized. The conference is an extension of the Charlotte group’s “Do Not Harm” initiative and pledge, which asks faith leaders to commit to doing no harm through their interpretation of scripture or other religious writing. The program has a particular focus on the harms done to the LGBTQ community, as well as people of color and of various faith traditions.
The inaugural Liberating Theologies Conference will be held at the Charlotte Museum of History and is being presented in partnership with the Union Theological Seminary of New York. Registration is now open online at bit.ly/2JShR6O.
Other presenting and community partners include the Union of Affirming Christians, Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, NC Council of Churches, NC NAACP and MeckMin.
info: fcsj.org.