Below you will find information pulled together by leaders of both Second Baptist and First Baptist about the upcoming Repair Conference we are hosted jointly on November 8-9. I want to invite you to prayerfully consider being involved in the conference and the meaningful conversations that we hope will take place throughout the weekend. You will find a link at the bottom of the email to register, or you can find the event in our church app and register there.
Grace and Peace,
John
Aiken Churches Hosting Conversation Around History and Hope, Continuing Work of “Repairing Breaches” in the CSRA
Aiken’s First Baptist Church and the Second Baptist Church of Aiken are taking a new step in their longtime journey of serving the community together. On November 8th and 9th, the congregations are gearing up to host a symposium of conversations surrounding the history of race in Aiken from the perspective of faith leaders, with an eye toward healing historic hurts and bridging individuals and communities as Aiken moves into the future. The event is titled Repairing the Harms of Racism: Why This is a Work of the Church. Featured facilitators for the weekend will include the Rev. Dr. Prince R. Rivers, Senior Pastor of the Union Baptist Church of Durham, NC and a faculty member at the Duke Divinity School, as well as Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard, Founding Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Wake Forest Divinity School.
Heavily inspired by the Scriptural mandate for believers to become “repairers of the breach” (Isaiah 58:12) within society, the weekend of activities aims at facilitating courageous conversations and intimate communal experiences to foster true openness and unity among Aikenites of goodwill. Within the immersive weekend, participants will hear others’ stories, have open conversations about the past, and strategize on how to build a fair and hope-filled future.
For years the two congregations have engaged in mutual ministry opportunities, including hosting a GED program along with ChristCentral, worshiping jointly twice per year, leading out in a cohort of churches taking racial harmony seriously within the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of South Carolina, among other projects. This next step is meant to further unity and understanding among citizens.
Registration is required for the two-day event which includes meals on both Friday and Saturday. The registration fee is $20 to help defray the costs of the event, but if the cost is prohibitive to participation, then individuals are encouraged to register through either church office where the fees may be waived. The event will be held at Second Baptist Church of Aiken and will run from 5:30 to 8:30 pm Friday and 9:00 am to 3:30 pm Saturday. Registration is currently open to all and interested parties are encouraged to register now at: https://subspla.sh/s4ytvtr.
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