Family Violence and Culture: A Conference
October 14, 2011 8am-1:30pm
@
The Foundry
Our theme this year is Family Violence and Culture featuring conversations on Southern Appalachian Culture, Hispanic Culture, Urban African-American Culture and Upscale Anglo Culture. We are pleased to announce that Bishop James Swanson, Sr. of the United Methodist Church is the keynote speaker and preacher for this year's gathering.
Bishop Swanson has guided the Holston Conference (which includes churches in southwest Virginia, east Tennessee and northern Georgia) into various initiatives. Under his leadership and foresight, the Holston Conference has passed resolutions mandating that UMC ministers and congregations be trained in the best ways to respond to domestic violence issues.
“Swanson is part of the growing number of clergy breaking the silence in churches about domestic abuse.” (Knoxville News- Sentinel - October 13, 2007) In the same article, Bishop Swanson stated, “The church has got to deal with it no matter how painful it is. If it’s that painful for us, can you imagine how painful it is for the victims?”
Please join Bishop Swanson along with other ministerial leaders and lay persons as we explore the impact that culture makes on family violence situations.
For more information, click here/uploads/7/5/8/8/758874/broch_clergy_oct_2011.pdfweeblylink_new_window.
Speak Out Against Family Violence Jan. 22, 2012
January 22, 2012 is the date for us all to Speak Out against Family Violence. Raise your voice as clergy to raise awareness about Family Violence. If one in four women experience family violence within their lifetime, your congregation will benefit from these words of truth, faith and empowerment. Click here for sample sermons from years past: /materials-for-speak-out.html
Our Purpose
We are a group of clergy and religious leaders, representing a broad spectrum of faith traditions, whose purpose is to provide education, advocacy, and support for our colleagues in ministry to:
Minister to victims of family violence;
Work to prevent family violence in our community;
Find common ground as spiritual leaders to address an issue that affects people of all religions, backgrounds, and classes.
We meet the first Tuesday of each month at noon in the auditorium of the Knoxville Family Justice Center. Call 865-215-6864 for more information.
Speak Out Against Family Violence
Each year during January we encourage pastors and lay leaders to dedicate time to speaking out from the pulpit against the problem of Family Violence. The next time for this emphasis is the weekend of January 22, 2012. For commentaries and examples of sermons given in past years, visit the Materials page. For more information about how to incorporate this issue into your worship service, send us a message through the Contact page.
