Dear John,
Welcome Home! The 29th annual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry is upon us. We are excited to gather again in community to heal, witness, and prepare for faithful service to civil rights, social justice, and child well-being. We hope you will join us!
This year’s theme, “Freedom Faith at 50,” honors CDF’s 50th anniversary and celebrates the memory and ministry of one of the establishing leaders of CDF’s Black Church Initiative, the late Rev. Dr. Prathia Hall. A fearless leader, theologian, activist, organizer, and child defender, Dr. Hall envisioned a community where adults embrace and prioritize America’s children and youth. CDF’s Proctor Institute does just that. On the Farm at Proctor, young people are active participants in the pursuit of justice. Faith leaders are equipped to address children’s concerns in their communities. Dr. Hall underscored this need in her sermon at the 1998 CDF Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry, when she mused, “Perhaps the most difficult way for adults to receive children is to listen to them.”
You will be inspired by incredible speakers and preachers including Rev. Courtney Pace, Ph.D., author of Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall; Dr. Patrick Reyes of the Forum for Theological Exploration; Dr. Lorena Parrish of Wesley Theological Seminary; Rhonda Magee, JD, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness; and many more!
We will be led in this healing time together by our co-pastors-in-residence: the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., pastor emeritus of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church and the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ; and our co-chaplains-in-residence: the Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson, president of Auburn Seminary and Min. Candace Simpson, lead writer for Fish Sandwich Heaven. The Rev. Dr. Alice Hunt, executive director of the American Academy of Religion will serve as Dean of the Haley Chapel. For a full list of leaders, plenaries, and sessions, visit our website.
Don’t miss your chance to take part in this year’s Proctor Institute. Register now!
