Meet our panelists

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN TODAY'S SOCIAL-POLITICAL TIMES

Thursday, July 8 at 5:30 PM PT

Despite a barrage of critical issues violating human and civil liberties coming to the forefront of public discourse in recent history, many faith leaders have chosen to remain silent. We’re bringing together three pastors and a religious scholar to discuss the civic power of the Church's congregants and how the church can make a difference in protecting the voices of its members. Moderated by MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

RSVP

Rev. Kirkpatrick "Kp" Tyler was appointed as the Pastor of The Mighty Saint Mark AME Church. Along with his service as a pastor, Rev. Kp has provided faith based leadership, youth empowerment and team building training and development for various community and faith based organizations. Professionally Pastor Tyler has a 15 year history in community organizing and organizational development and in 2014 launched his company The Fig Tree Development Group. Pastor Tyler serves as the Director of Skid Row Strategy for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. An activist in heart and in action Pastor Kp uses the ministry of Jesus Christ as His Guide for Activism.

Pastor Tyler stands on the Promise of "If they should hear and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honor" (Job 36:11) and has committed to a life of Obedience and Service, he has a deep Love for his family God’s People and God’s word!

Gregory Khalil is the Co-Founder and President of Telos, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that equips American leaders and their communities to better engage seemingly intractable conflict. Much of Telos’ work has centered on the role of faith leaders, with an emphasis on evangelical Christians, and culture shapers in America’s relationship to Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. Before founding Telos, Greg was a legal and communications adviser to Palestinian leaders on peace negotiations with Israel.

Greg is a founding member and chair of the board of directors of Narrative 4, a global non-profit that seeks to use story and media to cultivate empathy across divides. He has lectured internationally and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, Religion News Service and The Review of Faith & International Affairs. Greg is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he often co-teaches "Covering Religion." He's also a former Affiliate Fellow of Harvard's Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale Law School, Greg is currently based in New York City.

Rev. Bryson White is a PhD candidate in Theology and Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is currently writing his dissertation, titled Racial Rapture: Mass Incarceration as Distorted Realized Eschatology in which he explores the theological underpinnings of the mass incarceration of Black people in the United States. A twice selected Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) dissertation fellow, he has published work in Black Theology: An International Journal and has presented his research at the annual American Academy of Religion conference. White holds master’s degrees in Theology and InterCultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from California State University at Northridge.

Currently, Rev. White is the Regional Faith Leadership Coordinator for Faith In the Valley (FIV). Faith In the Valley is a multi-faith-based non-profit which organizes congregations for reimagining our public life together through building power to ameliorate structural inequalities such as; mass incarceration, housing inequality, urban gun violence, and the need for immigration reform.

Andrew Richards, Outreach Pastor, Saddleback Church (PEACE Initiatives Manager), currently serves as an Outreach Pastor at Saddleback Church’s Lake Forest Campus. He has served as a pastor on staff with several US-based churches seeking measurable change in community issues. Additionally, Andrew has worked alongside multiple local and international relief and development organizations, including a well-known non-profit with global impact in conflict sensitive countries. He is passionate about cultivating meaningful relationships across divisions to build transformational impact in our neighborhoods and world.

Andrew grew up in Arlington, VA, spent time investing in his Australian roots in Adelaide and Sydney, then back to the US to finish his schooling. He graduated with a biology degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara and completed his Masters in Global Leadership through Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. He and his wife Annette have been married almost 22 years, and love spending time with their son Spence (15), daughter Tori (9), dog Mojo, and bunny Smokey. For fun he loves family trips, trying to surf, films, basketball, playing the drums and reading.

Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council improves public understanding and policies that impact American Muslims by engaging our government, media, and communities.

Update contact info or unsubscribe.
View online here.