Newswise — Bill Leonard, professor of church history and dean of the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University, has been active in promoting religious liberty since the Civil Rights Movement, and is particularly active in community engagement around issues of race and justice. Currently, Leonard is examining the new, diverse generation of ministers, which he calls "The Obama Generation." Especially within the black church, Leonard says, these ministers are forging new relationships, developing a new style of ministry and setting agendas that are parallel to and distinct from that of the Civil Rights-era generation of clergy.
Leonard is co-chair of the upcoming New Baptist Covenant regional gathering to be held April 24-25, 2009 at Wake Forest University. He says the meeting is being planned to "intentionally bring together diverse ethnic groups in service and ministry." The theme of the conference is "This is God's Year to Act: Responding to a Society in Crisis." Participants will address pressing social issues demanding urgent attention in this economic downturn: homelessness, unemployment, immigration, education and the environment, and strategies for ministering to communities in need. Maya Angelou, Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest, will deliver the opening address and President Jimmy Carter will present the closing address.
The regional gathering grew out of the initial Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, held in Atlanta in 2008. The event brought together more than 15,000 Baptists representing more than 30 Baptist organizations. Leonard noted that the gathering was the most racially, theologically and regionally diverse gathering of Baptists ever held in the United States.
Leonard is available for interviews by phone or e-mail; Wake Forest has access to C and Ku band satellite as well as Vyvx fiber optic for video interviews, and ISDN connectivity for radio.
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