Fourth Annual Hand In Hand Conference Scheduled For April 6-8

Church leaders and lay members, administrators and professional staff members of faith-based agencies and students will examine ways congregations can strengthen families and communities during the fourth annual "Hand in Hand: Family, Church and Community" conference. Scheduled for April 6-8 at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, the conference is coordinated by Baylor's School of Social Work and Center for Family and Community Ministries.
Dr. J. Alfred Smith, senior pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif., will deliver the keynote address and will serve as worship leader. Smith, who also serves as professor of Christian ministry at American Baptist Seminary of the West and Graduate Theological Union, will speak on "A Funeral or Future of the Family?" at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 6, and "A Solution for Curing Violence in the Family" at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 8.
In addition to Smith's lectures, Dr. Wendy Wright, author of Sacred Dwelling: A Spirituality of Family Life and professor of theology at Creighton University, will deliver the Barbara Chafin Endowed Lectureship in Family Ministries on Monday, April 7. Wright will speak on "Seasons of a Family's Life: Welcoming and Letting Go" at 9 a.m. and "Sacred Dwelling: Spirituality at Home" at 7:30 p.m.
The conference also will feature a number of workshops, including "Working with Congregational Volunteers in Community Ministries," "Cross-Generational Worship," "What We Know About Congregations - Working with Public Agencies and Funds: Some Guidelines for Congregations," "The Church Whose Neighborhood Has Changed" and "Faith-Based Coalitions and Federal Funding."
The Hand in Hand conference is co-sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Buckner Baptist Benevolences, the Women's Missionary Union of Texas, the National Association of Christians in Social Work and George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
For a complete list of workshops and for registration information, visit www.baylor.edu/CFCM . For more information, call toll-free (877) 710-1159 or email Vicki_Northern@baylor.edu .