Bishop William Barber II, DMin (Disciples of Christ), Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and founder of Repairers of the Breach, is coming to Richmond June 8th and 9th.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (815 E Grace St, Richmond) will host Bishop Barber during this important stop on his national preaching tour to mobilize turnout for the Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly in Washington D.C. on June 29th.
All are welcome to participate in these powerful events of faith and solidarity!
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
Ephesians 2.13-14
Film Screening of Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy
Saturday, June 8th @ 2 – 4 PM, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Join us for a screening of the documentary Bad Faith, that traces the rise of Christian nationalist movement, followed by an insightful conversation with Bishop Barber. Register for free here!
Welcome Bishop William Barber to St. Paul’s Pulpit
Sunday, June 9th @ 10 AM
Bishop Barber will join us for our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist during his national preaching tour. Bishop Barber is a renowned progressive Christian leader, who has renewed Dr. King’s dream of an intersectional movement dedicated to transformational policy changes. All are invited to be nourished by Word and Sacrament as we commit ourselves to activism and advocacy. The service will be followed by a festive reception with leaders from the Poor People’s Campaign.
Forum: Poor People’s Campaign
Sunday June 9th @ 11:45 AM
Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson (Mass Poor People’s Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly- National Faith Convener) and Rev. Dr. Hanna R. Broome (Repairers of the Breach- National Director of Religious Affairs) will lead a discussion on the Poor People’s Campaign, highlighting their public policy agenda for June 29th and the upcoming elections. Join us for a compelling conversation on the intersection between our faith and bold public policy initiatives.
The Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival, Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Executive Board Member of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ, and Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.
He is the author of four books: We Are Called To Be A Movement; Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing; The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and The Rise of a New Justice Movement; and Forward Together: A Moral Message For The Nation. His new book “ White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy“ due to be release June 2024.
Rev. Dr. Barber served as senior pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ for thirty years and as president of the North Carolina NAACP from 2006-2017, and on the National NAACP Board of Directors from 2008-2020. He is the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement that gained national acclaim in 2013 with its Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly. In 2015, he established Repairers of the Breach to train communities in moral movement building through the Moral Political Organizing Leadership Institute and Summit Trainings (MPOLIS). In 2018, he co-anchored the relaunch of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival— reviving the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and organized by SCLS, worker’s rights movement, women’s rights movement, religious leaders, and people of all races to fight poverty in the U.S.
A highly sought-after speaker, Rev. Dr. Barber has given keynote addresses at hundreds of national and state conferences, including the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the homily at the 59th Inaugural Prayer Service for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Vatican at Pope Francis’s encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home” and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. In June 2018, he addressed the 5th Uni Global Union World Congress to more than 25 countries.
Dr. Barber is regularly featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Nation magazine. He was named one of 2020’s BET 100 Entertainers and Innovators and one of the 2019 recipients of the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor. He is a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient and a 2015 recipient of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award and the Puffin Award.
Dr. Barber has had twelve honorary degrees conferred upon him. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Central University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctorate from Drew University with a concentration in Public Policy and Pastoral Care.
Reverend Dr. Hanna R. Broome
Rev. Dr. Hanna R. Broome is a native of Spartanburg, SC. As a proud yet humble servant leader within the Central North Carolina Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church, Rev. Broome has dedicated her life to inspiring and guiding her community.
Presently, Rev. Broome holds esteemed positions, including National Director of Religious Affairs for Repairers of the Breach, President of the North Carolina Council of Churches, Assistant Director to Church Growth and Development for the AME Zion Church, and North Carolina Regional Director for Oikos Institute for Social Impact. She also serves as the Executive Director for Project 100 and is an active member of faith communities for the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign. Her commitment to the community is further reflected in her role with Faith Leaders of Color against the Death Penalty, NC Pastors for Children, and National Council of Negro Women.
Rev. Broome lives by the inspiring motto, “…If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b), exemplifying her unwavering faith and dedication to positively impacting the lives of those she serves.
Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson
Alvin O’Neal Jackson received his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, also with honors from Duke University, School of Divinity, Durham, North Carolina. In 1991 he completed the course work and was awarded the Doctor of Ministry (D. Min) degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
He has served as Pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church, Roanoke, Va., Associate Pastor, Second Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana. For almost 20 years, Dr. Jackson was Senior Pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church of Memphis.
Dr. Jackson served as the Senior Pastor of National City Christian Church and President of the National City Christian Church Foundation in Washington, DC, from April 1998 to November 2004. Under his leadership, the traditionally white congregation became increasingly diverse in membership, staff, and styles of worship. And 2001-2003, Dr. Jackson served as Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
In September 2006 he became Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church of New York City. September 2016, he retired from active pastoral ministry and relocated to Jacksonville, Florida where he is President of the JAX Initiative, LLC serving as Coach/Mentor for Pastors and Churches across the country and Advisor/Strategist for Bishop William J. Barber, II of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He also serves as National Faith Convener for the Mass Poor People’s Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the POLLS, June 29, 2024.