Springfield church launches speaker series centered on social justice

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

A Springfield church will have local preachers, city officials and an university president discuss social justice during select Sunday morning prayer services.

Christ Episcopal Church Deacon Rick Incorvati explained that the church has created a guest preacher series “in support of the urgency around racial injustice issues since the murder of George Floyd and in an effort to discern its own response to systemic racism.”

Floyd was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis Police on May 25. His death sparked immediate protests and discussions about injustices across the country and around the world.

A group of church members at Christ Episcopal Church, located at 409 E. High St., who were meeting weekly to discuss shared readings on systemic racism and the history of racial inequality thought the creation of a sermon series would help them further educate themselves, Incorvati explained.

“As we considered ways of furthering our education, the group members were drawn to the possibility of learning from leaders that we have right here in our community,” he added.

The series includes city of Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland, Springfield City Commissioner Rob Rue, Wilberforce University President Elfred Pinkard and several local clergy members. Below is the full list of guest preachers:

· Aug. 9: Pastor Eli Williams from Urban Light Ministries

· Aug. 23: Pastor Adam Banks from First Baptist Church

· Sept. 6: Pastor Heather Husted from Covenant United Methodist Church

· Sept. 13: City of Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland

· Sept. 20: Rev. Dr. Peggy Turner from Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church

· Oct. 4: Pastor Cynthia Atwater from High St. United Methodist Church

· Oct. 18: Pastor Ernest Brown from St. John Missionary Baptist Church

· Nov. 1: Springfield City Commissioner Rob Rue

· Nov. 15: Wilberforce University President Elfred Pinkard

· Nov. 22: Pastor Carl Ruby from Central Christian Church

The guest preachers will be live streamed at 9 a.m. through Christ Episcopal Church’s Facebook page and will be available online after the service.

“Thanks to the generosity of the invited preachers, we have a deeply rewarding series in the works,” Incorvati said. “We are pleased that the live streaming of our services will make these timely and important messages more widely available.”

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