"Living in Color: Steppin′ Up-Moving from Theory to Action" is a conference to be held at Geneva College Friday, November 7, and Saturday, November 8. It will run from 6-9:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. For this third Living in Color conference, the focus is on calling individuals to get involved in overcoming prejudices and pride through Christ.
Speakers for the weekend include: Kinzer-Downs; Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, the Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago IL; Michelle Ayala-Rivera, a wife, mother, speaker and writer who is co-youth leader at Lighthouse Family Community Church; the Rev. Wayne Younger, founding co-pastor of the ethnically and socially diverse Cityview Covenant Church in Pittsburgh PA; Ricardo Tavarez, director of outreach for Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, MI and board member for Home Missions with the Christian Reformed Church; Dr. Roger Woodworth, lead pastor for the New City Church in downtown Pittsburgh; and Kerri Landes Clauser, Program Manager for the Operations and Program Manager for the Bible Center Church in Pittsburgh′s Homewood neighborhood.
Geneva′s Director of Multicultural Student Services Kathy Kinzer-Downs believes that hosting conferences like these is important for the college. "It is imperative that we be an institution that understands the times that we live in so that we can respond in a way that is relevant and needed," she explains. "The world is changing as well as the scope of higher education. We must understand and be equipped so that we can serve students well and equip this generation of students for the world ahead. The work of reconciliation and intentional diversity is one that must be done together, not alone. This conference helps us to do just that."
Breakout sessions include "Diversity Discussions: Does it Matter Anymore?" taught by Ayala-Rivera, "Pastoring Multi-Ethnic Movements for Christ: the Challenge and the Glory" by Rev. Younger and "Urban Community Development" by Tavarez.
Conference events include a showing of the film 42, which tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play professional baseball in the major leagues.
There will also be a Pre-Conference Professional Track for faculty members and higher education professionals taught by Dr. Rah. It will start at 10:10 a.m. on Friday and run until after the included lunch.
Passes are $40 for Friday and Saturday, $15 for Friday only, $25 for Saturday only, and $10 for college students. The cost for higher education professionals interested in the professional track is $20. The at-the-door costs for the conference are an additional $5.
The cost of admission includes lunch on Friday for those attending the professional track and a continental breakfast on Saturday.
For more information on the conference, including all speakers, pricing and schedules, visit www.geneva.edu/livingincolor.
Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God′s word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today′s world.