PROGRAMS  |  BLACK CHURCH INITIATIVE

National Black Religious Summit 12 on Sexuality
The Dawn of a New Day

The twelfth annual National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality will be held July 9-11, 2008 at the Howard University School of Divinity. This year’s theme is “The Dawn of a New Day, ” which is so appropriate during an election year when we have heard so much about change from the political parties. In the National Black Church Initiative, all that we have done throughout the past twelve years has prepared us to make major changes within our churches relating to issues of sexuality.

Please plan to join us for three days of learning, praising, and celebrating our spirituality and sexuality. The non-refundable registration fee is $75.00 for adults and $40.00 for youth ages 13-18. One-day-only registration including meals is $40.00. Registration covers the cost of meals, as well as all Summit material.

Registration

Online registration is now available.

You may also register by downloading and printing the registration form and mailing it to: RCRC, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1130, Washington, DC 20005. Please make your check or money order payable to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

Fax the registration form, with credit card payment information, to 202-628-7716, attention: Summit Registration.

2008 Summit Registration Booklet

Plenery and Worship Speakers

Reverend Kenneth Samuel
of Stone Mountain, GA

Doctor Kenneth Lee Samuel is a native of Darlington, South Carolina; one of four children born to Mr. & Mrs. Bessie and Albert Samuel, Sr.  He has been the recipient of many scholastic and civic honors, including ‘A Better Chance Scholarship’, which allowed him to attend high school at the prestigious Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey.  He graduated in 1978 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History.  He continued his academic pursuit by matriculating at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received the Benjamin E. Mays Theological Fellowship Award among others.  In 1981, he received his Master of Divinity Degree.  In 1996, he received the Doctor of Ministry Degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.  His theological focus is in the field of homiletics and social ethics.  Dr. Samuel is an adjunct professor in the Religion and Philosophy Department at Clark Atlanta University, and has served as a Teaching Assistant in homiletics at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University.  An aspiring author, Dr. Samuel is completing his first book, for Pilgrim Press on the dynamics of decision making in the local church.

Reverend Edwin Clifton Sanders, II

Reverend Sanders is the Senior Servant of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and founder of the First Response Center, which operates outreach ministries in the areas of substance abuse, advocacy for children, sexual violence, and harm reduction, in addition to providing services (including nutrition, pastoral care, treatment linkages/referrals, and primary care) to persons infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS.  Rev. Sanders speaks regularly for conferences and other forums all over the world regarding HIV/AIDS and substance abuse issues.  He has served on the CDC Advisory Committee on HIV/STD Prevention, and the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.  Rev. Sanders serves on the Boards of the Black AIDS Institute, the National Center for Primary Care, The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, and the Drug Policy Alliance.  In 2002, Rev. Sanders was a candidate for Governor of the state of Tennessee, finishing third out of a field of fourteen candidates. He is married to Denise Billye Sanders and has three children: Edwin III, Grace Louise, and Joseph Wesley.

Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, IL

Adult Track
This year's adult track will include sessions on domestic violence, homosexuality and the Black church, advocating for comprehensive sex education, the gifts of women in the pulpit, sexuality and the ministry, "Safe Church" practices for children, and more. Read more about the Adult Track Sessions.

Teen Leadership Institute
The Teen Leadership Institute is open to youth ages 13-18. Read more about the Teen Leadership Institute Sessions.

Forms for Teen Leadership Institute - MUST BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED BY JUNE 15, 2008.
Chaperone Registration Form

Chaperone Guidelines

Parent Permission Form

Download our Save the Date card!

See photos from last year's Summit 11.

For more information about the Summit, contact 202-628-7700 or info@rcrc.org.