Fred Batts Leaderhsip luncheon

Our Church Swap presentation at the Fred Batts Leaderhsip luncheon went really well. There were about 20 people in attendance, many of whom showed a genuine interesting in participating in the study. We will follow up with calls in the next few weeks. I am excited about this journey. I will share photos shortly!

Fred Batts Leadership Luncheon – December 20, 2010

Fred Batts Leadership Luncheon – December 20, 2010

I will join Ramona Curtis, Director for Leader Development & Civic Engagement at Baylor University, and Jo Welter, Immediate Past President of the Community Race Relations Coalition, as keynote speakers at the Fred Batts Leadership Luncheon. We will discuss, “A Grassroots Effort to Dismantle the Most Segregated Hour in America" at noon on Monday, December 20, at the Bledsoe Miller Recreation Center, 300 Martin Luther King Blvd.


Curtis hopes to help dismantle what Martin Luther King, Jr. called “America’s most segregated hour” -- the 11 a.m. hour on Sunday morning when people go to church.


“Our world is growing more and more diverse,” Curtis said, “I’ve never understood why we are so segregated during that 11:00 hour on Sunday morning.”


Church Swap participants will document their journeys via video interviews, a personal blog and Facebook posts. They will also read Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America and United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race.


After three months, they will return to their home church where they will spend another two months writing about what they have learned. Using this information, project managers will produce a research paper, a Web site, a video documentary and a research paper detailing their experiences.


Curtis who grew up in a predominantly black church made the switch several years ago, and she is glad she did.


“I have grown tremendously as person because of my open-mindedness,” she said, “I am challenged to be able to be comfortable and see people as people and not the color of their skin.”


A $10,000 grant from the Kellogg Foundation’s Racial Healing Initiative allowed Curtis and the Community Race Relations Coalition to challenge the segregation stronghold.  Jo Welter, past president of the Community Race Relations Coalition, helped secure funding for the project.

 Lunch (optional) will be available for $5.00.The weekly event aims to help Waco residents stay familiar with and abreast of the people and issues that affect  communities.