Three-Day Revolutionary Love Conference Opens Its Doors Friday in New York City to Sold-Out Audience

NEW YORK, April 26, 2017  /PRNewswire/ -- Protests and houses of worship have experienced record turnout since the election. Now more than ever, the nation needs revolutionary love. Middle Collegiate Church and the The Middle Project will host a sold-out conference for over 300 activists and faith leaders of various religions, races, and ages seeking to repair the breach and restore hope.

Van Jones, William Barber, Valarie Kaur, Bill Moyers, and other civil rights activists and prophetic faith leaders will deliver keynotes to ethical leadership from around the country. The conference, Revolutionary Love: Disruptive Ethics to Dismantle Racism will take place Friday, April 28 – Sunday, April 30 at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village. 

"The call of our times is revolutionary love. As the president bans Muslim, refugee, and immigrant families, and bombs Syria, racism and xenophobia are still ordering the steps of too many in our nation," said The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church.

The conference will kick off at 1 p.m. Friday with a presentation led by Sikh activist Valarie Kaur along with The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis on the call for revolutionary love. Other leaders such as Shaun King, Traci Blackmon and Brian McLaren will explore topics ranging from confronting opponents with love, to the ethics of disruption, to Bill Moyers hosting a screening of his film, RIKERS. The conference will culminate at 8 p.m. Sunday with a closing keynote by The Rev. Dr. William Barber and the rock band BETTY.

"As our president dismantles public education without releasing his own tax returns, we are led by Rabbi Jesus, who called people to resist religious hypocrisy and rulers in high places. We are called more than ever by an ethic of love and a movement for justice and peace. Resistance and resilience are acts of faith," said The Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church.

Please visit the conference website for more information and a full agenda, and access this video to learn more about Middle Collegiate Church. The conference is sponsored by L2O and partners include the Love Army, Auburn Theological Seminary, The Revolutionary Love Project, Be More, and the Unitarian Universalist Association.

About Middle Collegiate Church

Middle Collegiate Church is a celebrating, culturally diverse, inclusive and growing community of faith where all people are welcomed just as they are as they come through the door. As a teaching congregation that celebrates the arts, our ministries include rich and meaningful worship, care and education that nurture the mind, body and spirit, social action which embraces the global community, and participation in an interfaith dialogue for the purpose of justice and reconciliation. The Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D. is Senior Minister of Middle Collegiate Church.

Established in 1628, the Collegiate Church is an ecumenical church affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, the National and World Council of Churches, and the New York City Council of Churches.

About The Middle Project

The Middle Project prepares ethical leaders for a more just society. It is an institute that brings together youth, young adults and adults from many fields and faith traditions.

It unites progressive leaders who are ready for a revolutionary and prophetic way of using power and resources to act locally and think globally to heal the human family.

The Middle Project takes its strength and approach from the progressive faith traditions that have played a major role in America's greatest democratic achievements: the abolition of slavery, civil rights, universal suffrage, and the anti-war movement.

SOURCE Middle Collegiate Church