Campus Event: Worship in Wait (Feb. 12)
The Provost’s Office has shared the following information about an upcoming campus event to which your students are invited.
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Worship in Wait
February 12, 2012
Wait Chapel at 6:00 PM
The Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities are invited to an evening of worship for the upcoming Worship in Wait, themed Faith Works: Fostering Community & Inclusion. Drawing inspiration from the scripture James 2:26 – “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” – renowned civil rights activist Rev. William Lawson will deliver a message that illuminates how hard work and faith often coalesce to build inclusive communities. Attendees can also look forward to musical selections by community groups, including Winston-Salem State University’s Burke Singers, and a special recognition of the upcoming 50th anniversary of integration at Wake Forest.
For more information, please contact Matt Williams in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at (336) 758-3824 or williamj@wfu.edu
Reverend William A. Lawson
A civil rights icon from Houston – the Rev. William Alexander Lawson is one of the country’s most influential champions of community service and inclusion. Lawson marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., helped desegregate the public schools in Houston, and was an architect of the national educational program for disadvantaged youth – Upward Bound.
Now through the William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity (WALIPP), a non-profit that bears his name in honor of his years of community service, Lawson continues to build community with advocacy and support for marginalized social groups. He created The Main Street Coalition for Houston’s business sector, and founded the WALIPP Preparatory Academy for boys. The Academy was the first charter school created for boys grades six through eight in the U.S. The Institute also houses a Seniors Residence for independent-living adults.
Lawson is grounded in a strong faith and education. He served as director of the Houston Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for more than 30 years and grew his church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, from a mere 13 members to 5,000. He’s also taught Religion and Social Transformation as part of the curriculum in the Religious Studies Department at Rice University.
Lawson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Tennessee A. & I. State University in Nashville in 1950. He attended Central Baptist Theological Seminary, which conferred him Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees. He also has received honorary doctorates from Howard Payne College in Brownwood, the University of Houston, and Texas Southern University in Houston. He is the author of a book of meditations called Lawson’s Leaves of Love.