Columbus County Partnership for Children (CCPC) and Resilient Columbus Coalition invites all county clergy members and faith leaders to its Faith and Resilience Summit. The event is free of charge and will be held on Friday, April 4 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Homes Chapel at Lake Waccamaw.
“This summit is an opportunity to convene local faith leaders around topics affecting families and children,” said Dr. Selena Rowell, executive director of CCPC. “They will find this summit an opportunity to gain new perspectives on how to impact the lives of their congregation as well as how to make room for self-care to protect themselves from burnout.”
Resilient Columbus aims to partner with the community’s faith leaders to foster resilience and trauma-informed interactions in a county that has faced several far-reaching adversities such as flooding from hurricanes Florence and Matthew; and the lasting traumatic effects of the COVID pandemic.
“Churches are often the first place that a family goes to when they’re facing trauma, because they’ve already built trust with their pastor or their church choir or their Sunday School teacher,” said CCPC’s Dr. Latoya Beatty, coordinator of Ready and Resilient Families and Communities and one of the summit’s organizers.
Scottie Seawell is the co-founder and principal consultant of Leading and Governing Associates, Inc. She serves as a regional coordinator for a tri-county effort involving Resilient Columbus, Robeson and Bladen county resilience coalitions and is a speaker for the summit.
“Communities of faith are a source of strength and support to the people in their communities,” Seawell said. “As such, faith leaders can foster resilience through compassion, understanding, and faith-based initiatives which strengthen connections and encourage the sharing of resources — two protective factors that are necessary for people to thrive.”
Churches are already doing the important work of building resiliency by providing services like back-to-school drives, food banks and warming shelters.
“Because churches are doing that type of work already, it makes it second nature for people to go to their church when they need help,” Beatty said.
Because both churches and the Partnership have an interest in helping children and their families, it’s a natural collaboration.
“The faith leaders in our county are influential; they are attentive, concerned, and compassionate and have the needs of their congregations and communities at the forefront of all they do,” Rowell said.
The summit will feature multiple guest speakers, including Pastor Dr. Timothy Lance of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, who will present the “7 Dimensions of Wholeness”; Reverend Clifford Barnett of Warner Temple A.M. E. Zion Church who will present “You Are Enough”; and Ashley Alvord of Positive Childhood Alliance NC, who will present on Connections Matter and H.O.P.E.
For additional information about Columbus County Partnership for Children, call 910-642-8226. Visit the office at 109 W. Main St. in Whiteville or online at www.columbussmartstart.com. “Like” ColumbusSmartStart on Facebook.
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