The 2020 Summit on the Black Church of the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church will take place Oct. 3 as a virtual session.

The virtual gathering will open at 8:45 a.m. and close after worship that starts at 5 p.m. Registration is required by Oct. 1, and the cost is $50 per person. Good News TV, the conference’s media partner, will host the session.

The theme of the online gathering – “The Next Faithful Step: Step Out, Step Up” – encompasses the topics of a wide range of break-out sessions, including:

• Step Up to Health (“Health Disparities and Underlying Issues”), led by Jeannette F. Jordan, a registered dietitian and former spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
• Step Out in Health/Wellness (“Faith, Activity and Nutrition”), led by the FAN Team from the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center.
• Step Up Your Virtual Game (“Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Relevant, Be Church”), led by the Rev. Martin Quick, associate pastor at Journey United Methodist Church in Columbia.
• Step Up/Step Out (“Resourcing Your Ministry”), led by the Rev. Dr. Michael L. Bowie Jr., national executive director of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century.
• Step Up/Speak Out (“Poor People’s Campaign”), led by the Rev.  Amiri Hooker, pastor of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake City.
• Step Out/Be the Change (“Justice for All”), led by the Rev. Leslie Watson Wilson, director of African American Religious Affairs at People For the American Way.

The Rev. Dr. F. Douglas Powe Jr., director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and an ordained UMC elder, will lead the plenary session – “The Adept Church” – based on his latest book by the same name.