MEADVILLE, Pa. – Nov. 12, 2008 – The Rev. James Lawson will present the 2008 Winslow Ecumenical Lecture at Allegheny College on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Tillotson Room of the Tippie Alumni Center.
In conjunction with the college's Year of Health, Lawson will offer “Prescriptions for the 21st Century,” reflecting his longstanding commitment to nonviolence and reconciliation. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Lawson studied the Gandhian movement in India before becoming a leader in the civil rights movement, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once called him “the leading nonviolence theorist in the world.” Lawson's commitment to nonviolence led to his imprisonment for refusing the draft during the Korean War and to his being expelled from Vanderbilt Divinity School because of his work to desegregate lunch counters in downtown Nashville.
Lawson completed his degree at Boston University and went on to a career in the ministry, serving for 25 years as pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. He now serves as Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University, which has also honored him as a distinguished alumnus.
In 1994 Allegheny College awarded Lawson an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
Allegheny's Year of Health is a campus-wide effort to examine various aspects of how health intersects with our lives on a personal, community and global scale. To learn more about the Year of Health at Allegheny, visit www.allegheny.edu/yearofhealth.
Lawson's visit is made possible by the Harry C. Winslow and Madeleine King Winslow Ecumenical Fund. While on campus, Lawson also will meet with students and take part in classes.
For more information, contact the Office of Religious Life at 814-332-2800.
