Campolo to Speak about Role of Faith in Human Services

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Tony Campolo, PhD, will open a dialog on what role the faith community should have in human services as part of the second annual Practice and Policy Lecture Series at noon, April 2 at the Will Rogers Theater, 4322 N. Western Ave., Oklahoma City. 
Campolo’s lecture will focus on how participants and the state can engage faith communities. Campolo has worked to create, nurture and support programs for at-risk children in cities across North America and the world.

Robin Jones, director, Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives said she heard Campolo a number of years ago say, “Don’t tiptoe through life simply to arrive at death safely.”

“It is probably accurate to say that Tony has probably not tiptoed much of anywhere.” Jones said, “It’s not that he can’t be tender, gentle, and compassionate, he can, but his life personally and professionally certainly couldn’t be described in a tiptoe manner.”

Campolo earned his doctoral degree from Temple University and is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. He is an ordained minister, having served American Baptist churches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is an associate pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.

The Practice and Policy Lecture Series is sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, OKDHS Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the University of Oklahoma Center for Public Management. The year-long series provides thought-provoking presentations by experts on Oklahoma’s emerging policy issues, trends and best practices. The lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the OKDHS Office of Planning, Research and Statistics at (405) 521-3552. For more information on upcoming lectures and archives of previous lectures, visit the Practice and Policy Lecture Series Web site at: http://lectureseries.oucpm.org/.

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