Over 100 Churches in 20 States to
Participate in National Unity Weekend
Two-Day Interactive Event Aspires to Unite the Church and Nation with Acts of Service and Worship
NEWS SOURCE:
A. Larry Ross Communications
DUMFRIES, Va., June 1, 2023 – As the inaugural National Unity Weekend approaches – scheduled for June 10-11 – over 100 churches across the country, representing a variety of denominations, are making final arrangements to participate together in community outreach initiatives on Saturday, and worship in harmony on Sunday. The effort is part of the Let’s Talk Initiative and is designed to bring unity to the Church, and through the Church to the nation.
Occurring annually during the second weekend in June, National Unity Weekend is an opportunity for believers to demonstrate God’s love and oneness in Christ through community service, and for church leaders to synchronously share the Bible’s transformative message of unity from the pulpit.
“President Abraham Lincoln was so right when he said that ‘America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedom, it will be because we destroyed ourselves from within,’” said Bishop Derek Grier, pastor of Grace Church in Dumfries, Va., and visionary behind the Let’s Talk initiative. “We must restore unity within our nation if we hope to survive these tumultuous times, and I believe it must begin in the Church.”
Churches can still sign up at unityweekend.com/events and participate together with groups such as the National Association of Evangelicals, The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), Love Our Cities, CBN and Operation Blessing. Together with local churches, they have coordinated Community Action events to include food distribution for those in need, job and healthcare resources, activities for families, and ministry through prayer. Eighteen locations are currently scheduled to host in the Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and north Texas regions.
On Sunday, June 11, following the day of service on June 10, all of the churches will focus their message for the day on the Scripture passage from Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (NIV)” Bishop Grier hopes that the time spent together in community service and in God’s Word will remind participants and those they are serving that we have more that unites us than divides us, and this is where we need to focus our attention and energy.
Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento and President of the NHCLC, echoes Bishop Grier’s vision for National Unity Weekend: “In a moment in our nation’s history where we stand divided, once again, on the issue of race, the Lord anoints Bishop Derek Grier to provide a biblically substantiated prophetic, Holy Spirit empowered prescription; Unity Weekend,” Rodriguez said. “These words best describe not just the ‘Weekend’ but the movement; prophetic, practical, and non-political!”
The effort is expected to grow even larger, building year over year, as pastors and ministry leaders continue to participate in Let’s Talk quarterly zoom calls, growing in their theological perspective on key racial issues and becoming better positioned to address sensitive racial and cultural topics beyond the National Unity Weekend event.
This initiative and quarterly calls have continued to gain momentum following the fall 2021 “D.C. Talks” kick-off banquet at Museum of the Bible, attended by several hundred church leaders from around the nation committed to engaging in dialogue on these issues. Leaders convene regularly via zoom, and growing numbers of individuals are registering their commitments to the Let’s Talk Statement of Change each week.
For more information on how to Register Your Church and sign the Statement Of Change for this inaugural National Unity Weekend, visit unityweekend.com.
About Let’s Talk
Let’s Talk is an environment of diverse Christian leaders from across the nation joining together for real dialogue, full participation and creative approaches to address the issues dividing our nation. Its participants believe many of the critical issues facing the Church today could be resolved by talking to one another directly, honestly, simply, and caringly about what matters most. These leaders have signed a Statement of Change acknowledging there is a problem and indicating a commitment to help the Church lead the way in finding solutions. They then regularly engage in dialogue about their pain, disappointments, and triumphs, as it relates to race relations in America, as well as come up with practical solutions to the crisis. See more at www.letstalklive.org.