Excitement was in the air on the morning of October 5, 2019 because at 7:15 am the long awaited and carefully planned Children’s Summit was to begin. This year’s Summit was held at Jones Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, in Columbia South Carolina. The summit has been held in Columbia for the past three years.

The theme was “Moving Forward with Hope; Love & Justice for Every Child. The summit began with a motivational presentation by Dr. Mary Love, Adjunct Professor of Christian Education, Hood Theological Seminary.

There were three workshops presented:

• Intergenerational Substance Abuse- presenter Keisha Perry from Richland County School District One.
• Mental Health Awareness -presenters Dolores Scott and Torie West of Holdout the Lifeline: A Mission to Families.
• “If You See Something, Say Something,” presenter- Officer Garo Brown of the Richland County Sheriff Department.

The summit was free and open to all who have a stake in the well-being of children. In attendance were children of various ages, parents, family members. The unique move of God was that this year’s summit was culturally diverse. Everyone seemed to enjoy learning and interacting together. Breakfast and lunch were served. School supplies were gifted to the public schools that make up the school cluster surrounding Jones Memorial. The recipients were Carver-Lyon and Watkins-Nance Elementary, W. A. Perry Middle and C. A. Johnson High School. The Summit is a part of the Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in poverty.

The National Council of Negro Women-Columbia Section in partnership with the Pan Methodist Campaign for Children (made up of the-United Methodists, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal

Churches and Baptist), Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, N.C. The campaign seeks to serve and engage all of God’s children, without boundary or border.

Reported by Dr. Mary Love

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