Nationally Known Preacher Talks Peace and Justice

The Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr. is Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church in the City of New York and served as Senior Minister for 18 years (1989-2007). He is nationally and internationally known as a speaker, preacher and teacher and was named one of the 12 “most effective preachers” in the English-speaking world by Newsweek magazine. He was also designated as one of America’s greatest Black preachers by Ebony magazine in 1984 and 1993.

More recently, Forbes has been President and Founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, a national and global ministry for spiritual renewal and holistic health. The foundation is a non-partisan, interfaith, not-for-profit organization for the promotion of a holistic understanding of health and wellness. It seeks to broaden the awareness of the interrelatedness of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and community health.

Dr. Forbes came to speak at an afternoon luncheon for pastors and at the Saint Paul Peace Lecture with the lectures entitled, “Justice Calls Our Name: What is Our Response?”

A group of multi-denominational and multicultural pastors and community leaders from both sides of the state line were in attendance at the Clergy Leader Peace Luncheon at Resurrection Downtown in Kansas City, Missouri. The local leaders had a beneficial discussion as Dr. Forbes asked a question and opened the floor for input. The lunch was a collaboration with Saint Paul School of Theology and Saint Paul doctoral alums: Rev. Dr. Mark R. Holland, Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/KCK and Rev. Dr. Emanuel Cleaver III, Senior Pastor of St. James United Methodist Church, KCMO.

Dr. Forbes gave the Saint Paul Peace Lecture that evening at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. “It is time to initiate a movement for a revolution of values in regards to the triple evils of bigotry, greed & violence,” said Dr. Forbes. The Saint Paul Peace Lecture is endowed by a donor in memory of his adopted brother PFC Wayne Drake who served in WWII and died as a prisoner of war. It is especially meaningful that he chose Saint Paul School of Theology to host the lecture on peace and justice issues as both topics are foundational to the seminary. Each year faculty are evaluated on ways that they incorporate those topics into their research and teachings.