January 19, 2016
I’ve had several
opportunities this fall to visit with Rev. Dr. Wayne Lavender, a United
Methodist pastor, Virginia Wesleyan adjunct faculty member, and executive director
of Foundation4Orphans. During these
visits, I’ve learned much about his humanitarian interests and his role in
establishing the Foundation4Orphans. www.foundation4orphans.org
He was recently on campus to
talk about his "TREK Across America for Orphans" at a lunch sponsored
by the VWC Center for the Study of Religious Freedom. His trek begins a 5-month journey of running,
jogging, walking and driving across the United States. His goal is to arrive in
Oregon in time to attend the General Conference of the United Methodist Church
in May. His trip starts at the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach and winds its
way across the nation stopping in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri,
Colorado and Oregon. Dr. Lavender will be making many speaking appearances
along the way.
The goals of the TREK are to:
- Raise awareness of orphans and vulnerable children in the global south
- Raise funds for new orphan projects in Mozambique, Iraq, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Generate support and signers on a petition to General Conference encouraging the UMC to embrace orphans and vulnerable children as the missional priority of the denomination. The official petition has already been submitted but he is hoping to add thousands of signatures to this pending legislation.
Dr. Lavender lived in
Northern Iraq from 2011 to 2013 before returning to the U.S. to work with
several non-profit organizations in the area. He taught at the University of
Human Development and was a consultant to the Kurdistan regional government. He
has authored several books including "Counting Ants While the Elephants
March By," "Evelyn and Damon: A Story of Love and Peace" and
"The Sweet Smell of Apples." Mostly recently, he published: "The
Worldwide View of Redemptive Violence in the U.S."
I’m including information from pilotonline.com:
http://pilotonline.com/print_
We can follow Dr. Lavender’s trek on Twitter
and on his website.
We wish him well as he embarks on this commendable journey that supports such a
worthy cause.
