Paired Clergy Network

 

The Paired Clergy Network was organized in an effort to sustain on a year-round basis the work of racial reconciliation that was launched in 2005 by Mercer University's annual Building the Beloved Community Symposium. As a Christian fellowship, we seek to foster closer collaboration among all congregations of worship in Macon/Bibb through:

• Pulpit exchanges
  
• Paired friendships of clergy (across racial and denominational lines)
  
• Regular fellowship opportunities
  
• Community-wide unity services
  
• Partnerships in community development and service
  
  

While the vision that God gave for the Symposium was based on the conviction that racial reconciliation can only become a reality through the Church of Jesus Christ, we recognize that Dr. King's notion of Beloved Community was all-inclusive. All God's children must come together to make it happen. Therefore, membership in the group is open to clergy from all faiths in Macon/Bibb, and members are not required to subscribe to a doctrinal statement.

The group's purpose is to enhance and encourage collaboration among the faith communities of the recently consolidated Macon/Bibb County, thus strengthening the unity of the community at large. The pairs of clergy meet for meals or recreational outings and cultivate a friendship that is then extended to their respective congregations through pulpit exchanges, unity services, and collaboration on community service and outreach projects.

The group sponsors bimonthly Paired Clergy breakfasts throughout the year and biennial citywide unity services that alternate in churches and with preachers of different races.

Any clergy interested in joining the Paired Clergy Network are invited to contact John Dunaway at (478) 719-3564 or Dunaway_JM@Mercer.edu.