Rice event to examine faith during and after Harvey Aug. 30 

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Rice event to examine faith during and after Harvey Aug. 30 

HOUSTON – (Aug. 21, 2018) – Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program and Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance will host “Faith During and After Harvey: One Year Later” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 30 in Herring Hall on the Rice campus.

The event will address how faith communities have assisted with continuing Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts as well as how they are preparing for future natural disasters. Framed by relevant social science research on disasters and religion, the event will be a conversation on preparing for and executing disaster relief through the lens of faith.

“Religious organizations have often been tapped for support after natural disasters,” said Elaine Howard Ecklund, director of the Religion and Public Life Program and the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, who will moderate the discussion. “Following Hurricane Harvey, they are increasingly in the public eye and judged for their ability to respond quickly.”

Panelists for the event include:

Alexander Johnson, associate pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Johnson coordinated the response of his congregation to the needs of its community following Harvey.

Paula Pipes, principal of Pipes Research and Consulting. Pipes has worked with nonprofit organizations that identify as faith-based (known in Houston as community assistance ministries, or CAMS), which have been important to providing Harvey relief services.

Jason Plotkin, program director for Congregation Emanu El. Plotkin heads the congregation’s disaster relief board.

Omar Samji, Aga Khan Council for Southwestern United States. Samji was involved in recruiting and organizing volunteers from the Ismaili Muslim community, which put in many hours of service toward restoring Houston after Harvey.

WHAT: “Faith During and After Harvey: One Year Later”

WHEN: Aug. 30, 7-8:30 p.m.

WHERE: 100 Herring Hall, Rice University campus

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available online at https://faithduringandafterharvey1yearlater.eventbrite.com.

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For more information, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

Related Materials:

Religion and Public Life Program: https://rplp.rice.edu/

Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/home.aspx

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

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Photo credit: Rice’s Religion and Public Life Program.

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