SALISBURY — The religious community can do a lot to help schools, says the Reverend Vincent W. Howell, director of Hood Seminary’s Congregational Faith & Learning Center.

As pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in Clemmons, Howell led a coalition of places of worship, businesses, schools and volunteers to meet students’ needs for clothing, specialty food, tutoring and professional coaching.

The Lewisville-Clemmons Interfaith Alliance, which he leads, also hosted a distance learning site for local students and helped sponsor a film event, “Angst,” to start a conversation about stress and stress. anxiety and its impact on children.

Howell will be one of two speakers at a forum, “Covenant Community Connection: Supporting Public Education,” to be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 26 at First Presbyterian Church’s Lewis Hall.

The free forum is open to the public.

Rev. Suzanne Miller, executive director of Pastors for North Carolina Children, will also speak. Miller will speak about Mission Amplify, a community-led letter-writing campaign that helps citizens communicate with state legislators on education issues. Recently, Mission Amplify drew particular attention to the Leandro court ruling regarding the constitutional requirement to provide all children with a solid basic education.

Miller, a Winston-Salem native who lives in Raleigh, is a Moravian minister who has also led United Methodist and Presbyterian congregations. She graduated from Meredith College, attended Duke Divinity School, and received her Master of Divinity from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

She founded NC Families for School Testing Reform in 2018 and is now a counselor.

Howell holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from North Carolina A&T and a master’s degree in organizational management from Salve Regina University. He earned a degree in Biblical, Theological, and Ministry Studies from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, and his Doctorate in Ministry is from Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan.

No pre-registration is required for the event. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Covenant Community Connection works with the faith community to plan and deliver dialogue circles, workshops and forums to achieve greater diversity, inclusion and social equity in Salisbury and Rowan County. He is a member of the city’s Human Relations Council.

The First Presbyterian Church is located at 308 W. Fisher St. The parking lot adjacent to Lewis Hall is in the 300 block of West Innes Street.