The South Carolina Baptist Historical Society will begin a series of programs this fall that will focus on “Baptist Higher Education: Past, Present and Prospect.”
An Oct. 13 meeting at Furman University, which features an address by A.V. Huff and a tour of historic Baptist sites in Greenville, will be the first of four programs to be held successively at each of the South Carolina Baptist universities (both past and present) during the next four years. Registration for the meeting opens at 11:30 a.m. in the Garden Room of Furman’s Chapel, with Huff’s address slated for 1:15 and the tour starting at 2:15 p.m.
Huff, a former history professor at Furman, will present a paper on the beginnings of Furman University as a Baptist institution. Among the stops on the tour will be the site where Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was first located; Springwood Cemetery, where several Baptist notables are buried; and First Baptist Church, Greenville, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary.
“Although it is no longer affiliated with South Carolina Baptist Convention, the officers thought it appropriate to begin the series at Furman since it was the first Baptist-sponsored college in the South,” Glen Clayton, secretary of the historical society, wrote in a Sept. 12 announcement. “As we move to other campuses, the programs will focus on Baptist higher education present and future.”
The Baptist higher education programs are in lieu of the society’s usual two annual meetings, one of which has traditionally been held during the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting in November. The stand-alone meeting format will allow more flexibility in choosing locations and programs for the society, Clayton noted.
Advance registration is necessary to attend a luncheon and to make tour arrangements. Contact Glen Clayton at 864-834-8326 or jglenwood@bellsouth.net for details and membership information.
Clayton said the Historical Society’s 2007 fall meeting will be held at Charleston Southern University. The date will be announced later, he said.