One of Sawyerville's three goals is to improve race relations in Alabama. In all of our programming, we teach our campers, students, participants, and staff to love one another with no exceptions, as Jesus loves us, and to respect the dignity of every human being, as our Baptismal Covenant requires. Our actions are not produced from pity or division, but rather respect, relationship, and seeking Christ in each other.
Sawyerville hosts weekend conferences for high school and college youth every year over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Participants talk about how to improve race relations in Alabama and visit various historical sights that mark the Civil Rights Movement.
Person2Person Conference 2023
Each year, high school and college students from all over the state come together to learn about the history of race in Alabama, to talk about their own experiences of race, and to discuss what they can do to improve race relations in Alabama.
Person2Person 2023 welcomed 12 participants and staff from all over the state. High school students, college students, and adults spent Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend learning about the history of race in Alabama and discerning how Christians are called to improve race relations now.
The group stayed at St. John’s Episcopal Church and visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Legacy Museum, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Freedom Rides Musuem, Civil Rights Memorial, and the Harris House. The weekend was packed with visits to important historical and cultural sites as well as group discussions about race.