Religion Communicators Council Marks 85 Years at Annual Convention

The Religion Communicators Council will hold its 85^th annual convention in 2014 in Nashville, TN from April 3-5^th.

Religion Communicators Council (RCC) members from across the US will be heading for Music City USA April 3^rd-5^th this year to celebrate communications of many faith traditions at their annual convention. Hosted by the Inn at Opryland, the event will offer exciting plenary speakers, challenging workshops and awards to secular and faith-based organizations for exceptional work communicating faith issues.

RCC will honor members who have created excellent work for their faith group at the DeRose-Hinkhouse Awards Ceremony. At a special dinner event, the Wilbur Awards will honor secular media that have excelled in sharing faith stories in multimedia platforms.

The convention is open to members and others involved in religious communication on a professional or academic level. A full schedule is on the RCC website at religioncommunicators.org/convention and a registration site is open for all who wish to register at rccnashville.org.

The planning for the 85^th convention is being led by Rev. Brian Fesler, Nashville chapter president and pastor of the Church of Scientology. Rev. Fesler says, “This year’s convention is shaping up to be one of the best yet.  We’ve got workshops on writing, accreditation, handling crises, social media.  Attendees will leave with new skills and connections.”

The opening session features Remziya Suleyman with American Center for Outreach, who will provide “A Muslim Perspective on Interrelation of Religions and the Role of Religious Communication in Public Advocacy.” Plenary sessions also feature speakers Rev. Larry Hollon of United Methodist Communications, Dr. Sybril Bennett of Belmont University in Nashville, Rev. Michael Waters of Joy Tabernacle AME Church in Dallas, and Sarah Wilke, Publisher of the Upper Room Ministries.

Workshops will feature three key tracks which are professional development, communication in a digital age, and interfaith communication. Some of these workshops include APR: Accreditation in Public Relations, How to Handle a Crisis in Your Congregation, Religion in the Mainstream Media, Turning a Negative Message into a Positive, and much more.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and in public relations. Members of the RCC come from many different religions and backgrounds including Baptist, Jewish, Baha’i, Scientology, Muslim and Methodist among others.

For more information, visit religioncommunicators.org.