Heritage Club/Brooks Hays Sunday

February 12, 2023

 

HERITAGE CLUB

In 1986, we began to recognize those who have been members of our church for 50 years or more and inducted them into the 2BC Heritage Club. On Sunday, February 12, please join us during worship as we recognize our Heritage Club members for their service and love given to 2BC over the years.

 

BROOKS HAYS AWARD

On this same day, we honor the legacy of those who have come before us, those that have built our church into who it is today, and those who have made a significant impact in God’s kingdom around the world.

We will present the Brooks Hays Award to our special guest for the day: Sophia Said

After worship, we’ll have a Mediterranean Lunch provided by Al Seraj. The cost is $5. Please RSVP HERE. You can go to www.2bclr.com/give, select Heritage Sunday Lunch and pay online, or you can pay at the church office.

 

You may listen to a Because It Is podcast where Pastor Preston Clegg speaks with Sophia Said and others about the resettlement of Afghan refugees in Central Arkansas from November 2021. 

 

 

 

Learn more about Sophia Said here

Sophia Said is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center of Arkansas which has the mission to reduce the fear and hatred among world religions by providing education and enhancing public dialogue among different faith communities. She designs and implements interfaith programs to create peace and harmony among different faith communities in Arkansas. Some of these programs include an interfaith summer camp for elementary school children, interfaith musical choir, interfaith youth core for high schoolers, supper clubs, fellowship dinners, and educational programming on world religions.

Prior to that, Sophia worked as a strategic adviser and gender based economic development consultant locally and internationally. Sophia has worked with Department of Human Services, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, STAND Foundation, Clinton School of Public Service, Winrock International, Arkansas Council for International Visitors, University of Arkansas, and Hendrix College.

Sophia has also spearheaded an effort to open a new mosque to meet the spiritual, social, and educational needs of a growing Muslim population in Little Rock. Sophia, serves as its founding Chairperson, probably the first woman in America to found and lead a full-service Islamic Center. Sophia spends a lot of her time providing leadership and creating programs for the advancement of the Muslim community in Central Arkansas.

Sophia has been building bridges of peace and harmony through promoting dialogue and designing interfaith initiatives in the state of Arkansas for the last several years. She is the recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Just Communities of Arkansas in 2016, the Peacemaker of the Year award by Arkansas Coalition of Peace and Justice, Community Leadership Award by FBI for the state of Arkansas in 2019 for her work on hate crimes against religious minorities, Religious and Social Awareness Steel Hendrix Award from Hendrix College in 2020, and several other awards from local and state-based organizations.

Born and raised in Pakistan, Sophia moved to United States for higher education. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Utah in 2007 with a degree in economics and was conferred to be the first Asian woman to address the annual commencement ceremonies as the valedictorian. She has a master’s degree from Clinton School of Public Service. Sophia has two children. She divides her time between Arkansas and New Jersey where her family resides.

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