Faith, Hope & Love Conference

BY FRANK DROUZAS, Staff Writer

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rev. Regina Rosier Brown is a St. Pete native and certainly no stranger to doing her part for the community. Her organization, Out of the Ashes Women’s Ministry, is sponsoring its 2014 Faith, Hope & Love Conference May 3 at the Staybridge Inn and Suites, 940 5th Ave. S., St. Petersburg.

“I’ve worked with women from the Salvation Army,” she said. “I have donated to YWCA, women’s shelters. I try to provide what women and children and men need. I speak to people and ask them what they need and I do what I can.”

At the conference, Brown will be speaking about hope while the Rev. Isoke-Irish Mims will be speaking about faith in the middle of difficult circumstances. Mims is the founder and pastor at Women at the Well Ministry in Waldorf, Md., in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

In addition, the Rev. Dr. Katurah Jenkins-Hall will be holding what she calls “Love Clinics,” which are designed to strengthen people’s love for God, self and others. For this event she will identify:

• Four types of love you need
• The love languages you speak and understand
• What to do when love hurts 
• Healing meditations

The love clinics are usually group activities, Brown explained, and added that Jenkins-Hall employs visuals and a very hands-on approach for her methods, which Jenkins-Hall often adjusts to suit her audience, whether it is men, women, children or married couples.

For one such activity in the past, Brown explained that Jenkins-Hall gave everyone a small bag and asked people to make a list of things that really bother them. For every one of those things, they were told to put a pebble in the bag and feel how heavy it was.

Anything that they didn’t want to carry, they gave it to someone else. The idea was that you have your own baggage but many times people make others responsible for it. In the event things got too heavy, she asked for a volunteer who was willing to help carry it. This was to demonstrate making it through tough times.

Born and raised in St. Pete, Jenkins-Hall was the first African-American female to receive her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of South Florida in 1984.

In addition to the clinic and speakers, there will be entertainment featuring the New Philadelphia Community Church choir and mimes among other performers. The Rev. Jon Matthews of New Philadelphia will act as master of ceremonies.

Brown sums up her outlook simply: “Life is to be lived,” she stated. “When there’s an opportunity to help someone who’s having difficulty living it, help and do what you can so we can all enjoy life. Whatever gifts you have, bring them to the table. You can’t enrich the lives of others unless you’re willing to give of yourself.”

For more info on the Faith, Hope & Love Conference contact Regina Rosier Brown at (727) 692-6640 or regina49brown@yahoo.com.

To reach Frank Drouzas, email fdrouzas@theweeklychallenger.com.