DART Clergy Conference Brings Leaders Together for Learning and Action

Last week, pastor Meredith Loftis traveled to Orlando, Florida, to attend the DART Clergy Conference, a gathering of clergy from 27 local affiliated organizations, along with guests from denominational partners and prospective member congregations. Designed for leaders already engaged in DART’s work, the conference prepares clergy to teach and preach sacred texts from the margins and to lead congregations in building strong, faithful justice ministries.

For Meredith, the experience was deeply energizing. Justice work is long-haul work, often carried out quietly and faithfully over time. Being surrounded by others who are committed to this calling, especially in a world that feels increasingly divisive, was both renewing and grounding. The conference offered a rare and powerful space for people to come together across contexts and denominations, united by faith and a shared desire to act.


Meredith attended alongside colleagues and partners from Knoxville, including Marjorie Thigpen-Carter and MJ Collins from Justice Knox, Mark Colbert from the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, Chris Battle from Fern Street Missionary Baptist Church, and John Mark Wiggers from St. James Episcopal Church. The conference offered space to deepen long-standing relationships and continue conversations that are already shaping justice work across Knoxville.


We are grateful for Meredith’s leadership and for the opportunity this time of learning and connection provides. Experiences like the DART Clergy Conference support the ongoing, shared work for justice that we carry together as a church.