MEDIA ADVISORY
June 9, 2014
CONTACT:
Rev. Jeff Hood, TCADP Board of Directors
404-210-6760 (cell)
jeffrey.k.hood@gmail.com
A Pilgrimage to Abolish the Death Penalty from Livingston to Austin
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Board Member, Center For Theological Activism Executive Director and Southern Baptist Minister Rev. Jeff Hood to Conduct 200-Mile Walk
Dallas, Texas – Moved to pilgrimage in prayer for the abolishment of the death penalty, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Board Member Rev. Jeff Hood will conduct “A Pilgrimage to Abolish the Death Penalty from Livingston to Austin” from Friday, June 13, 2014 to Thursday, June 19, 2014. The approximately 200-mile walk will begin at noon on June 13, 2014 with a brief statement and prayer outside of the Polunsky Unit 3872 FM 350 South, West Livingston, TX 77351, where individuals on death row are incarcerated, proceed through Huntsville, Texas, where individuals are executed, and College Station, Texas and conclude at 5pm on June 19, 2014 with a brief statement and prayer on the steps of the South Entrance of the Texas State Capitol. Rev. Hood encourages people to interact with him along the journey and also at organized faithful conversations that will be taking place along the way at Wesley Memorial UMC in Huntsville, Santa Teresa Catholic Church in Bryan and University Baptist Church in Austin.
Of the pilgrimage, Rev. Jeff Hood remarked:
“Through walking in prophetic imagination, Jesus changed the world. On my pilgrimage from Livingston to Austin, I follow Jesus’ lead and with every step remind my fellow Texans that you cannot love your neighbor as your self and execute them. It is my hope to ignite the moral imagination of my fellow Texans so that we might all rise up together with one courageous voice and declare the death penalty to be no more.”
WHAT:
A Pilgrimage to Abolish the Death Penalty from Livingston to Austin
Starting with a Brief Statement and Prayer in Livingston
Faithful conversations at Wesley Memorial UMC in Huntsville, Santa Teresa Catholic Church in Bryan and University Baptist Church in Austin.
Concluding with a Brief Statement and Prayer in Austin.
WHEN:
Friday, June 13, 2014 at Noon to Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 5pm
WHERE:
Friday June 13, 2014: Livingston
Noon
Brief Statement and Prayer
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
West Livingston, TX 77351
Pilgrimage along US-190 W
Saturday June 14, 2014: Huntsville
Pilgrimage along US-190 W
7 to 8pm
A Faithful Conversation on the Death Penalty with Rev. Jeff Hood on his Pilgrimage from Livingston to Austin
Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church
700 Texas 30
Huntsville, TX 77320
Rev. Hood will walk to pray outside the Walls Unit after the event.
Sunday June 15, 2014: Huntsville to College Station
Pilgrimage along TX 30
Monday June 16: College Station
Pilgrimage along TX 30
Members of Santa Teresa Catholic Church will join Rev. Hood around 11:30 and will walk with him to their congregation.
Noon
A Faithful Conversation on the Death Penalty with Rev. Jeff Hood on his Pilgrimage from Livingston to Austin
Santa Teresa Catholic Church
1212 Lucky St, Bryan, TX 77803
Tuesday June 17: College Station to Austin
Pilgrimage Co Road 324 and 318
Wednesday June 18: College Station to Austin
Pilgrimage Farm to Market 696
Thursday June 19: Austin
Pilgrimage Outskirts of Austin and Into Downtown
5pm
Brief Statement and Press Conference at the Conclusion of the Pilgrimage on the steps of the South Entrance of the Texas State Capitol
Members of University Baptist Church and other friends will join Rev. Hood at the conclusion of his walk at the State Capitol and will walk with him to the concluding at University Baptist.
7 to 9pm
A Faithful Conversation on the Death Penalty with Rev. Jeff Hood at the Conclusion of his Pilgrimage from Livingston to Austin
University Baptist Church
2130 Guadalupe St.
Austin, Texas 78705
WHO:
Rev. Jeff Hood is a theologian (MDiv and ThM), historian (MA) and bioethicist (MS) by academic training. Presently, Jeff is completing a doctorate in theology at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. A graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jeff is an ordained Southern Baptist minister. A passionate activist, Jeff serves as the Executive Director of Center for Theological Activism, on the Board of Directors of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, on the National Council of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and as a spiritual advisor on Texas’ Death Row. Jeff is married and has three young sons- twin toddlers and an infant.
Information:
The statements, press conferences and events are all open to the public.
For more information on A Pilgrimage to Abolish the Death Penalty contact Rev. Jeff Hood, TCADP Board Member, at (404) 210-6760 or jeffrey.k.hood@gmail.com
Jeff will provide updates on his pilgrimage on twitter // @revjeffhood and on the Facebook pages of Center for Theological Activism // https://www.facebook.com/centerfortheologicalactivism and Texas Coalition to Abolish Death Penalty // https://www.facebook.com/tcadp
For more information on the death penalty in Texas, contact Kristin Houlé, TCADP Executive Director, at 512-441-1808 (office), 512-552-5948 (cell) or khoule@tcadp.org.
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