Speakers announced for Men’s Rally

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Six speakers will be featured at the second Men’s Rally in the Valley scheduled May 7 at the Covelli Centre. They are:

Bishop Joseph Garlington, senior pastor at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh and presiding bishop at Reconciliation Ministries International, which builds bridges among races, cultures, denominations, genders and nations.

Joe White, author of 23 books and president of Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Mo. He is widely known for punctuating his messages about the cross of Jesus Christ by dragging a large cross onto the platform.

Sherman Smith, a Youngstown native and North High School graduate, is the running-backs coach for the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks, where he was an All-Pro running back.

David L. Thomas, lead pastor at Victory Christian Center in Coitsville since 1978.

Dr. Don Bartlette of North Canton, who will discuss growing up as an Indian child with severe handicaps in an environment of poverty and abuse.

David Kohout, director of Talk is Cheap, which focuses on building character and hope in the lives of young people across Northeast Ohio.

Four music groups will lead praise and worship between the speaker segments. They include singers and musicians from Christian Revival and Discipleship Center in Youngstown, Damascus Friends Church in Damascus, Covenant Church of Pittsburgh and Teen Challenge in Youngstown.

Bishop George V. Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown will deliver the opening prayer and remarks.

Bob Popa, a local DJ and longtime radio personality, will be the Men’s Rally host for the second year.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Doors will open at 7 a.m.

Admission is $15, which includes a boxed lunch at the Covelli Centre.

Admission wristbands are available now at www.mensrally.org and a list of stores and churches selling the wristbands will be listed on the website in upcoming weeks.

Bing Newton, chairman of Men of Faith, the Christian men’s group organizing the event, said the speakers’ topics revolve around the event’s theme: “Men at the Cross.”

Last year’s inaugural Men’s Rally drew a crowd of about 3,500 men, and organizers are praying for 6,500 attendees this year, Newton said.

More information on the speakers and their topics is available at the website, along with information about advertising and sponsorship opportunities for local businesses.

The Men’s Rally is patterned after the two-day Promise Keepers conferences that drew more than 5 million men to sports arenas across America between 1990 and 2008. But the local event has a local focus, Newton said.