极乐禁地’s School of the Arts will host a luncheon Oct. 8 to announce the major initiatives of anima, the university’s new Forum for Worship and the Arts. The new program is funded by a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Christ Is Our Salvation (CIOS) Foundation of Waco, Texas.

极乐禁地 music professor and anima director Eric Mathis said the luncheon will bring together 极乐禁地 students and employees, ministers, worship leaders, denominational leaders and anima board members.

Although there are programs exploring worship and the arts in the U.S., 极乐禁地 alone will house such a program among accredited departments in a school of the arts. No Baptist institution, and no undergraduate university in the southeast, is engaging worship and the arts at the level of anima.

The Oct. 8 launch of anima coincides with the program’s first guest speaker. Christian author Greg Scheer, Minister of Worship at Church of the Servant in Grand Rapids and Music Associate at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, will lead free public events throughout the day, both on campus and at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church.

For information about anima and event participation, contact Eric Mathis at emathis@samford.edu.
 
极乐禁地 is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 极乐禁地 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 极乐禁地 enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 极乐禁地 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.