Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Richard Longworth, author of "Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism," will be the keynote speaker at this major, three-day conference at Garrett-Evangelical.

The conference will explore the significant role churches and other faith-based organizations can have in joining research universities, state and local governments, economic development agencies, and regional foundations in leading the Midwest to economic recovery.

Conferees will consider ways churches and other faith-based organizations can change the overriding mindset from scarcity and death to abundance and life. Faith and hope are essential for renewal.

Dr. Walter Fluker, Executive Director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College; Bishop Sally Dyck of Minnesota; Bishop Gregory Palmer of Illinois Great Rivers; Dean Dipak Jain of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management; and Dr. Brent Waters, Director of Garrett-Evangelical's Stead Center for Ethics and Values, will share their perspectives on ways to help faith-based organizations become places of renewal.

Central to speeches, responses and discussions throughout the conference will be Longworth's book, "Caught in the Middle." Following is a description of the book from Longworth's website, richardclongworth.com:

"The Midwest has always been the heart of America - both its economic bellwether and the repository of its national identity. Now, in a new, globalized age, the Midwest is challenged as never before. With an influx of immigrant workers and an outpouring of manufactuing jobs, the region that defines the American self - the Lake Wobegon image of solid, hardworking farmers and factory hands - is changing at breakneck speed. As factory farms and global forces displace old ways of life, the United States is being transformed literally from the inside out. In "Caught in the Middle," longtime Chicago Tribune reporter Richard Longworth explores the new realities of life in the heartland, uncovering what these mean for the region - and the country. In the process, he covers everything from the manufacturing collapse that has crippled the Midwest to the biofuels revolution that may save it, and from the school districts struggling with new immigrants to the Iowa meatpacking towns that can't survive without them. The results, which are often surprising, add up to a portrait of the vast and influential segment of America's economy and culture that goes almost entirely ignored in the national media. With clear, tough-minded thinking, tempered by a lifetime of experience in the Midwest, Longworth addresses what's right and what's wrong in the region and offers a prescription of how it must change - politically as well as economically - if it is to survive and prosper."

Garrett-Evangelical will begin conference registratio soon. For more information, contact Rev. James Haun: 847-866-3861 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .