Mayor, governor, pastor plan event

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. will share a stage with Gov. Asa Hutchinson on March 1 for a conversation on race and faith with a California pastor.

The event is part of a series, “City Center Conversations: Conversations About God, Faith and Life in the City,” which is put on by Immanuel Baptist Church.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and take place in the William Grant Still Grand Ballroom of the Robinson Center, 426 W. Markham St. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at citycenterconversationslr.org/tickets/.

D.A. Horton is a “young church planter with a passion for discussing the relationship between faith and race,” according to a description on the City Center Conversations website. He’s pastor of Reach Fellowship in Long Beach, Calif.

In a Friday Facebook post about the event, Scott said he had “basic, fundamental disagreements” with Horton’s beliefs regarding inclusion, but would still participate. A page on the website for Reach Fellowship outlining the ministry’s convictions states that Christians should oppose homosexuality.

“I will never be able to deliver on my promise to unify our city if I only talk to people who agree with me,” Scott wrote. “Sometimes we must be willing to be uncomfortable in order to make progress, but we never have to sacrifice our principles. I will not.”