Georgia Southwestern to host 40th annual MLK Convocation

Rev. Tony Lowden, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, to serve as keynote speaker

Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) will host its 40^th annual MLK Convocation on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 11 a.m. in the Convocation Hall of the Student Success Center. Reverend Tony Lowden, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., will serve as the keynote speaker. This year’s theme for convocation is “One People, One Nation, One Dream.”

At Maranatha Baptist Church, Rev. Lowden serves a small but dedicated congregation including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Raised in North Philadelphia in a single–parent home, Lowden is familiar with the plight of poverty and illiteracy and is an advocate for education and biblical teachings.

Lowden graduated from the University of Southern California and went on to earn his M. Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He founded and served as Executive Director of STONE Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk children in the Macon-Bibb County area. He has also previously served as pastor at Strong Tower Fellowship, youth pastor at Lundy Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Macon, and youth director at Fellowship Bible Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

Lowden’s community involvement has included the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development Board, the Board of Directors for the Center for Racial Understanding and a number of Middle Georgia civic organizations. He is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Georgia and a 2014 graduate of the inaugural class of the Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). Lowden is also a member of American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Leadership Network Fall 2016 class.

Rev. Lowden is married to G. Pilar Lowden, an educator and performing artist. They have one daughter, Tabitha.

The MLK Convocation is sponsored by GSW’s Division of Student Engagement and Success, Black Student Union (BSU), Strong United Assertive Virtuous Educated Women (SUAVE), Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB), Serviceable, Adaptable, Beautiful, United (SABU), National PanHellenic Council (NPHC), and Student Government Association (SGA).

For additional information, please call (229) 931-2037.