Speaker: Dr. Adrian Bird

Adrian is the proud father of two teenagers, Nathan and Lydia, who have grown up in the interfaith movement in SC. Adrian’s wife Julie is a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and recently took a new position in Charlotte, North Carolina. Though they miss Columbia, Adrian is grateful that his commute to work is now much shorter, as he teaches at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, teaching courses in History, Christian mission, and “Interfaith encounters.”
Julie and Adrian met in Zimbabwe, Africa, where Adrian was working with displaced children and youth in the realm of HIV/Aids and life skills education. Soon after getting married, they headed to India, working for the Church of South India, and it is here that Adrian first felt a deep connection with the interfaith movement. Adrian completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh on the rise of Dalit liberation theology in the context of inter-religious diversity.
Adrian served for several years as a board member of Interfaith Partners of South Carolina, which he describes as a life-changing experience.

The Wells Within and Beyond

Dr. Bird is the former chair of Interfaith Partners of South Carolina, and will share fragments of his journey in the interfaith movement, including the wisdom gleaned from within and beyond his own particular tradition.