Dr. Harold Bare, senior pastor of Covenant Church in Virginia, will be the second keynote speaker for the Sociology Series in honor of Dr. Ollie Lee. Dr. Lee is the founder of the sociology program at Lee University and is a former vice president for Academic Affairs at the university.

Bare will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Johnson Lecture Hall, located in Lee’s Humanities Center. His topic is “The Integration of Sociology and Christian Faith: A Sociological Journey.” There will be a time of discussion following the lecture.

Bare will consider his journey from an Appalachian farm to the halls of Ivy League universities. He will discuss his work in criminology, police science and law enforcement, the sociology of religion, and the challenges of pastoring a large multi-ethnic congregation.

He was one of the earliest students in sociology at Lee University. He went on to earn his master’s degree at William and Mary, followed by his doctorate in sociology at the University of Virginia. He has served for 35 years as senior pastor of Covenant Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Covenant Church serves five ethnic and two English congregations on the main campus. Under his ministry, churches have been planted in other American cities, South Sudan, and the Philippines.

Bare has served on the Board of Directors at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary for 20 years and has been a visiting faculty member on several college campuses. He has authored a number of books and operates a blog, “Tuesday Musings of a Pastor.” His latest work is the publication of a mystery crime novel, “Trouble.”

Bare is married to Laila B. Bare, his college sweetheart who was also a sociology major. They have four children and nine grandchildren and reside in Ruckersville, Virginia.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact [email protected] or [email protected].