The senior pastor of Brookland Baptist Church in Columbia will speak at Claflin University’s Baccalaureate Ceremony, a spiritual ceremony traditionally held the day prior to commencement convocation to celebrate the academic achievements of scholars.

The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, in the Tullis Arena of the Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Physical Education Center. It is open to the members of the Class of 2007 and their families, alumni and friends.

The Rev. Dr. Charles B. Jackson Sr. will deliver the keynote address.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, will speak at the university’s Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 12.

Jackson, a native of West Columbia, is a 1974 magna cum laude graduate of Benedict College. He then pursued seminary studies at the Morehouse School of Religion of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, and in 1977 graduated with honors with a Master of Divinity Degree. In August 1978, he completed one year of certification of residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at the South Carolina Academy for Pastoral Education.

Jackson acknowledged the call and began preaching at the age of nine, was licensed at the age of 10, was ordained at 12 and was installed at 18 as pastor of his home church, Brookland Baptist Church. He has served at the church for 34 years.

Brookland Baptist Church, with a membership of over 6.000, has 65 ministries.

On May 12, 1985, Morris College in Sumter conferred upon him the honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree.

In 1984, the mayor and City Council of West Columbia presented Jackson with a proclamation calling him youngest and first Columbian to serve as president of the South Carolina Baptist Congress of Christian Education. In observance of his 30th anniversary as pastor of the Brookland Baptist Church, then-Gov. Jim Hodges awarded him the Order of the Palmetto in 2001, the highest honor the State of South Carolina confers upon its citizens.

This past February, Claflin University and Brookland Baptist Church established a collaborative partnership to provide non-traditional continuing education opportunities for individuals 22 years of age and older who have completed at least 1 1/2 years of college to work toward a bachelor’s degree in either organizational management or sociology/criminal justice administration. The partnership agreement will allow for the expansion of educational offerings to include other areas of study. Classes will be held on the campus of Brookland Baptist Church.

Jackson is married to the former Robin Hoefer and is the father of two children, Charles Jr., a graduate of Morehouse School of Religion and pastor of New Laurel Street Baptist Church in Columbia, and Candace, a graduate of Duke University School of Law.

For more information about Claflin’s baccalaureate and commencement exercises, please contact the Office of Public Relations at 803-535-5351, 803-535-5349, e-mail hcarter@claflin.edu, log on to www.claflin.edu.

You must be logged in to comment.