The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The day was hot and humid, but that didn’t stop Frances Seay from greeting every visitor at the FamilySearch station with enthusiasm.
“Nobody says ‘no’ if you stop and talk to them [about their family],” she said. “That’s the way I share the gospel, because people don’t want to be apart from their family.”
Seay, who is the director of the Washington, D.C. FamilySearch Center, was closely involved in planning FamilySearch’s station at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival held from June 29 through July 4 and July 6 through 9.
The Folklife Festival is the largest annual cultural event in the U.S. capital, according to the festival’s website. It began in 1967 and explores living cultural heritages each summer.
It’s typically divided into programs featuring a nation, region, state or theme and includes music, art, dancing, cooking, craftwork and more. This year’s programs are “The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region” and “Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S.”
Seay said the festival gets up to half a million visitors each year and never features the same program twice. So when Smithsonian leaders invited FamilySearch to participate in this year’s “Living Religions” program, she knew it was a unique and important opportunity.
Now, over 160 locals are volunteering at the FamilySearch station during the festival, helping visitors discover who they are and where they came from.
“This outdoor experience is like a visitors’ center,” Seay said. “We have people that want to know about religion. … My hope is that everybody can capture that feeling of joy that comes from sharing the gospel.”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
