Thursday, October 8 at 2:00 PM – Friday, October 9 at 2:00 PM
The Lovelady Center | Birmingham, Alabama
What can happen when we simply sit down together and talk?
On October 8th, The Lovelady Center is putting a bench outside our building and inviting Birmingham to find out.
For 24 hours, our Executive Director, Melinda MeGahee, will sit down with people from across our community for Conversations on a Bench. one guest, one conversation and one half-hour at a time.
Birmingham, We Need to Talk
Every day at The Lovelady Center, we see the human side of some of the most difficult issues facing our community: addiction, homelessness, incarceration, poverty, mental health, unemployment, broken families and the challenges people face when trying to rebuild their lives. Many of our women come to us from a homeless situation, and many would be homeless without our continuing aftercare initiatives due to the economy being indifferent to those struggling to rebuild a life from nothing.
But we also see something else. We see what happens when people are given an opportunity to begin again!
The Lovelady Center currently houses, rehabilitates and educates more than 900 women and children each day. Our mission is to empower women through Christ-centered initiatives so that they may return to society as well-equipped women of God.
That means the issues being discussed across our city aren't statistics to us. They have names, children, families, and stories.
For 24 hours, we want to bring some of those stories, and the people working every day to change them, to the bench.
Who Will Sit on the Bench?
Throughout Conversations on a Bench, Melinda will welcome a different guest approximately every 30 minutes. They will be leaders from government, law enforcement, business, healthcare, education, churches, nonprofits, recovery organizations and other areas of our community. We also want to hear from people whose lives have been directly affected by the very issues we're discussing.
We can ask difficult questions. We can listen. We can learn from one another. And perhaps we can discover places where Birmingham can work together better.
More Than a Conversation
There is another reason we’re doing this. The needs represented in these conversations are happening every single day.
Women arrive at The Lovelady Center needing a safe place to sleep, food, clothing, transportation, education, recovery support, counseling, medical care, job preparation and—often most importantly—hope.
And many arrive with children beside them.
So while there are butts on the bench, we’ll also have Boston butts on the grill, and we’re inviting you to help us feed our community.
$45 FEEDS 12 PEOPLE
A $45 donation purchases one Boston butt, enough to provide BBQ sandwiches for approximately 12 people during Conversations on a Bench.
Simply visit our website, make a $45 donation, and write “Boston Butt” in the notes so we’ll know your gift is designated for the event.
Yes, we’re grilling Boston butts while there are butts on the bench. We couldn’t resist.
But behind the fun is a serious purpose: bringing Birmingham together to listen, learn, give and meet the very real needs of people in our community.
There will also be prayer teams set up in the chapel throughout the event to pray for the conversations, the homeless, our community, our leaders, our city. If you would like to be scheduled for a time slot to come pray, please sign up:
Why 24 Hours?
Because homelessness doesn't end at 5:00 PM. Addiction doesn't take the night off. Mothers don't stop worrying about their children because an office closes. And the work of helping someone rebuild a life doesn't fit neatly into business hours.
From 2:00 PM Thursday, October 8, until 2:00 PM Friday, October 9, the bench will help symbolize something we believe deeply at The Lovelady Center:people are worth showing up for.
You Don't Have to Sit on the Bench to Be Part of the Conversation
We want Birmingham involved. Come by The Lovelady Center. Bring a coat. Bring canned goods. Grab some BBQ. Meet people you may not ordinarily meet. Listen to a conversation that challenges the way you think.
And if you can't join us in person, watch the live feed and follow along online. Share, share, share! Join the conversation online with questions for those on the bench! Go to sleep Thursday evening listening to impact and prayer for Birmingham!
What could happen in Birmingham if we all pulled up a seat?
Save the Date
CONVERSATIONS ON A BENCH
October 8–9, 2026
2:00 PM Thursday – 2:00 PM Friday
The Lovelady Center | Birmingham, Alabama
24 hours. One bench. Dozens of voices. One community.
Come sit with us.
