Christ in the City, a nondenominational Christian center on Third Street downtown, is presenting a lunchtime lecture later this week on corporate ethics. Guest speaker Aaron Beam—a former executive-turned whistleblower, who travels around the country lecturing on ethics in business—will discuss the $2 billion securities fraud scandal at his former company, HealthSouth; the three months he spent in federal prison; the demise of his professional career; and the importance of upholding ethical and legal business practices.
The Ethics First lecture will be the first fundraiser for Christ in the City, which describes itself as “an oasis of Christian hospitality in the heart of downtown.” The center is the brainchild of Rev. David Melville, who opened Christ in the City last fall as a welcoming place for people to come relax, pray, peruse the free spiritual or motivational literature, or, just sit down and play the piano.
“Sometimes we’ll have construction workers come in off the street and just start playing music,” says Melville, a north Louisiana native who moved to Baton Rouge last year to open Christ in the City. “We’re here to offer whatever people need.”
Because Christ in the City is a nonprofit organization and is not affiliated with a church, Melville says it subsists on donations. The Ethics First lecture will be its first fundraiser, but hopefully not its last.
“We hope this is the first of many,” he says. “But it is more than just a fundraiser. We hope this is a consciousness-raising experience. Beam has dedicated his life to preventing people from making the same kind of mistake he did so we think there is a message there that is important for people to hear.”
The Ethics First lecture will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, at Ruffino’s Catering at De La Ronde Hall, 320 Third St. Tickets are $50 for lunch and the program. For more information, call 225-397-6393 or email revmelville@cox.net.
—Stephanie Riegel
