Join Erskine College for a night of celebration on Friday, October 23, 2026. The evening will begin with a semiformal dinner in the Bowie Arts Center. Following the dinner, the Erskine Choraleers will hold a patriotic concert, featuring a set of compelling readings by historian Rod Gragg. We are excited to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary with Erskine family and friends!

6:00 – Dinner

Enjoy a semiformal dinner and engaging conversation with other forum guests. In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the meal will feature dishes that represent the original 13 colonies. The dinner will be held in Erskine’s elegant Bowie Arts Center. Dinner cost is $100.

7:30 – Program: 250 Years of Faith in America

The Erskine Choraleers and historian Rod Gragg join in a memorable tribute to 250 years of America, honoring the role that faith has played throughout the nation’s history. The Choraleers, under the direction of Dr. Keith Timms, present a selection of patriotic music, interwoven with historical readings by Mr. Gragg. General admission is $25.

Dinner & Show: $100

Show only: $25

For more information about sponsoring or attending this event, please contact Beth Boyd at beth.boyd@erskine.edu or by calling 864-379-6502.

Rod Gragg is an historian and lecturer at Coastal Carolina University. He has written more than twenty books on historical topics from America’s Colonial Era through World War II. Among them are Forged in Faith: How Faith Shaped the Birth of the Nation, which was nominated for the George Washington Book Prize; Covered with Glory, a history of the Battle of Gettysburg, which earned the James Robertson Award as the best Civil War book of the year; and Confederate Goliath: the Battle of Fort Fisher, which received the Fletcher Pratt Award from the New York City Civil War Roundtable, and was the basis of a PBS documentary.

One of his titles, My Brother’s Keeper: Christians Who Risked All to Protect Jewish Targets of the Holocaust, was a finalist for the national Christian Book Award, and his collected work on the American Revolution earned the 2025 Moss History Award from the South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution.

A former print journalist and television news anchor, Gragg is frequently engaged as a public speaker, and has appeared on C-Span, “Fox and Friends” on the Fox News Network, “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, and “Focus on the Family.”

Gragg currently serves as director of the United Bank Center for Military and Veteran Studies at Coastal Carolina University, where he is also a history lecturer. He and his wife are the parents of seven grown children and the grandparents to fourteen grandchildren.

Founded in 1839, Erskine College is a Christian liberal arts institution which holds the distinction of being the first four-year church-related college in South Carolina. Erskine’s campus has repeatedly been listed as one of the most beautiful Christian campuses in America.

The mission of Erskine College is to glorify God as a Christian academic community where students integrate knowledge and faith, equipped to flourish as whole persons prepared for lives of service, leadership, and influence through the pursuit of undergraduate liberal arts, graduate, and seminary education.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors